On Monday, a legislative committee is supposed to act on House Bill 628, Protect/Promote NC Lumber, which mandates that state government construction projects adopt a building code that treats timber equally, which would put more North Carolina timber to use in the state. Former Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan write about that means in a piece we received too late to print before Monday.

Scientists conducting experiments at Duke Forest reveal how a warming climate affects even the smallest woodland creatures. Read more about it here.

Hidden in the middle of Schenck Forest, half a mile down the dirt trail, there's a tiny black mailbox on a post – looking way out of place.

There's no reason for a mailbox deep in these woods off Reedy Creek Road, which are filled with practice trees for N.C. State University's forestry students.

But every time I pass it, there's a single piece of paper tucked inside, left there by a mysterious hiker who happened to be carrying a ballpoint pen. Today, the crumpled note offered this sentiment to passers-by: "Of course, there's always love."

There's also a lizard, a toad and a dragonfly.