9/16/2021 | This resource was created by Joanne Vogel and Kate Reilly.
Summertime will sizzle on the Duke Farms Distance Learning Portal through an eclectic array of environmental topics that feature the sights, sounds, and smells of this sensational season as was artistically captured in Dunbar’s historical work. We hope that you are inspired to find your own nature-based adventures and create reflections and memories to last a lifetime.
Summer in the South
The Oriole sings in the greening grove
As if he were half-way waiting,
The rosebuds peep from their hoods of green,
Timid, and hesitating.
The rain comes down in a torrent sweep
And the nights smell warm and pinety,
The garden thrives, but the tender shoots
Are yellow-green and tiny.
Then a flash of sun on a waiting hill,
Streams laugh that erst were quiet,
The sky smiles down with a dazzling blue
And the woods run mad with riot.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, born in 1872, is the author of numerous collections of poetry and prose.
He is one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition.
What's beautiful, orange, and flutters about? You may be thinking of a monarch butterfly and you're not way off... have you heard of the great spangled fritillary? This butterfly has a similar wingspan to the monarch, ~3 inches. It also boasts elaborate orange and black patterns and nectars on milkweed. There's 14 fritillary species throughout the US, but the great spangled fritillary is the most abundant and widespread. They're active from mid-June to mid-September and are a gorgeous sight to behold in the landscape.