Nature

Primitive elegance
Complex compound
Realistic implications

Like many terms, the word nature encompasses a plurality of meanings. Shifting priorities, styles, moods, and ideologies render concepts fluid through time. The most significant distinction involves humans as being either part of nature or completely separate.

“It is not sufficient that every science be digested into a separate system; – every particular branch ought to be adapted to the whole, and all of them collectively applied to the use and benefit of mankind.” – Friedrich Nicolai

Water droplets
Reflection refraction dispersion
Spectrum of light

Ephemeral rainbows appear suddenly and in their infrequency activate inner feelings of intrinsic enchantment.

“We paused and moved again in languid fits, and it went on like that, advancing and sitting, until the tempests left and the overcast passed us; then the sun appeared, and a rainbow arched behind us.” – Milan Sime Martinic

Fossil beach
Shoreline tree
Coastal estuary

Straddling the brackish water’s edge, this sandy soil station seems an unlikely location for such an isolated tree.

“Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things.” – Vera Nazarian

Waterfront venue
Historic setting
Perfect locale

Some things persist. The most ancient Live Oak trees in existence on the Outer Banks are estimated to be between several hundred to over a thousand years old. This one is located on the picturesque Whalehead Club grounds along the Currituck Sound in Historic Corolla.

“Visitors stroll among live oaks that are considerably taller and fatter than when the Knights planted them.” – Bryan Mims

Puissance materialization
Atmospheric phenomena
Ethereal expression

A powerful and exhilarating storm rapidly rolls-in from the west with shifting wind and intense ferocity. Emotional, psychological, and spiritual transposition emanate from the imposing cloud formations.

“Of all the things on earth, nature’s disruption is what we know we can depend on, as it is essentially uncontrolled by men.” – Criss Jami

Stretching limbs
Secrets to divulge
Deciduous evergreen

Curious and impressive in appearance, the Outer Banks barrier islands are home to many live oaks. Draping low with twisted limbs and rugged bark, they flourish in the inexorable maritime forest conditions.

“Steadfastly spreading their limbs, they twist and turn to get the most fortuitous sunlight and find their place on this sometimes harsh and unpredictable island.” – Rita Thiel

Distinct ecosystem
Biologically diverse
Hydric soil

A wild and generally inaccessible wetland does an excellent job of biological diversity support, water storage and purification, carbon and nutrient processing, and shoreline stabilization.

“When I would recreate myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most impenetrable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp. I enter a swamp as a sacred place, a sanctum sanctorum.” – Henry David Thoreau

Brilliant colors
Air so fresh
Life renewed

Emerging to greet the warming sun, new leaves begin to appear and cover traces of yesterday.

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” – John Muir

Winding waterway
Along shorelines
Marine grasses

Life reciprocates with the physical environment. Over millions of years, evolving species learn how to survive through varying existential conditions. Supporting rich environmental biodiversity on the sound side of the Outer Banks, much of the shoreline is bordered by prolific marsh grass.

“The habitats formed by seagrasses are home to many different creatures that make it a complex ecosystem.” – Aimee Lee

Condition response
Geologic transgression
Fluctuating infrastructure

The false impression of stability has little effect on sea encroachment. Obviously certain environmental circumstances are extremely dynamic.

“ The barrier islands undergo continual change in position. Because oceanic overwash plays an essential role in this process, an unbalanced situation is developing wherever artificial barrier dunes have been built.” – Robert Dolan