Tiffany lamps, garden glories and herons in flight: The visual delights of fall at the Biltmore

Although photography was not allowed at Biltmore Estate‘s exquisite Tiffany lamp exhibit (open through Oct. 23), the gardens are open to photographers — and some of the Tiffany lamps’’ themes (dragonflies, butterflies etc.) are in evidence throughout the gardens.  From the kitchen gardens to the fish ponds to a great heron in flight, it was […]

Working elm: A day harvesting slippery elm’s medicinal bark

One Sunday morning in mid-August, I left Asheville for the one-hour drive to my friend Doug Elliott’s wooded homestead in Union Mills, N.C. During my last visit, around the exact same time of year, he showed me how to harvest and prepare elderberry for tincturing. I didn’t know what lay in store this time, other than he said we would be “working elm,” but I knew it would involve swatting mosquitoes and flies, dodging briars, poison ivy and random angry yellow jackets. Why drive 50 mountain miles to play victim to nature’s sadistic instruments? Doug is one of America’s preeminent herbalists, natural history authors, and folklore storytellers. As an elder living in organic union with the land He is celebrated among new age wild crafters, ethnobotanists, and urban foragers.

From Clingman’s Dome to the Outer Banks: Thru-hiker forages the Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Less than two weeks ago, long-distance hiker and Appalachian Trail veteran Heather Housekeeper, 28, began walking. Twelve days later, on May 28,  she made some time to share her goals with this reporter, just before reaching camp, off Ox Creek Road near Asheville. Outside of the occasional friend tagging along for a few miles here and there, she’s doing it all alone, and not counting the random “trail magic” (assistance like snacks, shoes, a bed, etc.) that strangers have given her along the way, she’s doing the trip totally unsupported.

Swapping tarmac for trails

I am a trail runner! As of recently. Very recent. Okay, just in the last few weeks, if we must be honest. Not so long ago, you would have found me plodding around my neighborhood in my slow-but-steady pace or making the occasional foray to Carrier Park or the treadmill at my local Y. But […]