Geek out with me about critters and plants on a mountaintop in Virginia. I’ll share what I’m learning as I try to bring native plants back on 200 acres of old farmland and tell stories from my encounters on the mountain.

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In this issue

• Field notes: Sound effects

• Signs of life: A thorny problem

• Recommended reading

• Book news

• The mystery tree

• The Official Mountain Poodle

Field notes

Sound effects: Welcome back woodcocks!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing this newsletter for almost a year now. Nearly a year ago, I wrote about woodcocks and quoted Aldo Leopold’s description of their strange and wonderful aerial display. Woodcocks have been spotted on the mountain with increasing frequency since that time, and it seems clear there is a thriving population here. They’ve even been caught on our trail cam late at night. (I have to wonder about the self-preservation instincts of a woodcock that wanders into the open after dark in the same wildlife corridor enjoyed by coyotes, bobcats, bears, and foxes.)

This year for the first time, I actually got to see and hear the courting ritual that Leopold described in his book, and it is every bit the “dramedy” I was led to expect. The courting usually happens here in late February, but the unusually cold weather seemed to delay things a bit. It was dusk in early March when I wandered along the meadow path and began to hear the signature “PEEENT” call, first one lone call in the distance, and then near and far throughout the meadow. It’s not an especially birdlike call; it reminds me of an especially loud, energetic cicada.

While I stood in the meadow, the birds started shooting up into the air. A bird would suddenly burst up out of the dry vegetation and rocket directly upward, sailing higher and higher until it seemed to disappear in a cloud. (I couldn’t help thinking of Icarus. How high would it go?) The whole time the bird rose, it made short, continuous musical twittering sounds, while I made myself dizzy staring up at the sky and turning in circles trying to follow the bird’s trajectory. Then it would suddenly reappear, dropping quickly back toward earth. More than one bird landed barely 20 feet away from me. When the bird was back on solid ground, the “peenting” would begin again. I walked slowly toward one of these nearby birds. When I got to about 10 feet out, it addressed me with an especially plaintive “PEEENT!” That this chunky, awkward bird was able to propel itself to such heights was pretty impressive. Apparently the female woodcock agrees, since, each year, we seem to have more woodcocks on the mountain.

Signs of Life

A thorny problem: Multiflora rose

If you have multiflora rose growing in your garden, you probably know it. It’s an invasive shrub that was imported as an ornamental and then planted intentionally as a wind break and for erosion control. It eventually got out of hand, taking over fields, forest edges, and yards. There is a lot of it growing on the mountain, especially along the edge of the woods.

First, tiny red buds appeared on its bright green stems, visible amid the serious thorns. Now, it’s starting to leaf out. I’ve been trying to cut it back and exhaust it, but it will probably exhaust me first. One of my garden-savvy friends says that if you cut the plant twice in one season it won’t come back, even without chemicals. I’m not so sure. Its seeds can hang around in the soil for 20 years, waiting for a disturbance to free them up. Soon, the leaves will be open enough that a foliar spray would work. But one problem with spraying here is wind; it’s almost always windy, and the risk of collateral damage is high, especially for native plants that are just beginning to grow and native insects that are emerging.

Each shrub seems to have about a thousand stems, and the stems can grow up to 15 feet long, according to the Penn State extension office. They range from as thin as a kite string to as thick around as my ankle. Each stem eventually grows in an arc that climbs over whatever is in its way until it hits the ground again and takes root at the other end, starting a whole new plant.

See those three cut limbs growing down from the center of the orchard cherry in the photo? Those grew from the ground, made their way through the fork in the tree and out the other side, where they hit the ground and took root. The multiflora rose branches in turn served as hosts for invasive vines. Rose plants that started on the opposite side of the tree also sent their stems up through its branches; the tree was under attack from all sides.

Some folks who have these plants in their gardens prefer to keep them, because they enjoy the pink and white flowers, which emerge in late spring. Please don’t do that—get rid of it! (You might guess I feel strongly about this…)

Early native bloomers

I was out spot-treating invasive plants that are sprouting up, before they become inaccessible due to the rampant (normal) growth of the meadow. In the process, I was happy to see some good stuff coming up, including lots of wild geranium, patches of wild bergamot, and violets. Among those, the violets are beginning to flower. I remember when I was a kid always being on the lookout for violets and buttercups. I didn’t know back then that buttercups are invasive, but violets are native plants. There are 30 species of fritillary, a type of butterfly, whose larvae can only eat violets. There is also a species of mining bee that can’t use any other plant. This violet is a little ragged around the edges, but it can still do its job.

The box elder is a medium sized tree in the maple family. A lot of people consider these to be weed trees, but in fact they are hardy natives, and they support almost 300 species of moth and butterfly, so they serve an important purpose. We have a lot of these around the edges of the meadow. The tree is flowering right now. Sometimes the most common plants that we tend to ignore turn out to be among the most important ones for native wildlife.

Recommended Reading

I recently received a letter from a reader who is also a researcher and writer. She said nice things about my book, which of course made me happy! And she told me about her own book, which just came out this month. It’s called POTOMAC FEVER: Reflections on the Nation’s River. Arlington Magazine calls it “a love letter to the Potomac and a sharp critique of American myths…a lyrical and thought-provoking debut.” As someone who grew up hiking and boating on the Potomac River (swimming was not recommended…), I’m eager to read this book.

Book news

March was a whirlwind of book events, and there’s more to come! Here are some highlights:

Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA, where I was interviewed by the generous and talented novelist Laura Zigman.

Madison, NJ, where I received an incredible welcome due to the combined efforts of the New Jersey Native Plant Society, the Madison Environmental Commission, The Nature of Reading bookshop, and the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts. I was interviewed by Kim Correro and Ann Wallace, the hosts of The Wildstory podcast (who also hosted me on their podcast!).

At the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, VA, I appeared on a panel with writer/stand-up comic Sally Chaffin Brooks, author of the memoir Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail, about her youthful journey on the AT. I also moderated a panel during the festival in which I interviewed Cynthia Reeves, author of the historical novel The Last Whaler, and scientists Ellen Prager and Dave Jones, co-authors of Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change, which answers all of your burning questions about oceans, weather, and climate in an entertaining and accessible way.

A few of the radio shows and podcasts I appeared on in March:

I was thrilled to be featured on The Joe Gardener Show podcast, talking with Joe about native plants, invasive plants, and what it’s like to form a connection with the land.

I talked with reporter Roxy Todd for Virginia NPR-affiliate WVTF: “Author writes about trying to grow native plants on her Blue Ridge mountaintop.” The interview also appeared on WMRA and the Virginia Public Radio blog.

I’m featured on Big Blend Radio’s Nature Connection podcast, with hosts Lisa Smith and Nancy Reid.

I talked with host Kate Hanley in a 3-part deep dive conversation that included some nitty gritty craft talk, my approach to writing, and what brought me to this project for her podcast Finding the Throughline.

Bad Naturalist is available wherever books are sold in stores and online, in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats. You can sample the audiobook here.

You can find these links and more on my website news/event page.

Upcoming Events!

I may be coming soon to a place near you to talk about BAD NATURALIST. Please come out and say hello! New events and the latest details can be found on my website. If you don’t see your city or town on this list yet, please reach out, and I’ll see what I can do to get there!

Check my website event page, or my Instagram or Bluesky feeds for details about events, and for more interviews, podcasts, and features.

Want me to visit your book club? You can reach me through my website contact page.

A special request

If you read the book in any format (and if you enjoyed it!), please post a review on the Amazon book page! It helps!

Hey, what about that mystery tree?

Remember that storm-damaged tree I was trying to identify in February? I couldn’t make a definitive ID, so I sent some photos to my go-to plant guru, Charlotte (if you’ve read my book, you’ll already know about her expertise). She suspects it’s a type of pear tree, either an orchard pear (what I’m hoping for!), or, possibly, an invasive callery or Bradford pear. The invasive pear often has thorns, and this tree on the mountain does not. Also, invasive pear trees are known to quickly multiply into a thicket that can exclude other trees, and this tree has been growing here for years without spreading. The tree will be easier to identify once it has flowered, which, if it’s a type of pear, should happen soon. I’m already seeing Bradford pears in bloom along roadsides and in fields, and I’m hopeful that my tree won’t turn out to be one of them. Stay tuned…

Tell me where you are and what you see this month in a park near where you live, or in your own yard or window box. Send me a photo if you like.

And don’t forget to tell me about your favorite nature-related book or podcast.

The Official Mountain Poodle

Cleo vigilantly monitors the increasing animal activity that emerges with spring on the mountain.

Now’s a good time to subscribe for more mountain discoveries, book news, and the requisite poodle photos.

Thanks for joining me on the mountain!

Until next month—

Paula W.

Note: Header photo of red fox running through the meadow near the woods by Bill Whyman.

Bad Naturalist: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop

Now available in hardcover, audiobook, and e-book everywhere books are sold!

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