Near to Nature: Pawpaws

The Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small, native fruit tree growing in floodplain forests and creekbeds throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Pawpaws are recognized by their enormous, paddle-shaped leaves and slender, greenish trunk, seldom…
An adult male Eastern Box Turtle, showcasing bright orange legs and sunset-red eyes.

Near to Nature: Meeting Our Tennessee State Reptile

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Thinking Outside the Box The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) roams the summer forests of Bays Mountain and is usually found lumbering across the trail on early morning strolls. “Box turtles” get their common name from an ability…
Adult male wood frog

Near to Nature: Frozen Frogs of Bays Mountain

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This article, published in the Spring 2021 edition of "The Interpreter," was contributed by ETSU Roan Scholar Cade Campbell. As the first warm, spring rains settle into Tennessee, they bring with them a new chapter of life for our forest…