Uwharries

The brown-headed nuthatch is one of our own, a permanent resident of the Southeast. They don’t care to visit the Caribbean in winter, and they rarely stray above the Mason-Dixon Line. They make their living in our piney woods. Until recently, it was assumed they required a stand of old-growth pines, but Davidson College Professor […]

During hunting season, photos of beaming young women often grace the pages of The Montgomery Herald. Dressed head to toe in camo, they pose with a turkey or deer. The Uwharries seem to be on the cutting edge of a national trend. According to a 2011 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the […]

A new, 4-mile extension of the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, along with a new trailhead, will be dedicated Dec. 8. The trailhead will be named in honor of Joe Moffitt, the founder and visionary behind the creation of the trail.

In my previous article, I explored how those of us in the South have become estranged from our grasslands. This time, I want to help us get reacquainted with some of our native grasses. Gardeners, ranchers, hunters and birders all have reason to meet these beautiful, practical and productive species. Many gardeners already know the […]

Once a myth takes hold in the fertile ground of the South, it often persists with a vengeance. Many people still believe early European settlers arrived to find an unbroken canopy of trees sheltering the Piedmont. According to Reed Noss, author of Forgotten Grasslands of the South, “The lack of awareness of native grasslands in […]

After months of steady – and sometimes excessive – rain, we’ve recently seen a more typical pattern of precipitation. Autumn is our driest season. If this trend continues and we don’t receive a soaking from a hurricane or tropical storm, our total precipitation for 2013 could be deceptively average. It’s been a banner year for […]

There was that glorious day toward the end of August when the humidity dropped and the heavens parted. The air felt fresh for the first time in months. I knew it wouldn’t last – we were bound to have another spell of muggy weather before the start of autumn – but I convinced myself the […]

The Uwharrie Mountains are home to numerous legends and ghost stories passed down through the generations. An upcoming hike and storytelling event will take you into these mountains for an evening filled with legends and ghost tales. About the event Click here or scroll below for details of the hike and storytelling event. Author Fred […]

This wet summer has brought out a number of wildflowers we rarely see, or at least not in great numbers. Recently, I saw one of my favorites blooming en masse in Montgomery County – the yellow-fringed orchid. This beautiful wildflower blooms from late June to early September, so they were just past peak but I […]

One of the most harrowing experiences for a young driver in the Uwharries used to be crossing the Swift Island Bridge. For those of us east of the Pee Dee River, it was a dreaded necessity if we wanted to catch a movie in Albemarle. When I approached that seemingly endless span, with its narrow […]