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His works, in newspaper
columns and a book “From Hawks to Hummingbirds: Close Encounters with
birds of the North Carolina Coastal Plain,” revealed the magic that
lives all about us, in the trees, in the water, in the tall grasses.
He left behind countless
photographs of the North Carolina wild. And using the native woods of the
coastal plain, he honed handcrafted fish that would adorn museum displays.
His love of nature came
simply, courtesy of a willing heart, a razor-sharp mind and a good
reporter’s eye.
In his book, Trail summed
up his love for nature simply: “The more you watch, the curiouser things
become.”
When it came to looking
at nature, Paris Trail was a friendly neighborhood gossip, following the
comings and goings and chitchat of his furry and feathered neighbors.
If they knew what he was
doing, they didn’t seem to mind.
He wrote of one-eyed
hummingbirds, wild turkeys who watch TV and an osprey who shared a nest
with a parakeet.
For those who think
nature boring, read this racy passage from one of his columns about a new
ruby-throated hummingbird nest: “The two eggs have hatched and the
female is busy feeding her young,” Trail wrote. “The male is a
carefree batchelor-type and takes no part in nest building or raising the
family. He just spends his time chasing after females and sipping
nectar.”
Trail, a former Cornell
University photographer, made nature his passion.
But beyond the pictures,
carvings and knowledge Paris Trail left behind, there are words of caution
about the state of our environment, words as powerful as those of other
gifted nature writers—Henry David Thoreau or Rachel Carson or the
Albemarle’s own Jan DeBlieu.
For Trail, who had hoped
to die in the 2000-acre forest adjacent to his home, the words ring with a
resonance for the future, a powerful legacy of love for all nature’s
handiwork.
“The human race
desperately needs the next generation to be interested, knowledgeable and
concerned about the deteriorating quality of our environment,” Trail
wrote. “If it is not, and we continue to pollute and poison our water
and air as we and our predecessors have done, we may find that having
driven other species to extinction, we are not sacred and immune as a
species ourselves. We won’t destroy the Earth. Mother Earth will simply
take a few million years to rid herself of poisons and will start over
again, crossing out intelligence as a viable option.”
 When folks pass from this
life, the living light candles or bring flowers or cook casseroles.
Perhaps the best way to honor Paris Trail is a walk through the woods, in
silence, while nature does the talking.
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