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February’s Wild Edible: Fiddlehead Ferns

In decades and centuries past, settlers in these mountains consumed what they called the fiddleheads of ferns. But just what is a fiddlehead?

November’s Blue Ridge Mountain Apple Profile: The York

The York, also known as the York Imperial, originated – logically enough – in York, Pennsylvania, in the early 1800s.

October’s Blue Ridge Mountain Apple Profile: Roxbury Russet

The Roxbury, which ripens in September and October depending on elevation, rarely makes appearances even in country stores these days as it is decidedly not a “pretty apple” by modern standards of beauty.

January’s Wild Edible: Cattails

Cattails are native plants throughout the Blue Ridge.

Birds of the Blue Ridge: White-breasted Nuthatch

This “pointy” little bird announces itself with a distinctive nasal “honk.”

Current Issue

Christmas fern fiddleheads are not edible and can be toxic.

February’s Wild Edible: Fiddlehead Ferns

In decades and centuries past, settlers in these mountains consumed what they called the fiddleheads of ferns. But just what is a fiddlehead?
York apples are a traditional Blue Ridge Mountains variety.

November’s Blue Ridge Mountain Apple Profile: The York

The York, also known as the York Imperial, originated – logically enough – in York, Pennsylvania, in the early 1800s.
Kirk Billingsley tasting cider at his Big Fish Cider business in Highland County, Virginia.

October’s Blue Ridge Mountain Apple Profile: Roxbury Russet

The Roxbury, which ripens in September and October depending on elevation, rarely makes appearances even in country stores these days as it is decidedly not a “pretty apple” by modern standards of beauty.
Clay Morris examining a cattail in a Shenandoah Valley pond.

January’s Wild Edible: Cattails

Cattails are native plants throughout the Blue Ridge.
15b5d9ea-b312-11ef-8894-12163087a831-White-breasted-Nuthatch-5---photo-by-Mike-Blevins

Birds of the Blue Ridge: White-breasted Nuthatch

This “pointy” little bird announces itself with a distinctive nasal “honk.”
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Departments

Vibrant Monarch butterfly clings to its translucent dew covered cocoon
Creature Feature

Monarch Mimickers

It’s easy to mistake other orange species for the king of fall butterflies.

August 26, 2026
At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

June 29, 2026
©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

June 29, 2026

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