7/23/2021 | 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.
Birch is among the top three keystone tree species in the mid-Atlantic region. If you're familiar with the Duke Farms Distance Learning Portal, you might know a bit about the other two species: oak and cherry. Oaks support 557 species of Lepidoptera caterpillars, more than any other plant in the region. Coming in at a close second are the cherries, which support 414 species of butterflies and moths. The third is the birch, which supports 357 species of moths and butterflies. If your landscape includes just these three kinds of trees, you could easily boast that your yard is a wildlife sanctuary - no matter where you live.