
Swoope Almanac, the Book
This is the place . . . Swoope. I wrote a book about it . . . Swoope Almanac, Stories of love, land, and water in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
This is the place . . . Swoope. I wrote a book about it . . . Swoope Almanac, Stories of love, land, and water in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
There is so much to be thankful for this year. The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled again in our favor against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, citing The Lorax, written in 1971 by Dr. Suess. This ruling and The Lorax made national news. Rare birds stopped by Swoope on...
Earth awakens from the cold during the month of March in America’s legendary Shenandoah Valley. Days lengthen, migrations begin, chloroplasts awaken and absorb the energy from the sun’s photons – photosynthesis begins….pastures slowly turn from brown to green. Life’s energy is on the move.
As we drove into the pasture with a half-ton bale of hay for the cows I saw a flock of perhaps thirty small birds fly in a tight pattern away from us.
Over the years they slowly disappeared. And then they were gone. I last saw a Loggerhead Shrike in Swoope in 2014. The Loggerhead Shrike is a “common bird” whose population is in “steep decline”. In this post, I will describe the bird, chronicle its population, report efforts to bring the...
This is a sifting of writings and ruminations for the year 2017:
I live in such a beautiful place – It’s mostly grasslands and forests. In some places, one cannot see another dwelling in any direction. On most mornings in September, mist hugs the hollows and heavy dew blankets the ground.
As summer moves closer to autumn it seems there are more native plants in the various riparian buffers we have around the farm. Butterfly weed, jewelweed, wingstem, purpletop, and many other plants are in bloom now. However; there are many invasive, non-native plants in bloom as well. Invasive Species Control...
June in Swoope, Virginia – The Headwaters of the Shenandoah River
Calving Season Begins March 1st Green grass emerges from its brown, dormant cloak of winter. Northern Harriers glide and teeter, close to the ground in search of anything that moves. In the vast grasslands of Swoope, Virginia, the headwaters of the Shenandoah River it’s voles they hunt. American Plum pushes...
“I have not met a more capable person than Bobby to explain, in understandable terms, the challenges we face in agriculture today and the opportunities before us to rise above them.
This book is a must-read for anyone concerned about the Chesapeake Bay and how best to work constructively with farmers to chart a sustainable path forward.”
Atlantic Coast Pipeline . birding . calving . carbon farming . cattle . Chesapeake Bay . Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week . Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint . Chesapeake Bay Foundation . chesapeake clean water blueprint . clean water . Clean Water Act . Climate Change . Conservation Reserve Program . contour planting . CREP . dead zones . Earth Day . EPA . Friends of Middle River . hydrofracking . livestock exclusion . Middle River . native prairie . non-point source water pollution . Northern Bobwhite . pollution . Princess of Swoope . quail . riparian buffer . riparian forest buffer . riparian forest buffers . Shenandoah River . soil erosion . stream fencing . Stroud Water Research Center . swoope . Swoope almanac . tall fescue . tmdl . Virginia working landscapes . water pollution . water quality . Whiskey Creek Angus . wildlife habitat
© 2022 · Whitescarver Natural Resources Management LLC site powered by The Downstream Project