Author: Nicolette Cagle
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Why Central Europe Is Such a Good Place to Learn Trees
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., March 26, 2026 Trees are among the clearest expressions of place. They root geology in biotic form, translate climate and water into a visible pattern, and hold the marks of both ecological time and human history. To learn the trees of a region is to do more than learn names;…
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Why Does the Junco Flash Its Tail and Other Notes
A winter storm approaches. Light flakes of snow dance in the air, and the birds forage and feast, fighting to fill their bellies before snow blankets their food source and enforces a period of fasting. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets are acrobats, flipping and bouncing through the trees. The Cardinals are confident, their size and boldness allowing…
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5 Hours in Oaxaca
The café is quaint and quiet. Powder blue walls are lined with dark shelves, displaying white teacups painted with pale pink and lavender flowers, filled with eclectic books—Dune in Danish, The Moon Guide to Pacific Mexico, and a copy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Émile,—or On Education in Spanish. There are only three small, wooden tables, pressed…
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Common Trees of the Sierra Norte, Estado de Oaxaca, Mexico
Overview of the Sierra Norte. The Sierra Norte of Oaxaca is located about 40 miles north of Oaxaca de Juárez, in the eponymous state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The region extends across nearly 3,300 square miles, and is bordered by the regions of Papaloapam and Cañada to the North, and Valles Centrales, Sierra Sur, and Istmo…
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Punta Gorda, Roatan, Honduras
Author’s Note: Please note that this post was reviewed and corrected by Nerissa Webster, referenced below, and published with her permission. We arrived at Punta Gorda — a village founded by the Garifuna people after being exiled from nearby St. Vincent Island and being deposited on Roatan, Honduras on April 12, 1797 — that sits…
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Fruiting Fungi & Woody Plants in the Piedmont
When we explore the Piedmont woods, our attention sometimes shifts away from the showy flowers, stately trees, and singing birds to the diminutive mushrooms around us. Many of these mushrooms have key and important associations with the woody plants that so often structure our definitions of ecosystems. Fungi & Oaks. In the Piedmont, there are…
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Deer Rubs
On Monday morning, I went for a walk through the riparian woods along the Eno River. On this familiar route, I noticed two trees rubbed raw, rufous-hued, wounded down to the cambium layer. These rubs are from deer, when a buck scrapes his antlers against tree trunks, creating signposts in time and space to mark…
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When Spring Comes Early: Shifting Bloom Times of Piedmont Ephemerals
Spring ephemerals are woodland plants that bloom early in Spring, capturing sunlight that hits the forest floor before the trees leaf out. Some of these ephemerals, like Trout Lilies (Erythronium sp.) have colonies that are over 100 years old! We see spring ephemerals, their delicate leaves and incandescent flowers, during their epigeous or above ground…
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Daily Noticing
I cannot afford to live without the daily routine of noticing nature. I need to see the sparkling frost that rims the sycamore leaves on the forest floor. I need to hear the rhythmic, thumping calls of the Red-bellied Woodpecker in the morning. I need to feel the cold air sting my face as I…
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Öskjuhlíð, Iceland
We woke up and took a taxi to Öskjuhlíð with a driver named Viktor. We walked the waters edge, stepped on a sandy beach, climbed rocks to photograph Campions. We explored the edge of a runway, catching sight of a Whimbrel and Meadow Pipits. We turned around, tracing our steps along with shore and walking…
Sense of Place 