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11/1/02 Both Pam and I were dead to the world, in one of those deep REM stages, when the dogs broke the silence of the night with a series of blood-curdling barks, growls, and snarls. We awoke to an intense and foul odor in the air. "There is a skunk in the cabin!" Pam yelled out. I was still mostly sound asleep as I begun to make my way down the staircase to face certain peril with this skunk. As I began to regain my senses I remembered that I had closed off the dog door and there was no way any sort of critter could have gotten inside the cabin. It was then I saw the dogs clawing at the front door - whatever was making this stink was outside, on the front porch.
I have no problem telling you that the hair on the back of my neck was standing straight up and my legs were a tad bit wobbly. Pam was able to corral the dogs and get them back up the stairs while I had a look around. Man, it really stunk in the cabin! There was an essence of skunk, but it wasn't pure skunk, and I have been on the business end of a number of skunks in my day so I could tell. I immediately stepped out onto the front porch but saw nothing but the swing swaying. Whatever it was had made good his getaway.
A couple of hours later I was up again, and took the dogs outside. The instant they hit the night air they both went back into that insane mode and took off like a shot. They spent the next 15 minutes racing back and forth across the yard, out into the woods, around the cabin, and all over the place. They were snarling and growling once again, and sniffing the air. The same odor was there, but not nearly as heavy as it had been in the cabin. We returned to the cabin without incident. Neither of us got much sleep.
By the light of day I looked around and did not find anything that had been damaged - most bear visits result in something getting messed up, if only turned over. A bear was really the only likely thing it could have been, although the word bigfoot has been mentioned a time or two. Later in the day one of the Woods Boys came riding up on his four-wheeler. He had been all over the mountain looking for deer sign and generally checking things out. Before I could tell him what had happened at the cabin in the night he started to tell me about this foul odor that he smelled over near the East meadow . I know that bears can raise up quite a stink, but I have always associated that with the heat of summertime and never in the cooler temps that we had last night and today (in the upper 30's). No telling what it was - most likely a bear. I'll be answering the door with a bit more firepower in the days to come.
I spent most of today at the computer, working on the waterfall slide program. What I thought was going to take me an hour or two has already eaten up more than 8 hours of time, and I am still at it with 37 more images left to convert. This slide program will be a little bit different than my others, but I think it will be fun.
Our waterfall and stream out in front has gotten clogged up with falling leaves and acorns, and it has not been flowing too well of late. I shut off the water and began a long process of cleaning the mess out. Actually it was pretty easy. We'll have to repeat this procedure several more times this next week or two as the leaves come falling down.
Speaking of leaves, the vivid and wild colors of the past couple of weeks are on their way out big time now, and we are in the latter stages of color here. One big highlight of this week for us is that along with the falling leaves comes the return of our old friend Beagle Point just across the way. The 100-foot-tall bluffline that winds through this entire wilderness area has just begun to show itself. It will become our companion through the long winter months and into spring when it will hide away once again behind the new green growth. I call that spot that looms just across the valley Beagle Point because I have found four different beagle dogs stranded there that had fallen half way down the bluff. One little beagle dog did not survive, but the others were quite glad to see me and were set free. A friend sent me a photo of a basset hound that he found recently on that very same bluffline but many miles further along. The poor hound had been stranded there for some time, and was rather thin, but still alive, and now in good hands.
Anyway, Bob Chester wanted me to make sure and tell everyone that Beagle Point is not really Beagle Point after all but rather BARRY WEST point - named after a man that lived near by. I had heard that before, but I like Beagle Point better. Now you know.
Some friends came by this evening to spend the weekend, and just before they arrived I realized that I needed to fill a beautiful vase they had given us with flowers. So I grabbed a flashlight and headed down into Mom's meadow. GOOD GRIEF it was DARK down there! And I don't mean simply dark because it was night, but DARK CITY!!! There must have been a heavy cloud cover and the moon on the other side of the earth. Man, it was dark. While I wandered around picking flowers in the darkness I was kept company by a dozen different flocks of geese heading south (or one flock that kept going in circles). It was kind of fun out there with the flowers and geese, but I hoped the flock didn't pass directly overhead and have to make a pit stop.
The cabin is winding down now, with the soft flicker of the fireplace creating dancing shadows on the lodgepole pine walls. We are hoping for a quiet night, no smelly bears running around, and crisp, cool air in the morning.
11/3/02 Many people would have considered what we had this past weekend to be dreary, awful weather, but I loved it! It was rainy, although mostly just heavy mist and drizzle, thick clouds that hung low, and even through they were forecasting temps in the "low to mid-20's" it never got below 38 degrees. We took a couple of longer hikes below the rim and had a delightful time. Of course, we also spent a great deal of time snuggled inside the cabin, sitting in front of the roaring fireplace!
We took off on a hike yesterday just down below the bluff in front of the cabin. Try as we might we were unable to get the Trail Cat to stay behind - she ended up jumping right on off the bluff and following us. This cat is really something else - she just had to go hiking wherever we went. One of our main goals was to scope out the bluffline to see if there were any good rock climbing routes to be had. There were four of us, and three of them were rock climbers, me being the only holdout - I'm much more comfortable with both feet planted firmly on the ground!
As we worked our way along the base of the bluff the three climbers stopped and spoke in climber lingo, pointing and ohhh and awwwwing here and there - I think they decided that we did indeed have some pretty darn nice rock to climb on right here at Cloudland. And all the while the Trail Cat was exploring on her own at the base of the bluff, just like she was one of the dogs.
When it came time to leave the bluff and head down off of the steep hill to the river, the Trail Cat was right with us, although she got rather vocal from time to time.
It was a wonderful 600 foot descent into the Buffalo River valley, past towering red oak, black gum, and sweet gum trees that dwarfed the rest of the forest. Lots of maples too, and the forest floor was covered with bright colors. A light rain fell on us constantly, but even that was nice too. And the fact that the ground was wet and soft actually made for firmer footing and easier going down the slopes that at times were nearly vertical.
As we got near the bottom of the hill we passed through an old homesite area. These old fields tend to get really gown up thick with briars. We jumped a snipe that had been roosting on the ground, and Aspen took off after it (no, the cat stayed with us). Aspen can fly through the woods at any time, but when he is in hot pursuit of a bird he can really move. Several minutes later he came running back near us, weaving in and out through the brush. But something was wrong - his coat was red, BLOOD red. I knew he had not caught this bird and that the blood was most likely his. Aspen gets cut and scratched all the time in the wilderness (just like me!), but I got really concerned at the amount - nearly half of his body was bloody. I grabbed him and could see that blood was gushing out of a hole he had torn in his ear - probably a briar ripped it open. We quickly administered a bit of first aid and got the bleeding stopped, then Aspen romped on off like normal.
From there we made our way on down to the banks of the Buffalo River - the colors along the way were quite spectacular, in an area that normally turns back in September and drops its leaves long ago. But it was lush and colorful. I got Aspen out into the water to try to swim off all of the blood, then washed off the remainder.
The first visit that I ever made to Cloudland right after I bought the property many moons ago, I hiked down to the river and camped overnight. The first place that I came out on the river at was the very same place, where a large flat rock juts out into the river. The top of the rock is carpeted with thick moss - that is where I laid out my bedroll and gazed up at the stars. Turns out this big rock is just downstream from our very own skinny dipping hole that I often visit in the summertime. Lots of water in this part of the Buffalo as you can see in the photo. This is normal flow for this time of the year, and really had not gone up any from the recent rains, which have not accumulated to all that much (and have been soaked into the ground anyway).
On the way back up the steep hillside towards the cabin the Trail Cat decided she was not going any further. She wandered off of the trail and climbed up on top of a boulder and just huddled there, meowing away. One of our guests found her and gave her a ride on up the rest of the hillside to the ladder. Still, one of the most amazing cats I have ever seen - she had hiked a couple of miles or more over some of the most difficult terrain there is.
Later in the evening we had a great feast of grilled Cloudland Tuna with all the fixins. The Trail Cat got two cups of warm milk!
The temp hovered around 39 again today, with fog and mist but no real rain. We struck out on another hike to visit blufflines, this time over to Magnolia Canyon in Dug Hollow. Not wanting to really push the Trail Cat too much we opted to leave her behind.
The colors in our little Whitaker Creek Drainage at the cabin are past peak and beginning to wear away to winter views, but the trees in Dug Hollow were at their peak today - really quite spectacular! We visited a couple of giant oak trees that had tumbled over in the past year - no telling how much weight came crashing down in a single motion.
Much of the bluffline in the canyon is moss covered and therefore not suitable for rock climbing, but the climbers did find a nice route or two that might be worth investigating in the seasons to come. I spent my time with the camera taking pictures of a plant that looked to me to be EXACTLY the same type of Arkansas Alumroot plant that I had photographed back in September. I'll send the photos off to the expert and see what he says, but I have a feeling it won't be the same rare plant. I also got to see a bunch of different types of fungi growing on downed trees. And there was this one giant beech tree that had been split open at the base - typical of the big beeches - but had a colony of mushrooms growing out of the split, as if cheering the tree on to go ahead and fall over to provide more nutrients!
As we got back to the cabin some friends of mine from long ago arrived - members of the Marinoni Family. Some of you may recognize that name from the Marinoni Scenic Area on the Ozark Highlands Trail. I named that area after Paul Marinoni, Sr., a man who took me under his wing and taught me much about the outdoors when my own father had been sidelined by a series of heart attacks. Paul was murdered back in the mid-1980's, which was a horrific loss to all of us who knew him. Paul was the first person to arrive at my mom's house after we found my dad, who had just expired on the couch, his giant heart finally giving up. Both men were giants in so many ways.
It is later in the afternoon now, the clouds are hanging low around the cabin and the view is muted. Pam has gone to Missouri to pickup Amber. It is quiet. The wind is still. I can look out every window and still see bright yellow and orange trees, all of them holding on to their leaves for just a few more hours, perhaps another day or two. And then fall will be over, and winter will creep in.
11/5/02 Mostly dark and wet here all day (which I love) - another wonderful day in the wilderness! And while the temp was not all that low - 47 - there was a chill in the air just the same. We had some light rain during the night, but nothing too heavy. We've had less than an inch total this past week, but every drop is needed and appreciated. I spent most of the day in front of the stereo searching for music for the two new slide programs. Found some really good stuff, but still looking for two or three more songs. Pam helped me un-box, autograph, and re-box a pile of WILDERNESS REFLECTIONS picture books that we sent to REI (a large chain outdoor and mail order store). The book is included in their new catalog that is being sent out this month.
I got to spend a little bit of time outside. It was quiet, and dim, but still the colors of the lingering hues of fall shone through. Mostly the duller oranges and reds out there now around here, although I know other parts of the Ozarks are blazing away with some really spectacular scenes. There were lots of leaves finally giving up their hold, letting go, and floating gently to the ground. Everywhere I went there were leaves in motion. Not tons of leaves in any one area, just leaves scattered all through the forest, slowly adding to the carpet of color on the ground. Not much sound as I hiked along since the leaves were all damp. In a few days, once most of the leaves come down and we get some drying sunshine, it will be really LOUD walking through the forest!
Two items of note about injuries. First and certainly least, we discovered last night that Aspen had a run in with a barbed wire fence. It got him pretty good, and there is an 12-inch slash on his underside that runs from the base of his neck all the way back to just in front of his hind legs. Most of it is just a deep scratch, but there is one area that is laid open good. We got him down and did a bit of doctoring and I think got it cleaned up pretty good. He is much better today an the wound has closed up. We kept him inside all day, only taking him out on a leash a couple of times, and kept him quiet and calm - that is a big order for the Superdog.
And later in the day we got word from one of our journal readers that I wanted to pass on to you. His daughter, Chelsie, was in a serious car accident recently and has been in a coma ever since. She is making progress, but is still in very serious condition and needs a great deal of help from all of us. They have a web page set up where you can go and sign a guest book and leave her a note - not only will those good wishes make their way to her now, but when she wakes up and is all better, she will be able to read them and know how many folks from far and wide were pulling for her. So if you can spare a moment or two, please go to her web page and sign in - www.geocites.com/love4chelsie. Thanks!
It is late at night now, and there is a light rain falling. We've got a nice fire going, and soft music drifting through the cabin. Aspen is doing OK, and I have to sign off here in a moment and go doctor him a little bit more. I will get to be outside tomorrow much of the day working with a group of college students from Wisconsin that are here for the week (not HERE, but in the area). We'll be trying to figure out how to take good pictures. I will also get my first batch of slides back from the photo lab tomorrow - the slides for the waterfall slide program (the lab is producing 35mm film slides from the original digital files - same ones that were used to make the photos in the guidebook, only most of them will be in color). That means I'll be in slide show production mode the rest of the week! The other set of slides from the new picture book should arrive in the next day or two. The first showing of both programs will be on Monday night in Harrison, so I have to get them put together in a hurry!
11/8/02 The wind has been howling all night, and this morning as I stepped out of the hot tub I could tell that winter was on the way! The sun is still a half hour away from showing up, but already there is a bright orange blanket laying low over the eastern horizon. The rest of the sky is dark blue with a few of the brighter stars and planets still shining through.
While on the tour with the kids from Wisconsin the other day I got to experience one of the Top-ten moments of fall. We were hiking along the Buffalo River, staring up at a massive 300-foot tall limestone bluff - one of those that are painted with mineral stains from eons of time. There was a cobalt blue sky overhead, and bright sunshine everywhere. The big bluff was reflected in the still waters of the river. And then a big gust of wind came up, and instantly the air was FILLED with thousands of colorful leaves. When you are in the forest and this happens the leaves float around in perhaps 50 or even 100 feet of air. But today the tower of leaves extended all the way to the top of the bluffline, and even beyond, blown upward by the wind. There were leaves in motion as far up as you could see, and in all directions. It was one of those moments where I was overcome with the incredible beauty of our natural world, and there was no way to capture it on film. On video perhaps, but certainly not with a still camera.
Yesterday we had a fall moment of a different kind here at the cabin - thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of WASPS and LADY BUGS were swarming, as they do each fall - the cabin was engulfed in a clouds of flying critters. They like to pick a warm day and absolutely attack the cabin. Most of them don't get in, but by mid-afternoon there were hundreds of each kind that had found ways inside the cabin and were crowded around the windows trying to get back out again. I've always found it interesting that the harmless lady bugs team up with the wasps, wasps that will give us grief here for many months to come. In years past we have waited for later in the winter to set off bug bombs inside, but I think this year we will attack them right away, and see if we can head off their invasion. Of course, I hate killing all of those lady bugs, but there is no way around it. The alternative is to roll over in the middle of the night and be awakened by a wasp on your pillow that has just stung you in the face!
Last evening I was riding around on the tractor doing a few chores just after sunset. The sky was almost black and the stars were coming out. The moon was hanging low in the southern sky - just a sliver of bright silver all lit up, but the rest of the moon was visible too. This other part of the moon was lit by the EARTH and not the sun - there was just enough light bouncing off of the earth to show detail in the dark part of the moon. One of these days I will see if I can photograph that. Anyway, it was wonderful riding around through the meadows in the darkness with the company of the silver sliver and faint dark grey ball.
I am just about finished with the musical selections for the two new slide programs. I appreciate all of the suggestions that you guys have sent along - but my problem is not having enough music to pick from, but rather going through all of the CD's we have here and narrowing it down to the select few that fit just right. We have literally thousands of musical selections to pick from. Right now I am down to the very last piece that I need to find to end the waterfall slide show with - it has to be about a minute and a half long.
Pam has been a tremendous help through all of this - she has had to clean more than 1,000 little glass surfaces (each slide is mounted in a special glass slide mount, and each side of the pair of glass plates has to be carefully cleaned with a special cloth). Then she has had to cut each of the slides - we get them from the lab in long rolls - and then mount each slide in the glass mounts. This has been her mission all week and she is almost finished!
Right now I am just about to the moment of truth. The light table is filled with the slides from the new Arkansas Wilderness picture book. I have to lay down the soundtrack on a metal cassette tape, then begin the process of organizing the slides and syncing them to the music - I've got four different fade rates to choose from - the slides will dissolve into one another at rates from one to ten seconds. All of this is done on a special machine that is operated by hand the first time, then is done automatically from then on. When it comes time for me to do a slide show, all I have to do is get the two projectors set up just right, then push the button on the machine and the tape runs the whole show. Sounds pretty simple, but it will mostly likely take me the rest of today to get the slides in order and synchronized just the way I want them. The first showing will be in Harrison this coming Monday night. Wish me luck!
As I have been writing and posting this the sun popped up and began to spill into the wilderness outside my window - kind of tough to work with this going on outside! I had to stop what I was doing and go out and take pictures every five minutes as the scene kept changing.
The bright sun rose into a brilliant blue sky this morning, and for the first time in three days the trees surrounding the cabin were not thrashing around - the big blow has finally quiet. Three days and nights of constant howling wind - and with it hundreds of thousands of leaves, taken from their limbs and tossed out into the current for the trip of a lifetime. Just imagine some of those leaves that have been looking down at the ground below their tree every since they first appeared last April - they found that perfect resting place right below them, and have been looking forward to landing there for a long while. I bet some of them were calculating just exactly where they would land, what the view would be from there, and how many of their buddies on other branches would be with them as the cold temps of winter slowly creeped in. They would all huddle together through the long winter, gradually biodegrading and working their way down into the earth, until next year when they actually would become a part of the earth, and help nurture other living things to come. And then all of a sudden, here comes this gust of wind, and the poor leaf takes off on that thrilling ride. Wow, I what a view the leaves get to see as they blow across the wilderness, sometimes even gaining altitude and getting up there really high. The might travel from one drainage, up and over a ridgetop, and come down into the next drainage, coming to rest a mile or more away from their home, and landing a little bit like the lunar module in a new and strange world. Some of them might even be picked up again and taken on another ride - the winds have really been blowing, up to and over 40 miles per hour. A white oak leaf my come down and land in a forest of maples, or vice versa. What a trip that must be! I wonder what the chances are of two leaves that began life next to each other on the same branch would end up together after a trip in the wind? Sort of like real life for us humans I guess, only sometimes we have a little bit more control over where we travel and land!
I worked on the slide programs until late in the night on Friday, finally getting the first one pretty much completed. I got the second show all lined up and ready to go but did not have the right cassette tape in order to record the soundtrack on - the special metal tapes that I had purchased just for this turned out not to work with the dissolve unit, so I had to use a regular cassette, and I only had one new one of those here - Pam rescued me and brought one back from Missouri.
I was up early on Saturday morning recording the second sound track - after having spent many hours trying to figure out the exact order of the music, and then rearranging two of the songs at the last minute. Then I hit the light table and began the long process of synching the images to the music. This second program did not take all that long - it was the waterfall show - mostly because I did not attempt to match up each image with the music, but rather only had to place images in one of four different regions of the state - that is the way the guidebook is laid out and the same way the slide show will run. In fact, the slides are almost in exactly the same order as they appear in the book! By noon I had completed the second show, fell back on the couch and breathed a BIG sigh of relief! Poor Pam, she had to listen to the same bits of music over and over and over and over. All in all I spent about $1200 getting the duplicate slides and slides from the digital files made, and spent nearly 100 hours putting it all together (counting all the time Pam spent cleaning the slide mounts and cutting the film and mounting the slides). It is quite a project, especially to do two different shows, but I think they both turned out really well and will be worth all the effort and expense.
About the time I put the second slide show to rest (not to bed - I still had a lot of tweaking to do with both of them), several friends showed up that where here to do some test climbing on the bluffline down below the cabin. It was mostly sunny out, but the wind was getting after it pretty good - it was not blowing the 40mph+ like it had all day the day before, but still maintained a velocity of 20mph+.
I prefer to keep both of my feet on the ground (so far, but I may change my mind and take to the rock one of these days), so played more of a gopher role in all of this. Actually, after the first hour or two of hectic activity, I spent most of the afternoon sitting on my backside in the leaves, looking up at the sky and enjoying the sunshine and lack of activity on my part for once.
Come to think of it, I had one of the most relaxing afternoons that I have had in a really long time - the slide shows were finished (more or less), and I didn't have another thing on my schedule, other than to enjoy the day. What a great feeling to have!
One time I got a bit of a scare. I was laying back in the leaves on a steep slope just above the top of the bluff, with my feet propped up on a large hickory tree. All of a sudden I swear the earth began to move! How could that be happening? Then I realized it was not the earth, but rather the big hickory tree that was moving - it had begun to sway in the breeze, and was moving towards me, which was pushing my body against the earth - sliding me up the slope. It felt like the entire mountain was moving beneath me!
Another time I got to looking around and spotted a group of leaves on a bit of vertical rock nearby - they seemed to be hanging there in suspended animation on the side of the bluff - shouldn't they be FALLING by now? There must have been a large cobweb across the face of the bluff that the leaves landed in and got hung up on. At about the same time I noticed these leaves I realized I was sitting on top of hundreds of acorns. So I did the next logical thing and began to throw the acorns at the leaves to see how many I could hit. You will just have to trust me when I tell you that I was a first-rate baseball pitcher in my youth, and my last season of playing ball went undefeated on the mound, and we won both the city and regional championships. So I was pretty confident that I would be able to pick off all of the leaves on the nearby bluff. WRONG! I must have tossed 100 or more acorns at those darn leaves and never touched a single one! I did hit all around them though - must have been the irregular shape of those acorns - I couldn't quite get my slider to work the way I wanted it to!
Spending the afternoon in the sunshine with really nothing to do other than be moved about by a swaying tree and tossing acorns at suspended leaves is my idea of a good time.
At one point during the day things got really exciting. The wind direction changed and began to blow really hard. I was perched on top the bluff and had an incredible view of the surrounding wilderness, including three different valleys. Within minutes of this wind shift the air was FILLED with blowing leaves - I mean as far as I could see, which was MILES in the distance! It was really a sight to see, and I wondered if my friends down on the bluff below were able to turn abound and enjoy the spectacle.
My afternoon of laziness was short lived, as Sunday mourning found me back in the hectic pattern of life once again. I had to continue to tweak the slide shows, then load up and go into Harrison for a book signing. Then was off to Fayetteville for a meeting later in the evening. When I returned home (late) Pam's parents were waiting patiently to view the slide programs.
Today is Monday, and I continue tweak the two slide programs before loading everything up and returning to Harrison later this afternoon for the first official showing of the programs at a meeting of the photography club there. Each time I show these two new programs I will see things that are wrong or that need to be tweaked just a little bit. Neither show will ever be perfect, but I will always keep heading in that direction.
Speaking of perfect things, I got an e-mail over the weekend from someone who noted two mistakes in the new waterfall guidebook text. He was looking hard for a third, but had not found one as yet. I have never seen a perfect publication with not a single typo or other mistake in it - not even the big novels. In fact it is often very surprising how many major mistakes you do see in big-time publications, much less in a little book like the ones we do. I strive for perfection and go to great lengths to find and eliminate ALL mistakes, be they simple typos or actual mistakes (this journal is NOT an example of this because it is never even edited a single time, and there are many typos and wrong words - just not enough time to mess with it, especially since you get it for free!). Anyway, I was surprised to hear of these two mistakes, especially since the computer spell-checker should have caught them both. They are simple typos and easily understood so no harm done. What I should tell folks is that there are ten typos in the book - put there specifically for people like this guy who like to find such things. I am always happy to hear of typos and mistakes, so please be sure to let me know when you find them.
One evening lately I had to travel up to the office after dark. I decided to not carry a flashlight and see how I did, now that the snakes are mostly tucked away for the winter here. The sky was clear and there were a zillion stars out. And just that sliver of a moon as light. It was tough at first to see anything and I had to inch my way along the path, reaching out with each foot and feeling my way along. Then my eyes got a little bit used to the dim light, and I could actually walk a little bit, although still very slow. It was nice to be in the nighttime woods, taking them on their own terms and not interrupted by artificial light. You tend to notice things more that way - like the VERY faint shadows of the trees created from the moon were moving around with the wind. And how there are so MANY shades of dark, DARK grey out there, but they are still SHADES of grey, with very few things that were actually BLACK. I made it up to the office and back to the cabin without incident, although I thought for sure one of those black objects out there was a bear charging me at full speed! It was, of course, just a rock.
And last night just as I was getting back from my meeting in town, that crescent moon was laying down on his back and slowly dropping into the western horizon. Within minutes the bright silver of the moon turned to yellow, then orange, before slipping into total darkness. I rushed out with my camera to try to capture the scene - knowing there was no way I could get any of it recorded on the digital film. But I had to try.
A couple of updates on the injured. Aspen is doing better than a week ago, but we have been unable to keep him still enough for the gash on his under belly to heal up. We have been keeping him inside all day and night, only allowing him out on a leash to water the flowers. The wound looked to be closed up and hardening just fine on Friday, then I made the mistake of allowing him to run free for about a half hour - I could not help it, those eyes of his were drilling holes deep into me wanting to get out and run! Well, you guessed it, the wound opened up again and we went back to square one. He is doing pretty good today, although I know he has this incredible case of cabin fever. Just a couple more days little fellah.
And Chelsie is still in a coma, although she is improving each day. Her dad wanted for me to extend their thanks to all of you journal readers who logged onto the message page and sent Chelsie a note. It is so great of you all to take the time to write, and I know that it will all help this precious young lady beat this, and will mean so much to her once she wakes up and get better. Please feel free to write as often as you can.
11/14/02 You could see the spectacular sunrise coming from a long way off this morning - even before the clouds began to glow. One of the reasons why I like working at the cabin so much (instead of being up at the office) is because I get to watch sunrise happen every day - I can't really see it from the office. But here the view is just right out the window - there are three big windows right in front of my computer screen that look out into the wilderness. While there is no way that my little camera could even begin to do justice to this magnificent display, I can tell you that the brilliant oranges and reds stretched all the way from the eastern horizon to the western horizon, from north to south. A very nice way to begin the day!
One of the Woods Boys stopped by the office yesterday while I was up there packing up books. He was on his way to his deer stand and had parked near the office. It's been deer season all week but we have hardly known it out here. In fact I don't recall ever seeing so few hunters in the woods as there are this season. Part of the reason is that the weather has been just horrible for deer hunting - warm and windy, with tons of leaves on the ground. And the fact that the acorn crop is so heavy, the deer don't really have to get up and go anywhere - which is often how they get shot, while out looking for food. Instead the deer simply feed in a very small area and don't have to move around much at all. The Woods Boys have all been out hunting all week with only a large pile of squirrels to show for it. I used to spend every single minute of the deer season hunting, out in the woods, wandering around and soaking up the forest. I started when I was seven - even used to wander around by myself with my shotgun at that age - they would lock up your parents for doing that today, but I think it was a great thing back then - taught me a lot of responsibility and built up character. Anyway, I realized many moons ago that one of the main reasons why I used to hunt so much was that I was using it as an excuse to be out in the woods - I never really like the taste of game, although never minded the sport of hunting one bit. When I no longer needed an excuse to be out in the woods, I hung up my gun. Now I can go out into the wilderness anytime I please, and don't have to explain why!
Once yesterday, while I was hiking back to the cabin from a quick trip up to the office I took a little bit of a detour and found myself sliding down a steep slope covered with tons of leaves. The sun was out and warming things up nicely, and there was a little breeze too. I laid down on that steep slope - propping my feet up against a tree like I do quite often to keep me from sliding down further. The forest was quiet, except for the noise that Aspen and Lucy made as they ran around. The wind picked up a bit, but didn't make much noise. There were times when the wind would blow several leaves horizontally, and the leaves would float from one side of my vision all the way to the other without really losing any altitude. In fact some of the leaves actually gained height as the breezes carried them away. I figured it was the warming sunshine that helped give the leaves a little bit of lift. Anyway, it was a delightful scene, one that you thought could only be created in a computer, or inside your head.
It's about noon now today, and the sky is filled with dark clouds. The forest below is mostly brown, with a grey thread of solid rock bluffline running through it all. The distant hills are dark grey, almost black. It doesn't feel like rain, but it would be nice if we got some. I've got to head outside now for a little while and take the dogs on a hike. We'll be heading out the door soon to go to the Lynn Miles concert and the dogs will be locked up inside the cabin for nearly 12 hours. They have lots of room to run around inside for sure, but it's not quite the same as chasing the wind and barking at squirrels.
11/15/02 Obviously I will never get to see the Beatles or John Denver in concert. However last night I got to experience another talent whose music has touched my heart and soul to the same depths - Lynn Miles, a folk singer from Canada (she writes all of her own lyrics and music). And not only did we get to attend a Lynn Miles concert, but we were nearly given a private concert - the room was very small and no more than a couple dozen people were there. It was just us and Lynn Miles, all right there together.
And not only was it Lynn Miles, but the guy who was playing guitar and mandolin with her turned out to be a superstar of Canadian county music, Keith Glass. He has won the Canadian equivalent of our Grammys six times, plus was recently voted as the top country guitarist in Canada. And while I am no expert on such things, I must say that he could really play!
I have been babbling about Lynn Miles for three and a half years now , and I realize that most of you must think that I am just sort of nuts about it all, but I got to tell ya that all of my feelings were vindicated when I looked over during the show and saw my wife and daughter not only enjoying it all, but singing, laughing, dancing, and applauding as much as anyone in the place. Lynn and Keith were terrific on stage, of course, but when they were not playing they were sitting or standing right there next to or in front of us, talking and getting to know anyone who would approach them (Lynn was very shy, but quite warm and anxious to talk). I could not believe that I was really standing there talking with Lynn Miles, a lady whose voice has been inside my head now for such a long time, and who has gotten me through some of the worst times of my life, and has been along for the absolute best. It was very strange to hear her turn to Keith and utter my name, and Pam's, and Amber's. And while at this point it would have been sheer disaster, and much to our horror, but when we told Lynn that Amber knew the words to all of her songs, Lynn suggested that Amber get up on stage and sing with her!!! NO WAY.
While it was so very wonderful to get to actually talk with Lynn Miles in person a couple of times, the highlight of the evening was, of course, her music. That voice is so pure, penetrating, and while many of her songs are about dark days of life, the sound is also sweet and uplifting, and always brings a giant smile inside me. She played nearly every one of my favorites, including most of them for her three CD's. And just when I thought I had heard it all, after they had left the stage, Lynn returned to sing one more song, the song that first brought me to her, the song that would become my own personal love song to my mom, and a song that I have listened to literally hundreds of times, bringing tears each and every time - RUST. I don't know of another more personal song to me. She stepped up to the mic and sang those words, and I thought I was going to lose it. Both of my ladies put their arms around me and the three of us were one, and I don't know of too many other more incredible moments of my life then right then and there. It was beautiful.
Afterward I told Lynn about my obsession with her music (drooling fan, yes), and we all thanked her for finally making it to Arkansas. She autographed a CD to Amber - that very CD is at this moment being clutched by a nine-year old at school - we may never get it away from her. As we were making our way outside a dark figure approached us in the parking lot. It was Keith Glass, who had run out to his car in the rain to try to find one of his CD's to give to us. Not only is he a great guitar player, but he is also a super nice guy (I have not been there yet, but you can find out more about him on his web site at www.keithglass.ca). I don't know why there weren't 10,000 people there to see this show, but I'm sure glad there wasn't! (Lynn's web site is www.lynnmiles.com)
As we motored back up into the mountains it was nearing 1am. It had just rained and a heavy fog had settled in. The driving was slow and hazardous because of that fog, but there was also a forest of leaves being blown across the road and we could hardly see! There were stretches of the highway that had to many leaves on it (plastered down by the rain) that it was nearly impossible to see where the highway was! I simply had to take it slow and keep it between the ditches, and look out for those chicken-guts trucks that run this route 24 hours a day between Berryville and Clarksville (we passed several of them). Needless to say the sounds of Lynn Miles were echoing through my head, and coming out of the stereo speakers. Thank goodness I married a lady who loves Lynn Miles as much as I do!
There was no sunrise today, only grey skies and total cloud cover. It is damp outside, and cool - in the low 40's. In my book this is a SUPER day to be outside! I will make it a point to venture out as often as I can today and wander around in the wilderness and see what is going on.
Pam and I went on a hike around the loop just before lunch. The woods were quiet, damp, and cool. Both of the cats went with us, including the Box Cat - this was only his second hike ever of any great length. I told Pam about how he was flying up and down the slopes yesterday, and right in the middle of her "I don't believe that for a minute" face, the Fat Cat blew by us both and ran up the hillside. Don't know what has gotten into him, but it is fun to watch both cats racing through the woods.
Later in the day I went out for another hike, but this time the cats stayed behind. I got to looking at the forest floor, and how right now everything is BROWN there - a solid carpet of leaves, several inches thick, heck in some places nearly a foot thick. But then every now and then there would be a single stalk of some green plant that had poked its head up above the sea of brown, making sure all the world knew that there was still green life left on the forest floor.
The wind was cool and I took the air deep into my lungs - nothing fresher then the air was today. I think it is good for us to get outside - no matter where we live - and breathe in the cleanest air we can find. Last night in Little Rock Amber and I went into a little store to get a bottle of water and bag of chips. As we were going out the door Amber sucked in a big breath. She said that she had been holding her breath the entire time we were in the store - the clerk was smoking, and it really STUNK in there! We both stunk after just being in that polluted air for a few moments.
While wandering around out there in the woods this afternoon I got to thinking about some building project of mine, and started to hunt around for acorns to use to help me lay out the plans on a nearby rock. Trouble was I could not find any. HUH? No acorns? There were thousands, no millions of them just a few days ago, covering the ground and knocking me on the head. But today I could not find any. I got down on all four and searched under the carpet of leaves - none. The squirrels and deer and bears had been too good at snatching them up, and the ground under there was bare.
And then at last I came upon a single acorn. It had already begun to sprout a tap root out its pointed end. And then I got to thinking about that lone acorn, the one that nobody wanted and all had passed by. The rest had become food for critters big and small, contributing to society. This one acorn was left behind, seemingly without a job in life. But then I remembered the tap root. The other acorns were a quick snack, but this one might eventually grow up into a big oak tree and produce thousands of acorns in his life, providing quite a few snacks and even homes for wildlife of all sorts. Squirrels would play in its limbs, owls would perch and hunt, caterpillars would crawl up its trunk to get a better view, lovers would spend a playful afternoon in the shade of its branches. And maybe one day I would come along and take its picture. Yes, that lonely little acorn might have quite a bright future after all. I gently laid him back on the ground and covered him up with leaves, hoping they would keep him warm this winter.
It is later in the evening now. Amber is in her room working on some project. Pam is in the big leather chair reading. Aspen is, well, Aspen is laying on the floor someplace, taking it easy until he is asked to spring into action. There is a nice fire warming up the cabin, blues on the radio. My belly is getting to the point where I am losing sight of my feet, so I think I'll venture down into the basement and spend a bit of time on the cross-country ski machine, then venture into the sauna. It's getting cold enough outside now that I can run out into the night and let the chilly breeze freeze the sweat right off of me!
11/17/02 We had a great day at Cloudland yesterday, spending most of it working outdoors. I spent much of my time up on the tractor hauling firewood and rocks. Pam and Amber stacked the firewood next to the cabin, then spent a long while out in the water garden trying to get the mountain of leaves out of the way. Some of the leaves were nearly a foot deep in parts of the stream, everything was covered with at least six inches of leaves - you couldn't even see the stream at all, only the waterfall at one end and the pond at the other end (which we have been spending an hour or two a day fishing leaves out of). Then I had a great idea. We shut off the water flow, let the leaves dry out just a little bit, then I fired up my backpack blower that I use for building hiking trails. It puts out a stream of air at 225mph and does a great job of moving leaves around. It took me an hour or two, but that darn blower really saved the day. By the time we were done there were hardly any leaves left around the stream at all. (Pam and Amber had to dig out hundreds of acorns that were beginning to sprout in the bottom of the stream.) I wound up with a tall pile of leaves about 100 feet long, ten feet wide, and five or six feet deep. What a playground that made for Amber! How many of us have fond childhood memories of jumping into a big pile of leaves! Just about the time Amber wore herself out in the leaves I came along with the tractor and scooped/pushed the pile away and off into the woods. That tractor just saved us hours and hours of work and frustration.
It was great to spend the day outside with my girls.
Today Amber and I got up early and splashed around in the hot tub a while just as the sun was rising. Actually it wasn't really all that early - Amber normally has to get up at 5:30am to make it out to catch the bus. Just like had happened in the cabin last week, there were scores of lady bugs that had gotten into the hot tub. There were quite a few little bodies in the water. Amber helped catch them with a little minnow net and give them a proper burial (over the side of the deck).
Pam and Amber took off to Devil's Den State Park to lead a kid's hike for our hiking club, and I was planning to spend the day on the couch, in front of the TV, eating pizza and watching football. Turned out that the only game on was a really dull one (you would think that with 250 channels I could get more than one game!). That was a blessing in disguise because I had a lot more chores to do outside, and it was a beautiful day out.
I climbed back up on the tractor and hauled down another couple loads of firewood to the cabin. Then I continued my chore of the day before of gathering rocks/boulders from around the place and arranging them in a shape that Pam had outlined on the ground for a flower bed. It took quite a few trips but by late afternoon I had enough rocks to complete the job. This bed is 36 feet long, and will be filled with native plants, ferns and flowers. Just another one of the great marks that Pam has made at Cloudland.
After I put the tractor back into the shed I wasn't really ready to go back to the cabin yet, so I headed out on a ramble, out into the woods, down the hillside, wherever my feet would carry me. The leaves underfoot produced a very soft crunching sound as I walked, a pleasant and soothing sound like no other. The leaves were just beginning to dry out from having been green/red/orange/yellow. Before long they will crunch much louder, announcing the approach of most any critter, human or otherwise.
I soon arrived near the top of a tall bench, and sat down in the leaves. I could see all the way down the steep slope in front of me to the level bench below, then to the right and left at least a couple hundred yards. Out at the far edge of my sight in front the mountain dropped off a couple hundred feet, and all I could see was air, and the dark, shadowed hillside about a half mile beyond.
There was a rock sticking up out of the earth just down below me that provided the perfect prop for my feet, and a fallen log was soft enough for a pillow. It seems like I spend a lot of time down on the ground these days, but for some reason, I really do like it down there - always have. Especially now when there is a thick carpet of leaves. I can nestle down into the leaves, my body forming a depression in the soft but firm earth underneath. I love the feel of logs and moss-covered stone. Plus it allows me to anchor my brain and my eyes in one spot where I can focus on the world around me instead of having to pay attention to where the next foot is going to land. As much as I would truly love to be a hawk or owl, soaring high above and riding the wind currents, I guess I was born to be a ground critter, and it is here that I am most comfortable.
There was a pile of boulders of assorted sized sort of tossed on the hillside right next to me. Most of them were large, much to heavy for me to ever move by hand. And there was one flat stone, I mean REALLY FLAT - less than an inch thick, and probably 14 x 14 inches square. Actually it was more of a diamond shape. And the long ends of the diamond were each resting on rocks, but the rest of the stone was suspended. It was balanced there, and had been for no telling how long a period of time. A squirrel running across it would disturb the balance and send the stone sliding down the hillside.
I got to thinking about those stones, and how in the world they ever got into the places where they are today. Certainly there has been quite a bit of movement as the hillsides were forming over the millions of years. Earthquakes no doubt contributed. And I know that when a big tree blows over it takes a great deal of earth and rocks with it. But generally speaking, I have never seen a rock or stone move on its own, other than falling off of a bluff as ice was expanding. Really - have you ever seen rocks of any size move on their own, especially ones not associated with a bluffline?
The temp was in the mid-50's, just a slight breeze blowing. And that bright sunshine beaming through the now-bare trees felt really good. No telling how long I was asleep there in the leaves, but it sure did feel great. My bones are weary from many long months of intense activity, day and night. And my brain is too. I need many more days like today and yesterday to get me back to normal. Wait a minute - I guess there really is no normal for me, so I must already be there!
Once my eyes were open I rolled over and got up and continued my ramble - the sun was getting low in the western sky, and a chill was moving in. I have found myself spending more time on this particular hillside of late - there is no trail, and the footing isn't too good, but there are many interesting rock formations, trees, and views to see. And at the far end of this route I come out into Mom's meadow. The flowers are quickly dying away now - something I have been looking forward to now for several weeks. It's not that I am tired of seeing all of the bright color, but rather that I am anxious to collect as many seeds as I can and spread them far and wide so that next year there will be even more color. Once all of the flowers have died and I have collected as many seeds as I care to, then I will mow the meadow and get it ready for winter and early spring.
I wanted to pass on the following note that I got from Chelsie's dad (THANKS once again to all of you who have and continue to write in her online guest book) :
Just a quick note on Chelsie.. She is still getting
notes from your journal
readers...she is making improvements each day...she
will be going to Arkansas
childrens hospital for rehab in the next couple of
days...she is still in a coma but is
opening her eyes more each day...
The sun has disappeared and the dark blue sky is giving away to pink and orange clouds. There is quite a spectacular sunset going on right now. It is one of those that is sort of tough to photograph, so I think I'll just sit here and watch and enjoy. Oops, I almost forgot - the ladies will be home soon, so I had better get busy and build them a roaring fire in the fireplace!
11/19/02 I was up at 3:30am, stepped out onto the little deck off of the loft, and gazed up into the bright night sky, searching for falling stars. None yet. I was up at 4am and repeated the same thing. Then again at 4:30 - actually I didn't need to even get up out of bed that time because I could see shooting stars out the window without ever leaving my bed. This morning after 4am was supposed to be the "best meteor shower for the next 100 years." These things seldom ever live up to the hype, especially on a night like this one when the moon was nearly full and still up in the sky. But I was willing to give it a try, so got up, put my clothes on, and wandered outside.
A couple of friends were supposed to have already arrived to watch the meteor shower from up at Aspen's Meadow, and I had planned to join them. Standing there in front of the cabin I saw quite a few shooting stars in just a couple of minutes, so I thought, what the heck, the view was good right there, so I pulled up a chair and sat in the middle of the driveway and watched the show. While there certainly weren't thousands of events an hour going on within the scope of what one human could see, it was a pretty nice light show, and there were quite a few stars streaking across the bright night sky. And I don't believe that I have ever seen this before, but several of them were GREEN! Is that possible?
The temp was down near freezing, and while I was pretty comfortable in my down jacket sitting in that chair, I noticed that there were just as many shooting stars over on the other side of the cabin, so I decided to shuck off my clothes and hop into the hot tub (after brewing up a quick cup of hot tea). So I spent the next 30 minutes or so laying back in the hot water, sipping my tea, and watching the meteor shower. I never did know if my friends ever made it out to the star gazing deck in Aspen's meadow or not. If so I bet they had a good time.
It was still kind of dark when Pam drove Amber out to catch the bus a little while later. But it was beginning to break daylight and there were hardly any regular stars visible. "Mommy, I think most of the stars have already fallen to the ground!" I would love to read a book that my daughter would write right now.
Just about the time the sun came up the power went off. Everything on the entire mountain was dead. For some strange reason I decided that since I could not work at the computer, watch CNN, or cook breakfast, that I would go outside and start working on the water garden. Oh yea, I did not tell you that the winds really pounded us yesterday - gusting up and over 50mph. And with those winds came mountains of leaves. When the big blow was over the pond and creek out in front of the cabin were once again buried in six inches or more of leaves. So I decided to get to work on them.
It was DEAD STILL outside - not a wisp of air moving anyplace. No critters. NO SOUND AT ALL. It was a deafening silence, something that is seldom heard out here. There is always the wind, or birds, or cabin noises, or SOMETHING making a sound. But not this morning. It was eerie, and pleasant, and just a little bit odd. It wasn't until much later that I realized that one of the big reasons why it seemed to QUIET this morning was that the waterfall was not running, and that has added the special water noise to Cloudland ever since July. And anytime that we have turned the recirculating pump off in the past there have always been other noises around. It was just, well, quiet. And I rather enjoyed the hour that I spent working with the leaves in the pond as the sun rose into a brilliant blue sky.
Next I decided to take a little hike up to the office to see if the power was off there too, and then on over to Bob Chester's place to check on it. As I hiked up and over to the north side of the ridge I found myself walking through a frozen meadow, at least the parts of it where the sun had not hit yet were still sort of frosty. I always love frosty things, so soon found myself down on all fours, looking around for interesting frost patterns to photograph.
As I hiked along the lane towards Bob's I noticed that there were quite a few pairings of young sweetgum trees and wild rose bushes. The little sweetgums were about the only trees along this area that still had their leaves on, and most of the leaves were lit up and colorful. The rose bushes were covered with red berries. I don't know why these two species grow next to each other so often - perhaps both come in during session when an old field is growing up - before it become a forest again. Most of this area is just like that - old fields that are growing up.
I passed that deciduous holly tree that I always shoot pictures of - just had to take yet another one - it is covered with bright red berries!
The power was off at Bob's too, and when I called the power company they said they were working on it and we would have juice once again soon.
Yesterday, Pam nearly dropped the phone when a mature bald eagle flew past the window. We don't see eagles here all that often, and it is always a great treat and an event worth noting when we do see one. Later on this morning, after I got back from my hike, I looked up and saw an immature eagle soaring just above the treetops near the cabin. I grabbed a pair of binocs, yelled at Pam, and headed out the door.
This guy was huge, and seemed all the larger because he was cruising around up there with a pair of red-tailed hawks - he was about three or four times the size of them. We stared up and watched for several minutes as the trio circled overhead. We made sure to note where our cats were, and that they were out of the line of fire should the eagle decide to have some breakfast.
And then right in the middle of the show a mature bald eagle soared right into the middle of things. Man you should have seen those hawks and the smaller eagle turn tail and run! All three vanished in an instant. I had my binocs on the immature eagle and it was neat to see him fold his wings back - without flapping a feather his speed picked up and he was gone, just like that. The big guy with pure white head and tail circled overhead for about five minutes, gradually gaining altitude until he appeared very small. Kind of hard to get any work done with that sort of thing going on around here!
I spent the rest of my day up at the office getting things all ready for a short road trip tomorrow. Pam and I will be doing a slide show at the Jones Center in Springdale at 11am for about 300 folks (in the chapel). Then it will be on to Tulsa for another program at the Hardesy Library at 7:30pm for the Green Country Outdoor Club. It will be a late night for us (an 18 hour work day), but hopefully we will come back with a few less books! We'll be doing both the waterfall and wilderness slide shows. It will be great to see how they play in front of large audiences - you never know.
Right now the truck is all packed up - filled to the brim with cases of books and all of the audio/visual projection equipment. Oops, I guess I will have to make room for Pam! Tomorrow is the full moon so the nighttime sky is very bright. Since I actually have all of my ducks in a row the night before a road trip (probably a first for me!), I think I'll shut down this computer and go take a relaxing soak in the hot tub - the more time you spend in moonlight the better your life is you know!
11/21/02 We had a very long day yesterday and didn't get back to the cabin until 1:30 this morning. The audiences in Springdale and Tulsa were great, and I think the two new slide shows went over well. While it is a great deal of work to do one of these shows, I love being in front of people and talking with them. Sounds sort of silly coming from a guy who spends most of his time conversing with trees and rocks, but it's true. The music in the programs seems to be working out, even though the country song that I included was a bit of a stretch for me, but I think it fits perfectly. Our next big show will be in Hot Springs on December 2nd (I don't know where yet, but will post that info here when I find out in case any of you want to go - it is open to the public).
It was warm and sunny this afternoon, and Pam and I spent some of it down in Mom's meadow collecting flower heads. Some of them we broke up and spread on the wind, but we saved a big box of them to spread around elsewhere. We're going to put some of them in the new flower garden up in front of the cabin, another patch near the Faddis cabin, and one up at Aspen's Meadow. It was quite wonderful being out there in the sunshine and breezes with my bride, and sowing the seeds that will blossom next summer. Later we crawled up into the swing at the gazebo and got to simply sit there and relax for a while.
11/23/02 Today is a very blue day at Cloudland. The bright sun woke up the wilderness and rose into a pure blue sky that stretched from horizon to horizon all around. The shadows that it casts into the deep hollows are dark blue right now. Out in front of the cabin a flock of bluebirds is playing and bathing in the stream. And looking out just about every window there are bright blue and rust spots of color all lit up by the sun - bluebirds sitting on branches everywhere! Sometimes it tough to get anything done out here at all. Sometimes you just have to stop what you are doing and stare out the window. Thank goodness we have 25 windows here!
The forest has taken on its winter coat of brown, at least the long views tend to be brown. The trees themselves are mostly grey, but I think the carpet of brown leaves on the forest floor behind and underneath the trees is what brings out that brown color. We have a number of pine trees here at the cabin that add a great deal of green to the landscape, and we are probably going to plant more.
One of the very first items to light up these days is the east wall of a giant house-sized boulder block way on over past Hubbard Hollow. This block is one of two blocks that have fallen off of the point of bluffline there. One of my goals in life is to make it up to the top of at least one of those rocks. I've been to the base several times, but the rocks stand alone and apart from the bluff and there is no good route to the top, unless you are a really good rock climber. We may try to throw a rope over the top from the other side and see about climbing up at some point. There is also a tall tree that hugs one side of the outer block - I may try to climb that tree and then jump over some day. But for now I will admire from afar and from below.
Pam put out our bird feeders this week - there was beginning to be so much bird activity here, and most of them seemed to be saying "feed me!" We don't have feeders up in the spring and summer because of they tend to attract bears, and once a bear starts getting into bird feeders, they become unafraid of man and dangerous and sometimes have to be destroyed. By this time of the year most bears are either heading into the dens for the winter (they don't actually hibernate here, just go into a deep sleep), or they remain out in the woods gorging themselves on the heavy mast crop. We still have a bear or two around here that have been leaving large piles of scat right in the middle of the road for all to see. I have often wondered why they not only choose the road to poop in, but usually the very MIDDLE of the road. The only thing I can think of is that they want for us to be reminded of them for a long time, and know that anything put in the middle of the road will not get run over.
11/25/02 The sun was very late coming up today, in fact it never showed up at all. Heavy cloud cover and grey skies were the order of the day. And it was below freezing - a textbook November day in the Ozarks.
Saturday was quite a bit different. Nothing but clear blue skies, plenty of sunshine and WARM temps in the 70's! Pam and I met her friend Sara from Springfield and we spent the day with Roy/Norma, Sharon/Rob, and Pam Rodgers at Horseshoe Canyon rock climbing. Well, actually they all climbed while I kept my two feet on the ground, straining my neck to see what was going on above me. Pam's friend Sara had never climbed on natural rock before, so this was quite a treat for her. Everyone got a treat when a mature bald eagle cruised slowly overhead - it was nothing but rock and blue sky, and a small body or two on the wall. I was not near my camera so didn't get a photo of the event.
Pam joined me in the hot tub for a good long soak late in the evening, and while we were out there a brilliant shooting star blazed across the sky in front of us.
Sunday was just about the same type of day, with lots of sunshine. Pam and I spent the morning around the cabin, trying to stay out of the way of the flocks of birds that have descended on Cloudland. Just a few of them were at the feeders - the rest were enjoying the stream and surrounding forest.
After we hiked around the loop we climbed into the hammock for a nap in the warm sunshine. A little while into our nap we heard a vehicle coming down the lane. Neither of us moved a muscle. The truck entered the circle drive, then slowly made its way all the way around, right past the two bodies on the hammock, never stopping. Sometimes that's just the way life is out here - being in the hammock is more important than getting up to see who had come through the gate and past the private property signs. I wonder what they thought of us?
After Pam headed up to Missouri to pick up Amber I spent the rest of the afternoon on the tractor, mowing Mom's meadow and Aspen's meadow. I had a few anxious moments and wondered if the tractor was going to roll over while I mowed across a pretty steep slope just below the cabin. I'm sure that tractor can handle a much steeper grade than my mind can!
A cold, cloudy day in November is perfect for hiking. Pam needed to go do some maintenance on a section of the Ozark Highlands Trail that her Otters kids had adopted, so we jumped into the truck and headed out for a quick hike on the trail. Lots of leaves on the ground but the trail was easy to follow. We didn't do any heavy maintenance, but did spend some time clearing out limbs and rocks that had gotten in the way. Mostly we just got out and had a terrific hike, then visited the Turner Bend store for a snack.
It is late at night now and I just came in from outside. Man it feels GREAT out there! Come on snow, come on snow!!! There is a fire in the fireplace, Amber is in bed reading, Pam is working on the computer next to me. I swear that I hear music, but there is really nothing but the sounds of Cloudland filling the airwaves. It's a nice, warm, homey place to live and work.
11/26/02 This morning as the sun just began to get up over the eastern wall of the river canyon, it lit up the river below, and made it look like ribbons of pure silver.
A couple of critter things today. First, the birds. It seems like a new species of bird has been showing up around the cabin just about every day this past week. First were the nuthatches. Then the woodpeckers. Bluebirds. Robins. And today, juncos. The juncos are Aspen's favorite birds - they like to feed on the ground a lot and Aspen loves to charge out of the cabin and run after them. He will never catch one, of course, but he enjoys the thrill of the chase. They weren't on the ground today though - just sitting up in the trees all puffed up against the cold north wind.
Tonight Amber and I were wandering around outside in the dark listening to not one but two packs of coyotes, and they were talking to each other. One pack was up in the East meadow and sounded really loud and close. They would let out a long yip and howl, and as it was tailing off into the night air someone from the second pack would begin their howling. This second pack was across the Buffalo River canyon on the Mossville side. Once they began to die down the East meadow boys would strike back up again. It was clear and pitch black outside - which means the stars were just incredible. Stars or no stars, it was BLACK, and each time a coyote would let out a howl Amber would squeeze my hand a little bit tighter. She's a good apple for even going out there in the dead of night in the first place. The temp was just about freezing, but the crisp air felt great.
A bit of bad news about my good friend the hot tub. It has developed a crack in the shell - just up across the top of one side that did not affect the water at all. We got word from the dealer today that they are going to have to come out and pick the hot tub up and ship it back to the factory - in CALIFORNIA! This is my fourth hot tub, and is far and away the best I have ever owned (it is a Hot Springs brand), but it has been plagued with problems and out of commission a lot. My hope is that since they sold me a lemon they will replace the entire unit, but since they are going to all this trouble I suspect they will simply glue the crack and ship it back. That would be fine too. Only problem is that I will have to tear off the deck that I built around the hot tub after we installed it, then build it all back again once they return the tub. And most importantly, I will be WITHOUT a hot tub for the first time in nearly 20 years! Boy, listen to me whine. That hot tub gets me outside a lot of times in bad weather when I would never go out, and I often see and experience a lot of great things weather-wise while I am out there. It is where I plan my day, and where I get to look back and give thanks for all the wonderful times I have here each and every day.
Several of you have asked about my slide show in Hot Springs next week. It will be at 7pm at the Student Center of the Quapaw Votech school behind the Garland County Community College. It is open to the public, and I will be showing both of the new slide programs. This will be the only public showing for the rest of this year in Arkansas. We will have all the books, calendars and posters available for sale too, including a special prices on some of them. My bride will be with me, but Amber will be back at the cabin guarding against the coyotes.
11/27/02 It was 25 degrees and bright sunshine this morning. Time to go frost-flower hunting! I guess because everything is so very dry right now, I could only find three flowers - all in the same place where I always find them.
We took the usual route around the loop, with the dogs out in front and the Trail Cat close behind. Very noisy trudging through the thick piles of dry leaves. On the way back towards the cabin I headed off on one of my "short cuts," which normally last a long while. We dropped on down the steep hillside and began to contour on around the hill. This was a true "ramble" since we had no particular path or destination in mind. There were several times where we simply sat down in the leaves and soaked up the day.
Aspen loved to play in the deep leaves. The Trail Cat avoided them as best she could. In fact we noticed that she did not like walking in the leaves at all, and often went to great lengths to hop from rock to rock wherever she could.
11/30/02 Bright sunshine once again today, and the temp was a cool 33 degrees. The air was filled with birds of all shapes and sizes, flying, floating, soaring, hopping, diving. Some of them were in flocks out there in the canyon, abruptly changing directions as a group while they made their way across the valley. Others were soaring solo - some different hawks that I could not ID. And many were singing - it sounded more like a springtime day than early winter.
Our day is going to be filled with chores around the cabin, inside and out, and a bit of outdoor play too if we get enough of the chores done.
I loaded up our "sleigh" - actually one of the trailers - with the Christmas tree and other decorations that we had stored at the tractor shed. The entire trailer was full! Pam began the long process of putting up the decorations while I put together the 12' tall tree. When I first built the cabin I wandered around and selected several large cedar trees that I had planned to use for Christmas trees in the future, but later decided to let them live so they could continue to share their beauty with the rest of the world, and provide homes and snacks for wildlife. That's when we bought the big artificial tree, which I must tell ya, looks perfectly natural and fills up our large great room just fine. Only problem is that it is so darn tall!
It didn't take us long to get decorated out, so we took a break and headed out the door with rock climbing gear in hand. It was a beautiful afternoon, not too warm, but plenty of sunshine. We put the rope up on the bluff just down below the cabin and Pam did three brand new routes. This was the first time since my youth that I had ever actually set up any ropes by myself before - I used to do a lot of repelling back then, and while the actual knots and some equipment are different, there is much that is the same. These days you can rock climb quite safely, once you get a top rope set up. Then the climber always has a backup system with the person below that is belaying them (that is me). I rather enjoyed my role of simply standing there keeping the rope tight while my bride scaled the bluff, then letting her down slowly once she reached the top.
Later we explored the bluffline towards the west, looking for more good places to climb. Much of the rock has some tiny moss growing on it, which is not good for climbing. It was quite LOUD hiking along because the thick leaves piled up at the base of the bluff made so much noise. We only found one or two other moss-free spots that would make good routes, but the sun was about to disappear below the horizon by then, so we packed it all up and headed back to the cabin. I really love the fact that both me and my bride can pursue our favorite outdoor activities without having to drive anyplace - we just go right out the back door!
November has been a hectic month around here, but a great one for us, as they all are. The only real problem has been the lack of rain - it was the driest November on record for me. The forest is still OK and very healthy without the rain, but the creeks remain low or dry, and, of course, no waterfalls. In the past our typical fall drought has been broken by a two or three day rain that was produced by a leftover hurricane blowing up from the Gulf of Mexico, but no such luck this year - all of them took a more easterly path. I'm hoping for a lot of RAIN in December! Come on rain, come on snow...
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