They're Only Found In Coastal North Carolina

Venus's Flytraps, that is.

And only in a small strip of coastal North Carolina, at that - - the area right around the NC-SC border up to the Wilmington area and a little beyond. Only place in the world that they are found.

They are regularly poached and sold to plant fanciers; even a carnivorous plant garden in Wilmington was hit, with over $10,000 worth of plants taken. So it's now a felony in NC to poach them.

A Century Later...

...nature reclaims the battlefields of WWI.

This'll Pucker Your Sphincter

"Daredevils perform stunts on Troll's Tongue in Norway – in pictures."

Troll's Tongue - - Trolltunga, in Norwegian - - is a famous rock outcropping with a breathtaking view of a fjord below it.

Here's a sample pic. Click the link for the rest of them:

More Information About NC Carnivorous Plants

Story.

Imagine walking into a field in Brunswick County and suddenly you realize you're surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of rare Venus' flytraps. And then you find out you're in one of the only places on earth where this is possible.

Newcomers are often surprised when they find out that the Wilmington area is ground zero for native Venus' flytraps, especially in the Green Swamp Preserve in Brunswick County. Draw a 100-mile radius around the Port City and you'll find the highest concentration of the fragile carnivorous plants in the world, said Sara Babin, conservation coordinator at the ecological group Nature Conservancy.

While the Green Swamp has a large population of flytraps, you can also find them growing wild in areas from Onslow County down to Horry County, S.C.

"Wherever there's nitrogen-poor swampy soil and the right sunlight in this area, you can find Venus' flytraps in their natural habitat," Babin said.

A North Carolina Sort of Crime

More than a thousand Venus' Flytraps stolen from Alderman Park in Wilmington, NC.

It's pretty much uniquely a NC crime because the flytraps are native to this part of world, and nowhere else. The plants, each worth $20, total up to a $20,000 crime. Other carnivorous plants such as sundews and pitcher plants were also taken.

What a Picture

Trolltunga - - Troll's Tongue - - Norway.



With the vertigo that I suffer I'm afraid you'd never get me up there; it's absolutely gorgeous though, isn't it?

Leave Them Flytraps Alone!

A family of Venus Flytrap poachers has been arrested in Brunswick County, NC.

Three people from Shallotte were arrested on charges of poaching Venus flytraps from a nature conservancy in Brunswick County as authorities found 200 of these rare plants pulled from the ground Monday.

The accused poachers were arrested Monday after staff from the N.C. Division of Forest Resources notified the Nature Conservancy’s Wilmington office about suspicious behavior in the Green Swamp Preserve, one of the last bastions of naturally-growing Venus flytraps worldwide.

They only grow in the coastal plain of NC and SC. Only place in the entire world.

I remember giving a book report on insectivorous plants back in 5th grade in Catholic school. Had to get up in front of the class to deliver it, and I was so enthusiastic about the subject that the teacher called the principal, Sister Trinita, to hear me give the lecture over again.

You Have To Be a Bit Squirrely To Love a Giant Acorn

The giant acorn sculpture that is a symbol of Raleigh, North Carolina, is being repaired and spiffed up for its New Year's Eve appearance.

It needed repair after tornadoes visited NC in April did some damage.

A Squirrel's Fantasy Home.

Electrifying Pokeweed

That ubiquitous weed in your back yard is capable of playing a part in generating carbon-neutral electricity.

In the case of poke, I guess you can have your electricity...and eat it, too.

The Icy Finger of DEATH!

We interrupt this holiday from blogging to bring you the Icy Finger of DEATH!!!111!!1ONE!!!!11!

Tell me that doesn't remind you of the scene from The Ten Commandments where the "hand of God" comes down to kill the firstborn of Egypt.


h/t Radley Balko.

Oh, Wow.

Check out these pics of an underwater cavern complex in the Ural Mountains of Russia:



There's also video at the link.

I'm using this one as my new desktop image. Magnificent.

This One Sounds a Bit Suspicious

"Unlucky for some: Lightning strikes 13-year-old boy at 13:13 on Friday the 13th."

Take it with a shaker grain of salt.

Ansel Adams Photograph Sells For $722,000

Clearing Winter Storm, which is arguably his most famous photograph:

Peppered Sea Turtle Nests

An inventive way to keep the eggs of sea turtles safe from predators.

Damn, I Hate Habanero Peppers.

Scientists: Grow American Chestnut Trees To Fight Global Warming

Never mind that the American Chestnut has been virtually extinct for the last century.



Planting American Chestnut trees is a worthy endeavor, however. The nuts are sweeter and tastier than imported nuts, the wood was valuable for the furniture industry, and the nuts were relied on my many species of animals throughout the Appalachians.

Snowflakes As You've Never Seen Them

Story.

Great Smoky Mountains Elk Herd Thriving

Story.

Something of a success story. Elk went extinct in the area a century ago, and were re-introduced into the park in 2001.

UK Guardian: Aurora Borealis Gallery

Ten lovely photographs.

Starlings Swoop Over UK's Brighton Pier

A yearly tradition.

Nonsense, There's One Right Over There

Pygmy Tarsiers aren't as extinct as once thought.

I mean they were tiny little things, and I forgot my eyeglasses that day, and...