Cloudland Deck Cam, 7/31/04, 8:31am

7/1/04 To start off our "real" summertime, I thought you might like to learn a little something about one of the wonderful little critters you are likely to encounter while out in the woods. For some strange reason, they are not attracted to me, and so I hardly ever pay them any mind - everything you always wanted to know about CHIGGERS.

7/2/04 10:30am this morning and we have some nice rain going on outside - about a half inch so far this morning. I slept in and didn't get up and venture outside until nearly 6am - still mostly dark, but daylight creeping in through the cloud layer a little bit. I snuck on around the outside of the cabin so as not to wake anyone, but when I arrived at the hot tub for my morning soak I discovered someone had already arrived at the deck before me - the famous botanist and nature photographer Don Kurz was sitting there enjoying all the sounds of the night, and of the wilderness waking up - he had been there for a while already.

Don and I worked steadily from early afternoon to nearly 10pm last night, going through each page and photo in his wildflower book, making sure all of the colors in the photos were accurate, the crops correct, and the text where it should be. It was a lot of fun going through each image in the book with the expert himself sitting right next to me - you would not believe all the great stories he has about these flowers, and the places where they grow! And, of course, much of that will be in the new book, so you all will get to share. I doubt there are many other living folks with the wealth of knowledge of the natural world that this man possesses.

But wait, we were not the only ones working late at the cabin last night! There were two guys making a great deal of noise downstairs in the basement - they had been busy working on the air system in the cabin since early morning (and from the day before). They put in a very long day, and finally quit and headed home about the same time that Don and I finished getting through the last page of the book. The girls arrived at about the same time, fresh from a trip up to Missouri, dodging heavy rainfall much of the way.

Don and I took some time this morning to go wander down in Mom's meadow to look at the flowers. I knew we had quite a few species in bloom right now, but Don picked out a bunch more, and, of course, he could spot and ID the ones that had already flowered and gone to seed, plus the plants that had yet to bloom. We spent a bit more time this morning working with the front cover of the book - still don't know exactly which one to pick, but we have narrowed the choices down to just two or three.

Don Kurz in Mom's meadow below the cabin

When Don and I were down in the meadow we went over to the gazabo to check on a bird nest - Pam and I had seen five tiny eggs in there five or six weeks ago. As I was climbing up onto the rail to get a better look into the nest, Don heard a Carolina wren singing out - son of a gun, there was movement in the little nest - baby birds still in the nest after more than a month! I was really surprised to find them there, and we both were surprised that the parent bird did not really seem all that concerned that we were there. I'll have to go down and check on these chicks again.

It is quite dark in the cabin now, and a huge blast just shook the cabin - along with a bright flash from a big thunderbolt that landed over near Beagle Point. The air guys have been here for about an hour, Don has pointed his car back north, and the girls are busy working at various projects. The rain continues. I've got a full page of notes for changes that still need to be made in Don's book, eight more photos to scan and place, the back cover to finish, and then I will finally have to make the decision about the photo on the front cover. Once we get all of that wrapped up, we have one more major edit to do (by two different people), then I will spend about a full day converting all of the color RGB files in the book to a special CMYK color profile that was provided by our printers, and then finally, we'll be able to burn the project to DVD and ship it off for printing. We also have to create the 2005 Arkansas Wild & Free - Buffalo River Country calendar, and then put together a nice full-color, four page price sheet that we are going to get printed with the book and calendar. THEN we will be able to take a few hours off! Oh yea, we also have continue the work promoting Glenn's new book! I expect we will be done with all of this and ready for a break later this month.

BOOM - there went another crash.

I expect we will have hundreds more mushrooms popping up through the leaves after all of this rain!

7/3/04 We had one wild ride during the night - pretty strong winds, lightning, big crashes, and lots of things inside the cabin beeping. The power went out around 1-2am, and all of the backup batteries we have the computers hooked up to always start beeping to let us know the power is off - kind of annoying when you already know that. I got up and shut down the computers, then switched off the backup batteries. Lots of noise going on outside all night, and I didn't get too much sleep. I got up early and called the power company, then fired up the generator. The girls left to head up to Missouri, and the power company called while I was having breakfast to say that power was back on once again - way to go Carroll Electric!

We got about an inch of rain during the day yesterday, and then another inch during the night - some of it quite heavy at times. This morning - for the very first time in a good long while - the Buffalo River far below is up and running at full tilt, and making a lot of noise - er, I mean music! Looks like the ground finally got saturated, and much of the rainfall overnight has run off and into the watercourses. The river is muddy, but I bet it clears up soon. The sun just broke out a little while ago, and we now have clear skies with bright sunshine.

Infrared shot of the river far below - up and running this morning and covering up all the gravel bars

The humidity in the cabin reached a high of 82% yesterday morning - just before the repair guys turned on the new Lennox heat pump system that they had been installing. We've had a lot of problems with the original heat pump that was put in six years ago, and so we decided to just go ahead and replace it all, adding a whole-house humidifier and four different types of air-purification systems to boot - it gets really dusty inside the cabin, which has led to some health issues. Within minutes we could tall a difference in the air quality, and after about an hour of operation the humidity was down to 60% and still dropping. YIPPEE! We really got lucky that these past few weeks have been cool while our system was down.

Of course, many silver clouds have dark linings. After several hours of operation (and after the workman left), we realized that the system was working a little too well - the temp inside the cabin had dropped down into the 60's (was supposed to cut off at 75). I wound up turning on the "emergency heat" mode, which only brought the temp up about a half degree after several hours. I know, I know, quit complaining - the humidity was low! The girls and I had to bundle up a bit.

Once the power came back on again this morning the problem continued, with the temp dipping down to 64. I once again turned on the emergency heat, and the temp is slowly rising. It is, of course, much warmer outside, but the humidity is above 90%, so I don't want to let all of that moisture inside! I'm sure it will all work out eventually, I just have to laugh at it all.

Boy, I was right about all those mushrooms - there are literally thousands and thousands of them popping up all over the place! Red ones, orange ones, white ones, and I bet before the weekend is over we'll even find blue ones.

Pam and I took a hike around the loop yesterday evening, and collected a nice batch of green beans and red taters for dinner. I recently traded Bob and Benny a stack of books in exchange for our getting to rob their gardens while they are gone this summer. We cooked up a fine mess of Cave Mountain vittles! And for desert, I created a batch of homemade blackberry ice cream (berries from Aspen's meadow) - some of the finest ice cream I have ever tasted!

We sat out on the back deck after dinner and counted scores of brilliant goldfinch working the flowers that had gone to seed in Mom's meadow below. Seems most of the birds like this one pine tree at the edge of the meadow - they tend to ignore the other pine trees in favor of just this one. Sometimes there were 15-20 of the finches sitting in the tree at the same time, and it was beginning to look like an x-mas tree.

The temp inside is up to 68 degrees now...

7/4/04 We knew something was headed our way from the radar screen on the computer. Looked like we would just get the lower tail of the front though, but the yellow and RED parts looked pretty bad. The sky got cloudy and began to darken - in a hurry. "Come on out and watch the storm from the swing with me" my bride said. I was happy oblige. Within minutes we could hear it coming - I mean really HEAR it. And it was coming from an odd direction - over our right shoulders as we were facing south on the porch. Sounded like a train, or something worse. The clouds above were moving at a rapid pace, and every few seconds changed color and shapes. And then with a WOOSH it hit, and the trees around the cabin nearly bent over double. Furniture went flying. We scurried around to see what was going on - it was kind of neat! And then it was calm.

We could see the edge of the front move to the south right out in front of the cabin and quickly fill up the skyline out there. I ran into the cabin to grab a camera and took a few shots as the dark grey, blue, and green clouds swirled all around. And I do mean swirled - some were going one way, then another the next moment, then another, while other cloud layers came rushing in from a third direction. Within must a minute or two the entire sky out in front of the cabin was filled with the clouds, only a narrow line across the horizon of clear sky. And then we stood there together, and watch part of the clouds swirl together, and drop right on out of the cloudbank, and extend half way down towards the ground - it was a funnel forming, right there in front of our eyes! For once in my life I DID HAVE my camera ready and in my hands at the exact moment when I needed it! I raised the camera and pushed the shutter button. Nothing. The batteries died in mid-exposure! I ran into the house and grabbed another set, but by the time I got back out onto the deck the funnel had retreated back up into the clouds and was no more. My bride was standing there with a big, silly grin on her face.

We spent the next hour listening to the radio reports of the strong storm that was passing through Boxley, Ponca, Compton, and surrounding areas, and was rolling right on down the Buffalo River where I'm sure there were lots of folks out in canoes enjoying the holiday. We only got a little bit of rain here, not much at all. And once that original front line of the storm passed through, there was hardly any wind at all. We did get another line of storms come through that brought thunder and lightning, but nothing like the cloud formations that has first passed through. Right now it is bright sunshine outside and blue skies!

Yesterday afternoon the AC people called and wanted to bring the store owner out for a look at our system - they did not know we were having problems with it - I did not want to bother them on the weekend. When they arrived and stepped into 65 degree weather, they knew something was amiss, although they were certain that it was a result of me not knowing how to program the sophisticated thermostat and that everything was just fine. An hour later, when they could not get the AC to shut off no matter what they did - short of pulling the plug - they realized that something was indeed wrong with their installation, or the equipment, or both. That was about 2pm. They finally announced the AC would now shut off, but that someone else much smarter than they would have to come out Monday to really fix the problem - that was at 10pm last night! These two guys spent that entire time working on the system, mostly trying to figure out all of the complex wiring.

This morning we have been working on the wildflower book cover again - it is not an easy chore trying to decide which photo to use. We have sent out samples to a number of folks to get their take on it all, and this morning I finally gave up and decided to put it on a web page and let everyone and anyone vote. (July 8 update - the link has been removed - voting over!) We have been getting some great comments, and will ultimately tweak the cover to reflect some of these comments and concerns, but the actual photo is still in doubt. There are so many things that you have to think about - not just what looks "pretty" or is your favorite flower. We have to think about how the cover looks on the bookshelf in a store, when it is printed small in newspaper reviews, how the spine of the book will look on the shelf, how the cover will look from a distance - we want something that will catch you attention from a distance and make you want to walk over and pick up the book. Then we want to put enough info on the cover to make you want to look inside - but not TOO much info because most people will only spend 4-5 seconds looking at the front cover of a book before becoming disinterested. We want something that says "Illinois Wildflower" even though we will have that title there too. The state flower is the violet, but which one - there are 23 species of them, and the state legislature did not specify exactly which one. One of the top contenders has a title of another state (Michigan Lily), so I did not want that one on the cover, even though it is a terrific flower (although Don has just assured me that it is actually known by a different name in Illinois - so that is one more that I will have to add to the pile). So many things to think about. What is my choice? I don't really have one, although I really do like about 4 or 5 of them!

We have a busy afternoon and evening ahead of us, so I think I will walk away from the computer now for at least an hour, and go wander out into the forest and see what is going on. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL! And be sure and vote for your favorite cover!

A shot off the back deck with the new infrared camera - note a few new clouds down on top of the river.

7/6/04 For most of the day yesterday I could hear a hawk screaming outside. Several times I walked out onto the deck to look and see what he was up to, but never did find him - only heard the screams up there in the air somewhere. Later in the afternoon when my eyes got so bog-eyed at the computer I gave up on working, put on my hiking shoes, and headed out the door for a quick trip down to the river. Still lots of screaming going on up above.

The hike down through the deep green, lush forest was lovely - there was a nice breeze blowing, which helped whoosh away the warm temps and high humidity. I passed hundreds of mushrooms on the way down - all colors, including some dark blue ones - although not as many bright red and orange ones as we've been seeing lately. One species I see a lot of remind me of coral - don't know what they are called, but they stand out so because they are so different then all the rest. They are normally white.

All the while I was hiking down the steep hillside I could hear the hawk screaming - it seemed to be following me! And every now and then when I looked up I would catch a glimpse of movement through an opening in the dense tree canopy - like the hawk was soaring just above the treetops. More screams, more sightings.

Whitaker Creek was flowing nicely, and so was the Buffalo. The main river was up so much and the brush so THICK along the banks that I did not dare step out into it all, so I settled for a moment or two of rest at the edge of the rushing waters. Aspen and Lucy plunged right on it, and seemed to enjoy a quick dip. The hawk was up there with me once again, but I could not see any sky from where I stood. OK, back up the big hill.

A Shrubby St. John's Wort growing next to the river

I swear this hawk was following me, all the way up I could hear him, and now and then see him through the trees. I had no idea what he was up to or what he wanted.

When I reached the top and completed my 50 sit-ups, I got a cool drink and propped my feet up on the railing and took a bit of time to cool down in the afternoon breezes. And then, FINALLY, the hawk revealed himself to me. In fact there were TWO of them - one reason I could hear so much screaming all day long. They were big and beautiful, and spend about ten minutes just soaring and playing in the winds just out from the cabin - sometimes soaring way over near Beagle Point, then back again to within 100 feet of the cabin. When I looked at them through the binocs I swear I could see smiles on their faces! And then one of them spread his wings out wide, curved them around a little bit, and slowly, ever so slowly, descended straight down and settled right onto the dead branch of a snag near the cabin. Then the second hawk joined him. This old snag was one that buzzards used to roost on in great numbers several years ago, but the top part of the snag gave way and now it is mostly out of sight. I had to look carefully to see the hawks perched there, and could only see parts of them at a time - you would not notice anything sitting there if you did not seen it land in the first place.

I was unable to identify what sort of hawks these guys were - certainly not red tailed or red shouldered or anything like that - I'm sure most folks around here would simply call them "chicken hawks." But they were beautiful, and LOUD!

What were they screaming about all this time? I do think they were simply out there having a good time and enjoying the day and calling out to each other. Or they were trying to lure one of our cats out for a quick meal!

A baby walking stick (about an inch long) on the side of the cabin

Just after sunset I wandered on up to Aspen's meadow to pick a few blackberries. The forest was quiet and still. Lots of wildflowers and mushrooms. And up in the sky, there were a few streaked clouds hanging around. I brought my camera with me just in case those clouds decided to light up, but they remained mostly white and gray. About half-way back down to the cabin I happened to look up through an opening in the trees and realized that I had left the meadow TOO SOON - the clouds had indeed taken on some incredible color, and were beaming bright red and orange and yellow. I stood there soaking it all up for a few minutes and waited until the bright color began to fade. Hum, just WHERE DOES that color go?

The sun was up early today, and we have a mixture of light hazy clouds and sunshine, and a nice breeze blowing. The AC people were out twice over the weekend trying to get their equipment installed and working correctly. It is, sort of, and the humidity in the cabin is down to tolerable levels, and the temp is in the lower 70's. My goal is to tweak the temp up a few degrees and the humidity down some, then we'll be all set.

THANKS to so many of you who have gone to the trouble of looking at the wildflower cover samples and sent in your vote. I am getting some great feedback, and we hope to pick the actual cover soon. It is always helpful to hear the thought processes that customers go through. In the end I probably put too much emphasis on the content of books that we publish, but I think it is all important, from cover to cover! Two things to tell you about the vote so far - one, we are running this vote much like they do presidential elections in this country - the one with the most votes will not necessarily be the winner (but YOUR vote and comments helps us a LOT!); and two, so far the coneflower has about twice as many votes as the rest, with columbine, cardinal flower, and violet all being about tied for second place. The phlox is at the bottom end. Also I must tell you that I added a new sample yesterday, and will probably add one more tomorrow - both will be of "Turk's Cap Lily" - a striking flower (actually the sample tomorrow will replace the one I put up yesterday - same species, just two different photos of it - Don is sending down a new one tomorrow). By the way, the phlox was at one time our #1 choice, as was the cardinal flower. When we added the coneflower and columbine to the mix things got a little hazy, which is why I asked for your thoughts! Anyway, we'll pick something by the end of the week (the vote link has been removed).

7/7/04 Today is a very happy day at Cloudland - two of the three soldier friends of ours that have been serving our country in Iraq came home today! One of them is a very close family friend, the other is the husband of a close family friend. Pam has been on the phone with one wife nearly every day of their 16-month deployment into the war zone, helping her get through this terrible time. I don't think most people realize the sacrifices that not only our troops make in time of war, but ESPECIALLY their families - it is hell on them, every single moment their loved one is gone. This country owes a great debt to these family members - THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! So today we celebrate with our friends, and welcome them home, and THANKS for a job well done! We have not heard directly from either family since the 4am ceremony this morning on the tarmac at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri, but we know they are all smiles for the first time in a very, very long time. So today has been declared MATT AND JAMES day at Cloudland!

Speaking of my lovely bride, it seems the ticks at Cloudland are getting hungry - one of them tried to borrow into her furry slipper! I find a tick or two when I go out hiking, but don't pay them much mind - just seems like they are few and far between this year, although I know they ARE out there, lurking, just waiting for a warm body (or fuzzy slipper) to walk by. When you do find one of the tiny critters crawling on you, just reach down and pull him off, kill him by the method of your choice, and move on.

This is one hungry dude!

FREE BOOK with every purchase! I just wanted to let all of you know that the JULY SPECIAL on our online store this month is a FREE COPY of The Search For Haley book - you get one book absolutely free with every order - although you MUST place this free book into your shopping basket in order to receive it! By the way, Haley's dad, Steve Zega, is another one of our close friends that is serving his country in Iraq - he is expected to return this fall - keep up the great work Steve!

7/9/04 While working on the new 2005 Arkansas Wild & Free wall calendar of ours, I realized that I could use one more photo to include in it. This calendar will feature all new photos taken in the past year, and all from the Buffalo River area. I had a photo in mind, but it was going to take a little bit of work to make it happen. I enlisted the help of Glenn Wheeler, who great up near, and knows this particular part of the river where I wanted to shoot the photo. Conditions were just right - clear skies predicted with no chance of rain. Of course, we didn't believe them for a moment.

We picked up a yellow canoe at Buffalo River Outfitters at Silver Hill (I wanted a yellow canoe for this shot) and headed for Woolum. (By the way, if you ever want to rent a canoe or guide for the middle section of the Buffalo River, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these guys - just pure professional all the way, and I loved doing business with them - 800-582-2244. They can also run shuttles for the Ozark Highlands Trail too.) The shot that I wanted was an image of Skull Bluff, a really unique and scenic spot a couple of miles upriver from the Woolum access. Glenn knew of a way that we could drive right to the lower end of the bluffs, so it would be easy for us to unload the canoe, and get the shot. I wasn't sure about the exact light, so we had planned to get some shots in the evening, camp on the gravel bar nearby, and then shoot in early morning light as well. Our plan looked really good.

Only problem was that with recent rains the river at Woolum was too high for a vehicle to cross. Ah ha, but we knew a back way in! After spending about an hour driving around through Snowball we reached the ford of Richland Creek on a county road that would take us to Glenn's parking spot. Hum, seems that something has happened to Richland Creek recently, and this creek crossing was about 3-4 feet deep - normally almost bone day at this time of the year! This was not because the river was up, but rather that past floods had actually dammed up the river and created a very long and deep pool, making the county road impassable. Time to go with plan C (plan A was to simply drive across the river and Woolum to get to the parking spot, taking this back way in was plan B), so we headed on back to Woolum, arriving just in time to greet a giant bank of really black clouds.

As we unloaded the canoe it began to rain. We stood there talking with a guy who actually lives across the Buffalo River in Richland Valley - the county road that leads to his home has also been blocked by the big pool on Richland Creek. There aren't many more "colorful" characters that you would ever run across than this guy. He works somewhere in Harrison, and takes a flat-bottom boat that he has chained up to a tree across the river each morning, then back across again after work. He keeps a truck parked on either side. The rain continued, and in fact got kind of hard there for a little while. I suggested that we unload the canoe and eat dinner, which we did.

A little while later the rain stopped. We were right at the edge of this large storm front - we had just talked with Pam on the cell phone and she said the front had come in from Oklahoma and was a pretty severe one. Yep, we could see that! But what the heck, a little rain would not bother us, so we loaded up the canoe once again and made a run for it, so to speak.

The river was simply gorgeous. Beautiful, clear water, fish and turtles and birds and wildflowers all over the place. And even though we had about a mile and a half to paddle UPstream, the going was easy. We only had to get out a couple of times and drag the canoe up rapids - the rest we simply were able to power our way up through. The entire time we were in the canoe not a single drop of rain fell. But the clouds over head grew darker and thicker and more menacing with each stroke. By the time we reached the hole of water at Skull Bluff and our campsite, we were right in the middle of two black cloud fronts - one to our right, another to our left. And those clouds were turning very dark GREEN, and beginning to roll over and so some really strange things.

We didn't have time to admire the view of Skull Bluff, but rather put it into high gear and threw up a couple of tents, which was not easy to do since the winds came up and were probably blowing 30-40mph. At times like these it helps to know exactly how to pitch your tent in a hurry! Just as I snapped the fly onto the tent, a few large drops of rain came sailing in. I grabbed my gear and tossed it all into the tent, jumped in myself, and zipped the fly shut. Oh yea, I think I saw Glenn doing the same thing with his tent right next to me, but I was mostly just trying to save my own skin - Glenn was on his own!

We got the tents up and gear stowed in the nick of time -within a minute we were hit with a deluge of heavy rain and violet wind gusts. And then the real fun began. It sounded and felt like we had tied right on up to a battleship, and their big guns started to fire. The sky was quite dark, and so it was easy to see the incredible flashes of light from the lighting, but the intense BOOM that followed was often almost too much to take. And knowing the booms were almost instantaneous did not help - I swear several of them landed on the ridge just a couple hundred yards away. What could we do but sit there in our tents and wait it out - no place to run and hide. I've been in a number of quite severe thunderstorms in my life, and this one had to rank right on up there as #1 or #2 most violent and intense. Really quite amazing.

Even though our tents were pitched right next to each other, the rain and thunder were so loud there was no way for us to communicate by yelling. Of course, being the techno guys that we are, we each had little radios, so were able to talk back and forth on them over the noise going on outside.

Having planned just a little bit ahead, I was well equipped to sit out just such a storm. So there I sat in my tent, with a well-padded lounge chair, munching on very tasty beef jerky, and sipping on a glass full of bourbon and coke over ice. Yep, it had turned out to be one wonderful thunderstorm indeed!

About an hour later, the rain let up, and we both came out of our tents to survey any damage, and see if there was going to be any way to shoot a photo. Negative on the photo. While we were waiting out the storm, the sun went down over there somewhere behind all those storms. It was getting dark, and in a hurry, and it was still raining a little bit.

One thing we had to think about was the river level - if this storm was as wide-spread as Pam had indicated - and Glenn's weather band radio that he brought along indicated that it was (that it stretched all the way back to Fayetteville) - we could be looking at a flooded river at some point during the night. I was not too concerned about us getting swept away - I've been on the river a number of times when water came rushing into the tent and I was forced to seek higher ground. But I was really concerned about my truck, packed on the gravel bar downstream at Woolum. My plan was that if the river came up a foot (we had marked the current level with rocks), then I would hike out in the dark via that little road that Glenn knew about, swim across the river, and move the truck. I really wanted to find the beginning of that road while I could still see just a little bit, so we waded across the river to see where the road was.

Hum, no road. We bushwhacked around in the thick brush, but no road. No trace of any road ever having been there. Looking around we noted that there was high-water debris more than 20 feet up in the trees from previous floods. Guess that is what happened to the road - there was no longer any road - it was just a no-mans land of gravel and brush now. My new plan was that if the river came up a foot I would simply hike back down the river as best I could and proceed to the truck. Maybe.

With still just a little bit of light left, we found ourself wandering on upstream past our camp, to the far end of the bluffline that is known as the 'Nars. This spot is a really neat place where you can climb up and see the Buffalo River on one side, and Richland Creek on the other side (although Richland is across the valley, but when it floods, it is right up against this same bluff). We eventually made our way on over to the river bank - almost completely dark now, but we were able to still make out enough details in the gravel bar and brush to realize there was a large cottonmouth with us. We moved on and out of his way.

As we turned back downstream we found ourselves wading out into the river, a river that was actually very warm. The further downstream we went the deeper the water got. Before long we were both swimming, or rather just treading water while the current pushed us on downstream.

Just before we found the cottonmouth, we witnessed one incredible lighting display - one in a million - where the entire sky from horizon to horizon (or at least what we could see of it) was lit up with a hundred lighting bolts that literally did stretch on forever. And before and after that mammoth display, each time lighting would flash the sky would turn pink or yellow or orange - it was quite colorful.

OK, now back to us in the river. So there we were, just floating along in the warm current, looking up and watching the sky light up and turn colors. All of that was kind of strange to begin with - especially since it was nearly dark - but then something quite amazing happened, and will go down as perhaps one of the top-ten most incredible sights I have ever seen in the wild. The river pushed us downstream and around a bend and spread out right before our eyes was what looked like a thousand foot sheer cliff, beginning up there in the sky somewhere in the lightning and falling off down into and disappearing into the river right in front of us - all of it silhouetted against a western sky that was bright blood red. And at just about the moment all of this came into view. Yet another brilliant blast of lightning lit up that western sky, and all that red was filed with bright yellow and orange bolts. It was just, well, a stunning sight. We both just floated there in the water, dumbfounded. And then Glenn said something that I was also thinking - "I wish my wife were here to see this." It is really difficult for me to put into words what a scene that was, and how surreal the entire moment was. Weird. Incredible. Raw nature at its most beautiful. How lucky we were.

We finally floated on over to our campsite and then Glenn said something really odd - "The river has gone DOWN!" Sure enough, even with all of that rain, the river had actually dropped an inch or two since we had arrived. Really strange.

Like before, just as we reached the tents it began to rain again. And more lighting, but nothing like the battleship event we had before. It rained a very steady rain for an hour or two or three, then quit. I got up and out of the tent around 2-3am to have a look around. I had expected to find a clear night sky filled with a zillion stars - that big old front having pushed right on through - but I could only see a handful of stars peeking through a break in the clouds. And a dull half-moon trying to peer through all of the clouds. It did come out once for a minute or two, but then went back into hiding.

The next time I got up I could see the gravel bar and the river and more and more clouds above. As I stood there at the edge of the river wondering if we were going to get a single photo shot, bands of clouds began to turn bright pink and orange and red. Still a lot of BLACK clouds too, but nice to see a little bit of sunshine getting up to them. The east was clear, but all else was socked in. As soon as it got light enough for photos, we got Glenn into the canoe and over to the base of the bluff. Just like Neil Armstrong reaching down and grabbing a quick bag of moon dust as soon as he stepped off the LEM (in case something went wrong and the had to abort the mission), I madly shot about 100 photos of Glenn in the canoe - it was a nice as I had envisioned (I had never actually been to this bluff before, but had seen other photos, and so thought it might look good with a yellow canoe there). As it turned out, the light was pretty good, although not what I had expected - the sun never did show up. But we shot, reloaded, and shot some more. Then Glenn went fishing while we waited for the light to change - which it never did. So we packed all our gear up, waved good-by to the bluff, and sailed on down the river and back to the truck - once again, a BEAUTIFUL stretch of the Buffalo River!

Oh yea, the river had come DOWN a full SIX INCHES overnight!!! Where did all that rain go?

So there you have it, and here you have it - a new photo that will most likely wind up in the 2005 Arkansas Wild and Free Calendar (I shot about 350 shots, and don't have a clue which one we'll pick, but here are a couple of them, plus an infrared shot that I made while we were waiting for the light to change - no need to vote, we'll throw a dart later...):

an infrared shot of the Buffalo River



Glenn and the yellow canoe at Skull Bluff

7/14/04 It is way before sunrise this morning, the cabin is quiet, and things are still and very quiet outside. Looks like it will be another bright, hot and humid day in the wilderness, but still far cooler than in town from what I see on the news! We are in the home stretch now with our three projects, and we are feeling pretty good about them all. The wildflower book is basically done (although we continue to tweak things - Don just sent me an addition at 5:20am this morning!). The calendar is basically done. I am working on the new color price list now, and hope to have it mostly finished by the end of today. One last thing that I have to do with all three projects is to convert all of the images (nearly 450 of them) to the special CMYK color mode that the printing press requires. This involves several steps to each image, and I will write an "action" that will perform most of them automatically. However, it will take 8-10 hours of actual computer time once I get the ball rolling, and I will be without my computer all that time! I am saving all of the until the very last, since it actually destroys a great deal of color information (a printing press cannot reproduce all the colors that the camera can). Yikes!

Amber comes back from Nature Camp tomorrow afternoon.

In the meantime, I have become totally worthless for all other business items - you should see my in box - it is more than a foot tall, and I have a couple hundred unanswered e-mails in my computer in box! Pam is FINISHED with all of the editing, and is now switching over to book promotion for Glenn's book. That is a fulltime job in itself. Once we get the three current projects out the door (on Friday I hope!), will we get to sleep? Ha, ha. We will continue to work seven days a week for a while, but the MENTAL stress of the DEADLINES will be gone, so life will be a lot easier on us.

I have been able to break away for an hour each day to hike down to the river, then cool off in Amber's little pool. The forest remains lush, lush, LUSH! Lots of mushrooms still popping up, but mostly white and dull-colored ones - not many of the bright red and orange ones now. SPIDER WEBS - yes! Although they have not been very consistent - one day I may run into hundreds of them, while the next there may not be hardly any (they rebuild them normally within an hour, sometimes within minutes). Don't know why that is. At one point the other day I had so many spiders crawling on me that I could not look down for fear of seeing them on my leg - I HATE spiders! I have found that with these guys that you run into on the trail if I just ignore them they will quickly drop off and run back to their station to begin rebuilding - they know they are not going to eat me. But still, looking down and seeing one of them on me give me the creeps! What a wimp.

Book cover and calendar update. Just in case some of you were interested, we did pick a photo of Glenn and the yellow canoe at Skull Bluff for the calendar - it will be the June 2005 image, and looks pretty terrific. We had thought about using it on the cover, and did another test with it and another image. The results of that test were evenly split right down the gender line - men picked the canoe shot, women picked a waterfall shot. In our experience, women make about 75% of the purchases of our stuff, so we went with the waterfall shot. As far as Don's wildflower cover shot goes - we used every single one of the cover candidates inside the book - most of them full page. But we decided to run the election the correct way, and went with the top vote getter - the coneflower got more than double the votes of any other flower photo. And it was my #1 pick all along, from the moment Don first walked in and placed a page of slides with it included on the light table. THANKS a million for all of your votes and your comments - they were very helpful and I appreciate each one of you who made the effort to vote. As the shipment date on both of these projects gets near, I will post complete info about them (including all of the calendar photos). We expect them to be ready for sale in October, give or take.

Good grief, time is really flying this morning, and it is getting light outside - I had better quit playing and get back to work! Soon I will have more to write about here than just work, so I hope you stay tuned for the rest of the summer - I suspect I will be heading down to the old skinny dipping hole with my mask and snorkel and see what Spot is up to!

07/17/04 Saturday afternoon and I just got up from a nap. What a luxury! Late last night, after a marathon work week that included back-to-back 18-hour days, I finally put the wraps on all three of the projects we've been working on and got them delivered to our print broker. Now I can get on with the rest of my life, which includes about 500 items that I have not been able to get to the past several months. Thanks to all of you for bearing with me through all of this.  It has been fun, frustrating, and a TON of work, but I've enjoyed just about every step of the way.

While it may be hot and humid this afternoon, for a little while this morning it was actually quite cool, and in fact the air had a hint of fall in it. Just that little bit of sweetness we all long for after many long months of heat. Of course, we have not had much actual summer here yet, but I'm sure we will get our share. I even found a number of bright red and orange leaves that had come tumbling down from high above - black gum trees are normally the first to turn in the fall, and often they will even omit a bit of color in the middle of the summer, like the ones around my office were doing this morning.

I found a nest of phoebe or pee-wee birds, and there appeared to be some chicks in the nest. I  took a photo from down on the ground with the zoom lens extended all the way out. Then I decided it would be OK to go grab a ladder and climb up to get a closer look - no momma was around. When I put the ladder in place, much to my great surprise three little birds FLEW AWAY! What - they were just little chicks! All three looked like proficient flyers and had no trouble landing in nearby trees. Was this their first flight? Or had they all already passed flying lessons and were just back in the nest for a party? It was really strange. Later on I found two of them inside the tractor shed, just hanging around up in the rafters, and I chased them out the door and once again they flew just fine.

Lots of noise and motion outside the cabin today. Tons of birds out and about playing, and I can hear the screams of at least one hawk - sounds more like three or four. The sea of wild sunflowers down in Mom's meadow is just now beginning to bloom, although now all of the goldfinch have gone away - perhaps they didn't like all the yellow competition! We have been seeing a indigo bunting in the window feeder in the drawing room - never seen them come in close to the feeders before. It is kind of strange to be in that room and look over and see both a bright blue bunting and brilliant yellow goldfinch actually INSIDE the room at the same time (the feeder in there juts into the room, with a one-way mirror so the birds don't know they are inside a cabin.

After doing some chores outside and getting totally pitted out, I decided to go ahead and take a hike down to the river (as long as I was soaked, what the heck). It was hot, but always a little bit cooler in the forest. A pack of coyotes began to yip and yell as we got down below the bluff - they were on the other side of the river, and so the dogs didn't even pay them any attention. I love to hear them.

Hardly any spider webs on the way down, always a good thing.

As I got down to one of the lower benches, I began to hear the rushing of Whitaker Creek - that is really a good sign because it is normally dry by this time in the summer. And then a few moments later the air got noticeably cooler, in fact a little bit chilly! I bet the temp dropped ten degrees or more in just 100 yards of hiking. Very nice. Also in that same general area I started to encounter spider webs - lots of them. One after another after another after another. Yuk. But I was on a mission to get to the river, so I just wiped them away as best I could and hiked on.

The Buffalo was flowing nicely, and so was Whitaker Creek - still two distinct waterways that join downstream about 100 feet from where the trail comes out. The shallow areas of both creeks were filled with flowering plants. Lucy played in the shadows, Aspen swam in the deeper parts. I stood on the edge and looked at some tiny minnows and a miniature crawdad - they were in a face-off, but really I think either side knew what to do with each other!

On the way back up the steep hillside I did something that I had not done in a good long while - I had to stop and blow - just could not make it all the way up without stopping. I leaned back up against a giant black gum tree, and let the cool breezes flow over my soaked body. Guess I have grown even fatter and more out of shape this past couple of months of computer work. A minute later I was on the move again, and managed to make it up to the base of the bluff, just barely. Then I had to hoist good old Aspen on up over my head - 55 pounds of dead weight! It is easy to carry Lucy up the ladder - she hardly weighs more than a bag of feathers.

When I arrived at the cabin I was near death, but was able to crawl on over to the edge of Amber's pool and throw myself in. Absolutely wonderful! The girls were up in Missouri so were not privy to my plunge. That cool water in the pool took my body core temp down a notch or two in a hurry, and before long I was alive once again and back at the computer.

Lots of puffy white clouds drifting around up high in the blue sky this afternoon. The wind has stopped, and it is warm and humid outside, although really not too bad for the middle of July.

By the way, for any of you who will happen to be in the St. Louis area next weekend (July 24th), the famous Don Kurz (of Illinois Wildflower guidebook fame) will be doing a book signing (he has many books, including OZARK WILDFLOWERS, SCENIC DRIVING THE OZARKS, and TREES OF MISSOURI to name a few) at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Don't know any of the details, but if you are interested shoot me an e-mail and I'll find out. Of course, he will not have the new book available - that won't be out until this fall - but you can meet and say high.

OK, I do believe it is time for another nap - I'm trying to get three in a day now for a while, by I will settle for two. More later...

07/18/04 I slept in today (until almost sunrise), not needing to do another 18-hour work day. I soaked a bit in the tub and listened to just a few birds that were up and playing (actually they were just sitting in a tree, not moving around at all). No wind. Temps in the mid-60's, and it felt quite nice and cool. I sipped on a cup of Earl Gray tea and cream while reading e-mails. The sun just began to break up over the eastern ridge line, tossing bright sunshine across the tops of the other ridges in the wilderness. There was a cloud bank in the canyon below that had settled in during the night.

Being as fat and out of shape as I have become, I decided to make two trips to the river each day, starting this morning. So I put on my socks and boots, grabbed the walking stick and camera, instructed the computer to do a task that takes it about an hour to do while I was gone, and hit the trail.

Man, oh, man, it was just delightful out in the forest! I know that so many folks are downright afraid to hike in the summertime around here (I used to be one of them), but in reality, there is no finer time of the year to be out in the woods than early morning in July. The woods were quiet, still, there was that sweet chill in the air, and everything was just very nice.

The sun was arriving at the upper reaches of my hike, and in some places beams of sunshine reached far into the forest, lighting up trees hundreds of yards away, yet missing everything in between. (In other words, the forest would be dark off to my right, except for a single tree trunk way out there that was getting hit directly by sunshine - looked pretty neat).

Off to my left, the sheer 100-foot bluff was silhouetted against the rising sun, although not really - it was foggy out there, and so the bluff was not being hit directly, but so I guess I should say that it was silhouetted against the fog bank.

As I began to encounter spider webs on the way down, I put on a head net. I always feel kind of silly wearing one of these things, especially now. This particular head net has become Amber's bag of choice when she goes up and collect green beans from the garden for dinner. So now not only was I wearing this large, green sack over my hear, but now I was wearing a green bean sack! Thank goodness I knew there would be no one else on the trail to witness this!

The rest of the hike on down to the river went quickly, and soon my feet were wet and I was standing out in the middle of the river, or actually on the gravel bar in the middle of the river. Come to think of it, it is not really a "gravel" bar as such, but rather a "smooth stone" bar - the stones ranged from an inch square to 4 x 6 inches, all worn smooth by eons of time spend tumbling in the river.

The sky above was white, and that cloud bank hung low, clinging to the trees at the edge of the river. I got out the camera and took a few snapshots.

The view of Cloudland from the river

Lucy and the river. Good girl!

Just downstream of where Whitaker Creek comes into the Buffalo, two large trees had been blow down by recent storms. Lucy jumped up onto one of them to investigate, and I took her picture, but I knew she would simply dissolve into the shadows in the background. Then Aspen jumped up to have a look. I tried to get him to hold still - which he did for only a split second and one photo - then he leaped off the log into the air, and hit the water with a big splash - he was after some poor little minnow (who was quite safe - Aspen has never caught anything in the water).

Aspen about to pounce on the minnow (sweet gum tree under Aspen, sycamore tree in the background - both downed by a recent storm)

The trip back up the steep hillside (sans head net) went well, and before I knew it I had blown right on past the big tree where I had to stop and rest yesterday.

When I reached the cabin, my bride was up and out in front working on plants. She was putting a couple of special vines in the ground that Don Kurz had sent her that we hope will grow up and over the arbor that leads to the pond and creek out in front. I was hot and sweaty, and after doing 60 sit-ups and pulling a few weeds, I moved over to the outdoor shower - what a terrific experience! Just wonderful. Delightful. I turned the water all the way to cold, and let it cool my body core down. But then when I went inside it was HOT in there  - we had the AC set up to 78 or something like that. It was still 68 outside, but nearly 100% humidity, while it was only 50% in the cabin.

Lots of computer work for me to do today, then I will make another trip down to the river this afternoon, and hopefully stick my head underwater, as the computer churns on doing yet another chore for me.

07/19/04 The sun is burning off the blanket of clouds that spent the night covering up the river valley far below. The blanket didn't do too much to keep things warm though - I just got back from the river and it was COLD down there! The temp at the cabin was 58 when I left a little bit before sunrise, but it was at least ten degrees cooler down at the river - so cold that I had to put my hands in my pockets! But man did it feel great!

Today is a carbon copy of yesterday - cool in the early AM, a trip to the river, bright sunshine, and looking to be hot and humid during the day. I must say, though, that it turned off rather cool yesterday afternoon. I made a second trip down to the river in mid-afternoon. By the time I made it back up to the top the temp was a very pleasant 78 degrees with low humidity. July in Arkansas, really?

Here is a view of the bluff that I pass on my way down to the river

This morning, as I was making my way back up the slope, the sun reached deep into the woods once again, but this time, the beams of sunshine were bright red, as was everything it stuck. Must have been a nice sunrise upstairs!

I did not get my allotted three naps yesterday - I choose to work instead. Which is just fine with me, because I happen to love work, and there is so much to do. I've been up and at it since 5 this morning - just habit I guess. Now that I am going down to the river in the morning, I feel like I have to put in a couple hours of work before I go!

Oh yea, just one other note before I sign off and get back to work. As I was sitting out on the back deck putting on my boots this morning, a woodpecker began to beat his head against a dead, hollow tree way out there in the wilderness. That cloud bank below was pretty solid. The drumming of the woodpecker sounded like it was only about 20 feet away instead of a half mile or more - the sound waves were sliding right on along the top of those clouds and shot right over to the cabin I guess.

I'll make another trip down to the river this afternoon, plan on more work during the day, then we have company coming for dinner this evening. Hope your work week gets off to a GRAND start!

07/20/04 Just got out of the hot tub and a long soak in the evening air tonight. Zillions of stars out, including a number of shooting stars. It's getting to be that time of the year when we begin to see a lot of them, peaking with a meteor shower or two in August. It was very NOISY outside for the first evening I can recall this summer - tons of night bugs/frogs up in the trees singing away. That's what summer sounds like around here.

I made a couple of trips down to the river today - one just after daylight, and the other in the heat of the mid-afternoon (followed by some cooling-off time in Amber's pool). The forest seems to be rather laid back and just in a holding pattern until something else happens along. Lots of hickory nuts on the ground, many of them turning black around the edges, and even splitting open. Too early for any good nuts inside them though - witnessed by the lack of squirrels gathering them - they know when the nuts get ripe.

Whitaker Creek continues to run - clear and clean and colorful with all those polished stones in the shallow water. The water in it is mostly just runoff and not from springs, so the water is not too cold. I expect it to get really low and dry up much of the way here soon, unless we get a lot of rain.

Most of the mushrooms are brown now, and not too fresh-looking, which is to be expected. I'm seeing a lot more lizards than I have this summer. And the goldfinches have returned to Mom's meadow - LOTS of them! The wild sunflowers down there are beginning to pop out - a sea of bright yellow that grows with each hour of sunshine. And then all of those yellow streaks dive-boming from above.

We had company for the second day in a row. Our good friend from Hot Springs (who shall go nameless - you will see why in a moment) came over to bring me a gallon of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Am I worth it? Of course not, but we are always glad to see Erna! (Oops, did I say her name?)

So there is this little old lady - quite the hiker in her day - retired, mild-mannered and soft spoken. We were all sitting around in the drawing room talking about flowers and plants when she brings up this story about an armadillo that invaded her yard in Hot Springs not too long ago. I don't know of anyone who actually likes these things, and this lady certainly did not, nor do I. Anyway, not having a gun or other weapon to dispose of this armored fellow, she saw an opportunity when the critter started to dig a hole under the fence to her prized wildflower garden - she dropped "all of the biggest rocks on him that I could find" - which pinned him down underneath, but only his tail sticking up in the air. And here comes the funny part - then she ran into her house and returned a few minutes later with a tea kettle filled with BOILING water! "The poor fellow struggled for a few moments, then all was still!" She added more rocks to the armadillo grave. Boiled the sucker to death! I never argue with her.

Several years ago when this lady retired, she came by the cabin and gave me one of her prized possessions - an original Hummel from the 1950's of a hiker. We don't get it out much because I'm afraid it will get broken, but today it was sitting on the mantel when she arrived. I have always been proud of it. But today she presented me with an even more important item from her life - an illustrated copy of Aldo Leopold's A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC that she had been looking through for nearly 30 years (lots of passages are underlined or otherwise noted). I have always had a copy of this prose on my bookshelf, but now it will give me new meaning coming from her, and also with the very nice illustrations. Of course, the OJ was wonderful too!

I must tell you about a problem that I have been having of late that is becoming worse. When I work late at night like this, the computer screen and a light just above me are normally the only lights on in the cabin. As the summer has grown on my little work station has become a mecca for moths and all sorts of flying insects. I get them in my hear (yes, I DO have some hair), down my shirt, crawling up my legs and arms - really a mess. And scores of them seem to die just after coming to the light, so my keyboard and desk are covered with tiny moth and other bug bodies in the morning. Don't know what to do about it, other than to quit work early!

One last note before I log off. I saw in the paper today that COMMUNITY BANK in Harrison has used a photo of mine on their new Visa cards - my second Visa card photo. It is a shot of Hawksbill Crag with two hikers standing on top - the first real photo I ever took of the Crag. Looks like it will be a great little card. Hum, now what did I do with that bill? By the way, this is one bank that lives up to its name - the owner of the bank is a very nice guy, actually WORKS at the bank, and I enjoy doing business with these folks. They also own some other Community Bank locations (like the new one in Eureka Springs that will soon have a number of my photos on the walls). So look for my hiker friends (John and Barbara Benish of Farmington) on a Visa card near you! (Got to go - these moths are driving me nuts...)

07/21/04 It was still before sunrise when I arrived at the bottom of the hill this morning. The sound of Whitaker Creek filling the air as I get close always is a treat. Today I sat down and leaned up next to a smooth, moss-covered boulder right next to a little pool that had a small waterfall spilling into it - the origin of the music coming from the river. Lucy came down with me, but Aspen remained in bed with his mommy. The air was cool and refreshing, and with the sound of the falls and my comfortable seat, I dozed off in a hurry. Don't know how long it had been, but at some point I was startled awake by a BRIGHT light - it was the first rays of sunshine to reach the canyon floor, and they were beaming right into my eyes! GOOD MORNING WILDERNESS!

A little while later, I was sitting out on the back deck cooling down from my early morning stroll, when a tiny seed attached to a parachute came floating by. And then another one appeared, and another one. Pretty soon there was an entire army of them - hundreds and hundreds of them. The wind was blowing in from the south. I wanted to find out what plant was sending out these little troopers, so I mounted a campaign to follow the stream of them back down the hill into the meadow and see where they came from. Goodness, it was EASY to find them! Turns out our wild lettuce plants were going to seed. This is a plant that I had noted many times around here in the past, but like a number of other plants and flowers, had not taken the time to identify on my own - and it wasn't until Don Kurz was here a couple of weeks ago that I knew what they were. These are easily the tallest non-tree plants around, an reach heights of, well taller than me with my hands high in the air, so eight feet or more. (it is in Don's wildflower book)

These plants get really tall, and the seeds so heavy that the plant eventually bend over nearly double as it releases the seeds into the air. One of the leaves shown below.


A little family group of mushrooms on the trail - note the acorn on the right for scale.

The temp early this morning just after sunrise was a warm 82 degrees, and the humidity was 85%. Kind of warm and sticky. The girls are headed to meet with Amber's cousins for a bit of work at grandpa's property over near Jasper, then will detour on the way home to one of the swimming holes in Glenn's book. I'm at the cabin all day, continuing to plow through the mountain of paperwork that has been piling up these past couple of months.  We sent out another 90 packets of info about Glenn's new book to bookstores all across Missouri yesterday (at the moment, no one in Missouri has his book except Barnes & Noble - we hope to change that, and may need your help!). We continue to mail out comp copies to newspapers and magazines, and work whatever avenues are available to us to help get the word out about this great new guidebook. We are also working with Don Kurz laying the foundations for the promotion of his new book - turns out that Don is not only a first class naturalist and photographer, he also is a great promoter too! Most folks think that I get to spend all day in the woods, but in reality - as you Journal readers already know - about 95% of this business is non-outdoors work, and is just like any other job. But heck, I try not to complain, and I suspect no one would listen if I did!

07/23/04 It's already 8:30am, and the air outside is really hazy, just as much as yesterday, when it remained quite hazy all day long - more like they were doing a controlled burn than just a hazy day. Don't know where it is coming from. We need some rain, which will help the cracks in the earth's crust around here, plus would wash all that haze away. It is very still - the only breeze being that from the beating of humming birds at Pam's feeders (sometimes up to 10-15 hummers at a time now!).

Had a nice jaunt down to the river and back early, then did some lopping out in front while Pam picked weeds and spread mulch in the flower beds. Aspen and I sat and watched a tiny mouse running around just before daylight - we must be feeding those cats too much, and I have put them on 1/2 rations for a while.

Right now there is a brilliant BLUE Indigo bunting in the window feeder just a few feet away from me. Seems like this little fellow has been coming around a lot lately, but he is always alone. Lots of goldfinches down in Mom's meadow these days, but not too many of them at the feeder anymore - of course not, they have PLENTY of wild seeds to eat!

A couple of days ago Amber came back from a trip, went into her room and grabbed her backpack. She disappeared for about 20 minutes, then came bouncing into the office area with a big smile on her face, and her backpack full. "I'm going to hike up to the cemetery and put flowers on all the graves that don't have any - want to come with me?" This was totally out of the blue, and both her mom and I were shocked - after all it was 2pm on the hottest day of the year! "ABSOLUTELY!" I told her, and soon we were off.

It is more than a two-mile hike to the little cemetery that is next to Cave Mountain Church. Both dogs went with us, and despite our repeated attempts to keep them calm and not running off into the woods all the time, they were near death (it seemed) when we arrived at the church. Aspen did find a small, damp depression in the ditch along the way, and spent several minutes doing his best pig imitation until he was almost completely black with mud. Both dogs lapped up a tiny bit of wet dirt.

Amber went on through the gate and into the cemetery while I made a makeshift bowl out of a Wal Mart bag that I always carry and filled their bowl with water. They drank about a liter of SAMS bottled water. Happy dogs. So I sat there with the dogs under a huge spreading oak tree, and watched as my daughter went from grave to grave, placing flowers. This is a very well-kept cemetery, and is still in use. Many of the graves are covered with flowers from head to toe, while others have nothing. Amber told me on our hike there that she felt so sorry for those people who did not have anyone left to bring them flowers - is this kid really eleven years old? I've got to tell ya, while I have seen Amber do some pretty amazing things, I have never been more proud of her as I was at that moment. How many of US would ever thing of doing such a thing, would care so much for people we never met, who respected life as much as that? I suspect very few of us. And while I know that being a parent I AM supposed to be the one setting examples of how to be a good and decent person, but that was not the case on this day.

About a half hour later Amber came back through the gate with a sad look on her face. Turns out she was not sad because of the departed souls, but rather because she ran out of flowers, and was not able to decorate all the bare graves - "We'll just have to get more and come back!" She really is a great kid, and I don't have a clue how she ended up under my roof. THANKS MOM!

Cave Mountain Church and cemetery

On the hike back we looked at a bunch of different types of fruit that had been dripping from the trees - hickory nuts, acorns, and this little green item that I picked up and asker Amber to identify - "I don't know what the name of it is but that is where the knives and spoons are kept!" Of course, she was talking about a persimmon, and we always open up the seeds in the fall to see if there will be snow or ice during the winter (it depends on if we find "knives or spoons").

The dogs stuck pretty close to us all the way back, but did veer off one time and went for a swim in a hidden pond out there in the woods. Our hike was nearly five miles that afternoon.

Mid-morning update: I wanted to share with you the following note that I received from a gentleman who grew up in Boxley, in responce to Amber's little trip to the cemetery. Perhaps we can ALL take note of it all....

"Our kids never cease to surprise us do they! And fortunately, usually pleasantly.Ý Please tell Amber for me that someone who lives a long way away from there but has family buried there wants to thank her especially for her act of kindness and thoughtfullness.

One of my earliest memories was of a "dinner on the ground" at that church.Ý I probably was 5 or 6 years old.Ý I remember an elderly lady had brought homemade biscuits to the dinner and no one had eaten any.Ý She was gathering up her dish afterwards and in my mind I can still see her wrinkled and weathered hands folding the cloth over those biscuits to take them back home.Ý I felt sorry for her because no one had taken some of what she had lovingly brought, so I asked her for one and she unfolded the cloth for me to take one and she smiled.Ý No doubt she is buried there today.Ý Maybe Amber honored her final resting place with a beautiful wild flower.Ý That thought makes my heart glad today."

07/24/04 It's about 5am, not quite first light yet, and I can hear rumblings in all directions from the cabin, along with flashes now and then. We got about a half inch of rain yesterday, and another half inch overnight - I bet the forest is loving it today!

Yesterday about noon, right after the girls took off for the mailbox with about 25 pounds of books in tow, I made my second trip of the day down the steep ladder trail to the river. It was kind of weird and eerie out there in the woods - not a whisper of a breeze anywhere, no sounds at all, except for the rumble of distant thunder. With the forest canopy so thick I could not see out to find any thunderheads, only heard the rumblings, low and loud, and bouncing off the canyon walls and echoing off forever. I didn't have a rain jacket and really didn't mind - few things in life are as incredible as getting caught out in the woods in a summer thunderstorm.

When I got down to the bottom of the canyon I made a right turn and worked my way on up Whitaker Creek, just following the stream wherever it took me. I came upon this giant tree that literally stopped me in my tracks - it was HUGE to say the least. Not only was it very large around, but it went up, up, up, and out of sight in the forest canopy. I could not see the top of the tree - in fact, I could not see a single branch or leaf at all! The bark did not give away its identity, and without seeing any leaves, I was at a loss to determine what it was. Tall and straight, that's for sure. I will  have to return to this tree one day with camera in hand, and show you what I'm talking about - and then come back again the winter and see if I can figure out what sort of tree it is.

A little while later, when I had reached the cabin, I found the girls back from their hike as well, all of us dry. But that didn't last too long - soon the mighty thunder boomers from the left and from the right converged, and we could see rain pouring down in sheets right out in front of the cabin. The wind began to blow, the trees swayed back and forth, and finally, we got hit with a great downpour! Man, oh man that felt great. I was still soaked from my hike, and Amber, well heck, she will take any opportunity to get out and dance in the rain. So we stepped out from under the porch - Amber to run around the circle drive and dance in the new mud puddles, and me, I just jumped into the pool and let the downpour massage my head.

It was a great rain shower, although only lasted for a little bit. Then the clouds moved on and the sun came out.

It is a little later now this morning, it is getting light, and we've had another good shower. The cabin is engulfed in a cloud bank. Every now and then I can see out through the clouds to the ridge across the way, or deep down into the cabin, but only for a moment or two, then the clouds move on and cover it all up once again. I think I'll dig out the infrared camera and see what it looks like through its eye.

The IR view from the back deck into the fog

AFTERNOON UPDATE. Mid afternoon now. We got another half inch of rain this morning. The pups and I made a quick trip down to the river, and I got stung by a bee - second time this week. The sun has been out and the temp has been hot. But just in the past 30 minutes more black clouds have moved in, and we hear rumblings off in the distant clouds. The wind has started to blow. The girls have been out on the front porch watching the ever-growing population of hummers at the feeders. Seems they all are females, except for one lonely male. Boy, I bet he is tired. The river had not come up any after the rains of the past day - probably would take several inches more before it would make any difference. The landscape is parched, and will soak up a lot of moisture before letting any of it runoff. I just checked the radar screen and it looks like a large green, yellow, and RED blob is drifting just to the north of us, so it will probably miss us. That's OK - the thunder boomers have been nice to listen to! Oops - check that. I just heard a couple of very LOUD raindrops land on the deck - better take cover!

7/26/04 It is very late tonight, the cabin is dark and quiet, and my eyes are about to bug out from being at the computer for most of the day since 4-something this morning. I got a break when Glenn came by for a couple of hours to make plans to a marketing trip up into Missouri to find a few places to sell his new guidebook.

I've got to tell you about this incredible plate of roast beef that I had at a Western Sizzlin' in Russellville, must have been 20 years ago. I had been out in the mountains for a good long while, hiking or taking photos, or doing trail work, or doing something, I don't actually remember, but I do remember stopping and having this wonderful dinner there, all by myself (I NEVER eat in a restaurant by myself - have some sort of phobia about doing that). Anyway, that was one of the very best meals I have ever eaten in my life. Well, my lovely bride crafted such a meal this evening, and it was also roast beef - I could have eaten the entire roaster full for sure!

OK, back to the wilderness. We have has just some wonderful, wonderful fall-like weather here these past couple of days, and about two inches of glorious rainfall. The forest has a gigantic smile all across its face for sure. And the temp is supposed to be even cooler this evening - great hiking weather!

I got to hike twice in the rain, once when it was nearly dark. The dogs remained at the cabin, so it was just me and the rain. Not another sound in the forest could be heard but the raindrops coming down and down and down from the tall tree canopy high above. Even when I walked along the waterfalls of Whitaker Creek all I could hear were raindrops. No sound underfoot. No sound up in the trees. Nuttin' honey. Nuttin' but the rain. I've spent probably a little more time than most out hiking in the rain, and sitting in a tent waiting out the rain. And I don't think I ever minded either. There is just something about being OUT in it all that is very special, and a feeling that you never really quite get over.

Of course, that is all easy to say in the summertime - let it rain in the winter when the temp is 34 degrees and a wind to match, and you never heard so much cussing!

And then the next morning I took another stroll and it rained the entire time. Or should I say it rained lightly - perhaps even a heavy mist. At first I thought it was just coming out of the clouds and heavy fog that surrounded everything. But then when I reached the river and walked out into the middle of the large smooth-stone bar there, the rain was actually coming down pretty good. The river did not seem to really notice that it had rained two inches - I guess all the trees and parched ground and grasses and zillions of other plants soaked up most of the water first, although I think by today some of the water was actually able to make it down into the main river channel.

Back up in the forest, I saw a hundred of those giant trees that reached far up into the sky with no telltale signs of identification - the clouds were hugging the trees low to the ground, and I could see up into the overstory of only the short trees - the tall ones were way out of sight. I guess I should have jump up onto one and climbed up as high as I could to see if I could see the ground. But I was having such a joyful romp in the woods as it was.

Just before dinner a couple of days ago, and in between thunderstorms, my wife sent me out to look for blackberries in hopes we could make some fresh homemade blackberry ice cream (well, OK, it was ME that sent myself out in search of them!). I only had to go about 100 yards from the cabin to find the sweetest, the blackest, the very BEST blackberries in all the land! We've been hiking and driving right on by this patch all summer, and while I have been keeping my eyes on the green and then red bits of fruit, I never really expected to find them in perfect ripeness. But oh brother did I ever on this day!

So I was out there in my shorts, in the cool dampness, carefully placing my feet and legs in between the stickers, trying to keep from being shredded at any moment. And going about the delicate job of selecting and then removing the very best fruit. When all the while around me incredible CRASHES and BOOMS landed all about.

Here is my own technique for getting the best fruit. First off, just because a berry is black doesn't mean that it is ripe. These little guys must turn this very particular shade of black, and then get that specific shine on them, and then be at just the moment where they are about to fall right off their perch, then it is time to pick them. The way that I can tell, is first off by sight - they just look different than all the other black and non-perfect berries. Then I reach out and carefully cradle my fingers under the berries, then gently begin to roll with my fingertips - just a LITTLE bit! If the berry gives way and falls into my hand, then it is a good one. If I have to actually grab the berry and pull it off, no good! Those that fall right into your hand will be the sweetest of the lot. These bushes near the cabin were filled with those kind on this day, and I had a feast. But my greatest excitement was finding that there were several clumps of the very best ones that had all ganged up and grown together - but their weight had bent over the branches, and these guys were actually right on the ground, with their leaves covering them up - I could not see them until I got down low to the ground and pulled the leaves back - then I struck BLACK GOLD!

OK, ok so I ate a berry or two before I filled the can, but there were still plenty to fill the can. Big raindrops began to pound my head just as I stepped into the cabin. It wasn't until late that night when I got to sample the ice cream, but my oh my it was just, well, it was pure cream blackberries melting on my tongue. I'm not looking forward to the end of blackberry season this year!

By the way, just an update on my condition today. Monday is the day when I do my weigh-in, and I ALMOST but not quite made my goal for the week of losing three pounds - only managed a loss of 2.5 pounds. Hum, I wonder if it could have been the blackberry ice cream? Perhaps I need to increase my trips down to the river to three a day instead of two.

Early, early this morning I spent some time in the hot tub, just sitting there and listening to all that was going on around me. Well, actually there wasn't much going on at all. The air was very still with no wind at all, and no raindrop music either. There was a single hoot owl, probably a barred owl, way off in the distance, calling out to someone, or to no one in particular, or perhaps he was calling out to me. The soft voice drifted in the night air, and spread around the wilderness until he called again. Only one other bird up at that time of the day - I  did not know the call, but it was making all sorts of music, standing in a treetop at the edge of the meadow below. Never heard another one answer. But that was OK - I was there to hear, and to listen, and to be filled with the joy of the wilderness. Sometimes it is raindrops on your face. Sometimes it is a ripe blackberry falling into your cupped hand. Sometimes it is the music just before dawn that is crafted just for your ear. I think I'll put this Journal to bed now, and go soak a little more, and see if there are any others up at this late hour.

07/27/04 another late night at the computer, another early morning at the computer. But lots of great time out in the woods during the day today. It didn't get nearly as chilly as had been predicted - only about 56 for a low this morning. Foggy at first light, and then we had the classic sea of clouds down low in the canyon. I got out and snapped a photo for the daily cam. When I turned around and went into the cabin to load the memory card into the computer, I just happened to glance out the window, and it was GONE! I mean the ENTIRE cloud bank vanished in about a minute. I guess it must have already been all primed and heated up by the rising sun and just at that point where it dissolves into the air, but goodness I have never seen it go so FAST before. I had to quickly put the card into the computer and bring up the photo that I had just taken to make sure I had actually seen those clouds there! Amazing.

The clouds vanished a minute after this photo was taken

I've been spending a lot of time at the computer lately, pouring through countless message boards, software user guides, and downloading-installing-learning how to run new software. I'm getting a new computer system in another month or two, and I want to clean up my entire system and get rid of several applications that I have been using forever, and replace them with new types of software that will do the same things, but better, and will work with the new system. I won't bore you with any more details, but suffice it to say that my eyes have been rather bug-eyed from early (today I got started around 4am) to late every day, with some breaks during the day. I have made a lot of headway, but still have a long ways to go. And speaking of headway, I'm happy to report that I am ALMOST down to the bottom of my in-basket!

One of those times today when I was able to break free from the keyboard I went out to take the mail, then stopped by the garden at the Faddis cabin on my way back - I came home with a Wal Mart bag filled with goodies!

Got to take a couple of fitness hikes down to the river as well. When I got back from the one this evening, I was totally soaked and exhausted, but it only took about two seconds in Amber's pool to cool me down - that water, with the cool temps we have had these past few days - was rather frigid!

When I got out of the pool and came around the corner of the deck I found my bride down on her hands and knees behind the BBQ grill (that she had just turned on to cook dinner). I got down there with her and watched this tiny spider that had snagged a large carpenter ant in its web. The ant struggled for a bit, and the little spider raced to secure its catch in the web, and eventually the ant went motionless (we think the spider bit the ant a few times). Then the darn little spider started to haul the giant ant UP - not exactly sure where he was taking this super-sized meal, but he was getting the job done. No telling what all else we would see if we spent more time down on our hands and knees on the deck - heck, probably ten years worth of drama could be seen at any spot on the forest floor.

You know how small ants are - just look at how small that spider is!

Pre-dawn, 7/28/04

07/30/04 When I was a little kid my brother and I, and sometimes other folks, used to hike and or bike from our house at the edge of Fayetteville (at the time, which was near the McDonalds on College St. near Evelyn Hills Shopping Center and the VA hospital), a number of miles out to "the rock quarry" at Johnson (that is out past the Mall). Come to think of it that was quite a trip for kids, but it really didn't seem like it that much back then - the rock quarry is just where we went to play, and hiking along the railroad track or biking the old road was the way we got there.

Anyway, sometimes I used to go by myself - really didn't have kids my own age to play with. One of the most vivid memories of my entire childhood was when I came across this "creature" that had come up out of a crack in the earth - the darn thing was at least a foot long, multi-colored, and looked like a giant worm or smooth caterpillar. I don't recall being frightened by it, nor peppering it with my trusty BB gun that I always carried; rather I think I just stood there in the gravels and started at it in total awe of such a thing - I had never seen anything like it at the time, or ever since, and still don't have a clue what it was. Well, I found another one of them today, and this great mystery of my childhood is now solved!

As I was coming back up the steep hill from the river today, I found this critter right in the middle of the trail in the flat area of the last bench just below the big bluff. Both dogs had already run past/over it without a clue, but the color was so vivid and shape so unique and out of place, no way was I going to miss it. This guy that I found today was not exactly a foot long, but I guess being a child of seven or eight it would have looked that big to me way back then - the one I found today measured out to be about five inches long, although you really can't tell from these photos.

Since I did not have my camera with me I took off my sweaty shirt and carefully wrapped him up in it and brought him back up to the cabin for a photo session and identification. When I unwrapped him the dude was holding on tight with a large pair of pinchers at his rear - I mean he was holding on TIGHT! For a time I was not sure if that end was his front or his back. Bugs and birds and such often will grow fake-looking body parts, especially eyes, to protect their head when being attacked by prey. Once I got him off of my shirt I looked closely and could see what looked like two tiny black eyes on that end that had the large pinchers on them. But it turned out I was wrong, and his head was indeed on the end with the highly-ornamental and nasty-looking spikes. I guess this is where the punk rockers got their hairstyles from!

And I must say that this guy was not too happy about being displaced, and in fact we all were rather scared of his pinchers, and the aggressive way that he slapped his body around once he let go of the t-shirt. I'm sure there must have been some monster movie made about this species, or at least some monster that was created after a kid had a run-in with one of them. I don't remember the large one I saw as a kid being aggressive at all.

Anyway, here he is, easily identified as a "Regal Moth" caterpillar. Also called "Hickory Horned Devil" - the book says it does not have a cocoon but an "earthern" cell, whatever that means - perhaps that means it comes up out of a crack in the earth to amaze a little boy!

Hickory Horned Devil! (close-up above, ACTUAL size below}

The past couple of days have been filled with lots of computer work, a trip to town, and some really nice, lovely rain. We got about an inch and a half of rain yesterday afternoon and evening. Not really enough to make the rivers come up, but we did see some muddy water in other creeks around the area and signs of high water. The temps have remained very low for July, although sometime during the night last night the temp actually went UP, signaling the end to all of this wonderful cool weather. I hear it is supposed to be up in the 90's tomorrow. The temp got up into the 70's out here today.

Pam has been spending a great deal of time taking care of the growing flock of hummers at the cabin. Yesterday she set up the camera and tried to get a few of them on film. At times there have been a dozen or even more hovering around one feeder at the same time. She says all but one of these are little females, with one male that shows up every now and then.

Can you count how many hummers are in this photo?

(the answer is at least five) Lots and lots and LOTS of butterflies all over the place on the flowers and weeds and just about everything around here too. Such a treat to see all of them, and the flowers too!

And down in the meadow the "yellow" spots have come alive - dozens of brilliant yellow and black goldfinches flying all over the place, hanging onto wild sunflowers and bending them over with their weight; yellow and orange butterflies floating from flower to flower; and, of course, a sea of wild sunflowers just about everywhere you look. It is a very YELLOW season here at the moment!

Speaking of flowers, I happened to catch a beautiful doe standing right in the middle of the flower garden up at the Faddis cabin. I was a long way off and had my little point and shoot camera zoomed out all the way for this shot, but the deer was very small in the middle of the photo - one quick photo and she dashed off. That is the golden rule with wildlife photography - shoot SOMETHING as soon as you can, then try to get in closer for a better shot. But get something first. I knew I could crop the middle of this photo and still have a good image for the web page, although I could never be able to make a nice print of this (because the actual image area of the deer was so small in the original frame).

Speaking of cameras, today began a new era at Cloudland, and with my photography career. In the past most of the photos that you see here in the Journal were taken at very low resolution and intended just for the Journal web page. Photos on the web look a LOT better if taken at low resolution. It you take a high resolution photo and downsize it for web use, the quality really suffers a lot. So I have been shooting all of these low-res photos for the Journal, most of them just "snapshots" that I would never use for anything else. But every now and then I shoot something that I wish I had a "real" photo of - like the pre-dawn shot from the other day for example. I didn't have time to get out my "real" camera, so I shot the low-res version. I really like that shot, but won't ever be able to make a print or publish it.

OK, enter yet another digital camera at Cloudland. I purchased a new camera from Bedfords yesterday, and not only is it capable of taking very nice high-resolution photos that are suitable for book publication, calendars, and even prints, and not only can it also take low-resolution photos that are just perfect for the Journal, but it can do BOTH photos at the same time, and save a copy of each! What that means is now just about any photo that I take around here - even just snapshots for the Journal - I can use in publications or slide programs or sell prints of, and have very good quality for everything. I am like a kid in a candy store, and have already been through the owner's manual three times in order to figure out all the complicated controls this camera has. For those of you who care about such things, it is a Minolta A2, 8 megapixel, with image stabilization, 28-200mm lens, can shoot from f2.8 to f11, and can shoot RAW and any size jpg at the same time. I have already outfitted the camera with a special electronic cable release, and special polarizing filter (the darn LITTLE filter cost $100 all by itself!). The entire package only weighs about a pound, so I will be able to take it just about everywhere. I already have a perfect tripod to go with it - another two pounds. So now I will have a three-pound camera system to go with my 42-pound camera system. Will the little one replace the big one? Certainly not. But it will greatly expand my shooting possibilities, and in some cases, allow me to get a great photo when it was previously impossible.

By the way, THIS is the camera that I have been recommending to folks for the past few months who were looking at getting a DSLR system - it can replace all but the most expensive camera systems, and for just about everyone who wants high-quality photos, literally for any photographers at any level but perhaps the real "pro" shooters that expect to have their work published in National Geographic, or have paying clients. Really, the camera is that good. I'm sold. And I hope you like the photos I'll be posting here in the months to come - AND you can get a print from just about any of them! (for those who just want a true point-and-shoot digital camera and don't want to know about or mess with any buttons, I continue to recommend the Olympus 560-580 clamshell type of camera)

By the way #2, a bit of book business. You now can purchase the SWIMMING HOLES OF THE OZARKS guidebook in Ft. Smith at the Outer Layer outdoor store (only place in Ft. Smith that I know has the book - at least they WILL have it on Monday). Also, Glenn has been up in Missouri this past few days and we have picked up several new retail outlets up there. Soon we hope to have them available at many state parks in Missouri as well. I know the summer season is about to wind down, but this will get them into the mainstream and all ready for next summer too! They are also now available at the Blanchard Springs Visitor Center, although you may have to ask for them. Ever since the head lady there saw that tiny photo of my "fuzzy butt" she has been reluctant to sell my books (in fact has labeled the ARKANSAS WATERFALLS GUIDEBOOK as "obscene" - even to the point of plastering labels as such on the cover of the book!). Anyway, Glenn's book is getting into more outlets all the time, but we still have a long way to go. You can do both Glenn and us a favor by asking for his new book anyplace you go that might sell that sort of thing in Arkansas and Missouri.

I continue to be neck-deep in several major projects here at the computer, plus a ton of things to do around the cabin, but I also continue to get out and do fitness hikes once or twice a day. And now that I have a good little camera to take with me, I just might have to sneak away from time to time on some mini photo safaris. When I do, you will know about it.

Oops, just one more note before I sign off for the night - about a random act of kindness performed by an unknown guy from deer who helped out a lady in distress in the parking lot of the Dollar General store in Jasper today. This certain lady was in the store trying to purchase school supplies that will be given out to area kids who cannot afford to buy them (the state has just CLOSED DOWN the ONLY agency in the area that was able to disperse such items - today was their last day - don't know what the kids are going to do now). When the lady came out of the store she found a very flat tire on her vehicle. She was unable to change the flat herself, and she really didn't need to anyway, because before she knew what was going on, a gentleman drove in off of the highway, offered assistance, and changed the tire in a hurry. Knowing he would not take any money for his good deed, the lady sent her daughter over to hand the man's wife some cash as the smallest token of their appreciation. The world is full of very good people, and so many of them live in NEWTON COUNTY!

a young black gum tree turning color

American painted lady butterfly and un-identified green and yellow bug on the flower in the front "yard" at the cabin

07/31/04 What, Aspen NOT wanting to go down to the river with me? Yeah, right - that would only happen once in a Blue Moon! Today is a blue moon - the second full moon of the month - so I guess it was only fitting that it would happen today. HAPPY BLUE MOON TO YOU!

I should start off by talking about what the moon was up to last night. Big and bright and almost full, it lit up the wilderness almost like daylight. There was a solid layer of clouds down in the canyon, and that moonlight bounced off of it and spread all over the landscape. I sat out in the hot tub late and took a good long soak, listening to hoot owls, cicadas, and tree frogs singing out to the moon.

Early this morning that cloud bank began to rise and engulfed the cabin. It was quite chilly too - right at 60 degrees. Another spectacular fall day in July in the Ozarks! Really, really, nice. After checking e-mail and working on a couple of small projects, I decided that since the sun was about to burn through the fog, I would pack up and head to the river for my morning fitness hike, this time taking the new camera with me, along with both dogs.

On my way down the first big steep bench below the bluffline, I stopped and spent some time shooting photos of those big trees in the mist. Something quite magical about those huge trees at any time, but especially in the mist like this morning - always reminds me of the giant coastal redwoods on the  Damnation Creek Trail in Del Norte State Park in California - my favorite redwood spot of all.

One of the large black gums

As I was snapping away Aspen came charging out of the forest behind me, shaking his head like crazy - came right up to me - then turned and ran right on up the trail and all the way back to the base of the bluff, shaking his head all the while. I could not tell if he had bees around him (I did not see any as he went by), or had been bit by a snake. Whatever it was, it got him right in the face, and he was not a happy camper. When he reached the top he turned around and struck up a pose glaring down at me - "I'm not going ANYWHERE this morning!" Since I wasn't sure what had happened to him, I decided to take him on back to the cabin instead of heading on down the hillside, so back to the cabin the three of us went. Aspen remained there, and Lucy went back down with me.

I returned to the spot where the big trees were, and shoot a few more photos. This time it was Lucy who put on a show. She got onto the trail of a chipmunk, and began to chase the poor little fellow all over the hillside. It was so funny - the ground was covered with poison ivy and Virginia creeper, so I never actually saw the chipmunk (but I could hear him); and Lucy was hopping and springing from spot to spot as she chased the chipmunk. It was quite a show, and of course, the chipmunk was in no danger.

A bit of poison ivy getting into the fall spirit!

We went on down to the river then climbed on back up again, stopping below the cabin to inspect some neat cobwebs in the meadow. It had been very humid and wet during the night, and there were lots of droplets on the webs. The wind was blowing pretty good, so I had a tough time getting any good photos, especially with the added instability of me huffing and puffing so hard after the climb. But I got a couple I hope you enjoy.

I have been working on a new web page design - what do you think?

Aspen was OK - never did swell up, so I guess it was either a dry snake bite, or the bees didn't inflict too much harm. He later got interested in the little birds at the feeder in the drawing room...

LATE NIGHT UPDATE. Aspen is in serious condition tonight, fighting to stay alive. While I don't think this had anything to do with his episode this morning with the bees, we think that he got bit in the throat by a rattlesnake this evening. His throat has swelled up, and he is in a great deal of pain. At times as we have been nursing him tonight he seems like the life has been about to go out of him - he cannot move much, and his eyes are glazed over, and he has a fixed stare, not really caring what is going on around him. We were able to force some benadryl down him - first it was Pam's idea, and then the vet told us to do the same, only give him more. There really is nothing else we can do but try to make him comfortable and wait it out. I am happy to report that he IS in a little better spirits this evening, and was able to move around a bit, after being nearly comatose for four or five hours. Our biggest concern is the swelling in his throat blocking his breathing, so we have been keeping a close eye on all of that. He is a fighter, and I know he will make it through. While I know it is going to happen one day, I just cannot image life around here with out Aspen.

SO, and Aspen's honor, I photographed the "blue moon" as it rose outside the cabin tonight - like us, the moon is very sad for this brave pup.

I had planned to unveil the new web page design for the first August post, but will delay that now - I will make a post sometime on Sunday to let you know Aspen's condition...

8/1/04 ASPEN UPDATE. See the note at the top of this page, but the quick version is that Aspen is doing much better this morning. I will post another update later today on the regular August Journal page (once I create it).