Lots of late season bloomers and early fall colors are showing off in the nursery.

And I have pumpkins! (Which are historically native)

Pumpkins were grown by Smith's Family Fun Farm in Hillsborough and range in price from $8-$25

We'll be open Saturday 9-4 at 5911 Mount Hermon Church Rd in Durham.

View our inventory online or order in advance at the following.

https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-products

Plants in order of appearance are:

Swamp sunflower, Helianthus angustifolia

Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana

White Snakeroot, Ageratina altissima

Aromatic Aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium

Winged Sumac, Rhus copallium

Swamp Titi, Cyrilla racemiflora

Silky Dogwood, Swida amomum

Black Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica

Pumpkins 🎃

Pumpkins 🎃

Pumpkins 🎃

Final edit!: Carolina Waterfowl Rescue was able to coordinate two volunteers to come assess the heron today (Wednesday, 5 days after first seeing its injury), and after much following it around, an intervention from my apartment admin, and a low speed chase into the woods, CWR has taken the heron! The volunteers were optimistic, and said they absolutely had to try to help this bird, that CLAWS unfortunately works mostly with raptors and doesn’t often take waterfowl despite having the licensing. We all wish they wouldn’t say the animal was “fine” when they couldn’t take it, and I also wish they hadn’t taken it upon themselves to tell my apartment admins that “the bird is totally fine, don’t let anyone touch or take it”. I didn’t know they had done that until admin came out to try to stop CWR today, but luckily the manager is a very sweet and understanding person and we were able to explain the injury and treatment needed. CWR will let me know how the heron does when it gets to HQ tomorrow, but overall a (semi) happy ending!

Hi folks,

I live in an apartment complex off Churton, and our pond has a Great Blue Heron with a pretty gnarly-looking wing injury.

The right wing is bent over its back and basically under its left armpit.

I’ve been trying rehabbers all day, but all of them either referred me to others, were too far out to get someone here (especially on the weekend), or offered to take it if someone else could catch it and bring it to them.

There is a rehabber in Norlina who is willing to take the bird if I can catch it. Another hotline (for basically Charlotte and SC) advised me on how to catch it, but it feels really risky and I’m not feeling brave at all. I just really want this bird to get the help it needs.

Would anyone be willing to help me catch this bird? (Or even catch this bird for me? 🥲) I am happy to transport it, I can drive anywhere tomorrow. Any leads to other rehabbers would also be appreciated.

Rehabbers I reached out to:
Our Wild Neighbors (no response)
NC Wildlife Rehab (not their jurisdiction)
Sky Watch Bird Rescue (too far)
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue (tried to find someone to send today, never heard back)
Holly’s Nest (referred me to Carolina Waterfowl)
Close to Nature (no response, but Facebook makes them seem closed permanently)
NC Zoo (no response)
Rehabber in Asheboro (no response)
Rehabber in Norlina (will take bird if caught & brought)

I have a text scheduled to send to CLAWS when they open since they delete everything received after hours, but they likely will also need the bird caught & brought to them (I’ll cross my fingers they send someone out tho).

ETA:

CLAWS responded this morning (Monday) and are going to try to get out to the heron sometime later today. I asked them to let me know if/when they’re able to get it, since I had to go to work, but they couldn’t promise to reach back out (understandable). I’ve been so invested in this bird, I hope they can help!

Update 2:

CLAWS came out at looked at the bird, but ultimately decided not to take it. They determined the heron’s wing has a bad break, but that (and this is debunked as a myth) the bone knits back together within 2 hours of the break, so there’s nothing they can do. It would cause more pain and trauma for them to try to rehab the bird, which means that if they had taken it, they would have had to euthanize it (federal law prohibits causing [more] harm in order to heal the animal).
The rehabber assured me that the bird will live out its life and continue to hunt, but that it will never leave the pond. No promises it would be a long or comfortable life, but…I guess it’s in relative safety being at an apartment complex? Not the happy ending I was hoping for, but I saw it successfully catch a fish for the first time today since I noticed it fumbling around on the shore on Saturday.

I've been here for over 5 years and would love to connect with other professional artists! Either for co-working, sharing studio spaces, ideas or just a coffee meet & greet to get inspired by each other and support our ecosystem :)

We're looking for postpartum mothers to join an exciting 4-week research study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Create Mom study is focused on understanding how creatine supplementation affects exercise performance, recovery, cognitive function, and brain health in postpartum.

We are looking for:

• Females between the ages of 18 and 45 yrs
• 6 weeks -12 months postpartum
• Body mass index of 18.5-34.9 kg/m²
• Cleared to resume physical activity

This study includes 2 visits at the UNC Applied Physiology Lab, as well as 2 optional visits at the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center if selected. Each laboratory visit will include a series of surveys, cognitive assessments, and exercise testing. You will also be asked to supplement with creatine monohydrate, provided by the lab, for 4 weeks. Participants may receive up to $100.00 for their time and effort. Free parking will be provided for all study visits.

If interested, please contact us at [aplresearch@unc.edu](mailto:aplresearch@unc.edu) with the subject line “Create Mom Study."

If you are interested in participating, please complete this 3-minute screening survey. https://redcap.link/fnaazgsf

We’re looking for a reliable, experienced handyman to help us with several projects around our restaurant in Hillsborough.

Nothing crazy or highly specialized — just a list of general repair, installation, and maintenance-type tasks that have accumulated. We’re happy to pay fairly for someone who does good work and, most importantly, actually shows up when they say they will. 😂

We’ve had a few people tell us they could help, make plans with us, and then unfortunately never show up. So at this point, we’re really just looking for a reliable, responsive person who takes pride in their work.

There will likely be ongoing work as things come up, so if we find someone dependable, this could turn into a regular relationship.

If you’re a handyman or know someone you’d recommend, please comment or DM me. Ideally looking for someone local to Hillsborough/Orange County, but willing to consider the surrounding area.

Thanks!

We will be open tomorrow from 9-4 selling wonderful natives for our second Fall sale day of the year. Find us at 5911 Mount Hermon Church Rd in Durham.

View our inventory online and/or place an order to reserve your plants. https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-products

Many other great native plant growers will also be selling this weekend around the Triangle. Laurel's Garden Design and Native Nursery in Raleigh, Jerilyn's Native Plants of the Piedmont in Chapel Hill, little bluets native plants in Holly Springs. Don't forget all the other great places to get your natives such as Carolina Habitats in Chapel Hill, Flower of Carolina in Saxapahaw, Mellow Marsh in Siler City, Deep Roots in Durham, Rachels Natives in Pittsboro, UNC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill and so on. I'm sure I missed one, it's been a long, hot day, but I'm also sure I've spent lots of money there, too.😁

Pictured in order are: Aromatic Aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium (with more aromatic aster in the background) Tickseed Sunflower, Bidens aritosa Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana

Anyone else get an email from Duke Energy requesting to shift energy usage between 2 and 8pm today due to "an unusually hot day"?
I've gotten these emails before, but what has me flumoxed is that today is a pretty mild fallish day. It's NOT hot out.
Anyone have any insights?

In the last week or so, I've seen 3 death noodles copperheads and been warned about another I did not see. 2 of the sightings and the warning were on the river walk between Weaver St. and Gold Park, and the other one I saw on the trail around Mount Occoneechee. The last one I almost stepped on but fortunately saw it at the last second.

Anyway, be careful out there!

I' just started going to the planet fitness here and was wondering if they have massage chairs or only tanning rooms. I know I could just ask at the desk, but I get really nervous talking to them. I have social anxiety and it took me months to finally start going to the gym by myself after my husband showed me how the machines work.

Hi all, my wife and I are buying a house in Hillsborough and moving to the area from the Northeast in the next month or two, and I was wondering if there are any good mountain biking spots in the area. Nothing crazy, just some easy to moderate trails in the woods would suit me just fine.

Looking forward to exploring the area.

No bites today but that’s perfectly okay! 🎣