Hurricane Florence was waiting in the wings as we met at the Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve.   Despite all the work they had preparing for the storm, Park Ranger, Billy Harkness, offered us the opportunity to learn more about our native trees (did you know the longleaf pine has a tap root that is especially deep and thus protects the trees in strong wind?)  He also shared with us taxidermy of animals and birds native to the Sandhills and how they fit into our ecology.   It was a rainy day but we got so much out of the presentation.    It’s always important to learn how important fire is to preserving our environment.