Updated 6/30/04 a RED toadstool!
IT HAS ARRIVED - ORDER Glenn's new guidebook now!
Cloudland Deck Cam, 6/30/04, 8:43am, 1 more inch of rain overnight! |
6/1/04 The sun showed up over the ridgetop just after 6am this morning. By that time I had already put in four hours of work, hiked a couple of miles, drove down into Boxley Valley and back, and hauled up 500 gallons of water.
I was up at 2am updating some stuff in the online storefront (putting the ARKANSAS WILDERNESS book on sale, raising the price of the largest prints, and doing general maintenance). I had planned to get up at 4, but just couldn't sleep. By the time the alarm went off I was up at the office connecting the big trailer to the truck and strapping down the 500-gallon water tank. I drove down into Boxley and backed up to the spring there, then placed the water line that comes out of the hillside into the water tank. Even though it was still mostly dark, I had about 45 minutes to kill, so I took off for a walk.
I could barely see the ground in front of me, so I stuck to the old roadbed that wandered through the big hayfields in the valley. It was light enough for me to see a little bit of fog beginning to gather over above the main river channel. Seemed like more and more fog built up with each step I took, and it was getting lighter. I made several passes back to the truck to check on the progress of the filling, then continued on with my pre-dawn wanderings. While the temps was cooler than I had felt in a while, it was really very nice, and felt great taking that wet, cool air inside. Not much dew on the ground - I've never paid much attention to the "dew point" that they list on the weather, but whatever that is it had not reached it this morning. No critters out, at least that I could see.
Got the tank all filled up and then I pointed the truck towards home, hoping it would be able to haul the load up the 17% grade of Cave Mountain Road. This truck is rated to tow 5,000 (pretty much the max for any SUV), but the weight of the water and the big trailer exceeded that by a good bit, not to mention the additional stress of the steep grade. We crawled right on up the big mountain without hardly a whimper, and soon were pulling around the circle drive at the cabin.
I had a Cloudland Moment yesterday evening that began as a vision some ten years ago out in Wyoming. Back in the early 1990's I used to spend my summers up in the Wind River Mountains just outside of Lander, Wyoming. I organized and led volunteer trail crews there for several different organizations, and worked for the forest service. I spent as much as five months there at one time, and loved every moment of it. One summer my "job" was to hike every single mile of trail in the Popo Agie Wilderness Area and take pictures. Really. Just hike and take pictures and get a paycheck. Actually I did have to do a bit of office work once I came back down from the hills (went into the backcountry for ten days at a time, then back in town for four days, then back out for another ten day "tour").
Anyway, during one of those summers I got a chance to stay at an old forest service log cabin right at the edge of the wilderness. It had been built in the 1930's and used by forest service folks of one type or another as a residence and ranger cabin, but had not been used too much lately. Besides being a really neat old log cabin with a great stone fireplace, the most attractive feature to me was the shower - it was outside in back, right in the middle of a grove of aspen trees. It was fall when I first stopped and took a shower there as I came out from one of my ten-day tours, and the aspens were in full fall dress - had to have been the greatest showers of my life. Ever since that moment I have vowed to build myself an outdoor shower. It wasn't until long after sunset yesterday evening that I turned on the water to my very own outdoor shower at Cloudland! I'd worked on it most of the day Sunday and Monday, and with Pam's help we got it all finished - or at least in serviceable condition. No aspen trees here, but there are two dogwoods right there in the shower with you, and some maple trees leaning in close too. It was late when I opened the valves, but it was not dark - the 3/4 moon shown down from high above. Vision realized.
Pam helped out with the shower construction when she could, although I had other chores for her to do, and she spend much of the weekend and nearly all day Memorial Day at the computer, scanning slides. My plan is to get her out into the outdoor shower under that full moon here sometime soon. Hum, perhaps we need to send Amber off on an errand for that one!
Pam's parents are here for a short visit (and to deliver Amber from Missouri and bring us some KFC for dinner!), and we just enjoyed sipping coffee and tea out on the back deck as the new sunshine spilled into the canyons out in front of us this morning. Lots of birds out playing and enjoying each other. And last night right after sunset a whir-poor-will stuck up a lively tune.
Speaking of tunes, while it really didn't come up all that much after the recent rains, we can now hear the low rush of the Buffalo River far below. Sometimes it is difficult to tell is the hushed sounds are that of distant winds or the water, but this morning we can easily tell it is the river because there is no wind at all. The temp is 59 degrees right now, and feels just wonderful. A great beginning to June!
6/3/04 There has been quite a show going on out in the canyon in front of the cabin this morning - a cloud show. We got about 1/2 inch of rain yesterday, and the nursery of baby clouds forming below has been full and quite active. I was just sitting out on the deck having a toasted bagel and OJ. The wind was completely calm. Yet just beyond the trees the clouds were moving rapidly up and across the landscape - not being blown by the wind, but under their own power. Pam has put out some humming-bird feeders, and one of them is sitting right on the dining table on the back deck where I was. There is a branch of a big oak tree just a few feet from this position, and is a favorite place for the hummers and other birds to perch. At times this morning there were three or four birds all on that branch, or on the one next to it, at the same time. Including ruby-throated hummers that really shined in the sunshine, brilliant BLUE Indigo buntings, and a BRIGHT yellow goldfinch or two.
Several thunderboomers rolled through yesterday, and we had some nice, light rain, but not too much. I know the forest loved the cool drink.
Full moon just before sunrise Friday morning
Infrared photos of the old barn, fence, and hayfield in Boxley Valley
near Whiteley Spring, taken at noon on Friday while I was waiting for the
water tank to fill up.
6/5/04 It was nearly dark this evening when I was able to break away from cabin chores and go hiking. Don't know why, but both dogs seemed quite uneasy - there must have been something very strange in the air. Lucy simply refused to leave sight of the cabin - which was really odd because she is normally way out there on point. Perhaps she knew something I didn't? And Aspen, who often simply bounces along without any care in the world, was rather attentive and direct and conservative in his route. For me it was just any other wander out into the forest, with a cool breeze, and not much noise.
When I reached the Faddis meadow the air filled with sweetness - the wild roses were pretty much gone, as were the blossoms on the fruit trees - couldn't quite place the smell, but it was quite pleasant and a wonderful addition to the evening. Aspen had wandered off the path and was investigating something behind me. Up ahead a deer stepped out into the open, froze, and looked right at me - more like stared. Deer have a way of making you feel about two inches tall, and of you wanting to become invisible. If the wind is headed in their direction from you, most of the time the deer will have vanished even before you see it. But the breeze was in my favor this evening, and I had just taken a glorious shower under the dogwoods with good old Dr. Bronner Peppermint Soap, so I knew I smelled good.
Seemed like ten minutes that the deer stood there frozen in time and stared at me - was probably more like ten seconds. Then the cry of a coyote boiled up from across the meadow, down the canyon, and up on the other side. The deer didn't know whether to continue to be concerned with me, or to turn attention to the proven predator. She flicked her tail and looked towards the opposite ridge, then repeated the tail motion and looked right back at me. Two and then tree coyotes joined in the chorus. Flick the tail, then flick again. I tried to remain motionless, quiet, and smelling sweet. Finally the deer took about two steeps and disappeared into the tall brush. The light was so dim that I could not see into the darkness that she had stepped into, and that was all I would see of her.
Aspen eventually caught up, and we crossed into Faddis meadow, keeping an eye peeler for any black movement - the bear has been seen in this meadow three times in the past week. Sighting him was not the main goal of this trip, but it surely would have added to it.
As I crossed the meadow more coyotes joined the chorus and it grew louder. Then a band of frogs from the little pond at the far edge of the meadow began to sing. First a single, then three or four, then it sounded like a dozen of the little critters were sitting there in the mud and yelling at the top of their lungs. Frogs to the left, coyotes to the right. It had turned into one rather noisy quiet walk in the woods this evening.
I eventually turned around and headed back towards the cabin while I could still see enough to put one foot in front of the other. Soon the orange glow from the cabin appeared through the trees. I absolutely love getting out and going for even the shortest of hikes, but coming home again is always the best.
Thirty-four years ago today I experienced the very first true horror of my life - my oldest brother, Tom, who taught me how to play baseball, to hunt, and to fish, and who I always looked up to as the high mark to strive for in life (as I continue to do with my remaining brother and sister), was killed in a car accident. He was fresh out of college, working at a new job (as an engineer who kept the air-cleaning scrubbers inside giant smoke stacks working) , and on his way to help out in the world and contribute as best he could. He was mowed down just outside of Festus, Missouri, by a careless driver who was passing on a double-yellow line. I still miss him to this day, and look for his footprints to follow each time I head out the door. While I know I will never catch up to him, there are signs he has passed nearby all along the way. Thanks bro...
6/8/04 It is well before sunup here this morning, and the sky in the east is beginning to turn some incredible shades of pink, orange, and red. We don't have a direct view of the sunrise from here - or even a good one through the trees - which is why you don't ever see any of this color in the Journal in the summertime. The trees are just too thick and block the view. But I can see some of those colors in the cloud formations that have gathered to watch the show. There is a breeze blowing, and the silhouetted trees are moving around quite a bit. I think it's going to be a warm day - the AC is already up and running. I can hear quite a few birds out there in the pre-dawn light - they were not awake yet when I was out in the hot but 30 minutes ago. I think many birds come alive with the very first signs of light.
Took another stroll after sunset last evening. When I first started out, there were no lightning bugs out. After a few minutes I began to see these tiny yellow lights near the forest floor. Soon the woods were filled with them, all being within a foot or two of the ground. Slowly as I hiked along the lights began to rise, getting up to head high, then up a little higher, and finally way on up there in the trees. Ever tried to follow a single lightning bug? Sometimes the light is blurred and you can tell which direction it is heading, then you can move ahead and see if it lights up again. But often the bug is not moving enough for that to happen, or it will change direction in between flashes. If there is just one bug out and about in an area, no problem either. But when there are hundreds of them, like there was list night, it is tough to keep the same bug on your radar screen!
No deer or bear or other large critters within sight on my evening hike, just pleasant breezes and lots of cloud formations. Some of the clouds were quite dark and almost black, while others were quite white. Still others were pink and gray. And I swear some of the billowing clouds were actually blue - a very dark shade of blue. They were all mixing together and having a great time up there in the great cloud sandbox in the sky. I had high hopes for a bit of rain out of it all, but not a drop fell. We've not had any rain in a week, and only then just a little bit. The rivers and creeks are drying up - I expect for the ground to begin to crack any day now.
Pam and Amber are in town each morning this week at basketball camp. The Jasper school system has done something really stupid and kind of puzzling - they have eliminated the 6th grade basketball program for this next year, or at least they are not going to provide a coach (who is on staff already). They are asking for a parent to take over the job. Jasper seems to be a terrific school system, but this move just doesn't make any sense at all. We have a PAID basketball coach sitting in her office, why won't they let her coach? I don't know of any parent who could do as good a job as our coach can.
The trunks of the trees on the west side of the cabin are beginning to glow now - that means the sun will be showing up pretty soon. The clouds in the east are now purple, with orange fringes. I am going to spend my day outside hauling, splitting, and stacking firewood. One of these days I plan to build a wood shed, but for now it will all be piles up in between two trees, or perhaps even just in a big pile - depends on how organized I feel when I get started.
My computer just told me it was six o'clock - time to get up and get to work. The girls will be up and around soon, and off to basketball camp. While I know it can get hot, humid, and miserable during the day in the summer around here, there are few times of the year that I enjoy more than the break of day right now - it is just wonderful outside, and I believe I'll got partake...
6/9/04 It was tough to get up this morning when dawn began to break around 5:22 - there was a light rain falling, and it was just wonderful outside. But then again, there was a light rain falling, and it was just wonderful outside, so I jumped up and ran out into it! Such a lovely, gentle rain we had much of the night. Even though the total so far is only about a half inch since yesterday, I know the forest and all the critters who live and play there are quite happy.
There are a bunch of baby clouds being born down in the canyons below, and soon they will begin to rise up and greet the new day. The clouds above are swirling around a bit, and I see some blue patches peeking through, so I suspect the sun will arrive at some point this morning. I won't be around to see it though, as I have to get Aspen into the beauty parlor in town by 8am.
One quick note from yesterday before I post this and get on the road. Late in the evening, after dinner, I had to go put away the tractor that I had been using around the cabin much of the day. Amber decided to go with me, and even wanted to go all the way out to the mailbox to get the mail - on foot! She does enjoy the outdoors, but most kids at age 11 are not really ones to jump up and go on a long trek, especially at the end of a day of basketball camp and swimming for hours. We put the tractor away and headed out. We had a non-stop conversation for about an hour and a half, and the three-mile hike seemed to go by in just minutes.
6/11/04 The wind is blowing like crazy early this morning, and trees and furniture are bouncing around all over the place. Yesterday morning we had lots of moisture in the air, and there was a symphony of bird music in layer after layer of song far out into the wilderness. This morning there is little music, and all the little birds must be safely tucked away and holding on tight.
The other evening we were watching a pair of beautiful red-tailed hawks soaring out in front of the cabin. Each time they turned a certain way the setting sun would really light them up from behind. My young bride remarked that they looked like their tails had been dipped in red paint! It was really something to see. Just the day before we witnessed basically the same ritual going on with a different pair of hawks, only these hawks were not red-tailed ones but some other species. Seems like the players and color palette change out here quite often - everyone comes to play!
This has been a rather boring week at Cloudland for Journal readers I'm sorry to say. We've mostly been glued to the cabin working - actually doing quite a bit of spring cleaning both inside and out (I know, spring is over, but we have been so swamped we could not get to it until now). I've been wearing several hats as always, and have spent time being an electrician, plumber, and carpenter, as well as any number of other chores, including cutting up and hauling a lot of wood around. Seems so odd doing a great bit of heavy sweating in this heat and humidity working on a chore that is normally done in the winter (thank goodness Glenn helped out with that one day or I might have melted away). I've not been on a single hike all week, other than the trip Amber and I took out to the mailbox.
Speaking of Glenn, we got the color proof of his new swimming holes book this week and it looks great. Production is screaming right along at the printers up in Michigan, and we expect to take delivery of the new books in about TWO WEEKS! I will let you know when we start taking orders so you can be the first on the block to get a copy. We will begin work on the next book project soon - a wildflower identification book by the famous Don Kurz. Pam can't wait to get started on it - she will get to scan 400 color slides, a chore we expect to take some 200 hours plus to do. And that will only be the beginning - so we'll be spending the rest of June and most of July neck deep in wildflowers!
We are going to take a small break tomorrow and will do a short float on the Buffalo (quite a few miles downstream), then will host a dinner party here tomorrow night. Somewhere in there Pam will be making two trips up to Missouri to deliver and pickup Amber. It will be both a hectic and relaxing weekend for us - or at least one day of it - back to normal work on Sunday!
Speaking of the river, while it may have looked great on the weather radar screen, we have only received about a half inch of rain out here this entire week. We got some terrific rain yesterday, but it only lasted for a few minutes. The river below (which I have not visited in a coon's age!) is still there, but not making any noise, and is at its mid-summer level already.
And speaking of summer, although I have been hot and sweaty much of the week, we have actually had some very nice temps here all week long - in fact we've had the windows in the cabin open a lot, sometime even during the day. Mornings and evenings have been just lovely, and I am happy to report that the outdoor shower continues to be great - I even added a bench yesterday on the "downhill" side of it to keep folks from walking off the edge of the deck with soap in their eyes!
One final note before signing off. I would like to add my own thoughts about Ronald Reagan on this day of remembrance for him. When folks read my bio and see that I have received a couple of awards from the President at the White House, most people assume they were from President Clinton. But they were actually from Ronald Reagan. I remember with great fondness being at the White House for one of the ceremonies when the President made a joke about a grizzly bear and two hikers - everyone loved it, and I have heard it repeated many times since. I tend to stay out on the fringes of politics, and don't study it much, so seldom ever speak up or out for or against. While it is true that President Reagan was not all that kind to the environment in many ways, I liked and respected him as a person. I'm sure that has something to do with having been around him a little bit. I started watching him on TV way back in the 50's? or early 60's? with his Twenty Mule Team Borax western theater. And the later when he was President it was always good to see him on vacation doing the outdoor things that he loved so much - riding horses and clearing brush and cutting wood. While some politicians will stage that stuff for the camera, Reagan was the real deal. I appreciated what he did for this country and for the world, and admired his willingness to remain true to himself and not afraid to stand up for what he believed in - a simple philosophy that is so easy to do, yet so few of us ever practice.
6/15/04 Very hazy this morning, almost like a forest fire is raging somewhere, although it does not smell like smoke. Must be the humidity in the air - 93% outside. We have somewhat of a dilemma at the cabin right now. Our heat pump/AC is on the blink, and really not working well. It is going to be at least three weeks before the situation is resolved. Normally I would use a system of opening all the windows when the outside is cooler than the inside (at night), then closing it all up during the day to retain the coolness as the temp rises outside above that inside the cabin. But that cool nighttime air is very humid, and if we allow it in all night the humidity in the cabin would rise too high. Right now it is 79 degrees in the cabin with 56% humidity. We're hoping for cool, dry weather this next three weeks! (oops, please don't remind me that I wanted DRY weather!) We have 14 ceiling fans here, so I think we will survive just fine, but the thought of three weeks without AC in the middle of the summer - yikes!
We had a big time over the weekend, beginning with a nice float on the Buffalo River on Saturday from Pruitt to Hasty. The water was just BARELY high enough to float, and we drug at most rapids, even having to get up and out of the boat many times in order to drag the boat through. Back in the good old days of aluminum canoes with keels, this float would have been impossible, or at least would have taken us twice as long since we would have been dragging it miles further. With the keel-less boats these days they are able to shimmy across many shallow areas just fine, or with the help of a paddle push. At one point my bride and I took the wrong fork in the river, and ended up at a dead end - we had to "paddle" across a hundred yards of gravel to make it back to water!
The weather was just about perfect for our float - warm and sunny part of the time, with a few clouds and even a bit of rain now and then to cool us off. There were several HUNDRED boats lined up at the put-in spot, and probably that many cars at Hasty when we arrived there - could not believe how many people were on the river! I highly recommend a float on the Buffalo in the summertime, but you need to go farther downstream where you will have more water.
That evening we had a nice group of folks at the cabin for dinner. One of the highlights of the evening was an incredible rainbow that appeared down in the main Buffalo River canyon - dark clouds swirling all around, and then this BRILLIANT color from river to sky. Someone noted that the number of colors you can detect in a rainbow is related to your intelligence. Suddenly we all were seeing many colors in the rainbow!
The next morning, I opened my eyes and saw a tremendous wall cloud right out in front of me - the darn thing was really a WALL with a vertical leading edge extending from the river level all the way up to and above the cabin level - perhaps a thousand feet or more tall. And it was moving rapidly upstream, all at once. I jumped up and ran out onto the back deck to see what was going on. Horrific-looking black clouds above and all around, and then this nearly-pure white wall cloud down in the canyon - it was quite interesting looking with all of that contrast. And not a single drop of rain, although some of our guests reported a few drops during the night. Once all the excitement of the wall cloud settled down (and the wall cloud disappeared), I realized I was out there on the deck barely clothed - good thing the rest of our crew was fast asleep!
Don't know what the deal was, but it seemed like our guests remained at the cabin for much longer than usual on Sunday, the final ones not leaving until after noon. That was fine with us, as the reason we have these things is so we can visit! We were told it was about 20 degrees cooler at the cabin than it was in town, so perhaps they were not looking forward to going back home!
I have only been on a couple of hikes recently, one short and one just a little bit longer. The short one took me around the loop trail, through deep forests of tall maples, out into the East meadow (filled with flowers), past the orchard (our plums are looking well, but not other fruit to report as of yet), and on around the lane. I stopped and took a few photos of a busy ant on a Queen Ann's Lace flower - these guys seem to be everywhere right now (both of them).
Yesterday afternoon I headed on down to the river to see how low the water level really was. The forest and trail were basically the same as they were in May, only there were less flowers blooming, and some of the trail was almost covered with cucumber magnolia fruit (called "cowcumber" trees by the locals). This fruit looks like small green bananas at this stage, but will eventually burst open with brilliant red seeds inside.
Oh yea, and Whitaker Creek was nearly dry and not running at all. Still water in the pools, just nothing moving.
I have not noticed much of a tick population this summer, although you seldom really see them out in the deep woods anyway. I will often spray down my feet and leg area with bug dope before I head out, so I guess that may help some. Not many spider webs out yet, but I'm sure by the middle of the summer I'll be wearing a head net.
The Buffalo River was low, as expected, but still running. The pools were crystal clear and cool. Lots of sandstone boulders out sunning - seemed like millions of them - all worn smooth by eons of rushing water. Aspen immediately jumped into the water and explored each bit of water that he could find, while Lucy ran along the bank, then jumped out onto a rock that was sticking up almost to the water surface. She remained there with feet in the water until I was finished taking photos and headed back up towards the cabin.
We've had some nice sunsets here of late, or at least the sky in the west has been lighting up with some brilliant color - we don't actually have a direct view of the sunset because of all the trees. Just like the sunrise, the sun really doesn't not rise/set on the east-west axis these days - it rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest.
TODAY is the THIRD ANNIVERSARY of my three beautiful young ladies moving into Cloudland! (Pam, Amber, Lucy.) I had no idea how much their arrival would change my life - I am easily ten times better off for them being there, and I give thanks each and every day. When I built this cabin, I intentionally left it unfinished with many blank spaces inside and out hoping that one day the woman of my dreams would move in and add her own touches and personality to the place. Pam and Amber (and Lucy too) have certainly done that in spades, and all for the better. I remember the very first time Pam came to the cabin - she literally had to fight head-high weeds just to get to the front door! (A fact she reminds me of from time to time, ha!) Of course, I wanted a potential mate to have to struggle to get to the cabin because I knew there would be many struggles in the everyday life here later on, and I wanted a strong-willed person who was not easily swayed! Pam fits the bill perfectly, and so does Amber. So THANKS guys, for turning your lives upside down and moving to Cloudland! You've got 47 more years to go! (One highlight of today will be when we measure Amber - we keep track of her height on the doorframe to her room, and she has grown nearly nine inches since arriving here...)
6/17/04 It is late tonight and I just got back from giving the very last slide program of my life (at least I hope!). The WILDlife was out in great numbers tonight, and I got to see quite a bit of it while driving home in the dark. The first critter I found was a MONSTER bull elk down in Boxley Valley. I swear this guy was carrying a Christmas tree on top of his head - his antlers were just huge, probably as large as I have ever seen on an elk anywhere. And he just stood there right next to the highway and looked at me, as if to say "come on and crash into me if you think you can!" He still has at least two more months of growth this summer, and will be one for the record books come this fall.
A few moments later I came around a corner and had a nice up-close-and-personal conversation with a skinny doe deer. She just stood there as well, along the side of the road, not really too concerned about me.
As I came into the Faddis meadow, I rolled to a stop, shut off the truck, and opened the moon roof. No moon out tonight, but the sky was coal black with a zillion brilliant stars shining down. Recent storms of the past couple of days have really pushed out any hazy air. And then some guy let out a long and drawn-out HOWL - the coyote was over near the edge of the meadow, and just as his echoes were fading out into the wilderness, another guy hollered out, then another, and another, until the entire meadow was alive with music. I listened for a few moments, then fired up the truck and headed for home.
Just as I was getting close to the cabin, a grey fox jumped out into the middle of the road - not 100 feet from the cabin. Beautiful critter, and no doubt spreading scents that will drive Aspen and Lucy wild tomorrow morning.
The wilderness has been alive with color and motion this past couple of days - brilliant yellow goldfinches - dozens of them - have been playing in the meadow below the cabin, streaking across the scene and causing loss of concentration. They like to hang onto some of the brilliant yellow wildflowers, and swing back and forth on the tall stalks.
Speaking of wildflowers, master wildflower guru Don Kurz came by today and left us the beginnings of his new book - ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS - that we are going to publish for him. You might wonder "Why Illinois?" A couple of reasons are that Don is an expert on them, having spent a great deal of time criss-crossing the state in his younger years (and recently too); and also because there is not any sort of guidebook available for Illinois at the present time - and they have LOTS of wildflowers there! His book will contain 400 species of flowers. Of course, that means 400 (actually more like 420+) high-resolution scans that Pam will get to do from Don's slides this month and next, and 400 descriptions that I will get to layout from Don's text and produce a nice guidebook for publication. So that is our current project - we'll spend most of the next six weeks - working seven days a week and 12+ hours a day - until we get the project completed and off to the printers. We also have to put together the 2005 calendar as well, which this time around will be a BUFFALO RIVER COUNTRY calendar, filled with brand new images I've taken in the past year. Lots of fun at the computers this summer!
We've had a couple days of nice rains on and off - of course it has been raining, I wanted it to be DRY! The forest has been quite pleased, although the rivers have not received much of the rain - the vegetation has been sucking up the billions of gallons of wet stuff before the rivers can get a hold of it. We still need a lot more rain, so bring it on!
Other brilliant splashes of color are brought on by the rains - in the form of mushrooms - lots of bright yellow and orange ones dotting the forest floor. I have not gone out with camera in hand to photograph them yet, but probably will get to take a few shots here in the next day or two.
I spent the evening tonight at the Ozark Natural Science Center near Eureka Springs giving a program to a group of very talented kids attending their Wet And Wild Workshop for the past two weeks. Simply put I am not very good with kids, and seldom know how to talk with them (which is sort of funny because I am really just a kid with gray hair). And this group was a little odd because when I was warming them up and talking about how many liked to get out and hike, quite a few of them related to me and the group that this past couple of weeks was the first experience they had had being outdoors, and that they did NOT want to ever return to the outdoors again! Funny though, but those very same kids were the first in line to talk with me after my program was over, and some of them even got in line twice. Nothing would thrill me more than making a difference in a kid's life. I simply don't have what it takes in that area, but do hope that every now and then someone's eyes are opened.
I really do hope this was my very last SLIDE program ever - my slide projection equipment is growing long in the tooth, and now that I have purchased an expensive digital projector, I hope to be able to produce some new programs to show this fall - all of them digitally. I said the very same thing last year and did not convert, but now I have the new projector, and a willingness to go cold turkey with film slides and make it work inside the computer. Please keep your fingers crossed. Of course, I've got a book to design and web pages to re-do before I can get to all of that, but I hope to make it happen later this summer.
I just stepped outside to take in some of the wet, sweet nighttime air. The stars are still out and putting on a fine show. Not much in the way of night bugs - I guess they were all put to sleep with recent rains. Or are hunkered down for the reported big storms that are moving out direction. I look forward to it all.
6/20/04 HAPPY SUMMERTIME! At some point while I was out hiking this evening, the official start of summer happened. Seemed sort of odd because it was in the 60's here, with a nice breeze blowing - felt more like a fall evening to me.
We've had some really NICE weather this past couple of days, although we have mostly been glued to the computer working from before daylight to well after dark so have not been able to enjoy it too much. We did get to take a break yesterday and visit with some guests that stopped by in the afternoon (well, Pam visited, I met with a heating and air guy for more than an hour). It was after 9pm when Pam finally declared victory over the "white" flower scans in Don's book, and shut down her computer - she had put in 12 hours scanning for the day.
We both hit the ground running once again early this morning - Pam taking on the "yellow" flowers and scanning each one carefully. Don left us with a giant binder filled with slide pages - each page holding 20 carefully-labeled color slides. Pam's job is to remove each slide, carefully inspect and clean, mount it into a special tray, load the tray into the scanner, do a preview scan that pops the actual image up on her computer screen, then she sets about a dozen different controls and tweaks the colors and exposure so that it all looks just right, then she hits the SCAN button and waits for the big gray box that now lives right in between us on a desk to do its work, then she inspects the scan for sharpness, dust, and accuracy, saves the file with the proper name of the flower, ejects the tray from the scanner, then carefully replaces the transparency back into the slide page. OK, one done. Now repeat 420 times. It is tedious work, yet at the same time quite interesting because she gets to see these wonderful photos that Don had taken during his illustrious career as a flower expert, plus she spend some time reading the text that Don has written about each one - not just the technical ID stuff, but lots of interesting facts about the flower and things surrounding the naming or use of the flower. I must say that Pam has gotten very good at this scanning business, and the images that she produces are just wonderful (it is EASY to mess up a good photo on a good scanner - you really do have to know what you are doing).
I've been spending my time formatting the text for Don's book, going through and tweaking things here and there, but not too much - he has written quite a few books and knows what he is doing as well. In fact I have only run across a single mistake in the entire book - I'm sure there are more - it is impossible to produce a perfect manuscript - but he does know how to type quite well! I've also been spending quite a bit of time this weekend getting a packet of info ready to send out about Glenn's new swimming hole guidebook - it took me about seven hours just to print the color photo inserts that we're putting into each packet. It is kind of neat, really, since we use these special clear envelopes that are the same size as the cover of the book, and place the printed cover so that it is in full view; and also include a special printed flyer that I made up that tells all about the new book, with an order form, of course! We'll send these out to our 100+ retail customers tomorrow, and hope to have a few orders all piled up and waiting when the new books arrive later in the week. Heck, we already have a few orders from some bookstores, plus a really big order from the main Barnes & Noble warehouse - so you should see them on the shelves in a couple of weeks. Of course, you'll be able to get them direct from our online store the day they arrive here - I'll post all that info later this week.
I had three solid Cloudland moments here today, somehow mixed in with all of the work.
Amber was looking out the front window when she called for me to come see. There was a bright red summer tanager doing some strange things right in front of the cabin. Then we noticed there was a baby bird with him - a little bird with hardly any color at all. I got Pam away from the scanner to come join us, and we three stood there in awe and watched as this bird taught his child how to fly - and in a way that I had never seen before. The daddy bird would take off into the air and somehow brought the little bird right along with him, directly beneath him. The little guy was flapping his wings like crazy, and the two of them would fly in tandem for several yards, crashing into some object nearby, where they both came to rest. After a few moments of gathering themselves up, they would once again launch off into the air together, this time going just a little bit farther, and higher. It was one of the most amazing things that I had seen in the wild. At first we all thought it was obviously the momma bird with the baby, but after looking in the guidebooks I have discovered that it had to be the male bird - the female is not colored like that at all, and the bird we saw was a perfect male specimen. What a great joy to see all of this on FATHER'S DAY! And yes, eventually, the little bird took flight all on his own and disappeared into the thick woods, with papa following along.
This afternoon, after both Pam and I were bugged-eyed and needing a break, she went downstairs to workout on the treadmill and I took off down towards the river. The woods were very quiet, and really COOL! There were more spider webs on the trail this time - I suspect there numbers will increase every week all summer. Lots and lots and LOTS of mushrooms coming up all over the place. Many of them were pure white, and looking like delicate coral in the ocean. Others were the classic orange-domed mushrooms. Bright yellows, reds, and burnt orange ones too. The forest was lush, lush. lush.
When I reached the bottom of the hill I veered off of the trail and wandered on over to Whitaker Creek. It was actually running today. There was a small waterfall pouring off of a moss-covered boulder, and spilling into an emerald pool. I took a seat in the moist leaves right next to a big red mushroom. That little waterfall was filling the entire valley with music - the sounds hit the surface of the pool of water and spread out far and wide. A slight breeze came up, and the sun broke through, lighting up more moss-covered boulders that were living in the middle of this lovely little stream. Aspen joined me, only his business was in the water, and he spent every moment there chasing after phantom minnows, perch, and little crawdads. It was all quite a delightful feeling, and I was glad to be there!
This evening, after dinner and a great outdoor shower, I sent the first draft of the text of Don's book to the printer (it is going to the first editor tomorrow). Knowing it was going to take an hour to print, and me not wanting to just sit there staring at the printer while it cranked out the pages, I decided it was time for another hike. Both Aspen and Lucy went with me this time.
We have a nice patch of blackberry vines just off the end of the circle drive (where I saw the gray fox the other night - hum, I hope that fox doesn't get any ideas!). I have been watching the development of these vines for the past month or so, and today some of the berries were beginning to turn red. Another couple of weeks and we'll be having some fresh blackberry cobbler!
As I headed up the lane I could see a great deal of color in the western sky, though my view was mostly blocked by the thick forest of trees all around. Just then I spotted a neat pair of orange and red mushrooms next to the trail - they really needed a photo taken of them. Hum, what to do, what to do - that brilliant sunset would not last long, and it would take me at least five minutes to hike up to a vantage point where I could get a good look. Soon after that the color would be gone I bet. No time for me to take the photo and then go to the viewpoint, but man I sure did want a photo of the mushrooms. So what the heck, the sun will set once again tomorrow, but I may only have once chance to capture this pair of schrooms, so I opted to lay down on my belly and take a few photos - then perhaps I could still catch a glimpse of the sunset.
But no, buy the time I reached an open area all the color was gone, although there were still a few interesting clouds swirling around overhead.
The dogs ran off chasing rabbits and squirrels and no telling what all else, while I inspected the orchard - one tree with lots of plums, and one good tree with peaches. No apples, pears, and other fruit this year, but heck, it is only a year old! I expect we'll have a few peaches and plums, but not too many this year.
Later I wandered on over to the East meadow - the sun was completely down but those clouds above were still full of nice color. The meadow was a fairyland of wildflowers as far as I could see. And as I waded out into it all, I looked up and saw a beautiful doe standing right there in front of me, perhaps only 100 feet away. She was in the classic frozen pose and looking right at me. Where in the world did she come from - I looked very carefully before I stepped out into the field. I'm sure she must have been bedded down, or perhaps even grazing. Anyway, she was this wonderful bright tan color, which really stood out in that sea of wildflowers. All around here were white and yellow daisies, daisy fleabane, black-eyed Susans, and assorted other wildflowers. And oh year, an absolute SEA of Queen Ann's Lace (we just read in Don's book where that name came from!) seemed to engulf the doe. And the entire scene literally glowed with soft and colorful light from the clouds above - it was a heavenly scene if I've ever seen one. No way to photograph it, and even if I could, that deer would not let me move a muscle. We just stood there eye-to-eye for about a minute, then she flipped her tail up and disappeared into the nearby forest with two or three bounds.
Speaking of the forest, good grief I did not realize until I stepped into that same forest how DARK it was! So dark that I could hardly see the trail right in front of me. I mean in an INSTANT it got dark! A deep forest will do that in a hurry for sure. I managed to find my way along the trail until I could see the warm glow from within the cabin through the trees - home again, home again. It had been a wonderful day.
Late at night now as I finished this up - nearly 10pm. One odd thing that I think the cool weather has brought us is hardly ANY frogs at night - not much frog music at all. Plenty of birds, including whip-poor-wills, but no frogs. And the daylight hours are filled with dozens and dozens of brilliant goldfinches playing in the meadow flower below, and at the feeder in the window of the drawing room. But no frogs. Perhaps they are resting up for the rest of the summer.....
Pam put in 13 hours today at the computer, and I did a little bit less, but then I'm not finished yet tonight! Lots more work to be done.
6/23/04 Very late at night once again as I write this, and I have just come back indoors from being outside for a little while, soaking, and taking a photo of the moon and nearby planet, all the while nearly being eaten alive by no-see-ums. I've only seen about three mosquitoes and a handful of ticks this summer, and the no-see-ums have been absent, but for some reason today, they came out in full force.
It has one of the most beautiful summer evenings I've had the pleasure to live through. Cool temps, a slight breeze, a special sweetness in the air, and crystal clear skies above with stars and that bright, moon shining down on it all.
I found myself once again wandering around in the forest after sunset and just before dark. The clouds above were quite stunning, turning brilliant oranges and reds and yellows and blues. No major critters out, but the forest floor was dotted with bits of red and orange and yellow mushrooms, seemingly to mirror the gorgeous colors of the clouds above. One stretch of the trail had dozens and dozens of the little mushrooms popping up right in the middle of it - and it was so dark there in the deep forest that these little guys helped to guide me along through the woods. There was light in the forest, but only that from the glowing clouds above - I sat down and leaned up against a tall tree and soaked it all up for a few precious moments. How does one accurately describe the light coming down from glowing clouds? Guess you just have to be there.
Later on I took a break from computer chores and wandered out onto the back deck and found the moon and planet racing each other across the black sky. At the moment I don't know which planet it was up there next to the moon, but by the time I finish this up in a few minutes I hope to go online and see what has been gazing down at me (Jupiter!).
Still no frogs in the trees around the cabin - very strange. There were hundreds of them last summer, or so it seemed. I wonder if the cats have anything to do with frogs? They seem well-fed these days, even though we have cut back on their rations.
On other critter that has made itself known of late - and not been around in years past - are hordes of small, white moths that invade the cabin at night. They like to crowd around my computer screen when I am up late or early working like this (I was up at the computer just after 4am this morning). The light of day reveals a dozen bodies at the base of my monitor each morning. Hum, my writing is a real killer...
We had a day filled with soft rain showers yesterday, with a total of about 1/2 inch of the wet stuff. Today the sun came up early and stayed out all day. We made a quick run into town to collect Glenn's new Swimming Holes of the Ozarks guidebook from the truck terminal. The author and his bride came with me to help load and then unload the 2,100 pounds of fresh books - but only after we had a celebration feast to mark the arrival of Glenn's first book - the Sonic Drive-thru. Hey, we are a SMALL publisher!
I was up early working on Don's book, while Pam spend most of the entire day at the computer and scanner working on the "blue/purple" section of Don's slides. It has been great fun getting to view all of his images up close and personal - so many of these flowers are the very same ones we have growing in the Ozarks, but also many new and very different wildflowers they have thriving on the prairies of Illinois. It is going to be a grand book, out later this fall.
Speaking of books, you can order your very own copy of Glenn's book via our online store (see the top of the page for the link and cover photo). The books will eventually make it into bookstores around the region. Today you can get a copy at the Pack Rat in Fayetteville or Treasure House Books in Harrison. Barnes & Noble stores in Arkansas and Missouri will have them in a couple of weeks - we shipped them several cases today, but they have to go to New Jersey first, then back here. Also the Alpine Shop in St. Louis has been shipped books. That list will most likely grow each day for the next couple of weeks. If you happen to be in your local book or outdoor store in the near future you might ask if they have the new guidebook available - probably they will tell you they have never heard of it, even though a neat color cover of the book will be sitting in the there in basket! I'm sure they get a lot of junk mail. Anyway, asking about the new book is the best way for them to learn about it.
By the way, you cannot find any of our books in WaldenBooks stores - they refuse to deal with small publishers like myself, and we refuse to deal with the giant sharks in the industry. Barnes & Noble, B-Dalton, Books-A-Million, and Hastings chain stores do carry our publications, along with about 150 other stores in the region. Of course, the very best way to get anything is via our online store! (we have autographed copies of Glenn's book, or you can even go direct to his web site and get it from him) OK, enough of the sales pitch.
Amber and my bride went out for a jaunt in the woods today, and came back with some fresh goodies for dinner. Dewberries are beginning to ripen, and it won't be long now before there will be blackberry cobbler and fresh homemade ice cream on the table here!
The temps have been very nice at night around here, and during the daytime too. Although today the cabin inched up above the 80 degree mark, with 70% humidity. Our AC is still on the blink, and we don't know for sure now when it will be fixed. We have really been enjoying the cool spell - could not have timed it better! All the computers, printers, scanners, and other electronic devices contribute to the overall heat in the cabin. Work produces heat; got to work to pay for fixing the AC!
The screen is getting blurry and even Aspen has gone up to bed, so I think I will follow. Oh yea, I've got to go look up that planet...
6/25/04 It's four-something in the morning today, and the wilderness is coming to life. While taking my morning soak in the hot tub a little while ago I could see we were in another white-out situation - the clouds and fog had engulfed the cabin and surrounding area, and while I could make out some trees nearby, they were ghostly figures with no background. But the air was filled with sounds of countless birds waking up, or getting ready to go to bed after a long night of searching for food.
I could plainly make out a single goldfinch that was sitting in the very top of the big pine tree down in the meadow. I could not actually see this guy, but from his voice I could just imagine him perched high up there, and singing his lungs out to the world. I don't know if he was announcing some great accomplishment, the start of a new day, calling out to his mate how might have been lost in the fog, or just screaming out TGIF! I believe in many ways I have a lot in common with critters, and knowing the days of the week is one of them. The actual day of the week really doesn't matter - neither of us get weekends off! We both work pretty much every waking moment, or at least are in pursuit of our daily goals most of the time. Yet we also are able to stop dead in our tracks, and revel in the great beauty of the moment.
We had one hectic day at the cabin yesterday, and I think we put in about three days of work before heading out to deliver books to stores in the Jasper area, and to meet up with Glenn and his bride Stacey at the Cliff House Restaurant for dinner (and to deliver books there). This little place perched high on the edge of the mountain right on Hwy. 7 (just south of Jasper) is one of the best places to dine that I know of, and the view can only be beat by that on the back deck of Cloudland. Very nice folks there too, AND you can buy our books after your meal!
Speaking of books, here is an updated list of dealers around the area where you can find them in the next day or to: Wordsworth in Little Rock; R.R. Crawford, the Elk Center, Old Carriage House Gallery, and the Cliff House in Jasper, and Ozark Outfitters in Jasper. More will be added as the days go on, but the best place to pickup one is via our secure online store.
Mushrooms continue to dot the forest floor around here. So much fun to watch them progress from childhood to senior status and then melt away in just a few days. In the past as I have wandered around in the wilderness I have noted so many different types of mushrooms, and always wondered what they were. I have had a mushroom ID book for a long time, but can't for the life of me key any of them out. But now that I live out here and get to observe the same mushrooms from start to finish, I quickly noted that many of those different mushrooms are indeed the very same mushroom, just going through their rapid body changes - like from classic dome-topped to flat-topped to fallen-over-and-melting-into-the-leaves stage. Sometimes it seems our own daughter is changing that fast - especially when we buy her clothes or shoes! But it is all fun to watch and be a part of.
Far and away the biggest event of the entire year for our county is going on in Jasper today and tomorrow. The Elk Festival is a great event, although we have never attended - we hope to make at least part of it this year. If you are in this part of the country I highly recommend you plan to stop and spend an hour or the entire day in Jasper - great fun and wonderful food!
It is getting lighter outside now, or should I say whiter. Still can't see beyond the big trees that rim the meadow because of the thick fog. And the airwaves are really filled with music now as more and more critters wake up and greet the new day.
Time to get back to Don's wildflowers...
WEB SITES YOU SHOULD VISIT
Here are a couple of web sites that I thought you might be interested in. The first one I have noted before - The Hilton Pond weekly note. As it is many times, this weeks' really does strike home - it is all about mushrooms, and not only has some great photos, but also a bit of interesting info that is well worth your time to read. See the mushroom page here.
The other site is one that my brother, Terry, sent me the other day, and fits in perfectly with my moon/Jupiter photo - it is a NASA site, and has a different photo and bit of info ever day. Go here to see some really great photos.
6/29/04 Seems like forever since I have written here - sorry for the wait, but there are just not enough hours in the days lately. We've been burning the midnight oil, and the pre-dawn oil too, working on Don's book. Pam has spent two full days on the index alone, and will probably spend another two days on it. Each flower has to be listed by each of its common names, plus each of the words in the common name, plus the scientific name. Don already spend a huge amount of time getting this all set up for us, but we like to sweat the details, and so are spending a lot more time on it. Pam finished the bulk of the scanning the other day, and I finished the image work and placed all of the images in the text. Now I'm going back and tweaking the individual photo and text placement, working on other pages, and doing a dozen other things necessary to produce a book of this nature. I will begin work on the cover today or tomorrow, and Don will be out for a couple of days later this week to go over everything with us. We hope to have it all wrapped up and in the can by the middle of next week - yippie! Then we can get to work on the calendar - they both have to ship out at the same time.
Amber is off to basketball camp this week, and then will be away to Missouri for a few days. She has been a real trooper during our marathon work days, and has been a big help with a lot of the chores around the cabin. We took a couple hours off on Saturday and took her into Jasper for the Elk Festival - it was a lot bigger than we thought, and there were folks and booths and things to do everywhere. While Pam resisted the temptation and stuck with "normal" food, Amber and I dove right into the biggest funnel cakes we had ever seen!
Last night we got about a half inch of wonderful RAIN! No thunder boomers or wind, just lovely, soft rain. I know the forest really enjoyed it. This morning the canyons below are filled with baby clouds that are up and moving around now as the first signs of daylight creep slowly into the wilderness. I bet we'll have another wave of mushrooms popping up all over the place. It is actually kind of sad to see the end of a mushroom's life - at least, what I have been seeing lately. They just sort of dissolve down into the ground, leaving behind a black yucky mess on the surface. But they sure do fill our lives with bright color while they last!
On Sunday, I was up and working at 4am, and didn't shut down the computer until just after midnight. Pam was right there with me most of the long day, working on that index. I also got to spend some wonderful time out in the woods with Amber during the day and night. That is one of the beauties of being a zombie like me and not needing very much sleep - you can put in a full work day (or in this case a 16-hour work day) and still get to spend some quality time with your family on top of it all! Sometimes we actually get to spend MORE time together than we do during the school year and still work a full day (or more) just because we have all day together.
Amber wanted to go hike up to Bob's garden and pick some green beans for supper - she loves green beans (as we all do), and Bob has two very long rows of them up there all ripe and ready to eat, and going to waste because no one is around to pick them. So we headed up the lane with the dogs and cats in tow (the cats left us at the warehouse). As we approached the garden area Amber decided that it would be good if we went on down to Bob's cabin to check on things - he had not been out in a while, and it is always a good idea to keep an eye on your neighbor's place. Everything was OK there, but Amber was in a creative mood and went into fantasy mode and begin to make believe we were sleuths trying to solve a mystery. So we had to look around at everything at Bob's place, open every door, and see what was lurking in every dark shadow. Confident there were no dead bodies around, we left Bob's cabin and headed on back up to the big garden.
Along the way I stopped to pick up a single black feather that we found in the middle of the lane. It was an odd feather - coal black, and almost perfectly round, about two inches across. As I picked it up and started to examine it I realize that all around us were little items of extreme beauty that nature had provided us - that feather, reflecting many hues in its deep texture; a "cowcumber" magnolia fruit that had recently landed in the dust; a bright yellow leaf off to the side of the lane that was the only leaf on the plant that was yellow, all the rest remaining green; and just on and on and on. I bet you could literally walk out into the forest and stop at any point, sit down, and spend an hour or a day just reaching out and looking close and many things. I don't know if it is my training as a photographer, or what, but I do tend to isolate things as I walk along, and zero in on them. I always tell folks that I never get bored, and I guess this is one reason why - I can always find great beauty in the simple things in life.
As we topped out up on the hill overlooking the garden and Faddis cabin area, we slowed down to a crawl just in case there were any bad guys lurking. We continued our quest to solve the mystery (I was not really sure exactly what the mystery was that we were trying to solve, but Amber sure did, and that was good enough for me), and scoured each nook and cranny of the Faddis cabin too. This included fighting through the head-high weeds to reach a door to the cellar, and then opening up that big wood door, and then GOING INSIDE, into the total darkness, where no telling what would greet us. Amber was a cool cookie, and led the way. No body in there either, at least that we could see. OK, now for the green beans.
We picked green beans and yellow squash and bell peppers. The hugs blackberries were not ripe yet, but that was OK - we had already stopped several times during our journey to pick and consume hand fulls of ripe dew berries and wild blackberries.
Next Amber wanted to go down and have a look at Bob's pond, so we fought back the weeds and headed on down the hill until we came to the muddy edge of the pond. Aspen had already been soaking there for five minutes. Actually I mean swimming there - this dog will not hold still for a moment if there is water around! First we walked around the edge of the pond looking for clues - Amber was looking to solve her mystery, I was looking for bear tracks. Neither of us found anything of great interest. Oops, I take that back - Amber, like Aspen, will jump into any mud hole, so she made ready to go swimming, while I discovered that the far side of the pond bank was COVERED with GIANT blackberry bushes! I gathered a couple hand fulls of ripe berries while Amber sat on the bank and contemplated not only the muddy water, but those "squiggly things" in the water. We realized that the pond was filled with tiny leeches, and that it probably would not be a good idea for her to go swimming there. One of the things I always wanted in life was a nice, big pond, one where we could go a fishin' anytime we wanted, and with a little dock built out into it where we could jump off into the cool water from. But that is not to be - we don't have a drop of water on our property, and no real place for a pond anyway, so I will just have to settle for the best view in the country.
OK, no swimming, and I think I finally got filled up on all those berries, so we returned to the garden and collected all of out dinner loot. It is a great joy getting to watch this child experience so many new things in nature, and getting to tag along as she becomes more comfortable out in the world. She was a city girl at first, and thrown into the wilds through no fault of her own, but she has really taken to it. I think that getting to explore wild places in your youth goes a long way towards developing into a well-rounded adult, one that is ready to face whatever challenges happen your way in the cruel business and personal world out there. I don't expect Amber to remain out here in the wilderness, but do hope she keeps these childhood memories with her the rest of her days, and calls upon them from time to time for whatever reason.
It was well after sunset - heck, it was way dark outside - when Amber wanted to go for another hike. I had been slaving away for many more hours after our hike to the garden, my eyes were about to bug out from looking at the computer screen, and so I was ready for another break. Pam remained behind working on that darn index.
The dark skies above were hazy, but the 1/2+ moon shone through just enough to allow us to hike up the lane without needing a flashlight. We were careful to watch for snakes, although with four critters of our own flanking us on all sides (two cats, two dogs), I felt comfortable the path would be clear. It was just a delightful night, cool air filled with that sweetness that you can only get at this time of the year. There were whip-poor-wills and owls and frogs calling out in the night.
We eventually made our way up to Aspen's meadow, where it was much brighter than out in the deep forest. We found a number of sticker bushes growing up in between the cracks of the deck boards, so we had to be careful in the dim light as we walked around on the deck. There were only a few stars out - the brightest ones that could shine through the clouds above - and they were most likely planets. We both made wishes on the first one anyway.
The dogs immediately got excited and began to search under the deck. We could check their progress by watching where the sticker bushes growing through the deck would move. Every now and then Aspen would emerge from under the lower end of the deck, then run around all four sides of the deck like he was trying to catch the scent of something, Lucy not far behind. In fact the weeds were so tall that every now and then Lucy would spring straight up into the air to see where Aspen was - he had taught her how to spring, and now I think she does it better than he does! (Aspen is a "Springer" spaniel)
After five or ten minutes of this, a great commotion started down there under the deck. There were growls and snarls and squeals and all sorts of noises - it was obvious that somebody had a hold of somebody else and was trying to cause great harm. We immediately looked around to make sure it was not one of the cats, but they were both clinging to the top of the deck rails, listening as intently as we were. Amber and I were in a sort of controlled panic, not knowing if Aspen or Lucy were in peril, and in the grips of some ferocious critter down under there, and we were helpless to lend a hand. Then we heard cries of death coming from the darkness. The struggle was ending, and then it was all quiet. Amber and I held onto each other fearing the worst. Aspen appeared in the tall weeds next to the deck, and then Lucy emerged, both of them in fine shape. We have no idea what went on under that deck, or who or what was left behind.
As we were leaving the deck I took out a small flashlight from my pocket and discovered that all of the "sticker" bushes growing up through the deck were really blackberry bushes, and they were LOADED! Hum, looks like we will be making a return trip to the deck in the near future with a berry bucket!
OK, Ok, it is 7am now, and my wife tells me it is time to get to WORK! I will walk out onto the back deck and take a snapshot to post here, then will get back to the wildflower book.
But first speaking of that book, I have learned a valuable lesson while doing the photos for Don's book. Pam scanned the entire image that Don provided, and it has been up to me to crop the image for final placement in the book. Normally I would crop the image so that the brilliant colors of the flower dominate the scene, cutting out most of the leaves and other dull parts of the plant. But I quickly realized that when you are doing an ID book, the flower is not the only thing that is important - in fact sometimes the leaves or stem of the plant is even MORE important than the flower, since many flowers actually look the same. So now when I go out to take a picture and am trying to figure out what flower it is, I will look at the leaves and stem too! One of the great things about this wildflower book will be the fact that not only do you have the brilliant color and shapes of the flowers, but also enough other plant parts to enable you to make an ID easily. Don Kurz is a master at combining both of those elements in a single photo! By the way, even though this is a flower book for Illinois, it will also be a great book for anyone who lives in the Midwest - perhaps the best available.
OK, I'm back to the book, and Pam continues work on the index...
LATE MORNING UPDATE. While hiking up to the office and back this morning I couldn't help but notice that the forest was coming alive with new mushrooms - and most of them were WHITE! And I do mean coming alive with them - the forest floor was literally moving with the new mushrooms popping up through the thick leaf layer. I went back to the cabin and grabbed my camera. Sorry, I know you probably have had your fill of mushrooms shots - especially with all of the great photos and information at the Hilton Pond site that I sent you to - but here are a few more "schroom" shots from Cloudland.
And while I was out shooting the mushrooms, I happened across a dewberry - one ripe and ready to eat, with another one in reserve to ripen in another week.
Of course, just one berry was not nearly enough, so soon I found myself back up in Aspen's meadow on the deck filled with blackberry bushes. Or should I call them deckberry bushes! Just to give you and idea of what Amber and I had to wade through in the darkness last night - the horrific battle took place under this very deck.
The temp is quite cool this morning (in the mid-60's), and sheets of fog have been drifting through the forest since early light It is just now 9:30am, and looks like some sunlight is beginning to make it through the fog, and I suspect we will have bright sunny skies later on.
6/30/04 We had a LOVELY rain overnight - about an inch of wet stuff, nice and soft. This morning I got up early and began what would turn out to be eight round trips up to the warehouse and back - that's about four miles of hiking. The forest was SOOOOOOO nice - cool and wet and LUSH, and more mushrooms popping up all over the place. It had a sort of rain forest feel to it - could have been that the trail has gotten so grown up that I got soaked on each trip, plus all the dripping water from above. We had a thick fog low to the ground that hung around much of the morning, and that added to the mystery, and to the beauty.
I spent much of the day working on the cover design for Don's wildflower book. At the moment we have not one or two, but seven different covers picked out. Any one of them would be fine, but I won't rest until we pick the very best image - Don has so many great ones. The index is FINISHED - way to go Pam! And most of the book is all wrapped up as well, pending one more round of text editing. That is, except for about two days of heavy image approval - Don has already been through the entire book (I sent him a whopping pdf file the other day - I just LOVE all of this tech stuff), but we are going to spend much of the next two days here at the cabin going through every single image, one by one, making sure that I have the correct crop, and accurate color.
Speaking of books, I am happy to report that Glenn's new book has already sold more than 500 copies in the very first week! We hope to be able to get the book and Glenn into a number of publications and on TV and radio in the coming weeks, which will help spread the word around. Shipped out more books to Hastings in Fayetteville, Backwoods in Tulsa, Jefferson St. Books in El Dorado, ALL six of the Bedford Camera stores in Arkansas (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Ft. Smith, Little Rock, North Little Rock), some Books-A-Million stores, the Elk Center in Ponca, and Lewis & Clark in Rogers.
Amber came home from basketball camp this afternoon, and we went out to photograph these two incredibly RED mushrooms that Pam took us to - I don't recall ever seeing anything like this before! They were as bright red as ripe tomatoes, classic toadstool shape, only most of their stems were still in the ground and under the leaves. Tennis-ball size.
Then we detoured up to Aspen's meadow for a little bit of blackberry picking. That girl can eat her weight in blackberries, and after twenty minutes of picking, her bucket was EMPTY! My bucket was full, thankyou, and they are headed to some homemade ice cream for Don, maybe - could be eaten for breakfast too before he gets here tomorrow!
We had the AC repair people here all day today, and they will be out again tomorrow - hopefully by the end of the day we will be back up and running once again. No problem with the actual temp inside the cabin - we have been SO LUCKY with this cool spell we have had ever since the AC broke down - but the humidity has been creeping up and is now near 80% - that is just too high to be comfortable. Once they leave we should be all set for the next five years for all of our indoor quality control.
July starts tomorrow - REALLY? Good grief, where did the month go? Another week or two and then we will be able to kick back with only eight-hour work days for a while, I hope, with plenty of time for romping around in the woods and fields and rivers of the wilderness. And oh yes, my new camera that has been converted to infrared arrived yesterday - I have not even taken it out of the box yet, and probably won't for a little while, but when I do, I'll be able to get down and serious with some neat IR work. Stay turned for that, and for more mushrooms and wildflowers and trips to the woods...See ya next month......
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