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There are so many great articles in the pages of The Laurel Magazine, sometimes you want to read them again. You won’t miss a thing. Use these helpful search parameters and find just what you’re looking for about Highlands, NC and Cashiers, NC.
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Unwinding the Mystery Ball
We enjoy historical accounts of the activities, construction, and commerce on the Plateau over the decades, but what were Highlands’ youngsters doing while adults were building roads, launching businesses, and saving the forests? In his “Heart of the Blue Ridge,” Ran Shaffner shares a kid story passed along by his wife, Margaret. Ran writes, “Children in Highlands found a number …
Who Was Zeb Alley?
Beginning at the Old Cashiers School Road, there is an intersecting road known as Zeb Alley Road. It runs westerly and about half way between Cashiers and Whiteside Cove was the home of Zeb Alley, his wife Cora Davis Alley, and their children. Zebulon Barak Alley was born on November 11, 1862, at the old Alley house in Whiteside Cove …
Chair Caning
It doesn’t matter where you’re from, I can guarantee your grandmother had a caned or woven chair of some kind. You may even have one of your own that has been passed down through the generations. These chairs are often considered rustic and old fashioned, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The art of chair caning isn’t dying. …
Mountain Wildlife Days
Nowadays it seems like the easiest way to get to know your local wildlife is to overfill a bird feeder or leave your trash out overnight. Sure, you can witness raccoons tearing up your feeder or bears dragging your garbage around the neighborhood, but no one wins with this gambit, especially the animals. Your easier and wiser option is to …
A Scotland Golf Trip to Remember
My son John and a group from California and Texas just got back from a great trip to Scotland. Here’s what he had to say about the trip: “This was the first trip to Scotland for 3 of our 4 golfers, and it was a fantastic experience from start to finish. We were greeted at the Glasgow airport by Roddy, …
A Deep and Dazzling Darkness
You know the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau is the home to unique, not-to-be-missed natural wonders – the waterfalls springing from nearly every rocky feature, the astonishing botanical diversity, and, if we’re going to get granular, the variety of salamanders wriggling through the underbrush. But there’s one feature, nearly unparalleled in the Southeast, you’ll find here that’s ignored by way too many people. …
Differential Grasshopper
This grasshopper has distinguishing chevron stripes on its ‘thighs’. The black pattern is not unique to this species, but it is rare to see on other grasshoppers. Their back legs also have spines on them. They have short, horned antennae and produce a buzzing noise by rubbing their hind wings against their forewings. Their tan and black coloring helps them …
Summer Begins. So Does the Fun.
As the summer begins, so does the fun at the Highlands Biological Station. Stroll our Botanical Garden for a look at plants native to the Highlands Plateau, walk around the lake for a beautiful view and swing by the Nature Center to say hello to our turtles, snakes and frogs. No trip to Highlands is complete without a visit to …
June Peonies
Peonies are a lot like potato chips. It’s almost impossible to have just one. The Peony is from the genus Paeonia – the only genus from the Paeoniceae family, and there are over 30 known species. They grow upwards to three-and-a-half feet, and completely die back during the fall season. According to Greek Mythology, Asclepius as the Greek god of …
This Winged wonder Sings Arias
Sparrows are specialized seed-eaters that abound in the mountains of Western North Carolina, throughout the Western Hemisphere and worldwide. American Sparrows include scores of species, counting within the family several species of Towhee, Junco and the Lark Bunting. Yes, surprisingly, towhees are sparrows. The Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a year-rounder here in WNC, although some winter to the south …
Blue Linin’
Because of its geographic location, the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau is located on the southern edge of where trout can survive. Even though we sit high atop a mountain, our summers can still get pretty warm. Off the mountain, at lower elevations where most of the bigger rivers are, it is even warmer…sometimes by eight or 10 degrees. What does this mean …
Pickelsimer Falls
Picklesimer Falls is not as grand as the vistas from Whiteside Mountain or the three-tiered cascading Glenn Falls, but it has a charm of its own, nestled a half mile off the road in Blue Valley. Like many waterfalls in Western North Carolina, visitors can walk behind the falls while surrounded by a giant natural amphitheater of rock. The Falls …
