EcoBlog

by Katherine Hale I stood in a patch of forest that was, from an environmental standpoint, totally and completely unexceptional. It was just another tract of Piedmont forest on its fourth round of regrowth since the eighteenth century, fragmented and heavily influenced by the human development that surrounded it on every side. White oaks and… Continue reading Homecoming

By Katherine Hale I was never allowed to go barefoot as a child. If I did, my mother claimed, tiny parasitic "hookworms," invisible to the naked eye, would wriggle through the skin between my toes. Once inside, the worms would meander through my blood vessels to my lungs, then up into my trachea, causing me… Continue reading Hooked

by Katherine Hale Memorizing scientific names is a rite of passage for naturalists, but some species come with a built-in cheat sheat. Take the Black-Tailed Godwit, a long-legged Eurasian shorebird, which goes by the lyrical Limosa limosa; the Suriname Flat Toad’s alter ego Pipa pipa; and the colorful Harlequin Duck, with the delightfully tongue-twisting Histrioncus… Continue reading Seeing Double

by Katherine Hale Every naturalist I know has some sort of variation on The Room. You all know what I am talking about, even if yours isn’t technically a room. Sometimes, it’s a bookshelf piled high with tattered field guides, a closet by the door stuffed with muddy gear, an old-school cabinet of curiosities tucked… Continue reading The Naturalist Room