Topic: Amy Wallace

A review of the 2009 Haunting History Tours at Dunbar Cave

By Debbie Boen | October 24, 2009 |

Once again Haunting History was a great success. Haunting History just finished its tenth year of performing skits inside the cave and bringing the public in to see them. The dreariness of Friday’s weather did not stop 205 people from coming to go into the cave. Saturday brought 341 people. We had the event earlier in the month than usual because studies by APSU show that the Dunbar Cave bats begin their hibernation right on/around October 31. Two weeks earlier is a safer time to be making noise in the cave.

The Roxy Regional School of the Arts gave us 11 actors to do our three skits in the cave with Brendan Cataldo as their director. The Roxy Theatre also gave us a delightful gatekeeper.

The 2009 Haunting History Tour Actors

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Wandering at Dunbar Cave

By Dunbar Cave State Natural Area | October 11, 2009 |

Fall is a wonderful time to roam around Dunbar Cave State Natural Area (always staying on the trails, of course!) You will notice the progression of plants you saw earlier in the year, moving from flower to seed. In an earlier article, you saw the Swamp Milkweed (pink ballerina flowers) growing along the lake. Now we see the pods formed by those flowers – green, pointed, holding hundreds of future plants. They are not yet to the point of splitting open and showing the parachute seeds typical of milkweeds.

Swamp Milkweed Pods

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What’s going on at the Dunbar Cave

By Dunbar Cave State Natural Area | September 13, 2009 |

What’s going on at Dunbar Cave is an occasional piece written by Park Interpreter Amy Wallace

Does anyone remember the old song about picking up paw paws, putting them in your pocket, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch? You can find the famous paw paws at Dunbar Cave right now, as well as at other places– and if you beat the possums to them, taste one – kind of like a sickly sweet very ripe banana. How do you know if one is ripe? Shake the tree (and duck) – if they fall off, they are ripe. Some people make breads and puddings from the pulp. We prefer to leave them for the possums and other creatures that need them for food. The leaves of pawpaw trees are also neat – they smell like green peppers.

Pawpaw fruits

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What’s going on at Dunbar Cave

By Dunbar Cave State Natural Area | August 2, 2009 |

What’s going on at Dunbar Cave is an occasional piece written by Park Interpreter Amy Wallace

Flowers that are blooming now include Swamp Milkweed, a pink ballerina-looking flower that can be found at the edge of the lake; Ironweed, a rich deep purple flower with a stem that can reach 9 feet or more; Orange Coneflower, found in one spot along the lake shore (looks a lot like a black-eyed Susan); Creeping Primrose, a yellow flower that actually grows in the water at the edge of the lake; Wild Sensitive Plant, that looks like a small mimosa tree, has small yellow flowers; Tick Trefoil, with three leaflets and a pealike lavender or pink flower (this will later have the brown triangular seeds that stick all over your clothes); and Tall Bellflower, with blue flowers, found growing near the rock walls on the way to the cave.

Clematis fruit

We also have the fruits of flowers from earlier in the summer – the alien looking fruit of the Wild Clematis and the round green ball (will turn dark purple later) that is the fruit of the Yellow Passion Flower.

Our crayfish are coming out onto the banks of the lake and making chimneys to hide while they shed their exoskeleton and the new one hardens. «Read the rest of this article»

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What’s going on at Dunbar Cave

By Dunbar Cave State Natural Area | May 30, 2009 |

What’s going on at Dunbar Cave is an occasional piece written by Park Interpreter Amy Wallace

We did our last school group yesterday. It was a fun time, considering we had to slog through four to five inches of mud to get through the first room of the cave. The heavy rain we had the weekend of Mother’s Day flooded the first room of the cave and halfway into the first passageway, depositing sticky slippery clay mud. On that Saturday morning, the water was up to chin height (estimate, we didn’t wade in to see exactly how high it was).

While I was sitting at the cave entrance waiting for a group one day, I saw an Eastern Phoebe feeding her young at the nest at the cave entrance and a Carolina Wren flying to a nest in the window of the old concession stand. «Read the rest of this article»

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Dunbar Cave’s Spring Fling: Celebrating nature, wildlife and outdoor exploration

By Debbie Boen | May 8, 2009 |

The annual Spring Fling, a celebration of nature, wildlife and outdoor exploration, will be held at Dunbar Cave State Natural Area on Saturday, May 9th, rain or shine. All activities begin at the visitor center and are free of charge. The start times of some programs may overlap, and children must be supervised by an adult at all times. Donations accepted. Food, Tee shirts, and membership to Friends of Dunbar Cave can be purchased during the day. «Read the rest of this article»

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Tromping through the woods at the Dunbar Cave State Natural Area

By Dunbar Cave State Natural Area | April 23, 2009 |

The park Interpreter went on a tromp on Monday, April 20, a nice sunny but fairly cool day. (A tromp is when you get off the trail and roam around, which visitors cannot do – (sorry, only park employees are allowed to do it!). Here are her observations.

Purple Larkspur

Many flowers are blooming – more and more every year. The best right now are the Fire Pink, bright red splashes of color on the hillside above the lake; Dwarf Crested Iris, the small blue and yellow flowers that grow in patches on the hillside, patches that are getting larger every year; and the Violet Wood Sorrel, lavender trumpets with a yellow throat and leaves which look like shamrocks. This is a great year for the wood sorrel, it seems to be everywhere. We also have shooting star, larkspur, and spring beauty, among others.

Of course, things change every day – I swear that there were flowers out in the afternoon that were not  there in the morning. Most of our flowers are more plentiful every year (as long as no one picks them) – some have disappeared, either due to habitat change or human destruction, but those are the minority. «Read the rest of this article»

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Dunbar Cave ramps up for the spring season

April 14, 2009 |

This month’s business meeting for the Friends of Dunbar Cave will be held Thursday evening at 6:00pm, at the Dunbar Cave Visitor Center. The meeting will likely consist of going over all the details required to pull off Spring Fling. They have plenty to discuss. The meeting will also likely touch on Cooling at the Cave;  as it is right around the corner. If you are not yet a member of this organization you are welcome to attend the meeting, become a member, and to become more involved!

The Friends of Dunbar Cave are also preparing for their 10th annual trees to trails effort.  Volunteers will be spreading the mulch generated from donated Christmas trees on the trails around the state natural area, between 9am and 12pm on Saturday April 25th, the first Saturday after Earth day. «Read the rest of this article»

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