Nature Blog Network

The American South, as a regional entity, engenders a strange mix of reactions throughout the rest of the nation and world.  Sure, the south has it’s problems, especially with regard to the health, well-being, and education of many of its residents, its retro attitudes towards social issues and its oft bizarre preoccupation with a victorian era war betwixt the states, but how can you deny the positive things the South has wrought?  This, after all, is the region that brought us Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, whose naturalist pedigree included none other than Alexander Wilson and John Bachman, into whose fetid swamps roamed John James Audubon himself.  And I challenge you to come up with a more profound cultural tradition than the over 100 varieties of barbecue from Arkansas to the Outer Banks of North Carolina!

The nature, by which I mean the outdoors rather than the disposition, of the American South is beautiful too, from stately spanish moss strewn trees to the winter resorts of thousands of migrant birds.  Despite these riches, there are only a few nature blogs that cover the deep south.  I purposefully excluded blogs from Florida and my home state of North Carolina, as I’ve covered them both in the past.  Both are large states with significant nature blog communities.  This time, I wanted to let the less populous and blogged-about states have the floor.

Great Smoky Mts, photo from wikipedia

Without further ado…

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- I’m a big fan of those few bloggers whose visuals include sketches rather than the more popular photography.  Blogs like Middlewood Journal, based in South Carolina, add a wonderful element to the community and are loads of fun to read.  While I can occasionally back into a good photo, a good sketch is beyond my skill set.  Helen’s are lovely, and have me very jealous.

- That doesn’t mean photos aren’t appreciated either!  JSK of Anybody Seen My Focus? takes a mean photo, especially of flowers and bugs that populate her north Georgis stomping grounds.

- Part of being an informed birder is taking advantage of all the literature that’s out there.  But how do you know which is worth your time?  Fortunately Grant of The Birder’s Library, based in Georgia, is on the case with full reviews and links to any bird book you could want.

- Just for you Vickie, I’m including Tennessee.   Vickie Henderson Art is the spot to check out Vickie’s latest watercolor creations, as well as the birds that inspire her in eastern Tennessee.

- Also from east Tennessee comes nature calling, the blog of naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales is as filled with interesting tidbits as you’d expect in a blog maintained by a professional naturalist

- North Alabama based Rurality is a nature blog community favorite, with her fine photography, interesting insights, and funny stories of life out of town.

- One taxa that the South has in spades that other, less warm, parts of the continent miss out on are herps.  Our hot summers and mild winters are perfect for a fine diversity of reptiles and amphibians.  Herp lovers will enjoy the Alabama PARC blog, the official site of the Alabama Partners in Reptile and Amphibian Conservation.

- Based out of, but certainly not limited to, South Carolina, Natural Imagery is the site of professional photographer Clay Bolt.  Not only is his work, especially his bug shots, exemplary, but his documentation of some great reclamation projects on the Carolina coast is fascinating.

- Globe trotting nature blogger David Ringer has finally anchored himself in Mississippi, and we southerners are better for his inclusion in our ranks.  His blog, Search and Serendipity, is primarily about birds but David rarely misses an opportunity to enjoy the rest of nature’s bounty.  It’s simply one of the best, from both a writing and photography standpoint, you could ask for.

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I likely missed some, as those bloggers from the American South who don’t list their locations in their description, are nearly impossible to find if they don’t let me know they’d like to be included. Let that be a lesson nature bloggers!

For next week, I’m interested in blogs about Rocks, not just blogs that rock (though the two may not be mutually exclusive), but nature blogs that are concerned entirely, or even just occasionally, on matters of a geological persuasion and how it relates to nature. So send me your links, folks!  To naswick (at) gmail (dot) com.

Til next week!