It’s no illusion, fall fishing is the absolute best time to be on the water, and “life starts all over again,” as Fitzgerald noted, but there may be a little magic involved.
Commentary
Pest or purpose, tiny ants play outsized roles in our world
It’s easy to despise fire ants on your foot or sugar ants in your pantry, but give the little buggers some grace, because this place would really be a mess without them.
What Granny Jean’s pantry can teach Capitol Hill about reuse
Our grandparents’ tradition of reuse has been replaced by today’s throwaway economy built around single-use plastic, which doesn’t vanish, and we need to nationally implement systems that last.
Fly-fisher, conservationist, Marshall Cutchin: ‘Notice things’
His influence on fishing and how we use information technology as a learning tool cannot be overstated, but, he’ll tell you, it’s the ability to see things that counts.
Mimosas lend tropical look, but prone to crowding out natives
While many love the brunch favorite served on weekend mornings, the tree bearing the same name has a tendency to show up here where not invited and to stay way past the point of awkward.
Tailing reds in spartina marshes: Think like a struggling crab
When conditions are right, the tide is high, and the moon is full, and the redfish are able to swim above the spartina flats, look for their tails breaching the surface as they feed on fiddler crabs. Be the crab.
Lightning bugs: Less yardwork may reverse their decline
A glass Mason jar full of fireflies has delighted countless numbers of young nature explorers, but these illuminating creatures have more to do with gardening than what meets the eye.
Opinion: Water, water, everywhere; when’s it safe to drink?
Guest commentary: We need the North Carolina General Assembly to step up and protect their constituents as the EPA rolls out its stated plans to eliminate nationwide drinking water standards for PFAS, a known human health risk.
Found archival photos add new wrinkles to Pea Island story
Historical columnist Joan Collins shares a collection of recently discovered photographic negatives stored in tins at the State Archives with 19 images depicting the Pea Island U.S. Coast Guard Station crew in 1938 and the new questions the photos bring to light.
Fish tales: Sorting fact from fiction isn’t really the point
Those indelible memories, sometimes made more grandiose with the passage of time, but treasured nonetheless, and they’re all that we take with us when we go.
My uncommon interactions with common snapping turtles
Snapping turtles have quite the reputation, a larger-than-life mystique rife with legend and lore, but despite their fierce appearance, they are rarely aggressive toward humans while in the water, but on dry land — mind your fingers!
Not just eye candy; flowers, pollinators they attract are vital
Flowers symbolize so many things — they say so much — but to really appreciate blooms is to get to know them and their essential food-producing, life-giving roles better.
Fishing spartina flats yields prize catches — with experience
Know the right gear for varying conditions and avoiding the snags that can rid you of your costly tackle. Capt. Gordon has suggestions.
Section 408: Missing from Cape Fear Memorial Bridge talks
Guest commentary: The project to replace the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, if handled well, will for generations connect residents, military interests, the seaport and segments of the state’s economy, but a recent determination under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 changes the discussion.
NC coast is state’s greatest investment; new budget treats it so
Commentary: Bipartisan agreement this year, combined with nurtured relationships, sound science and practical problem-solving, resulted in permanent funding to rid coastal waters of abandoned and derelict vessels and money for projects that improve water quality, bolster resilience and help preserve the natural resources that sustain economy and our quality of life.
Fibonacci plus his golden ratio equal sunflower mathematics
If you have ever marveled at a sunflower’s complex beauty, then you’ve seen one example of the ubiquitous sequence introduced to Westerners by an Italian mathematician named Leonardo Fibonacci.
