"I had always looked at the wilderness as a beautiful and exciting place to be, a place that brought me great joy, gave me a career, and even brought my lifemate and bride Pam to me. But now the fact that these very same wild woods might have taken the life of one so innocent was tearing my heart out. I found myself down on my knees, begging for the life of someone I had never laid eyes on. How in the world could this magical place turn so ugly?" --Cloudland, April 29, 2001

"Even though I was mentally drained and physically exhausted, sleep came slow for me. So many images kept racing through my head, none of them pretty. And then I realized that someone downstairs was crying. It was Kelly (Haley's mom), the only one among us that had remained solid as a rock through all of this terrible ordeal. Pure granite she was, and I could not believe how in the world she could have held up so well for so long.    But she had finally had enough, and it was all coming to the surface." --Cloudland, April 30, 2001

Click here for chapters one through four in The Search For Haley book

4/1/03 All I can say is that when I left the cabin my wife was in the hot tub, naked as a jay bird, and when I called to check in later a guy answered the phone and identified himself as the phone man. He told me that we "really needed to talk," and that he was going to leave both his cell and home phone numbers, and that I should call him as soon as I got home. Boy, that will teach me to go hiking and leave my wife in the hot tub! (This is NOT an April Fools joke!)

When I got home it was me that wanted to kiss the phone man - he brought us our long-awaited DSL service!!!!!!! Well, actually he brought out the DSL modem and hooked up all the necessary equipment and did the wiring - there was a problem somewhere "up the line" and so he never could get the service to work, but it is just great knowing it WILL work at some point soon, hopefully today or tomorrow.

Like most people, I have complained about the phone company, and especially about the lack of support and horrible customer service with our new "local" phone company (I don't have any idea where they are located - our little local company was bought out by a big one, which is when all the problems began). The guy who was here yesterday was indeed local, and we could not have asked for better service - in fact, this guy went way beyond the regular call of duty to see that we were all set up and working - the glitch in the system was far beyond his control. I mean, how many phone repair guy have you ever had leave their cell phone and home phone numbers! When I told him it was dangerous to leave his home number, he told me that he considered that part of his job to answer any questions we may have, no matter what time of day or night.

The customer service at the parent phone company is still lousy - when I called in yesterday to inquire about the new service (I had met the lineman out on the main road and knew that they were connecting the DSL lines), they informed me that they would "mail" me an application form and that there was a long waiting list and it would be awhile before I would get my service. I have been calling them for months about this, so I was livid about being at the end of a long waiting list. Thank goodness for the local folks at Tri-County Phone Company who at that time were already here hooking up the new equipment! I am still a little bit amazed that we will be able to get high-speed internet connection way out here in the sticks while many good-sized towns still don't have it yet.

OK, enough shop talk.

The wind howled and pounded us all night long. It was a spectacular-clear sky with millions of stars out, but I was afraid to go outside and look at them for fear of being blown away. Not a cloud in the sky at first light today, and the temp is supposed to climb rapidly. I've got another trail to go hike later, so the temp and sunshine will fell great.

Two other quick notes about yesterday. First, my lovely bride was in the hot tub in the middle of the day at my urging. She had been out all morning cutting out brush from around two little peach trees over near the orchard. These are the "wild" peach trees that have come up in the middle of some really thick brush, and we thought it would help them to grow if we gave them some breathing room. Somehow she messed up her neck and was in a great deal of pain (I know, I know, I am a real pain in the neck to her!), so she went into the hot tub to get some relief.

And the second thing is that I forgot to post one photo from the Round Top Mountain hike yesterday. There was a little trail that branched off from the main trail and went up to the base of the big bluff and then over to a tunnel in the bluff. I love taking photos from the inside out, so wanted to share this one with you.

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SPRING COLOR REPORT. Just like in the fall, I will try to update you with the progress of springtime up here in the Ozarks. Right now the serviceberry trees are still out but on the way out.. Redbuds are coming on quickly, and I suspect that by this weekend it will be grand redbud viewing. No dogwoods out yet, but they are not far behind - perhaps in another week. The overall view of the forest is still mostly brown, although there are beginning to be some green tinges showing up, and some individual big oaks are already starting the leafing out process. If we don't get any more cold weather, I suspect the main "leaf-out" period will be just a little bit early, and the forest will explode with color (I hope you can follow all of these new words that I am creating). Now, if we could just get some RAIN to go with that!!!

I made a quick trip up to Eureka Springs to hike the Lake Leatherwood Trail. This is a hidden treasure, both the lake and the great hiking trail. It is a four-mile trail that loops around the lake, highlighted by hillsides of wildflowers, and a crossing right on top of at one time was the largest hand-quarried dam in the world. I built the trail a number of years ago for the City of Eureka Springs, and since then they have made significant improvements to the facilities, and added a bunch of other trails. The trails are all open to mountain bikes too.

The sunshine and heavy winds were both in ample supply as I made my way around the lake. When I got to this near stone dam, I was met with quite a surprise. There was a large drilling rig sitting right on top of the dam, and right in the middle of the dam - the trail follows a narrow three-feet wide corridor along the top of the dam, and the drilling rig was blocking everything. There was no one around, no closure or danger signs, no nothing. There really was no way around the dam other than to turn around and go back - I was not about to do that.

After some close inspection I decided that it might be possible to crawl under the drilling rig. I had to take off my fanny pack to make it through, and wound up with cuts and lots of mud, but I finally emerged on the other side of the rig. It was sort of odd crawling along the limestone surface, past the bore hole and drill bit that was in it, looking up and realizing that the rig probably weighed several tons. I was confident that it would not choose that moment to come tumbling down on me.

Once I escaped from the rig, I continued to hike across the top of the dam. My pace quickened when I noticed a burly drilling-rig sort of man emerge from a white trailer just off of the far end of the dam ahead of me - he was looking at me and did not look too pleased. I just kept right on hiking, pushing this bright orange measuring wheel in front of me. I guess he decided that I was not a threat to the project, or a spy with some environmental group, because he turned around and went back into the trailer.

I continued my trip around the lake and back to the main park where there is a campground, picnic area, child play area, swimming area, dock, and bathhouse, plus a few tiny rental cabins. I did not bother with the rest of the trails in the park - they are mostly for bikers anyway. But I did pause for a moment right where the main trail exited the forest and came out next to campsite #18 - that is the very spot where I first laid eyes on Pam, and also the very spot where we got married just over two years ago. I told you this was a great trail!

When I got back to the cabin the wind was ripping things apart - trees, deck furniture, lots of things were blowing across the landscape and speeds above 50mph. And this breeze had a voice unlike any other we had heard out here before. Pam loves the wind, but even she got a little bit concerned about it. Soon after the sun went down so did the velocity, and all is well now once again. Tomorrow, the wind will blow me off to hike other trails once again - I just hope there are no drilling rigs in the way!

4/3/03 The wind kept me awake all night and I finally gave up on sleep and fired up the computer around 3am this morning. The wind has been about as LOUD as I have ever heard it out here, and quite angry sounding - I don't know what it could be upset about. When I got back from my hikes yesterday I noticed a very large piece of our log furniture from the deck (I cannot lift it myself) had been sent airborne by the wind and ended up in the flower bed, upside down!

I visited three trails yesterday that I had wanted to put into the trail guidebook update that I am working on. The first one was a nice five-mile loop around Lake Fayetteville, located between Fayetteville and Springdale. I laid out the original route a long time ago for the city - doing loops around lakes are really easy because your route is already selected for you by the lake! After the city got my plan (which I did for free), they went out and spent more than $30,000 to get another plan drawn up by some consulting firm in another state. They never changed a thing from my plan and the trail was eventually built utilizing boy scouts. That was the beginning of my looking for another place to live - so much money wasted.

The trail is used by tons of folks, but one important item was never built by the city - a bridge across the spillway of the lake. They had more than 70 grand in their pockets in the form of a grant at one time, and this among could have built quite an impressive bridge, but the city actually gave the money back to the state and never used it. When I was there yesterday I found the crossing of the spillway rather dangerous for many folks, and downright impossible during high water. Even the route to get around to a safer crossing was hazardous. So as much as I hate to say it, this trail flunked my test, and I have choose not to include it in the new guidebook. Not, at least, until the city of Fayetteville pulls their head out and takes cares of this serious situation.

The next trail on my list was the Tanyard Creek Trail in Bella Vista. I included this trail and waterfall along the way in the Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook. It is one of the best little trails in the state, and will be included in the new update. The only problem with this trail is that there are so many information plaques all along the route that it could take you hours and hours just to hike its two-mile length! There were tons of wildflowers along the route, and the waterfall was running great. I highly recommend this trail for anyone wanting an easy stroll.

Then I cruised on down south to Van Buren to investigate a trail that several folks had told me about. It too has a nice waterfall, but I did not get to take a look at it in time to include in the waterfall guidebook. The trailhead is almost hidden, and thank goodness I had directions to it. It is located at the Lee Creek Reservoir park just outside of Van Buren. There are actually three trails there, all short and easy, and two of them begin at the same point and run together for the first half mile.

I took the Crack-In-Rock Trail, which follows a neat little stream up to the waterfall. The canyon around the waterfall is very scenic, and part of the canyon wall is split nearby, or "cracked," forming a wonderful crevasse that you can climb down into (if you are REAL careful!). The entire area was a great surprise to me - tons of neat things to look at, and even a second waterfall nearby. Lots of moss-covered boulders and wildflowers everywhere. And unexpected treat!

Part of "The Crack" (423-598)

When I got home (I choose to ignore the log furniture in the flower bed) I was greeted with a nice sunset though the trees, and a working DSL internet connection (the two are not related, but they just seemed to go in the same sentence). It works great, and while it is not nearly as fast as I had hoped (still have to wait for pages to load), it is a far cry faster than the old dialup that we had been used to. THANK YOU TRI-COUNTY TELEPHONE! (I still have not received the promised return phone call from the Ritter Phone Company support staff that I placed several days ago, wherever they are located  - THANK GOODNESS for the local guys!!!)

Sunset yesterday (423-599)

Seems like we have at least a week's worth of chores to do here this morning before heading out the door once again for another program. (7pm in Russellville, Williamson Building on the Ark Tech campus - free and open to the public.) And while I have been sitting here at the computer contemplating all of the chores, daylight has begun to break. There are dark clouds swirling in the east, and patches of bright orange and red in-between. Those clouds are moving on at a pretty good clip, so the color show is in motion.

Something else that was in motion during the night, at least vocally, was the season's first CICADA. I laid in bed and though I was dreaming at first. This one dude spoke up for about 30 seconds, then got quiet. A minute later he sang out again. And then again. And again. It was always the same bug, and he seemed to be out there in the forest somewhere, not right next to the cabin. I could just barely hear him though the wind, but there was no mistaking that music. Seems kind of early for cicadas. (UPDATE: My wife informed me that I cannot tell my cicadas from my TREE FROGS!!!, which is what was actually singing...)

YIKES! The sun just popped up over that bank of black clouds and nearly blinded me! It is BRIGHT and intense. Looking the other direction out over the wilderness, I can see more dark clouds behind the still-mostly-brown hillsides that are all lit up by the rising sun - quite a stirring contrast. It is going to be a splendid day in the wilderness. Guess I had better get off of this computer and get to WORK!

BUT before I do, one more thing. Many of you already know that this is our regional NPR station's fund-raising week. Because of all the breaking new and stories about the war, they have scaled back their on-air activities dramatically at the station, which means they are not getting as much cash coming in. I would like to make a little plea right here and now for ANY of you that EVER listen to KUAF during the year for any reason - PLEASE give them a call (479-575-KUAF) or go to their web site (www.KUAF.com) and pay-up - it's the least you can do for all of the terrific programming that they do. I can't think of a harder working crew of professionals than those at KUAF - they all do it for the love of it, but they get very little public funding and really need the support of the listeners in order to continue with their high-quality programming. We listen to them every day, and are happy to support this terrific station. I hope you can too!

4/6/03We had a wonderful audience for the slide programs in Russellville the other night - 150 people in a 100-seat room. That always makes you fell good (I was only expecting 25 or 30 to show up). It is always great to see such a wide range of folks at these programs - young and old, city and country, fat wallets or none at all. I rather enjoy being able to share the great beauty of Arkansas with everyone, and lately being able to share cheap book prices too. The last program of the season will be on April 17th at the community college in Rogers - it is open to the public and there should be plenty of room for all.

We were on the road again on Friday, and when we finally arrived back at the cabin late, I collapsed and dug my head into the pillow - it was a very long week and five straight days in a row on the road with little "cabin" time. I absolutely love being here, and seldom find anyplace else where I would rather be. Coming home is vacation for me.

I will make one note about the wind - it blew nonstop for five days in a row, with speeds up to 50mph and above, and made a lot of noise. The decks were basically cleared of furniture - some of it remains in the yard because it is too heavy for me to handle. That wind is impressive when it wants to be. And despite all of that raw power, with one exception, we've only encountered one tree down across the road. The wind stopped by the time we got home on Friday night, and the silence was deafening.

We were supposed to spend the entire weekend buried in the computers - transcribing tapes, inputting GPS track info, scanning, drawing maps, and finally, writing the text. But my computer got the best of me yesterday morning, and I spent most of the day trying to come up with a work-around for it. By the time I had finally succeeded, I was wore out and ready to just go sit on the back deck and soak up some sunshine. Pam was busy in the front yard trying to get out waterfall system working - it has been down and out for the past week. She was successful, and by the end of the day we had moving water once again - the fish really appreciated that since their oxygen supply was getting low.

Last night the wind kicked up again, this time blowing in from the east - normally a sure sign that WEATHER is moving in. The weather channel shows the entire state RED today, which is supposed to mean heavy rain all day. We do have cloud cover this morning, and the wind has died down, but no rain to speak of yet. Oh, I take that back - the decks are wet (they were dry when I got up an hour ago), so something must be coming down a little bit now - YEA!

SPRING COLOR REPORT. The redbuds have popped and are quite nice, especially up and down the roadways and along the edges of open areas. There are still a few serviceberry trees in bloom, but most of them are in the process of leafing out. The sweet aroma of wild plums fill the air - it is an unmistakable delight that will stop you in your tracks. Some dogwoods are open half-way, and they are coming out mostly green instead of the brilliant white we are all used to. They will eventually turn  white. It will be another week before we see good dogwoods throughout the Ozarks, perhaps a little longer - depending on the weather. There are many big oaks and other trees beginning to leaf out some now - the overall scene out across the wilderness is taking on a green hue from the trees that are leafing out, but the overall color is still mostly brown - that will change quickly this week. Looks like spring is split right now - some things are just a little bit ahead of schedule, while others are a tad behind. All in all it looks like we are going to have one spectacular spring here in another week or two, a textbook springtime in the Ozarks, the finest season on earth!

Today I will dive back into the computer and re-hike all of the new trails - the info will flow into my ears from the tape recorder, blend with the visual impressions that remain in my brain, and be output to the page through my fingertips on the keyboard. Pam will draw the new maps. 37 pages of the book will have changes on them - some as little as a new area code. (I HATE it when they change the area codes - it cost me a lot of money to change even a single letter on a page! But that is the nature of the beast and I try not to complain as no one would listen.)

Just FYI, the new DSL line is working out great. And it's not just the speed that is nice, but also the fact that being online no longer ties up a phone line. We have three lines out here and you would think that would not be a problem, but it has been - do you tie up the main business line, the family line, or the fax line? And these days when I am doing research and lessons about Photoshop and digital photography in general, I tend to spend a lot more time online than ever before. One of these days I do plan to get back out into the wood and simply HIKE. But for the next several days, I will be glued to the monitor and the keyboard and the tape recorder. Come on RAIN!

On another FYI note, it seems there is a problem with our main server in Fayetteville, and the online storefront and all OHTA web pages have been down all weekend. I suspect one of their servers is down and needs to be re-booted, but unfortunately they don't work on weekends! All of this technology is great, when it works.

Wild turkey season started yesterday. Even in the years when I tried to hunt just about every day of the year, I never tried turkey hunting. I was told by many folks that once you get started with it, you won't be able to do anything else in the spring but think about turkey hunting. With so many other great things to do in April, I decided not to tempt fate.. Our turkey population in Arkansas has grown dramatically over the past decade, thanks entirely to hunters who have funded it all. I no longer hunt anything (other than snakes and sometimes an angry bear), but that is just a personal choice for me - I still support hunters and know that without them we would not have much wildlife in Arkansas.

I bring up this hunting thing to tell you about something funny that happened yesterday morning. Pam motioned to me to come over to the window. There were four FAT turkeys just outside, strolling through the woods near the cabin. While we watched they started hiking up the trail to the office - followed it all the way up the hill. They were beautiful birds, and obviously knew a good highway when they found one! By the way, while there were several turkey hunters out on this end of the mountain, I don't think any of them saw a turkey all day - they were all hiding at Cloudland!

Clearing storm on Sunday - we only got 1/2 inch of rain

4/8/03 It is almost dark here and I just went on my first actual hike in three days - well, really it was just up to the office, but at least my FEET TOUCHED THE GROUND, something they had not done in a long while it seems. I have been working almost non-stop at the computer since Saturday, including most hours of the night, and have had my eyes glued to the screen. And FINALLY this afternoon I got the book project all put to bed, Then I began the long and tedious process of re-configuring my computer - seems that a few little bugs have been creeping into the system of late (it is, after all, springtime, when all sorts of critters come alive!). So once I got all of the book files completed and sent off I wiped EVERYTHING off of my computer and started all over from scratch. It has only taken me about four hours to do that and reinstall all new software, and so far, so good. I have been able to get everything set up and configured just the way I like it. Plus I am now running updated versions of about a dozen different software programs. So far, none of the bugs.

SO, I actually got to spend about five minutes out in the fresh air enjoying a stroll through the springtime forest.  For those of you who are not in Arkansas right now, you might note that it is in the lower 30's outside right now, and SNOWING!!! Canada is paying us a visit. I guess it will be the last real cold snap of the season. The next time it gets this cold the leaves will have turned a multitude of brilliant colors, and will be falling to the ground, after many long and hot months of green. I love the cold air, and spent a few minutes just standing there in the woods breathing deeply. Then I ran back into the cabin and got up close to the roaring fire in the fireplace - it is COLD outside!

Right now there is a redbud explosion going on in the Ozarks, and the dogwoods are beginnig to peek out too (peak OUT, not PEAK - still another week or two away from good dogwoods). By "red" buds I really mean "purple" buds. I know we go through this every year, but why are they called that? They are NOT red, they are purple. Right out in front of the cabin there are three different shades of PURPLE, all in a row along the circle drive. Purplebuds seem to like the "edges" of the forest. We often don't pay them much attention until right now, then it is obvious who is king along the edges of meadows and roadways.

With this cold weather I suspect the advance of spring will be put off for a day or two, but hopefully it won't get too cold tonight and do a lot of damage. Pam and Amber spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon planting flowers in our new flowerbed out in front, only to have to cover them all up with a giant sheet of plastic tonight to keep them from freezing to death

The snow that was coming down was more like little compressed snow pellets or "snail" than actual snow.  I don't expect to see a white forest in the morning, but boy, wouldn't that be great! I would have to drop whatever I was doing and get out the camera for sure - snow on purplebuds, that would be interesting.

We did have some nice sunny weather yesterday, and I got a chance to go out and get the mail and took a photo of this beautiful flowering bush that you often find around old homesites (I never can remember the name). Also, a friend dropped out of the blue sky to pay us a visit - we always love to see aircraft up close and personal here.

A "homesite" bush in full bloom, flowering Quince

My friend Heinze always make three low passes!

It is getting late now and my eyes can hardly focus on the computer screen any longer. I plan to take some time away from the screen tomorrow, and perhaps even get out into the woods and see how the forest survived the deep freeze tonight.

4/9/03 I am trying a brand new way to upload files to the web page, so this post will be short. Most of today it was cold, with snow flurries and lots of wind - the wind chill remained in the teens most of the morning. The fire in the fireplace remained large all morning. Then sometime in the afternoon the clouds overhead began to break up and by the time I went out to get Amber off the school bus at 4:15 it was nothing but blue skies and pure sunshine - a spectacular spring day in the Ozarks! Of course, the wind chill was still about 30, but with the sun hitting you in the face it didn't seem all that cold.

On the way back to the cabin Amber and I took a detour over to the east meadow to look at all of the incredible redbuds there - no way to adequately show them on the web page, but suffice it to say they were gorgeous, all couple dozen of them. While I was off trying to take a photo or two, Amber took off her jacket and went running back and forth across the meadow - I turned just in time to snap this photo, and then she was gone! That child is pretty darn swift.

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Amber drove on the way back (well, at least she steered), but our progress was slow because we had to keep stopping for SOMEONE to take "just one more photo" - darn photographers. There is NEVER just ONE more photo!

One stretch of wild plum trees had a lot of color in them - most are simply white. I tried to get a good photo of them and the redbuds around them, but didn't come up with anything I liked. This photo is of the very same trees, but one that I took several years ago - it is in the Arkansas Wilderness photo book.

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The dogwoods are coming along nicely, and while some of them are opening up in their standard brilliant white color, others are either green or yellow. There is one patch up near the Faddis cabin where there are pure-white plum trees in full bloom, stunning redbuds right next to them, and a yellow dogwood flowering right in the middle of it all - too much other foliage in the way so I could not get a good photo of them, but it looks interesting to have that many different colors coming out all at once. You will just have to imagine.

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The last stop before we got back to the cabin was at a little cherry tree that was literally crawling with worms! They love wild cherry trees - I wonder if that is why George Washington cut that one down? My dad used to tell us about a kid that went around knocking over outhouses and got into big trouble with his dad one day - even though he admitted to him that he had been the one to do the dirty work. "But dad, George Washington cut down a cherry tree and did not get punished because he told the truth when asked about it." "Yes, son, but was his father IN that tree?" I'll let you figure that one out.

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I swear that just today the moss around here has sent up it "moss towers" in great numbers. They all look so funny, out of place really, all of those long hairs out there in the forest with nothing else around but dead leaves. And you kind of get used to seeing that lush moss at the same height, then the next day it all is two inches taller and really needs a haircut!

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The sun is dipping low in the west right now and the shadows in the wilderness are getting long. Many more trees are just beginning to leaf out now, and the overall color is edging towards light green - but still mostly brown. I love this time of the year. Heck I love both ends of each season as one begins to blend into another. Come to think of it, I do believe that I enjoy just about every single day of the year, especially if I can get these photos to load with the new system...

First light this morning - just a little bit of green in the hills (4103-644)

4/11/03 Bright sunshine up early this morning (or was it that I slept in late?), and clear blue skies. The temp yesterday morning never got below 35, and warmed up into the 50's in the afternoon. It is 45 now at first light today, and seems like it will rise into the 70's by this afternoon. I bet you will be able to actually hear the forest popping out later today with the warm temps and sunshine. A textbook springtime day in the Ozarks is upon us. Probably several in a row.

I made a quick trip into town yesterday and wanted to share a photo of the billowing smoke from a controlled burn over near White Rock Mtn./Mulberry River area. This tower of heavy smoke was much taller - probably a thousand feet or more - but this was the only vantage point I could get a clear photo from, and the view was not as dramatic. But still it was a huge batch of smoke, especially for around here.

A "controlled" burn as seen from St. Paul (4103-648)

Pam and Amber spent a couple of hours in "Pam's Park" out in front of the cabin, pulling weeds, cleaning up the pond, and doing other assorted chores. Aspen tried his best to keep the fish from running away.

Fish for dinner?

And much to my great surprise, we found a patch of six MOREL MUSHROOMS - and they were literally right under foot! They were growing around the base of a chair right up on the little pond bank in front of the cabin! By the time we discovered them all but one had been trampled - they blended in so well with the gravel and mulch that no one noticed them until too late. However, I was able to salvage at least part of all of them, which I am planning to deliver to Pam's mother this evening in Springfield - she loves them, and I can never do enough sucking up. If these guys are any indication, we are going to have a wonderful morel crop in the Ozarks this spring.

Um, um, good! (I am allergic to mushrooms, and also HATE THE TASTE!, so I am happy to give them away.) 4103-655

Seems like I am spending just about all of my waking hours at the computer these days (and some sleeping hours too). Good thing I enjoy it so much. But yesterday just before sunset I realized that I simply HAD to get up and go for a hike. The sun was low in the west, casting long shadows of the hills in the valley, and the tops of the ridges were beginning to glow a little bit.

I stepped out of the cabin and entered a silent world of serenity and calm and peace. There was absolutely NO breeze at all, nor any bird chatter, and the dogs sped off and were out of range in a few seconds. I ambled on along the bench to the west of the cabin, looking down on the forest below. While there were lots of wildflowers along this route, every single one of them were rolled up tight, fearing another cold night. I sat down on the edge of the bench and leaned up against a tree. The only sounds were the distant drummings of woodpeckers - actually coming from three different directions. They were having a busy evening. But everyone else seemed to already be tucked in for the night.

I looked up and saw the moon overhead, looking down on me, always a constant friend. Each day now for the next week will be a larger and brighter moon, trying to lure me out into the night for hikes. I plan to do just that a time or two - this will be the last full moon cycle before the snakes get active. Then it will be five or six months until I can wander around aimlessly in the moonlit forest without fear of being bitten (once you get bit, it changes your entire attitude about these little guys).

"I see the moon. It's behind that tree. It's been It's been there all day. It's been following me..." - Lynn Miles
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Later in the evening I spent some time at the computer (where else?) making prints. Oops, before I get into that discussion, let me show you my bride's very first pastel - after taking a class on sketching she decided on a whim to go to one pastel class, and she loved it. No telling what medium she will finally land on, but I will enjoy following her on that journey as she tries out different things (and when am I going to get that drawing room built?).

My bride's very first pastel! (4103-Pam'sFirst)

OK, back to the prints. I have gotten into a routine of spending some time at night printing on the new color printer. It is now possible for me to produce high-quality prints from everything that I have ever shot before, including all of the images in the photo books and calendars. This includes all of the waterfall photos in the waterfall guidebook. The only photos that are not available are all of those in the Journal before March of this year - they were shot on low resolution and don't make good prints. Beginning with March however, all of the ones you see posted here are available as color prints. Soon you will be able to view hundreds of images from the books and calendars online (for those of you who don't have the actual publications in hand) - I am just now figuring out how to produce and upload "galleries" of these images. Right now there is one "gallery" that you can go look at - it is of the 2003 Arkansas Wilderness Calendar, and you can go look at it here. Let me know what you think. This gallery is also available through the color display print section on our store. And speaking of that online store and the prints, this is fair warning that the prices for these prints will be going up dramatically at the end of this month, so if you have ever wanted a print, NOW is the time to place your order (or at least in the next two weeks). I will try to have most of the galleries up and running before the end of the month. Here is a direct link to the prints section in the online store.
 
 

4/13/03 For some reason I seem to be in a hurry all the time lately, in a big hurry. What in the world do I have to be in a hurry about? This weekend was no exception. I drove up to Missouri on my way to Kansas City and drove past an incredible sunset scene for mile and miles - I was in a hurry to get someplace, but I don't have a clue where. I finally did pull over and shoot a couple of frames. It was a gorgeous sunset.

Sunset along Hwy. 65 (4133-678)

I only got a few hours of sleep and then was up at 1:30am and on the road again, eventually rolling into Kansas City, where I spent the day at a seminar about color printing (I have been doing that for nearly 30 years and you would think that I knew it all by now, but there is always something new and exciting to learn). Six hours later I was back at Cloudland, after pausing along the way to shoot a photo of some tulips.

Tulips anyone! (4133-682)

4133-679

I spent as many hours as I could last night at the computer, going through my mountain of e-mail, until I could see the screen no more. It felt great to be back home, even though I had only been gone a day. But once again I got restless and was up and back down at the computer many hours before daylight.

One good thing about being an insomniac - you get to experience that magic hour of the day before the sun comes up, when the world slowly appears again - first, as nothing but grey lifeless forms so far distant, then gradually gaining shape and a little bit of color, until finally there is a wilderness right at my feet.

This morning there was a peace in the air that I had not known for awhile, a softness of light and shadow and shape and sound. The forest has begun to take on a lot of fuzzyness as the "oak worms" and other things begin to appear. The green is a very light tone, very yellow. Soon all will be FLUORESCENT GREEN and loud and wonderful, and then it will settle into the mono summer green, and remain there until fall. But today springtime is just arriving, and it is pure, and quiet, and good.

And I did take some time off to just go sit on the back deck, in the rocker, and rock, and sip my tea, and soak up the glow of tranquility of the wilderness and the music of the river and the birds playing nearby. Oh how life is sweet!

Then I spent the rest of the day slaving away, not at the computer, but deep within the bowels of the cabin, FINALLY getting to a project I had promised my bride I would do more than two years ago. And after a lot of sweat and cursing (the girls were off leading a hike on the Artist Point Trail all day so did not get to share my agony) and sawdust and, well, heck, I really made a mess, we now have a laundry shoot that goes from the loft bath, down past Amber's room (inlets in both places), and out of the ceiling of the laundry room (it is not completed, but does work). No telling how many steps that will save in the future!

Right now the temp is around 80, there is a breeze blowing and it is quite delightful outside. It is going to be a very long week here, including a couple of major building projects (one is Amber's basket ball court that we got her for Christmas!), a road trip or two, and finally an exhausting photo workshop, then another road trip. Tonight I have to make a quick run into town for a meeting. I keep telling myself that "next" week I will have some time to kick back and relax, but that week keeps getting out of reach. I love being busy, and no better time to be that than spring. I've got Edd French's new little trail to complete, about 15 miles of the new hiking trail to enlarge the corridor on, and seven or eight other projects to do here. Thank goodness May is coming - I don't have a single thing on the calendar! Ha, ha.

4/14/03 We have a friendly whip-poor-will that has moved into the neighborhood - seems a little bit early for him, but things are all off this spring. While this guy has not taken up a post right outside our bedroom window yet, he does get up and begin to sing sometime around 2 or 3am. His voice blends in well with the chorus of tree frogs that play nearly non-stop right now, day and night. (the one frog that I heard the other night has been joined by at least a dozen others)

It was hot and dry and windy all day. I got to spend the entire day outside working on our couple of new building projects. Amber's basketball court is all formed up now and ready for concrete. I think that she/we is/are going to get a lot of use out of this simple pad. When we called up the concrete place to order a truck load, the guy on the other end of the phone just groaned. "Ya, I know where it is. Do you really need it?" One problem that we have with concrete trucks coming out here is the fact that since the road up from Boxley is so steep that if the truck is fully loaded some of the concrete pours out of the top of the truck and onto the ground on the way up - they can't bring a full load.

Just about sunset I made a quick trip up to the Missouri border, off of the main highway and into a long valley along the flanks of Maple Mountain. What a beautiful area, and a wonderful time of day - just as the golden sun was dipping into the far hill. I met with an Amish wood carver - the very same one who carved all of the bear posts here at the cabin (he was only 18 at the time, and living in northwest Montana, up near the Canadian border). He has been living in a barn for the past several months, doing his magic and creating some incredible works of art, including the object of my desire. He made us a special bench for our front porch. Lots of artists do this sort of wood carving, although most of them use chain saws and the detail is rough. Al does all of his work by hand, and does a wonderful job. Nearly everyone uses soft and light pine - which is what Al has always used too. But while in Arkansas, he has been using solid OAK for his carvings, and man oh man what a difference! And the detail in our special bench has an oak theme - something new for him - leaves and acorns. This bench will make a fine addition to our home.

The bench is about six feet wide and three feet tall

bench detail

While I was picking up the bench I was struck by the simple surroundings where Al lived and worked. And he had a grand view of the surrounding rolling hills and valleys. I'm not exactly sure where they came from or why, but there were Amish men literally coming out of the woodwork - one was walking across the meadow over to the south; to more from the north; yet another from the east. There was a fire being tended down in the first ravine by a couple of guys. And at least three men where there at the barn to greet me and help load the bench components (this oak is HEAVY!). Each gentlemen arrived with a broad smile and sparkling eyes, extended a hand of welcome, and spoke with energy in his voice. I enjoy being around these people - they are so full of life and treasure each moment of it, which is contagious. These days being Amish doesn't always mean doing without the modern conveniences we all rely on (Al has a cell phone and drives a big pickup truck), but I think the spirit of the simple life with nature is still in their blood.

4/15/03 HAPPY TAX DAY! The wind howled all night long, which drowned out all the critter sounds of the night. I was able to sleep until nearly first light. While I was down at the computer going through yet another mountain of e-mail, Pam came back from taking Amber to the bus and pointed out this incredible orange moon that was just then setting down into the trees on the western horizon. Tomorrow is the full moon, and it will rise and fall at sunrise and sunset (if we have clear skies - they are calling for RAIN tonight, and goodness do we ever need it!).

Right now the eastern horizon is glowing several shades of red and orange, and a bright yellow ball is just about to appear. The dogwood tree outside Amber's window is thrashing back and forth, those white flowers swishing back and forth in a sea of green. The overall scene in the wilderness is one of green now - light green as far as I can see. Probably 75% of the trees are beginning to produce leaves now - this is just a little bit early.

It is the time of the year when we can leave the windows open all the time - the temperature is just right! Soon we will have to close them in the daytime to keep the hot air from warming up the cabin too much. Wasn't it just a week or so ago that we had to build a roaring fire inside to keep warm? Ahhhhhh yes, springtime in the Ozarks!

One note for visitors: I was informed upon my arrival home last night not to drink anything around here that looked like kool-aid. Amber has a science project going on for school, and there are cups and dishes of color liquid all over the place - in the refrigerator, up on a shelf in the closet, on the table. She is growing crystals on rocks in this liquid at different temps to see what will happen. OK, no kool-aid for awhile!

A reminder: My last slide program for the season will be this Thursday, 7pm at the North Arkansas Community College auditorium in Rogers. It is open to the public. I will be showing both of the new slide shows, plus will have a VERY special deal on picture books! It is always great to meet Journal readers at these programs. The next public program probably won't be until November.

4/16/03 HOLY COW, it IS WINDY! In fact, I think I just saw an entire cow blow by the cabin. We didn't get a drop of rain during the night, but the wind howled and screamed and moaned all night long. The moon was out at first, but soon faded into the dark clouds (aren't all clouds dark at night?). By first light today there were many dark clouds gathered around, with the hopes of SOMETHING coming out of them, but nothing but dry, noisy wind.

Actually the wind is quite musical today, especially when combined with the cries of several hawks that are out playing in the currents today (or are those screams of joy and laughter?). We seem to have a lot of hawks passing through these days - large ones and lots of small ones. But I've not seen a single red-tailed hawk in quite a while. I know the others are simply migrating through, but I wonder what happened to the red-tails? Those hawks do indeed get a great deal of pleasure out of the strong winds, although I guess if they were really trying to hunt they would not like them at all. Today I think they are in play mode, and making the most of it.

The sun popped out a time or two, and in fact is putting on quite a show out in the wilderness. Shafts of sunlight break through the dark clouds and illuminate a small portion of a hillside, then as the clouds move along that shaft moves right along with it, changing size and shape as it goes. One moment that will be happening far up the valley one way, then the next moment there is another shaft hitting way off to the right in another valley. It is great to have such a view - the wilderness is very dynamic with multiple personalities, especially in the springtime, and on cloudy, windy days like today.

Here are a couple of photos from the loft deck. One shows the intermediate growth in the trees here up against the far hillside in shadow. The second one give you some idea of what the wind is doing - that dogwood is really moving! And there are no signs of the wind letting up anytime soon. NOT a good day to fly a kite - it would be ripped to shreds!

The new growth at Cloudland (4163-687)

Dogwoods trying to hold on (4163-705)

Pam's latest drawing, bloodroot (4163-blood)

Pam and I took a little stroll around the mountain this afternoon. While the wind continued to howl - up to 64mph - we discovered a million blooms of every shape, size and color - in the trees, on the ground, and everywhere in between. It is SPRING in the Ozarks!

Lots of dogwoods out today (4163-708)

There were HUNDREDS of pawpaw blooms! (4163-713)

Jack in the pulpit (4163-717)

The first wild iris of the season (4163-718)

Yellow lady-slipper orchid - not ready to bloom yet (4163-720)

The East meadow (4163-723)

Wild strawberries - YUM! (4163-727)

Redbuds are at their peak this week (4163-724)

A very young sassafras tea in the making! (4163-731)

Dogwoods EVERYwhere! (4163-729)

4163-732

4163-733 (black & white)

4/20/03 The last several days have been rather hectic. It is 9pm right now, and I have to get up at 4am tomorrow and hit the road once again to be gone all day. I wanted to make a quick post with a few photos. I had a great time at the last slide show of the season in Rogers Thursday night - lots of Journal readers there, and it was GREAT to see all of you! I hope you all enjoyed the shows. I taught a photo workshop Friday and Saturday, and while we dodged a few raindrops and high winds all day, we did get to see some neat stuff and got a few good photos. We FINALLY got some real rain last night - about an inch - yea! Not enough to cure our ills, but it sure was welcome.

I woke up a zoombie today after going without sleep most of the past four or five nights. Pam and I spent an hour putting up Amber's new basketball goal, and I am happy to report that both Pam and I made our very first shots! When Amber arrived later in the day she made her first FOUR shots and handily beat me at a game of horse. Man, that rim is a long way up there!

Speaking of being up there, you should have seen what the Trail Cat did. While I was up on the tall ladder working she climbed up a nearby tree - way up. She got interested in a critter hole, and tried to stick her head in. Then her shoulders got in. Then her stomach, Then her rear end - all that was left were her two back legs and feet dangling in the air - I WISH I HAD A CAMERA! And then, oops, she disappeared down inside the tree. We both got a little bit concerned - it was a really small hole. There was a crack in the tree and Pam could see the cat way down in there, not looking too happy and unable to turn around in side the tree. So, what would you do if the cat got stuck inside the tree? No way to get her out. We would have had to cut the tree down. It was a large oak tree. Finally, after several minutes, the Trail Cat appeared in the hole and managed to climb out, about ten seconds before I got back up on the ladder with my camera!

While I was out and about yesterday with the photo class my Amish friends arrived with a big boom truck and installed a new entrance gate area - the logs had been delivered several weeks ago, but they were so massive there was no way we could install them ourselves, even with the help of the tractor. We still have some work to do on the entrance arch, but man it looks GREAT! And we will re-install the wonderful metal "Cloudland" sign soon - then I will post another photo of it. This is something I had wanted to do ever since I bought this place a long time ago - it is one of those entrance arches like you see in Colorado, made with full logs just like the cabin.

It's getting late and I am drifting away....here are the photos.....I'll label them later...
 
 

4/22/03 We had a very long day on the road and in the classroom yesterday, but I must say that I got to see one heck of a sunrise through fog while driving across the Illinois Bayou near Dover - it was quite remarkable, with some very delicate colors that I don't recall seeing in a sunrise before. I kept looking for the "perfect" place to pull over and take a shot, but before I knew it, the fog was gone, and I never went back to look again. That one will simply have to remain etched on the film of my brain.

When I stumbled out of the bed early this morning and down to the hot tub I swear there was this amazing halo around the half moon. But after being in the tub for a minute or two I looked up and the halo was gone, just like that. I kind of think the halo might have been my fuzzy eyes - haven't had much sleep in a good long while, but at least the world was sharp and clear for the rest of the day.

And it was SHARP AND CLEAR all day today. The air was crisp and without any haze whatsoever. The baby greens of the new spring have spread across the wilderness - it is a delight to simply look in any direction right now. Fresh and clean and all brand new. I do believe the trees are smiling, especially after getting a much-needed bath over the weekend.

Some green, some white, some nearly white. The wilderness is leafing out.

Glenn Wheeler wanted to let everyone know that he is gearing up for doing "research" on his new Swimming Hole Guidebook to the Ozarks. If you know of a great, old time swimming hole (public property) on a river, creek, or small lake, either in Arkansas or Missouri Ozarks (ESPECIALLY in Missouri), please drop him an e-mail with as much info as you can (like directions). He no doubt will have many of them already in his system, but he is on the lookout for as many new ones as he can find, and will visit each one later this spring and summer. Both Pam and I will be working with Glenn on this project (Pam doing the maps, me the page layout and editing). I think it will be a great resource. E-mail Glenn at swimmingholes@hotmail.com.

It is calm and just a bit cool tonight, the moon not yet up, and the air is filled with sweet fragrances of spring. I just heard a hoot owl off in the distance, calling out to anyone who would listen. The other night we heard the first coyote in a while. The whip-poor-will has gone away, for now, but I'm sure she will return in time to lay her eggs and nest on the ground down near the gazebo. I find it comforting somehow to think there is a new family coming into the world there.

The dogwoods and redbuds are almost gone now, but wildflowers galore are coming on strong, at least in some places. The yellow lady-slippers will be up here soon, along with the umbrella magnolias. I've had reports of some great waterfall hikes this past weekend. There is no question right now is the time to get out - to any place that you can. To hike, canoe, fish, or simply to go sit on a rock and soak it all up. Nothing better on this planet than springtime in the Ozarks!

4/24/03 I had one of those "Cloudland moments" here yesterday morning. It was just about sunrise, and I was sitting out on the back deck - actually reclining a bit - sipping my morning cup of Earl Grey Tea (laced with Irish Creme Coffee-mate). There was a near-solid blanket of small clouds in the sky overhead - a thousands little puffy clouds all crowded in together. There must have been a break in the clouds in the east because the underside of the cloud blanket was beginning to turn pink. The large red oak tree that grows right up out of the lower deck and arches over the deck was full of half-grown leaves, all bright green and new and clean. Those leaves too begin to glow pink from underneath. None of this was wild or stunning color, just soft and smooth and pleasant. It was one of those moments when all was right with the world, and you knew Momma Nature was enjoying life. A small opening happened in the cloud blanket above, revealing a patch of blue sky behind. Then a half moon appeared and floated on past the opening - all of the clouds were pink, but the moon was pure white. No way I could ever photograph this wonderful scene, and - the color were just too subtle and the moment went by too fast - but somehow that made my enjoyment of it all the much better!

When I started the day yesterday there were more than 120 unanswered e-mails in my in basket. By the end of the day there were still more than 120 unanswered e-mails there! I managed to get through a lot of them, but my little icon up in the corner of the computer screen kept on squeaking all day long, adding to my pile. If you have e-mailed me of late and not heard a reply, please forgive - I will get to you.

We had a terrific storm blow through last night, complete with thunder, lightning and a good bit of rain - over an inch. That makes twice this week we've had rain! You would think it was springtime or something. Waterfalls are up and running like crazy in the Ozarks today, and I suspect they will continue to flow for a few days - this may be a good weekend to get out and go hunting if you have the time. Heck, even if everything was bone dry it would be a GREAT weekend to get out here!

We also were engulfed with thick fog all morning. I stepped out onto the back deck and could not even see to the far end of Mom's meadow (which, by the way, is beginning to have hundreds of flower blooms).

The pine tree in Mom's meadow (4243-794)

I made about a dozen trips up to the office this morning in the fog. I simply LOVE to hike in the fog! And today the forest floor was covered with this brilliant green carpet of young Virginia creeper. The fog was so thick at times that the trail literally disappeared into the mist.

The trail up to the office (4243-795)

The poison ivy is doing quite well this year too - too bad we can figure out SOMETHING to do with this plant that could benefit society! Hey, we could ship it over to france maybe, as a thankyou for them supporting our troops during the current war.

Pam and I went on a hike this afternoon, along with the dogs and both cats. The Trail Cat loves to get up and climb on stuff, even if it is covered with poison ivy.

The Trail Cat and her french ivy (4243-793)

Mayapples are beginning to carpet the landscape as well - some of these guys are HUGE, coming up to our knees! And the flowers are many and beautiful, as always.

Mayapple Town (4243-797)

Mayapple flower (4243-798)

Once we got over to the other side of the ridge bushwhacked on down to visit the lady slipper patch to see if there was anyone at home. We found 13 wonderful yellow blooms there, with perhaps another one or two to come. I always love to see these flowers as they are so bright and cheerful. Other folks have thought so too over time and have tried to either pick them or transplant them - both acts result in less flowers the following year, which is why these beauties are scarce. I know of a valley not too far away from here though that has nearly 1,000 of them - not all together, but scattered along a mile-long stretch of the valley. Beautiful, just beautiful.

Lady-slipper convention (4243-799)

A lady-slipper bloom (4243-803)

Right now the sun is trying to break through the thick layer of dark clouds still looming. There are a lot of deep shadows out there in the landscape, then bright flashes of fluorescent green when the sun pops through and hits a hillside. The wilderness is alive and well and quite active today.

We have one more super-busy weekend around here with another photo workshop and other things going on, then an entire month free of too many commitments when we will be able to catch up and take a few deep breaths. I still have Edd French's hiking trail to build, plus a ton of outdoor stuff to do around here. Lots of computer time ahead, including many tweaks of web pages. Do you remember those dirt-cheap color prints that I have been offering from my new printer? I must say that I have been like a kid in a candy store being able to produce such quality right here on my desktop, and it has been fun being able to send out these prints to folks who have ordered them - I hope they are surprised when they open the tube and see how great the images are! WELL, I am really going to be in trouble soon - I have ordered a LARGE version of this special new printer, one that will be capable of producing 24" x 36" prints of the very same high quality - YIKES! I will be a kid in a candy FACTORY now!!! That means that the prices for my premium large prints will take a big drop, although not until I am comfortable with the new printer and have had a chance to run a good number of prints through it. This technology stuff is quite amazing. Just a warning - the smaller prints are getting ready to take a big leap in price, so if you are interested in getting any, now is the time (they will still be just a fraction of what they normally were). You can go direct to the print area of the online store to look at galleries and order prints.

Raindrops on a small leaf along the KIngs River (4263-0812)
Shot during my photo workshop yesterday.

4/27/03 Bright sunshine rushed into the room and nearly blinded me - my pillow was right next to the window, and my weary eyeballs were facing directly into the rising sun. I struggled to close the blinds so that I could return to my beauty sleep, but it was no use - I was wide awake and daylight was obviously burning more than the inside of my eyes.

As I settled back into the steaming hot tub to sip my tea, a wave of relaxation hit me unlike it has in a very long while. I have been putting in 12-20 hour days, seven days a week, for a good while now, without much of a break. But now, I had an entire month ahead with not a single item on the schedule, not one. Man, oh, man, was I going to ENJOY this time off!

That euphoria lasted about two minutes. I got to thinking about this and that project that I have needed to do for many moons, and before long a list had developed inside my head. After I finished my tea and dried off, I started the LIST. Soon the list of projects that needed to be done totaled 48, and I'm talking about non-business projects around the cabin. 48. Some of them would only take me a few minutes, perhaps an hour to do. Others would take several hours, or even an entire day. A couple would take a week to complete. Good grief, there was a couple months worth of projects on my first list! Then I started on the next page, which was just business-related projects. Another page filled up in a hurry. Ahhhh yes, I had a wonderful vacation this morning for a few minutes anyway!

It was a glorious day in the mountains, with pure blue skies, warm temps, a slight breeze, and enough birds out there singing to fill all the symphony halls in the country - they were quite happy today! The wilderness below is now mostly green, and about a dozen different shades of green at that, ranging from almost white-green, to the darkest shade of "pine" green. No doubt every living critter on four legs, two legs, eight legs, wings, belly, or root was delighted for the recent rains. The river below was producing a bit of music too, and back up to normal April levels at last.

OK, back to that list. I jumped right in and got to work on the very first item on the page. (Pam was off working on her own list, and while mine project was indoors, hers was outside - smart lady). I spent about an hour and just about had my first project nailed, and then I made one simple, CRITICAL, mistake - while drilling a 1/2 inch hole through a wall to run a wire, I drilled into an electrical wire. Oops. That was not good. I was literally within two minutes of being finished with my first project! It would take me nearly FIVE HOURS more to fix my error and put things back to normal. And I did some serious damage to one of my thumbs in the process. I never made it to #2 on the list.

I was down in the basement nearly all day, only coming out for a bit of fresh air now and then, and to go into the workshop for another tool. As the sun began to dip into the trees in the west, both my dog and my wife made it very clear that I needed to get the heck out of the cabin and go for a hike (Aspen stood up on his hind legs, placing his paws on the window sill near my desk, peering inside and glaring at me). So, I finally gave in. My thumb was throbbing.

We took off for a leisurely stroll around the mountain, into the wind, and away from my list. Springtime was beautiful, smelled wonderful, and felt great. Before I even realized it I was over on the far side of the ridge, soaking up the last rays of sunshine.

There are still dogwoods in bloom here - some really large blooms too - but they are on their way out. I stopped and looked close and found many of the pure-white blooms to be spotted with red. I know this happens once in a while, but I never know what it is. Even so, the branches looked just great swaying in the breeze and getting one last golden tan.

The dog days of the dogwood blooms (4273-821)

Look at the red spots (4273-822)

A pine tree sprouting a bit of new growth (4273-828)

As I neared the cabin I could hear the tree frogs getting after it pretty good. No telling how many we have in the immediate area now, but it sounds like about a hundred. As I am writing this it is late at night and I can hear that the cabin is surrounded with them - it is a noisy spring evening around here, but a fine one indeed.. I'm going to post this, then go soak in the darkness and enjoy our little symphony. I hope to get to #2 on the list tomorrow!

4/28/03 When I opened my eyes this morning I could see a TINY sliver of a moon, just hanging there in the east, visible through the branches of a big oak tree, and surrounded by pink clouds. Then I heard thunder. Lots of THUNDER! Somehow the two items did not mix - the moon and thunder. But heck, it is Cloudland, and almost anything can happen.

I walked out onto the deck and into the forest. The wind was blowing pretty hard from the south, birds were singing so hard it felt like they could lift up the entire woodland and carry it off. There were many dark, billowing clouds overhead, with pink edges all around. To the west through the dense canopy I could just barely see BLACK clouds, which is where the thunder was coming from. I love storms, and it feels like we are about to have one on top of us.

The sun just cleared the horizon, but I suspect it won't be around for long. That thunder is getting louder, and even though the sun is up now, it is getting darker by the moment. I think the birds are singing so loud because they know there will be more water on the way!

Speaking of birds, my bride informed me that we have not one, but three phoebe nests underneath Amber's fort. There had been one on the west end of the cabin for several years, but I had to knock it down for a couple of reasons - one to re-treat the logs so they don't fade out, and also because the birds were making a big mess on the deck below. They have relocated and seem to be just fine with it all.

Speaking of my bride, she just walked in the door from taking Amber to the bus, and pointed to a rainbow that had just appeared over Beagle Point. Now that WAS really weird - a moon, black clouds and thunder, and a rainbow!

Speaking of my bride again, when she just made a comment about "where am I going to eat my cereal this morning?" I thought she was making a statement about how lovely it is here, and how there are SO many great places to sit and eat (or to do absolutely nothing at all). But what she really meant is that the results of my late-night work session last night were preventing her from finding a place to put down her cereal bowl. I spent a couple of hours printing, and the dining table and map bar were covered with new prints! While these digital prints come out of the printer basically dry, it is good to let them sit and breaths overnight before stacking them. These were all 13" x 19" prints, and it only took me two hours to cover everything with them. I wonder what is going to happen when I get the new printer, which takes 24" wide paper? Yikes, I need more space!

Last night right after my printing session, I got to spend some time listening to the night critters. It was completely black out, but with clear skies and a zillion stars out. The tree frogs were really getting after it - there were waves of them. But in between the waves every single one of them fell silent. It was an eerie silence, but one I knew would not last for long. After a few seconds one frog would begin at low volume, notching it up every few seconds. Then a second one would join, and a third, until eventually the entire forest seemed to be producing sounds. They would continue to step it up until it was quite LOUD! Then the lead frog would back it off a notch, then two, then three. And finally, silence. Just me and the night, and all of those frogs catching their breaths.

The sun has been up this morning for 20 minutes and it is still holding on. The thunder is overhead now, but no rain yet. From where I sit here at my computer I can see out of 12 windows. I love WEATHER as it moves in and away. Oh, wait, I hear RAIN! Yes, that sweet, wet, magical treasure from the sky. It is hitting the west side of the cabin, but the east side is still dry, with bright sunshine streaming in the windows.

OK, time go get to work. Where is that list anyway? By the way, my list of 48 items, which I knocked down to 47 yesterday, has not grown to more than 60 projects. Good thing I don't have anything scheduled in May!  Come on rain....

4/29/03 It was two years ago today that the incredible saga of Haley Zega began. Over the next couple of days I will be posting the first five chapters from my book The Search For Haley of what happened here at the cabin during that awful time, three days that tore at the very fiber of so many wonderful people. It was a time of incredible fear and anguish, yet of unbelievable hope and caring. This event touched the lives of thousands, and brought out the very best of humanity. And it is so fitting today that I pass on to you a note from Colleen Nick, whose own daughter Morgan was abducted many years ago and has never been seen or heard from since. Colleen informed me today that she will be at the White House tomorrow with President Bush as he signs the AMBER ALERT into law. The MORGAN NICK ALERT was one of the first such attempts to get news of missing children spread quickly throughout the community, and the very first statewide Morgan Nick Alert was issued two years ago today - for Haley Zega - while Colleen was en route to our cabin to help with Haley's search. WAY TO GO COLLEEN! And way to go EVERYONE who had anything to do with Haley's search mission, or with any of the other tragic situations that happen across this country. For those of you who have children, or who were ever a child yourself, please take a moment to pause and remember those who are lost, and give thanks for all who help to find them.

Click HERE to read the chapters in The Search For Haley.

4/30/03 I spent most of today running up and down the staircase between the "printer" room and the upstairs office. My big printer came yesterday, and I got to play, err I mean work on it today. I was able to print 24" x 36" color prints that are as good or better than anything you can get from the most expensive custom lab in the country. Pam is ready to join an Epson Printer support group - she understands that this thing will consume a great deal of my time. Boy, it sure does make terrific prints! The new print sizes and prices will be posted in the online store later tonight.

The wind blew like crazy this afternoon, and the temps were warm, the day sunny. I swore that I heard a helicopter in the valley. Two years ago there were four of them flying nearly 24 hours a day looking for Haley. I stepped out onto the back deck and spotted a military chopper heading my direction. He came by low, circled three times, then headed off towards Hawksbill Crag.

We only got three drops of rain out of all that thunder and black clouds the other night. They are calling for lots of rain tonight and tomorrow, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It would be most welcome though.

I took a quick trip down into Boxley Valley early this morning to get 400 gallons of water from the spring. The sun was not up yet, and there was a thin layer of fog handing around down low, hugging the hay fields. I strolled out into one of the big fields and spotted several elk that were getting a morning snack. They didn't seem to pay to much attention to me.

My to-do list has not been seen in a couple of days. I've still only completed only one of the items on it. Good thing May has not started yet. Oops, I guess it does tomorrow! Guess I will have to give the printer a rest and get busy.

April has been one terrific month, as they all are here. As the evening light begins to fade and the hills out in the wilderness turn from green to grey to black, I think back to those terrible days when Haley was lost, and give thanks that my own precious child is home with us tonight safe and sound. If the Haley ordeal taught folks anything it was to hold dear to us the people that matter, and not to wait another day - perhaps a day too late - to tell them how much we care and appreciate them.

Click HERE to read the next two chapters in The Search For Haley.

May 2003 Journal