tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64101362432215340652024-03-14T06:30:18.031-05:00Ozark MusingsMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-57430164995804283192011-03-04T10:34:00.005-06:002011-03-04T10:52:11.046-06:00An interesting isopod<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIAertK62XUYqyyLrJcCN14MBxu82sB-9mvu5H9Eo35adOZCXfSr_R_yKsgnahxLKRUfKjM8QeiFrpbT_fXtEjxlOxeb7RQic6jqSpIfUmBxiCBFisQ4dmOJ9sqeuUk72W9zY9Xr1-IU/s1600/DSC_0108_OK_Delaware_LongsCave_C_mackini.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580264270611020066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIAertK62XUYqyyLrJcCN14MBxu82sB-9mvu5H9Eo35adOZCXfSr_R_yKsgnahxLKRUfKjM8QeiFrpbT_fXtEjxlOxeb7RQic6jqSpIfUmBxiCBFisQ4dmOJ9sqeuUk72W9zY9Xr1-IU/s400/DSC_0108_OK_Delaware_LongsCave_C_mackini.jpg" /></a> Well...interesting in that it's a pretty recent addition to the cave fauna that is found in the subterranean habitats of Oklahoma's Ozarks. Its official name is <em>Caecidotea mackini</em>, but perhaps a name that rolls off the tongue easier would be its common name, Mackin's Cave Isopod. The species was named in honor of J.G. Mackin, an Oklahoma professor who worked on these organisms back in the 1930s and 1940s. Last week I spent 4 days inventorying caves in Oklahoma with US Fish and Wildlife Service scientists and a colleague/friend/cave biologist from the Atlanta Botanical Garden. During the week, we attempted to visit the only known population of Mackin's Cave Isopod, which is on land owned by The Nature Conservancy. This cave (which I'm not going to name) is particularly interesting as it is home to this isopod, an Oklahoma endemic cave crayfish, and a population of Ozark cavefish. Unfortunately due to the 2 ft of snow several weeks back and several more recent rains, we were unable to go deep into the cave because the water was too high. But, we were able to find a few individuals of the isopod to photograph. It's likely that this species will be found in other caves in the area, but as of now its only known home is this single cave. That knowledge adds additional justification to why The Nature Conservancy is helping protect this piece of the subterranean Ozarks.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-56061160064563985602011-03-02T13:16:00.003-06:002011-03-02T13:28:43.677-06:00You'd think...You'd think that following a significant injury such as an ankle break requiring a plate and screws, that I would have had plenty of time to blog while recovering. Well...I did have the time, but not much inclination. It's funny that now that it is turing to spring, and I'm back to close to 100% and itching to get outside, that I'm ready to drop my thoughts here.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8VPQ-dQucAeyYr-T7hbzdWZTVenZnmBwugM7G1HAGVHga3Kd7u0zkgmlh1j1wGrxV_hfEpzNF6faC48j6kqhTJenjeVCKD8SPgxVLpwXY_DD3pfJcFH6UEG7T1zUHjaeEiryWzOwNMM/s1600/DSCN3523.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579564819148757186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8VPQ-dQucAeyYr-T7hbzdWZTVenZnmBwugM7G1HAGVHga3Kd7u0zkgmlh1j1wGrxV_hfEpzNF6faC48j6kqhTJenjeVCKD8SPgxVLpwXY_DD3pfJcFH6UEG7T1zUHjaeEiryWzOwNMM/s400/DSCN3523.jpg" /></a> Is that irony, perhaps? This picture is from last September, taken while down in Shreveport, LA. This past fall and winter was dedicated to healing and getting back to doing things outside. It was a long process. <br /><br />But, it's time to play and time to muse.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-22783707467332848552009-08-26T11:57:00.007-05:002009-08-26T12:03:07.967-05:00USGS proposing to study Eureka Springs' waterCheck out this interesting NPR story on KUAF.com regarding some karst work that USGS will be doing in Eureka Springs:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuaf/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1545935/OZARKS.AT.LARGE/USGS.Proposing.to.Study.Eureka.Springs’.Waters">http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuaf/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1545935/OZARKS.AT.LARGE/USGS.Proposing.to.Study.Eureka.Springs’.Waters</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-64741255391277564982009-07-06T10:10:00.003-05:002009-07-15T19:03:29.001-05:00White Nose SyndromeCheck out the latest NPR story on White Nose Syndrome on KUAF.com:<br /><br /><a title="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuaf/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1520138/OZARKS.AT.LARGE/’White.Nose.Syndrome’.Closes.Arkansas.Caves" href="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuaf/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1520138/OZARKS.AT.LARGE/’White.Nose.Syndrome’.Closes.Arkansas.Caves">http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuaf/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1520138/OZARKS.AT.LARGE/’White.Nose.Syndrome’.Closes.Arkansas.Caves</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-10839681958368758702009-07-02T16:04:00.014-05:002009-07-15T19:06:46.947-05:00Cave HarvestmanI've been looking for the original site where the cave harvestman, <em>Crosbyella distincta</em>, was discovered. Back in the 1930's, a couple of guys visited a cave and collected a small (about the size of a US quarter) orange colored harvestman (or daddy-long-legs). These specimens, when looked at by a specialist, turned about to be a new species, and it was officially recognized as such in 1942. Unfortunately, it is unclear in the species description what cave the guys visited, so we've been unable to revisit the site. However, in the late 1980s, some cavers working in the Buffalo National River collected what might be this same species from Fitton Cave, Arkansas' longest cave. More recently, I've seen specimens from Fitton Cave, and two other caves in the area. These latest specimens I've sent to the current expert, and hopefully I'll have a answer soon. Below, is a picture of what is probably <em>C. distincta</em> from one of the caves I've been visiting.<br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353973053254299010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWtIw33FYeaJ2GT2vyY-xaygsVckKg4xltwhbgzFRD6Z8Q8lQ_sTGLY1WXGJhHUt_JRmCAiOtjlNdtByKdxofsdroMn_izINtjsMhSWoUPREvpmz8KSpUT2zY7WTp8DAOrsfgeUuEXyU/s400/AR_Mud+Cave_Crosbyella+Cave+Harvestman_04.jpg" border="0" /></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-11631264695459985582009-06-17T07:46:00.009-05:002009-06-17T11:32:54.565-05:00Micky VeraBlasco and Tom Panian Wedding PhotosThis past weekend, we went to see our caving friends get married in a cave in Shannon County, Missouri. Click <strong><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ozarksubterranea/MickyVeraBlascoAndTomPanianWeddingPhotos?feat=directlink">HERE</a></strong> to see the rest of the photos.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeext9cyRgCUkyEGT_7cmt1c1ysZZ0K1yUqyPsS3fhvoOHTUMKe6W7RudqSaLMFGi98BO6IkWPmZEamFDmM5935H4_Oh_-Blg93TLMwsrOfLkt4ZIKwYsB0AqtLHvz0rj3blg2HsJ1Z-0/s1600-h/DSC_00001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348278076247023458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeext9cyRgCUkyEGT_7cmt1c1ysZZ0K1yUqyPsS3fhvoOHTUMKe6W7RudqSaLMFGi98BO6IkWPmZEamFDmM5935H4_Oh_-Blg93TLMwsrOfLkt4ZIKwYsB0AqtLHvz0rj3blg2HsJ1Z-0/s400/DSC_00001.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-60381142520848044282009-03-29T10:36:00.018-05:002009-03-29T13:26:33.596-05:00Three days along the Buffalo RiverChristy and I spent 3 days playing along the Buffalo National River this past week. It was a much needed trip to the woods. Originally, we had planned to canoe for several days on the river, but heavy rains just before our trip put the water levels up too high for us. We did see a lot of folks putting on the river to enjoy a little white water fun. Instead of canoeing, we based camped at The Nature Conservancy's Smith Creek Preserve and day hiked around several places in Buffalo National River Ponca Wilderness Area. Wildflowers were blooming everywhere!<br /><br />We saw: Wild Ginger, Bloodroot, Wake Robin, Rue Anemone, False Rue Anemone, Spice Bush, Redbud, Flowering Dogwood, White Trout Lily, Yellow Trout Lily, Bellwort, Toothwort, Spring Beauty, Rose Verbena, Hoary Puccoon, Wild Sweet William, Cleft Phlox, Purple Violets, White Violets, Yellow Violets, Violet Wood Sorrel, Pussytoes, Pale Corydalis, Harbinger of Spring, and Dutchman's Breeches.<br /><br />Up, but not blooming yet, were: Solomon's Seal, False Solomon's Seal, Comfry, Jack in the Pulpit, and May Apple.<br /><br />Some of our migratory songbirds are returning, too. We heard Louisiana Water Thrush and Black and White Warblers.<br /><br />Here a some pictures of the trip.<br /><br /><u>Day 1</u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUc0N_fvgRcYRJQG_PBW8gMzhUw5ieJfXhuousVtP-LhouYGUzqifVxKsfv_nxFZ2XOCGhlRVpngcUCKdPU_-pofHZL3nZCTilhXRYBdVCSKIR0IQsvlH_tHpHzi_G0BPOUdhNq-FQzM/s1600-h/01_2009_03_25_Ponca_Elk_Herd.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636299918415138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUc0N_fvgRcYRJQG_PBW8gMzhUw5ieJfXhuousVtP-LhouYGUzqifVxKsfv_nxFZ2XOCGhlRVpngcUCKdPU_-pofHZL3nZCTilhXRYBdVCSKIR0IQsvlH_tHpHzi_G0BPOUdhNq-FQzM/s400/01_2009_03_25_Ponca_Elk_Herd.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Driving through Boxley Valley, you often get to see part of the elk herd. Here, most of the herd were concentrated around a tree.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcGUYTsVyoJiKdjVuZ5Mta3fYbRqsxF9drzwqVLo78mqRlz7FhvcMnt8smlWL1NfHoYapAJD8C2FNnksHiNIYGM-h6aLLPBsPVFt7wU9WSHBiYQRB315avWTRflnOHdAvh2bJgUiBDf0/s1600-h/02_2009_03_25_Ponca_Low_Water_Bridge.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636295927529378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcGUYTsVyoJiKdjVuZ5Mta3fYbRqsxF9drzwqVLo78mqRlz7FhvcMnt8smlWL1NfHoYapAJD8C2FNnksHiNIYGM-h6aLLPBsPVFt7wU9WSHBiYQRB315avWTRflnOHdAvh2bJgUiBDf0/s400/02_2009_03_25_Ponca_Low_Water_Bridge.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Water level at Ponca low water bridge. Good floating along this stretch is gaged by the amount of air space under this bridge. Anywhere from 2 feet of air space to 0 feet of air space is considered good floating, with 0 ft air space being really sporting. Less than 24 hours early, the water was about 2 ft ABOVE the bridge.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0SnOIbvefyj0Fc5zgHoDLUXmzgiCLaTXY7TUDpT8E8IOos6xdUwnD_XdpJ-JlTmp_mbMVy27ETz4LMVNymcSW0pwE4bnx_TVDfoRr4YYyqxcNUepO_gd0YoalTxKOL50Q7FCiakIZsU/s1600-h/03_2009_03_25_Dutchmans_Breeches.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636282815556098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0SnOIbvefyj0Fc5zgHoDLUXmzgiCLaTXY7TUDpT8E8IOos6xdUwnD_XdpJ-JlTmp_mbMVy27ETz4LMVNymcSW0pwE4bnx_TVDfoRr4YYyqxcNUepO_gd0YoalTxKOL50Q7FCiakIZsU/s400/03_2009_03_25_Dutchmans_Breeches.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Wildflowers were blooming everywhere, and I was really hoping to see Dutchman's breeches. This is the perfect time to see them, and they were blooming in many places we hiked. These were photographed along the road down to Camp Orr.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bFbL75Py5Xh4pseGP1M-jSyRCoeffwpP_aU4-BBsMm1WWoj3CuhAK65vBN0IvBKvzo_67xgQVSWnzIsN68UJHhbet5waM4Nr0OuOoO2jq7XjJFOwlHFCSD-XBIhl87gTBpFcEvIYvIU/s1600-h/04_2009_03_25_Trillium_Spring_Beauties.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636114103575154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bFbL75Py5Xh4pseGP1M-jSyRCoeffwpP_aU4-BBsMm1WWoj3CuhAK65vBN0IvBKvzo_67xgQVSWnzIsN68UJHhbet5waM4Nr0OuOoO2jq7XjJFOwlHFCSD-XBIhl87gTBpFcEvIYvIU/s400/04_2009_03_25_Trillium_Spring_Beauties.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Wake Robin (or Sessile Trillium) and Spring Beauties were also blanketing the forest floor everywhere. The trillium is the larger, purple colored flower, and the spring beauties are the smaller pinkish flowers. There were also photographed along the road to Camp Orr.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP_D-iHfFABYHp4J1YSjyPgGNpPOxHEV2Q0kiCo-kjTFrozg-6wrynNIO7gSc0JBy8xlELlFEOxPEwLFTdEXpjCz0tYEG3QA6P2GXVThfdazb90hO9TjKO5jOJ0K3KMHAULkReKDRClM/s1600-h/05_2009_03_25_Christy_Copperhead_Cave.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636103577850946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP_D-iHfFABYHp4J1YSjyPgGNpPOxHEV2Q0kiCo-kjTFrozg-6wrynNIO7gSc0JBy8xlELlFEOxPEwLFTdEXpjCz0tYEG3QA6P2GXVThfdazb90hO9TjKO5jOJ0K3KMHAULkReKDRClM/s400/05_2009_03_25_Christy_Copperhead_Cave.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Our first hike was up to look at a cave entrance, and here is Christy standing next to the entrance. With so much rain, you could really hear the water roaring down in the cave.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvGL7wWy6_CR2i_bP6blPwimclc1E38xZ12udOzqEUPS7Vj2qNIWFWPLW7XNXVOs27KOT8mvT3cqCDkAgXqbYGWWEMCVqQpUlGLo74rM6tn7rmrTO-JLFz_Mg20IRntgR3cSr7rBMZWE/s1600-h/06_2009_03_25_Fern.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636093653204482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvGL7wWy6_CR2i_bP6blPwimclc1E38xZ12udOzqEUPS7Vj2qNIWFWPLW7XNXVOs27KOT8mvT3cqCDkAgXqbYGWWEMCVqQpUlGLo74rM6tn7rmrTO-JLFz_Mg20IRntgR3cSr7rBMZWE/s400/06_2009_03_25_Fern.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Just an interesting picture of a small fern.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YzSk1fLvCd2sxsWxbCa28LZ9u7uHxuHn3dA3kOQQC-NN637eaZN0gz2p-XciP3alAX5akI2CzVgxXRMUKDrOYIbEtYBd8jk6TRLAOFjaz3Z9bXXP3JMj1XeWyxaRQB3gnbaoYssfy_o/s1600-h/07_2009_03_25_Moss.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636086878182786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YzSk1fLvCd2sxsWxbCa28LZ9u7uHxuHn3dA3kOQQC-NN637eaZN0gz2p-XciP3alAX5akI2CzVgxXRMUKDrOYIbEtYBd8jk6TRLAOFjaz3Z9bXXP3JMj1XeWyxaRQB3gnbaoYssfy_o/s400/07_2009_03_25_Moss.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Another neat picture of some moss along the trail.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52YUgKig1n-_kYh2nUIVD8yzLAsd_9nA1NbquLQ_jwKlP6VBQ3pebUXtsH2IQTPFwW7R8ng9zH_4fJ2PqPQcPNgAMuri4dLU7wrAhNs1HQGqoeD_i_K1SuucPVcWoNEK7sL-gu6bvcHY/s1600-h/08_2009_03_25_Bellwort.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318636074898263874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52YUgKig1n-_kYh2nUIVD8yzLAsd_9nA1NbquLQ_jwKlP6VBQ3pebUXtsH2IQTPFwW7R8ng9zH_4fJ2PqPQcPNgAMuri4dLU7wrAhNs1HQGqoeD_i_K1SuucPVcWoNEK7sL-gu6bvcHY/s400/08_2009_03_25_Bellwort.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Our second hike was up Shop Creek. Along the creek, we saw our first Bellwort flowering.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSldLd_sPhWJ4RgPt_4tGZQStPC37xllu24C3M2OgYscm7GOtJvO_k541lYPME0pekT-UzuYsrmCDBdkxyW9nw-Nha5UKA2SRlM5x6n7Nnby79DscCz3BS9tOwKZmqdRzOmq9toXn5c9Q/s1600-h/09_2009_03_25_Shop_Creek.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635845207083906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSldLd_sPhWJ4RgPt_4tGZQStPC37xllu24C3M2OgYscm7GOtJvO_k541lYPME0pekT-UzuYsrmCDBdkxyW9nw-Nha5UKA2SRlM5x6n7Nnby79DscCz3BS9tOwKZmqdRzOmq9toXn5c9Q/s400/09_2009_03_25_Shop_Creek.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">The view up Shop Creek.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJqCpnd-KTn5Up_-soYIG91TBz6q32WjEXC4ewGbfdNuDGzGygIvQQiCN2LUUHIfFBvQuyssDwTKeOP09wRGCAyvueKK3bzShQz7NDvmP30WEMBXRr1u4CZvg867yKpTgAQD6Ky8m_-Y/s1600-h/10_2009_03_25_Christy_Shop_Creek.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635842919032002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJqCpnd-KTn5Up_-soYIG91TBz6q32WjEXC4ewGbfdNuDGzGygIvQQiCN2LUUHIfFBvQuyssDwTKeOP09wRGCAyvueKK3bzShQz7NDvmP30WEMBXRr1u4CZvg867yKpTgAQD6Ky8m_-Y/s400/10_2009_03_25_Christy_Shop_Creek.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Shop Creek with Christy on a boulder for scale.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmMqWYbmqpEuHovW5SBKy4ZCW_aPzdZs07fyx10H3Y-mVj7ShsIiKZSZQzMpcSMctyTGOG0kvn-W1ySTdRVaL0YTkw0lTnH87VtNXutOFxbuNNCsvDbB_Jbc3Sr9jAH5lRs6Dhovv2M0/s1600-h/11_2009_03_25_Mike_Christy_Triple_Falls.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635838245497314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmMqWYbmqpEuHovW5SBKy4ZCW_aPzdZs07fyx10H3Y-mVj7ShsIiKZSZQzMpcSMctyTGOG0kvn-W1ySTdRVaL0YTkw0lTnH87VtNXutOFxbuNNCsvDbB_Jbc3Sr9jAH5lRs6Dhovv2M0/s400/11_2009_03_25_Mike_Christy_Triple_Falls.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Shop Creek drops over a sandstone ledge that makes a beautiful waterfall. In normal flow, there are only two falls. But, after a good rain, all three were going.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkKBzz4SkH7Ri3vJNs_knQZHAYoyvlZdbAEkNpepKXUrWaY8Ntdi7MJFZSaXEnxQ7XGiic38PzcTlBRNh1xNsFuvfMQCG9qxUFQEXt5S94Bo_JUPg7mRlRh08DokPNQ22VhxabadG3Zs/s1600-h/12_2009_03_25_Triple_Falls.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635830272225346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkKBzz4SkH7Ri3vJNs_knQZHAYoyvlZdbAEkNpepKXUrWaY8Ntdi7MJFZSaXEnxQ7XGiic38PzcTlBRNh1xNsFuvfMQCG9qxUFQEXt5S94Bo_JUPg7mRlRh08DokPNQ22VhxabadG3Zs/s400/12_2009_03_25_Triple_Falls.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Another view of the falls.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MBC35feZc93BvCfUyop_B6qqbrOsSqLLeBCJyhK8ipU34qWoAOFDZJPCzemfao1pVYJKs-VkS5qgBnmaQ8vpunUDmUWiLhfUpa2V6ti8vzhAD05GbePIkBZDp85EW-59jKADAgiuGsQ/s1600-h/13_1_2009_03_25_Christy_Smith_Creek.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635820426213778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MBC35feZc93BvCfUyop_B6qqbrOsSqLLeBCJyhK8ipU34qWoAOFDZJPCzemfao1pVYJKs-VkS5qgBnmaQ8vpunUDmUWiLhfUpa2V6ti8vzhAD05GbePIkBZDp85EW-59jKADAgiuGsQ/s400/13_1_2009_03_25_Christy_Smith_Creek.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">We had some time before dark the first night to walk along Smith Creek before we set up camp.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QqWZi0ziLRPozRufkeC0RieEjxtjFAVnKU4T4oKoIsIKB0Lf0Ji7F0Gp2H7bdaC3RVdVzGTffzgdecpBFVNf7fwRktFkCRfYiOMBWpjZVHU1IRhGi3YQfRSAV9OKs52ru_gL2jaI5Gc/s1600-h/13_2009_03_25_Yellow_Trout_Lily.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635608972096898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QqWZi0ziLRPozRufkeC0RieEjxtjFAVnKU4T4oKoIsIKB0Lf0Ji7F0Gp2H7bdaC3RVdVzGTffzgdecpBFVNf7fwRktFkCRfYiOMBWpjZVHU1IRhGi3YQfRSAV9OKs52ru_gL2jaI5Gc/s400/13_2009_03_25_Yellow_Trout_Lily.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Yellow Trout Lilies were blooming along Smith Creek and in many other places we hiked.</p><br /><u>Day 2</u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NWVPI3u4VhYibfqEf-TAFmcRL4owJ9ySOTXRxqUpTf6uStdlYLMxm8Wt6KDg4krj6R5xMSr6AeO85ScdbSogVYFvTIgY6SGACSufrqkHNWhzjxUwnCi4BpU7ppm6s-mHHuOrAuCWpBQ/s1600-h/14_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_01.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635606233519458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NWVPI3u4VhYibfqEf-TAFmcRL4owJ9ySOTXRxqUpTf6uStdlYLMxm8Wt6KDg4krj6R5xMSr6AeO85ScdbSogVYFvTIgY6SGACSufrqkHNWhzjxUwnCi4BpU7ppm6s-mHHuOrAuCWpBQ/s400/14_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_01.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">The second day, we decided to hike up Indian Creek to see if the waterfall at the box canyon was flowing and to see if water was flowing out of Tunnel Cave. About half the hike up Indian Creek is on a trail, but then the hike gets much more interesting with lots of boulder hopping and scrambling!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLzPpx89kYehim9u1_L9oUSvxRegAze-ZAirHNkhLdZtJIc7nHRfud50JRgfKyOZRh5oG6TxWvVl_epUNr2yW2xx1-oDohrBe2OJEw84ea666dqjoyLR0FAAJ8uN0-Lg9_ErZISKTXQU/s1600-h/15_2009_03_25_False_Rue_Anemone.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635596133131234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLzPpx89kYehim9u1_L9oUSvxRegAze-ZAirHNkhLdZtJIc7nHRfud50JRgfKyOZRh5oG6TxWvVl_epUNr2yW2xx1-oDohrBe2OJEw84ea666dqjoyLR0FAAJ8uN0-Lg9_ErZISKTXQU/s400/15_2009_03_25_False_Rue_Anemone.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Along the creek, we saw False Rue Anemone in bloom.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC357VEmMX8gNB8CK5hcbQPxfGdd7461sDHXlZQ2bqMjLmYxTYOkplaeUXT3vrZ50K0HyalI2Xqg8OAChq9Wz0joVcoV9wiXLtxKOsMcloJmFahtyj7qcYO58Ql26aQWW9FhXxprouRyo/s1600-h/16_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635590108245938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC357VEmMX8gNB8CK5hcbQPxfGdd7461sDHXlZQ2bqMjLmYxTYOkplaeUXT3vrZ50K0HyalI2Xqg8OAChq9Wz0joVcoV9wiXLtxKOsMcloJmFahtyj7qcYO58Ql26aQWW9FhXxprouRyo/s400/16_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_02.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Another view of Indian Creek looking upstream.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMGm7bSUsP3Z2E0dgvoa_Uj7eI2lB7Km67E5olVmGn121Rpyr24c0HWm4eVBBjkl6jfDELVSi1NL1BGJyMOhIxR3ARQVeLttrcJqVT7X2mHVDdAIFGu_1dZ7EZFAEGgg5oUotFqVt4yA/s1600-h/17_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_03.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635577883223074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMGm7bSUsP3Z2E0dgvoa_Uj7eI2lB7Km67E5olVmGn121Rpyr24c0HWm4eVBBjkl6jfDELVSi1NL1BGJyMOhIxR3ARQVeLttrcJqVT7X2mHVDdAIFGu_1dZ7EZFAEGgg5oUotFqVt4yA/s400/17_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_03.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Indian Creek looking downstream of a small waterfall.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmhjzGAYzcFFXa66ZuL3Z9knbuHkvSoy_aGnAJ04o3g2KBcBZa3c7wPGkGhwUPpZ5ihDomq5bB_ibxRv4GdiWX_mo8RIseQWvw36lxtz_NALzZ8VTEMpr4HVDDT3Hzgg1ev9B9iJJpF4/s1600-h/18_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_Mike_Christy.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635182496832226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmhjzGAYzcFFXa66ZuL3Z9knbuHkvSoy_aGnAJ04o3g2KBcBZa3c7wPGkGhwUPpZ5ihDomq5bB_ibxRv4GdiWX_mo8RIseQWvw36lxtz_NALzZ8VTEMpr4HVDDT3Hzgg1ev9B9iJJpF4/s400/18_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_Mike_Christy.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Self portrait of the two of us at a small waterfall.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTntNCKKIXCEY7rrMFSjn5GnK1Cjrdjfxi3bDiiL5r1BYr-UZXEvvinaFwx0VdBfJqPwEG2ooTd0l7HPl32AwoMvzu4aJfYD06tTj5xxLFraWftIHVDRsMgHP31hYV5U26f4KGnrXDVY/s1600-h/19_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_04.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635174933278354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTntNCKKIXCEY7rrMFSjn5GnK1Cjrdjfxi3bDiiL5r1BYr-UZXEvvinaFwx0VdBfJqPwEG2ooTd0l7HPl32AwoMvzu4aJfYD06tTj5xxLFraWftIHVDRsMgHP31hYV5U26f4KGnrXDVY/s400/19_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_04.JPG" border="0" /></a><p align="center">We picked the perfect day to hike up Indian Creek. The creek and the woods seemed particularly vivid and alive that day.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkE2Q3EoIf8_HEs0q2dTEEl86B9Vb6A2bn3_FiEjsAxgenkqLt8paPmbvCKPEJ2K40Clvgon77C0AfM6O7zVTGozDIR0qwVUlZ8E_GpyeTHpoWt6MqaVeGQDwOM-sgxLCd_ABi5nwbBo/s1600-h/20_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_Mike_Christy_Tunnel_Cave.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635164012711042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkE2Q3EoIf8_HEs0q2dTEEl86B9Vb6A2bn3_FiEjsAxgenkqLt8paPmbvCKPEJ2K40Clvgon77C0AfM6O7zVTGozDIR0qwVUlZ8E_GpyeTHpoWt6MqaVeGQDwOM-sgxLCd_ABi5nwbBo/s400/20_2009_03_26_Indian_Creek_Mike_Christy_Tunnel_Cave.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Here we are a Tunnel Cave, and sure enough water was flowing out of the cave. I've never seen water coming out of the cave, so this was a real treat.</p><br /><u>Day 3</u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_YRnCldoRT88LI9UC_9nuYpboIRndd0qSDDU2AAY3z2QL2-xYNq2IWNYjauP9Re1PK3KMVJfH5P7HPCb1KT3-Ct1X2gU5vYOK0EaBcK3m03u7bU3DbnWCJeZQKTxnqfhW3scUNjS9yc/s1600-h/21_2009_03_27_Bench_Trail_Hoary_Puccoon.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635157357608898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_YRnCldoRT88LI9UC_9nuYpboIRndd0qSDDU2AAY3z2QL2-xYNq2IWNYjauP9Re1PK3KMVJfH5P7HPCb1KT3-Ct1X2gU5vYOK0EaBcK3m03u7bU3DbnWCJeZQKTxnqfhW3scUNjS9yc/s400/21_2009_03_27_Bench_Trail_Hoary_Puccoon.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p align="center">On day 3, we decided to hike the Bench Trail and then bushwack down Fish Trap Hollow to see an ~80 ft waterfall. Unfortunately, our directions to the falls were a little vague, and we never made it. But, we did stumble upon one of our favorite wildflowers, Hoary Puccoon, blooming in a small limestone glade during our bushwack. Finding this wildflower was especially exciting for Christy, because it's been years since she's seen it.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8EVMMn6WKXUZBigW1cw6HtbQ73t6QprmiGPrJMYfrRuocFTqngN7-1IoT6hiHurbiPQ4IsLOfRukDL07YdKAa-zVFpdcKeT-nS08DKgxGffR7i-DB30PdLQSbPBmC7IJpYsA4jqr7C0/s1600-h/22_2009_03_27_Bench_Trail_Rose_Verbena.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318635149930965154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8EVMMn6WKXUZBigW1cw6HtbQ73t6QprmiGPrJMYfrRuocFTqngN7-1IoT6hiHurbiPQ4IsLOfRukDL07YdKAa-zVFpdcKeT-nS08DKgxGffR7i-DB30PdLQSbPBmC7IJpYsA4jqr7C0/s400/22_2009_03_27_Bench_Trail_Rose_Verbena.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p align="center">On the same glade, we also found Rose Verbena in bloom. It was disappointing not making it down to see the falls, but finding these two wildflowers in bloom on a tiny limestone glade in the middle of the woods definitely makes up for it.</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-84160840927199142712009-03-22T12:01:00.004-05:002009-03-22T12:16:16.330-05:00Back yard delightsIt's definitely springtime. Here a few pictures of flowers from our backyard.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjhF4cbUmPOzrZBkQCabqX3Vk9fNMCmvknfRrSoR2VF4gwSMf4tIzvp0iM29XZ_1uuU3VD0P5oR8vTaxyXA9DjzY676UFsCYIuJn05B4Tikh6LlXbSOX1Uto1OKRviLJQQZ8qLaMRMNs/s1600-h/2009_03_21_BackYard_Spiderwort.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316058858589482850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjhF4cbUmPOzrZBkQCabqX3Vk9fNMCmvknfRrSoR2VF4gwSMf4tIzvp0iM29XZ_1uuU3VD0P5oR8vTaxyXA9DjzY676UFsCYIuJn05B4Tikh6LlXbSOX1Uto1OKRviLJQQZ8qLaMRMNs/s400/2009_03_21_BackYard_Spiderwort.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p align="center">Spiderwort</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE-p_YpbkRCr4iVkVR0bhraFnxeLp0pllO_QHwIKWWWCpOstDe-sjxYCIfiw429yWaANNQ_QBvWeuLMLoAEDsgjj5qXZipfmpZoPxeWlwzcVTtSGkpRU-uSV-AFktEwPpHijYXVBFtX4/s1600-h/2009_03_21_BackYard_Violets.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316058879378435298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE-p_YpbkRCr4iVkVR0bhraFnxeLp0pllO_QHwIKWWWCpOstDe-sjxYCIfiw429yWaANNQ_QBvWeuLMLoAEDsgjj5qXZipfmpZoPxeWlwzcVTtSGkpRU-uSV-AFktEwPpHijYXVBFtX4/s400/2009_03_21_BackYard_Violets.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p align="center">Violets</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJXtqQ1PENNNIYmKEY-xaOR1gwFEApxCNN6WeKNFlUu8GAZ9bRqbLH7phB4XmRZf9RfjnWIihPDwr9H_lHrxcbd97DmaueXOlFqVkpkLPaK63knLE2x-YxI54eVIL2tSyO5YJ8IHpMjc/s1600-h/2009_03_21_BackYard_Strawberry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316058867467878274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJXtqQ1PENNNIYmKEY-xaOR1gwFEApxCNN6WeKNFlUu8GAZ9bRqbLH7phB4XmRZf9RfjnWIihPDwr9H_lHrxcbd97DmaueXOlFqVkpkLPaK63knLE2x-YxI54eVIL2tSyO5YJ8IHpMjc/s400/2009_03_21_BackYard_Strawberry.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p align="center">Mmm...I can't wait for strawberries!!!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9kC80tJzAHOZLQjC6_qAfdN5y5XrsuJDI25tt3oAkWrUNLZUIV88ZdyxI7pGG-ghbAkKEeNUFDDWbbVv3KB60qgnrbWc276JJZT6o3uXXsrIBbM-_Vy7kBTMmtTZJf4MXe5znaetQ0o/s1600-h/2009_03_21_BackYard_Dandelion.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316058885437199970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9kC80tJzAHOZLQjC6_qAfdN5y5XrsuJDI25tt3oAkWrUNLZUIV88ZdyxI7pGG-ghbAkKEeNUFDDWbbVv3KB60qgnrbWc276JJZT6o3uXXsrIBbM-_Vy7kBTMmtTZJf4MXe5znaetQ0o/s400/2009_03_21_BackYard_Dandelion.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p align="center">Dandelion</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-37947576494007901832009-03-17T08:39:00.022-05:002009-03-17T11:01:06.700-05:00Wildflowers at Lake Wilson<div>I went for a hike at Lake Wilson after work, yesterday, to see if there were any new wildflowers in bloom. Sure enough, the warm weather has brought out a few more. Because I was there late in the day, the sun was low and really helped back light some of these wildflower pictures. I love this time of year!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEiCMBUnr_8m62Wp9CsVNWFVuX2y2c20NnDJnSQ2oJ5PR00jmCfeIYgc3E6qNzq7HWrJZBAfulmabhBUZltZngORIvgYPFDtCIR5pfJp9m9zVSY00ceelTKKSmX7Kx-PN7l50KgArmNs/s1600-h/2009_03_16_White_Trout_Lily.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179319847767058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEiCMBUnr_8m62Wp9CsVNWFVuX2y2c20NnDJnSQ2oJ5PR00jmCfeIYgc3E6qNzq7HWrJZBAfulmabhBUZltZngORIvgYPFDtCIR5pfJp9m9zVSY00ceelTKKSmX7Kx-PN7l50KgArmNs/s400/2009_03_16_White_Trout_Lily.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">White Trout Lily</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85_h0jzsrjok6M3-TTO_CSUMPuUuzlPGQJBwFsBq3YyeWGjzMMwFxDnxbt1dzOf_8pA1_VDcoE0PGPVfGA25i8auhNV8n4IBC1lP0Aak_GiW9RorOaoCCf4IMXmk59W3vKOlHgNgM2Js/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Toothwort.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179327166991554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85_h0jzsrjok6M3-TTO_CSUMPuUuzlPGQJBwFsBq3YyeWGjzMMwFxDnxbt1dzOf_8pA1_VDcoE0PGPVfGA25i8auhNV8n4IBC1lP0Aak_GiW9RorOaoCCf4IMXmk59W3vKOlHgNgM2Js/s400/2009_03_16_Toothwort.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Toothwort</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxV6PTIF2VmQ0htK5rRzyl8yBytvMfbOB0iVkxnXeMyUWSuEQnszA5gnX4lktHrdnkM9B_5FpIBIDcPYxeRQG75uSZfaxxQNDdQpbR153OC0KeSVMCym9_hek3seRjYD1b5UHc1g34b70/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Spicebush.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179327706975122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxV6PTIF2VmQ0htK5rRzyl8yBytvMfbOB0iVkxnXeMyUWSuEQnszA5gnX4lktHrdnkM9B_5FpIBIDcPYxeRQG75uSZfaxxQNDdQpbR153OC0KeSVMCym9_hek3seRjYD1b5UHc1g34b70/s400/2009_03_16_Spicebush.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Spicebush</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpc310BpbOrbIW25oRP-mn9bdR9UOyV3ByLnkffXzVBCV83S0wFEzxoNObn4938zmQv_a64ywrwNtwANK8x575aoFPmbPElXhQTkHYj7xuJj8W0DywMtWo-joeeyOioIXIVjTKCtOjwc/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Blood_Root.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179333741252770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpc310BpbOrbIW25oRP-mn9bdR9UOyV3ByLnkffXzVBCV83S0wFEzxoNObn4938zmQv_a64ywrwNtwANK8x575aoFPmbPElXhQTkHYj7xuJj8W0DywMtWo-joeeyOioIXIVjTKCtOjwc/s400/2009_03_16_Blood_Root.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Bloodroot. This is one of my favorite early wildflowers.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JpNbxorNT-DJD4bnS_k0sgB1PlXHXwe7Cu9g9ttnHWcfgNpdgYRZmUU8aTskTGBG6H9zDq1oVqXW4SW4txrLjb3z9ss8HVgvF3vzH57_qzuPsm1cgSYvMb6WkrXwEpFjFFC4PdgrLv8/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Buttercup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179338503878210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JpNbxorNT-DJD4bnS_k0sgB1PlXHXwe7Cu9g9ttnHWcfgNpdgYRZmUU8aTskTGBG6H9zDq1oVqXW4SW4txrLjb3z9ss8HVgvF3vzH57_qzuPsm1cgSYvMb6WkrXwEpFjFFC4PdgrLv8/s400/2009_03_16_Buttercup.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Buttercup. Not sure which one this is because buttercups are difficult to identify. The genus is <em>Ranunculus</em> which is Latin for "little frog", named because many buttercups have affinities to wet habitats.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyFWbP8wffQ0ff6lh5YEr5N49DJ8xzVKtjp6YERHl00vnXk8Mr7BHww_8z4VUm4aiSqrZThCKWYqYU35TrbRZ6ypoajjfTb4UxFWvul59uQ9XRe0pDjpqPqXDesyH8DfgiWj_ViYTilk/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Rue_Anemone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179811485487298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyFWbP8wffQ0ff6lh5YEr5N49DJ8xzVKtjp6YERHl00vnXk8Mr7BHww_8z4VUm4aiSqrZThCKWYqYU35TrbRZ6ypoajjfTb4UxFWvul59uQ9XRe0pDjpqPqXDesyH8DfgiWj_ViYTilk/s400/2009_03_16_Rue_Anemone.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Rue Anemone</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2pip80UHap1w2qMX5VPFwg0dcQiUMmYw2_tYK2BSYGqU2oqUUt9K0lh9i5AfkLquQqFBAc_D62DDDh-yyMZhFfEs22p1M1gdXEhdBeAXu0BhwX-J2d5fidogQLjVFkebnxgKhTz5SMo/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Corydalis.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179814892560482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2pip80UHap1w2qMX5VPFwg0dcQiUMmYw2_tYK2BSYGqU2oqUUt9K0lh9i5AfkLquQqFBAc_D62DDDh-yyMZhFfEs22p1M1gdXEhdBeAXu0BhwX-J2d5fidogQLjVFkebnxgKhTz5SMo/s400/2009_03_16_Corydalis.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Corydalis</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lxtVH1NzEDJEKmzHNdEHFTFBsxJKoBimBN-jEgpcXgSG5s47EEAYdabP4U9VCvH1jY1Nl9fr0m2IUn8qEWxcV5OhIgXVgM-CBOF2ZMLn11Z33IlPLsxTLhe6o_Edi6Ldpma2kZE-vK8/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Pussytoes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179816075514706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lxtVH1NzEDJEKmzHNdEHFTFBsxJKoBimBN-jEgpcXgSG5s47EEAYdabP4U9VCvH1jY1Nl9fr0m2IUn8qEWxcV5OhIgXVgM-CBOF2ZMLn11Z33IlPLsxTLhe6o_Edi6Ldpma2kZE-vK8/s400/2009_03_16_Pussytoes.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Upclose picture of Pussytoes.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZBV37j3YWHfwR4chCv_cu1I0qHMZBHfQg9wBEZpKh7xFqXSFPKG3DnAfq3KHE-3IMcDW3PkaLSqHa8pEIn1bbSwWXRE1Fmf5WGLJXv8dwXsbyUFfiuidzsUZuIxCVd28n3yDerdxgvk/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Daffodils_Homestead.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179820961030578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZBV37j3YWHfwR4chCv_cu1I0qHMZBHfQg9wBEZpKh7xFqXSFPKG3DnAfq3KHE-3IMcDW3PkaLSqHa8pEIn1bbSwWXRE1Fmf5WGLJXv8dwXsbyUFfiuidzsUZuIxCVd28n3yDerdxgvk/s400/2009_03_16_Daffodils_Homestead.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">I like finding daffodils in the woods, because you can almost always bet there is a homestead nearby. I found a few remnant sections of old stone wall near here and part of a stone foundation. I really think daffodils are the path to immortality. The homesteaders are long gone, but we are reminded of their memories, lives, and loves every spring. It is a natural lasting legacy, and I always try to plant them where ever I live.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRwHDHNjRKwY-7IW39gzH7SmDO-KL1uV0a5tm84vlNiZKdkjFOeCZIblg32uU1-7DXx2nE49RqbJflTo7yWhFbJNtBsD1IAomWSnkwDHNQ2XqBPQRPEGx3d16ML3OBzSuPWNhPiEugZA/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Lake_Wilson_Looking_North.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314179821598154258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRwHDHNjRKwY-7IW39gzH7SmDO-KL1uV0a5tm84vlNiZKdkjFOeCZIblg32uU1-7DXx2nE49RqbJflTo7yWhFbJNtBsD1IAomWSnkwDHNQ2XqBPQRPEGx3d16ML3OBzSuPWNhPiEugZA/s400/2009_03_16_Lake_Wilson_Looking_North.jpg" border="0" /></a><p align="center">Lake Wilson looking north. The light was perfect and calling in this backwater were spring peepers and southern leopard frogs.</p></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-32772481680832124232009-03-16T16:13:00.012-05:002009-03-17T11:30:53.309-05:00Wilson Park Macro PhotographyToday is a beautiful day, and it's very hard to spend it in front of the computer. So, I decided I would go practice using my new macro photography set up at Wilson Park, which is close to my office. I want to get good using the camera set up, because I plan to begin shooting small cave invertebrates to bring a higher awareness to folks of the hidden diversity found in our Ozark caves.<br /><br />Wilson Park is a great place to practice because of all the landscaping around the park. Several things are blooming there which is attracting the organisms I want to photography, namely insects. Here are few of the better shots of the day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93KiTmYSM_6LnvdIfHsqc0OTZ_DVP_obR76aJbs1ULrorDKTxnF1n8DverkTN_eUwJDe5e8Eyyo2sW1YeZPHEP-sCvJb-uqifWDba4-rJHwmDCw7N7bpGhZOKBAx4rIOTrHLH9ZjkHvs/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Backyard_Fly_Speedwell.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313902916957192962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93KiTmYSM_6LnvdIfHsqc0OTZ_DVP_obR76aJbs1ULrorDKTxnF1n8DverkTN_eUwJDe5e8Eyyo2sW1YeZPHEP-sCvJb-uqifWDba4-rJHwmDCw7N7bpGhZOKBAx4rIOTrHLH9ZjkHvs/s400/2009_03_16_Backyard_Fly_Speedwell.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6RZ2JGHEbnqDKSeEMH4N6-00SpEU2qUYfyuJU2WAtkrF8Cha_iGiRBiq1cGMEaWMZqbbW3dV51YKNZAodZeuV4CFDH1WeLkKNIgrQiuHYy9q_ajaXWwJKmuwklWpzDzlOd3H_dve_XE/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Blue_Pansies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313902931481166418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6RZ2JGHEbnqDKSeEMH4N6-00SpEU2qUYfyuJU2WAtkrF8Cha_iGiRBiq1cGMEaWMZqbbW3dV51YKNZAodZeuV4CFDH1WeLkKNIgrQiuHYy9q_ajaXWwJKmuwklWpzDzlOd3H_dve_XE/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Blue_Pansies.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhX8vbfgTDtQzm9e5N1FG9pAIcGXTaKPY7pi1Eo9hUIs3m_Sqa1mLZDITt9K-mBxM_QIFQRYGXleWhJA23UEH81WtDvK1buZwaKN6d7hprioXQUuPLxnhLIHmnpHlMG-QSLFLa2EcPxY/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Asian_Lady_Beetle.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313902950020776786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 296px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhX8vbfgTDtQzm9e5N1FG9pAIcGXTaKPY7pi1Eo9hUIs3m_Sqa1mLZDITt9K-mBxM_QIFQRYGXleWhJA23UEH81WtDvK1buZwaKN6d7hprioXQUuPLxnhLIHmnpHlMG-QSLFLa2EcPxY/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Asian_Lady_Beetle.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRy2Da9H2Kh7-AgVDPEeSn5SG5_V_J-sjcuwQHWxu25TLHyZL5kszFVSWyggV8U1lXggdZj9vL5cJAODHVyQP8XQik9QxlVO-pndCLixOARL46N2LvNArH2khX671GfNxkINUhJ6Ax4A/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Creeping_Cleft_Phlox.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313902963184445426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRy2Da9H2Kh7-AgVDPEeSn5SG5_V_J-sjcuwQHWxu25TLHyZL5kszFVSWyggV8U1lXggdZj9vL5cJAODHVyQP8XQik9QxlVO-pndCLixOARL46N2LvNArH2khX671GfNxkINUhJ6Ax4A/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Creeping_Cleft_Phlox.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_DrnRUeljCC9VT4A7t4VTUVEvbrKj9dSpBdijejZaI1UUniE66AncJbrOknEV2Y05aLwZ0FNoI4eaPFCUuT2rA-7TMNY6_gP6MRdr6U18XRinH7v_lJgM1hARSVgqtPEA3kpzbV2V2s/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Forcythia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313902956989243954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_DrnRUeljCC9VT4A7t4VTUVEvbrKj9dSpBdijejZaI1UUniE66AncJbrOknEV2Y05aLwZ0FNoI4eaPFCUuT2rA-7TMNY6_gP6MRdr6U18XRinH7v_lJgM1hARSVgqtPEA3kpzbV2V2s/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Forcythia.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfC1XklXqJRW81xelgXeSvDmYKV98s1J56bIV-8Uy20lvjtj6NJYd2NOaZIBM4xFbzzDeE2CmnxXAejWMyjftn6AEy2HoMdeGhQwfvEdCrTzx4HWkZQdRkCTXpjRrDx01wsd8bSpW3PBg/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Pink_Flower.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313903580236499794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfC1XklXqJRW81xelgXeSvDmYKV98s1J56bIV-8Uy20lvjtj6NJYd2NOaZIBM4xFbzzDeE2CmnxXAejWMyjftn6AEy2HoMdeGhQwfvEdCrTzx4HWkZQdRkCTXpjRrDx01wsd8bSpW3PBg/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Pink_Flower.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WA73o1v32BkTHgqbjF7r86vJTGrg6CSg42Ui4DBmC-Pmn6jl7zgN8t45I0WlHft0wka3pXHO6UsDiP4BU5NpgK8awHKvt0RQneddB59e7G8G8rd1V-K7bMBjTQJo8hcj2KQLL92B-tA/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Grape_Hyacinth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313903581309629602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WA73o1v32BkTHgqbjF7r86vJTGrg6CSg42Ui4DBmC-Pmn6jl7zgN8t45I0WlHft0wka3pXHO6UsDiP4BU5NpgK8awHKvt0RQneddB59e7G8G8rd1V-K7bMBjTQJo8hcj2KQLL92B-tA/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Grape_Hyacinth.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqhmZtja_ylMEqcwY5UKtssJJNB3F2cErj_OdRM30Ej9VGicUG97JfUj-9ht2G07VRf-PTvYtVBMnh3PLloqcpN8f1HuceUwoiHrnkIoEQspsFVE-aNCdB-WDGA1UANHp5pGSTxxtAaY/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Honey_Bee_Grape_Hyacinth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313903587668683842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqhmZtja_ylMEqcwY5UKtssJJNB3F2cErj_OdRM30Ej9VGicUG97JfUj-9ht2G07VRf-PTvYtVBMnh3PLloqcpN8f1HuceUwoiHrnkIoEQspsFVE-aNCdB-WDGA1UANHp5pGSTxxtAaY/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Honey_Bee_Grape_Hyacinth.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbjLudmoJmB7xPYEjwCHFiUH91CfOd4g1C6JUDCWlvDC67mKLh5w0UFfAFfzZuw-W2T6O4rIBFyQ3FLNI33u24dqXimJKSkjFPAIhXFvj6PCnyYrDd1ecwv2vHoRm4JeoKPD0eNB5YHI/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Wasp.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313903596808825122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbjLudmoJmB7xPYEjwCHFiUH91CfOd4g1C6JUDCWlvDC67mKLh5w0UFfAFfzZuw-W2T6O4rIBFyQ3FLNI33u24dqXimJKSkjFPAIhXFvj6PCnyYrDd1ecwv2vHoRm4JeoKPD0eNB5YHI/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Wasp.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdngPZRkznuXJlTW7i2Ls6CljC__YVdJk20W7zLSsGohgVL2WcQe5_i9U9R5I31s3ak2X66aEk4Pkss_JseaOIQUHNPchyVb80Ua3wmRtY6HkwiwFENoGKVlVuJA0a5hPi-p75vGDKpg/s1600-h/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Wasp_Up_Close.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313903610457390066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdngPZRkznuXJlTW7i2Ls6CljC__YVdJk20W7zLSsGohgVL2WcQe5_i9U9R5I31s3ak2X66aEk4Pkss_JseaOIQUHNPchyVb80Ua3wmRtY6HkwiwFENoGKVlVuJA0a5hPi-p75vGDKpg/s400/2009_03_16_Wilson_Park_Wasp_Up_Close.jpg" border="0" /></a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-79935669488586696482009-03-09T21:25:00.017-05:002009-03-09T21:54:54.248-05:00Shine Eye BluffToday, I drove to Mountain View, Arkansas, for several days of caving fieldwork. Tomorrow, I'll be underground monitoring one of two known populations of the endangered Hell Creek cave crayfish. It's been a while since I've been in this cave, so it should be a fun trip. On Wednesday, I'll be spending some time in Blanchard Springs Caverns looking for a rare cave pseudoscorpion and collecting soil samples for a fungi study. Thursday, I'll be visiting a few springs looking for rare isopod crustaceans. <br /><br />Usually on my way to Mountain View, I stop at a place on the Buffalo National River known as Shine Eye Bluff. I love stopping here, because it's a beautiful place to sit and relax for a while. Today, standing on the gravel bar and looking at the river was a great treat. Here are a couple of pictures.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311382455301558242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBHeUePRZc_ij1kDfvxoc2LLrHvjGg6YjYIU9dCMROyM0L1G2ceWsHd3hMbHggfaqLlWLev90PBOQ0maHhBMCrOXEvPRdm39M3N7UYLHM1Qrc3a7wF2pj7EaDhnWmAq4l2OmGVvvmq9U/s320/Shine_eye_bluff_low_res.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Shine Eye Bluff. This gravel bar is a great place to camp.<br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311382459635234274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8FcFuF3MYdCYWSyXTGXVy2PstGzU08YHWYabkxBCoEAqd5KD24nOvUOI45xSUWQv2sXk3Q74Y-Nlnsijo00JUkMLXBKFGzBZ2WX1PZPpJJLA_WmGn1DrXscPUFAQMK89g3mPxS-TElI/s320/Shine_Eye_Bluff_downstream_low_res.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Looking downstream from Shine Eye Bluff.<br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311382464713632770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivclq1xgV905Esyi6wDn9XnWyIJMve6ElWIZWZAo2dblH5osaWxi5P8jGLJlTkhf_9NmF9eUN0GhPAG4jMJhBhKxkn7bZkZwJI_9LzNOLeMC3pgj82ss4dwTsaOTOZJ198LV1GxGY2rfo/s320/WildSweetWilliam_02_low_res.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Wild Sweet William was blooming in the woods along the road to Shine Eye Bluff. I can't remember seeing this wildflower in bloom so early in the year.</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-60761557304438808582009-03-02T20:21:00.012-06:002009-03-02T21:21:25.358-06:00Hiking at Lake Wilson<div align="left">Early this evening, Christy and I went for a walk at Lake Wilson, right on the southwestern outskirts of Fayetteville. We were wondering if we'd see any wildflowers blooming, even though it's been cold the past few days. We got on the trail with about an hour of light left. Part way down the trail, a barred owl called, as always, asking about dinner. As the trail dropped into one of the drainages that feeds the lake, Christy spotted the first flower. Sure enough, we discovered white trout lilies beginning to bloom! The plant has a single, white, flower drooping head down on its stalk, and the entire plant is not more than 3-4 inches tall. It is named for the pinkish/purplish speckles on the green leaves that to some folks resemble the belly of a trout. All the way along the trail to the creek, we continued to spot them.<br /><br />A little farther down the trail, we spotted <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ring-necked_Duck.html">Ring-necked ducks </a>and a couple of <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Gadwall.html">Gadwall ducks </a>on the water, and we were able to get really good looks at them through our binoculars. Soon it was getting dark, and we headed back to the truck. As we passed a marshy area, a few southern leopard frogs serenaded us with their laughing/quacking calls (well...actually, it was the male frogs requesting amorous interludes from the females, but who is to say they weren't also serenading us?). We listened to the frogs for a while and could occasionally hear two Great Horned owls calling softly to each other over the ridge. By the time we got back to the truck, it was close to dark, almost completely quiet, and the lake was as smooth as glass.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308786594241604786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMlL71KmDxCzCO6wYA2r5ZrtiqP8WBUkr_49Om1oJp6wlsFjQBwXiWILw_v8iS6cd1UJK2qGmKZmppE0amKqds15UxgvobDn3UhjBzHAHZcBcUxbZIqWcUzKThyphenhyphenIjydMTg_3fGnKunP4/s320/2009_03_02_Lake_Wilson_Lake_South_Looking.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">A view of Lake Wilson, looking south.</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308786601731563890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDxuRmrZOzmO0jMEM9hGivK2h0wgu0OWKvFipyjqnTgawSY56HvtU3PdCs3zzhKhr932IjphbmtRQZN88JlgAVQFgbc5QX0Yfy_kmfbS53rHShezvHK5yZw7eNEhM3Y-GKutPyAhB2rw/s320/2009_03_02_Lake_Wilson_Lake_White_Trout_Lily.jpg" border="0" />One of the white trout lilies we discovered blooming along the trail.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308786590719257058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNh903BXeAC_8VZq_uuD1Ha2CEpH4m05pII2sLnSUj8u5PgXljMOtv1_exJFIL-_ZHqRw6hJKB_IkV4tV1achn_Fe0qHh5lzepXR4jM4HhL3tSlkw-ETqC6uUQHET7gYlnfBdy_6bgYg/s320/2009_03_02_Lake_Wilson_Lake_Ring_Necked_Ducks.jpg" border="0" /> A poor picture of the Ring-necked ducks taken through the binoculars. The ducks are those little white things on the water.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308786588037783842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OWc9wOtxELMM-pqXKWWZJ4Ny8y-GPC7hV7IdbZeJBZ2hHlWVKMs0ZEPOpCkTMCvjyqH2Kxy8f9av6TE4VoYswe2FFH6Ogn3NyqnIEqqQCHgipg0rBBVkjLul-ZtZm2X2jLx-CG5bcww/s320/2009_03_02_Lake_Wilson_Lake_Mike_Christy.jpg" border="0" /> The two of us, enjoying our own amorous affections. </p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-72227155893014714442009-02-28T10:19:00.006-06:002009-03-01T15:31:30.122-06:00If you don't like the weather, just wait a day.Nothing like watching the early spring weather swings. One day it's approaching 80 degrees; the next day it's 20 degrees with snow on the ground. Oh well, at least the cold swings are getting shorter! During the latest warm spell, we had a few more flowers burst open in the front yard including purple and white crocus and purple dwarf dutch irises. Here are a few pictures of the flowers before the snow on Friday, and one picture after the snow this morning.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308272680282758354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrcCn5ghJ_oeDEtOyqR7YF2-Z8FEUaefK-4cFnCAYAP7TyTYkqqazq5Z8vyTIGkuyTwo4hdUbpQsvGH8qtswgbYm_o5ZqH5I5tnkMZJP_1YLto_aNtHrvyBJY2oEAM7EaHVfaCpgsuDI/s320/2009_02_27_Front_Yard_Crocus_Iris_03.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308272682697913186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3THBXcrI1dM8v0YChuxowo_FrKrvuUjaZ6GnhYPw4cPgb7X7ZKjgqUTxG4hvO_P_g3ysTD4vCIZNXokOV9ylRn2jeIyXxSxHgQVilw10mEpgnu6QdvekCrIt3zKJbemHhCODhVjJaVTI/s320/2009_02_27_Front_Yard_Crocus_Iris_05.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308272692145515522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDme7REsBWmvbwShWdajOLytQyHBV_0xaLGwJAPUe3YyymTYvQNsIb1s9lDXsdLZv0LPnqIN5ZYwTzcYrhE0bWGXu9BNOK-LEgEGtB-idZS_0-RCiO7pUu0SpURzBCc5oDRSArpS75co/s320/2009_02_27_Front_Yard_Crocus_Iris_07.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">This is the earliest we've had our dwarf dutch irises come up. In a flower bed next to these, we planted native dwarf irises which aren't even peeking out, yet. </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308272700064044978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwk6Ngm-fhoMmJX6hXJiMbCtn9h0UrSLe7KkSJeBdki8Qf_BNwklwYdFWr6vxv_166SXgvK9YSwASPKDG7OhWUk9CM9-Dj1GAl8AS0DXfNkBXNWbMYEobUD3xj8x81wEwAGuA1KvKEj8/s320/2009_02_28_Front_Yard_Snow_Dwarf_Iris_02.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Dwarf dutch iris after the snow.</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-2824747475691885692009-02-14T09:30:00.000-06:002009-02-14T10:01:15.353-06:00Oh DrabaI'm always on the lookout for nature's minature wonders, and every since I took a flowering plant taxomony class as an undergraduate, I keep an eye out for tiny flowering mustards in the early spring. During the course, our professor took us into a field next to a forest and asked us what plant species were flowering around us. I looked down and spotted a small white mustard in bloom. Looking around, I could see the plant in bloom everywhere, and I thought, "Here is a species I didn't know about." I mentioned seeing the blooming plant to our professor, and he asked me to look closer at those little plants. Turns out, there were about 7 different species blooming right there! I was shocked because while I initially grouped every plant into one species, with a little knowlegde, I discovered a diverse group of organisms living out their lives below my feet. I've remembered that lesson every since, namely that knowledge alters your scale of perception and understanding, and the natural world around you is much more complex than initial observations would suggest.<br /><br />Ever since that course, I've been on the look out for <em>Draba</em>. <em>Draba</em> is a tiny, white flowering mustard that blooms in early spring. Aldo Leopold, in Sand County Almanac, had this to say about <em>Draba</em>.<br /><br />"He who hopes for spring with upturned eye never sees so small a thing as <em>Draba</em>. He who despairs of spring with downcast eye steps on it, unknowingly. He who searches for spring with his knees in the mud finds it, in abundance."<br /><br />Of course, it's been awhile since I took that flowering plant taxomony course, and I'm beginning to forget some of the plants I once knew. Imagine my excitement then, while I thought I found Draba in my backyard! I snapped some photos and got out my taxonomy books to figure out what species was growing in my backyard. The more I looked, the more I couldn't determine what <em>Draba</em> this was (and I began to get a sneaking suspiscion that the plant in my backyard was not actually <em>Draba</em>, but something different). After an hour or so of working through my plant keys (yes, I am actually that geeky), I disappointing realized that what I had in my backyard was <em>Cardamine hirsuta</em>. <em>Cardamine hirstua</em> is common weed species found in disturbed areas and is native to Europe. Oh well, it was still neat to understand a little more about the wildlife in our backyard, and I'm back on the hunt for <em>Draba</em>.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302468483741988562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9tFLcQBkJN8jGO0DCyoVr0YIoKgBRpfSVxE7GG5b-D2naZVtHDE7C1zwd9q6TLJLT1SyqhpZyPiyiXMMqE3Y73JgOzlG2XAYopypvikNZDKshn5rf_yEVR5lMGc9VMcyHMIkqviEJsc/s320/2009_02_13_Backyard_Draba.jpg" border="0" /><div align="center"><em>Cardamine hirstua</em> growing in our backyard. I still had to get down on my knees in the mud, and I found it plenty abundant. But, definitely not <em>Draba</em>.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-22209197046191030072009-02-10T18:12:00.006-06:002009-02-10T18:37:02.016-06:00Barred Owls and RainbowsSome days, I just don't look forward to the training runs for my next half marathon. Today, was one of those days. Since the ice storm, I've had to switch up my normal running routes because there are still downed branches and trees on the trails I usually use. So, I've been running a paved trail, called Mud Creek Trail. The one drawback to Mud Creek Trail is that it goes under Business 71 (or College Ave) just south of the Northwest Arkansas Mall, so there is always lots of traffic. I'm not a big fan of running near major roads because I just don't like the thought of inhaling all that exhaust while I'm running hard. Luckily, Mud Creek Trail has every quarter mile marked off, so I can get most of my training runs in by using shorter sections away from the Business 71. It does mean that I run the same 1/2 mile section over and over and over, again. <br /><br />As I said, I wasn't looking forward to today's run which was a mile warm up, 4 mile tempo run, and a mile cool down. Did I mention it was also raining?<br /><br />I was wrong, though, and it turned out to be a great run because of a series of natural distractions I got to enjoy. Along about mile 2, the light began to fade as the rain was about to intensify. At that point, a Barred Owl began calling out with its, "Whoo cooks for you, whoo cooks for you, whoo cooks for you alllll". This call was returned by another Barred Owl a short distance away. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem either of them in the trees. These two owls called back and forth and mixed in a series of their "monkey" calls for most of the next half mile and back making that section of the run seem really short. <br /><br />Starting into mile 3, the rain slacked off from the west, and I could see that the sun was going to break through for a little while. When it did, it created a complete rainbow that I watched for most of mile 3 and 4. For a short time, the sun was intense enough that I could see a small section of double rainbow on the left side. I followed that rainbow back and forth just enjoying the view. Finally, the sun went behind the clouds and the rain picked back up. But by then, I was finished with my run. Heading out before my run, I had really contemplated skipping it. I'm glad I didn't.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-54046051503228973812009-02-08T19:27:00.011-06:002009-02-08T20:21:14.787-06:00Early indicators of spring!This morning, I walked outside and discovered a yellow crocus about to bloom in our front yard. While crocus aren't native, I love these little flowers because of their optimism for spring. They push out of the ground, even while it's cold, and then burst open on the first warm day. In our front yard, we've planted several different colors including yellows, purples, and whites. Each color blooms in succession with the yellow ones coming out first. Here is a picture of the first spring flower of our yard.<br /><br /><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300606509341912354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CMmdDlvK5L1mN_fRsMMBW_NhVS5J0H5f-nLt2INK3jr_pnRwZBKtPBsDn8OvnHSBsRea_7Ft2EpAmZKR8XOf1iMBhZi94UlvLj-gkTVaxrTjNTnMxHhuMAbvfp5-357ep1ca0Onfgp0/s320/2009_02_08_Front_Yard_Crocus.jpg" border="0" />After spending the morning hanging out with some friends over breakfast, I got my chainsawing gear together and headed over to my mom's house in Gentry. Gentry in a small Arkansas town ever farther north and west than where we live in Fayetteville. I spent the rest of the day, cutting brush. At dark, I began to hear on the wind, a very familiar sound. The spring peepers are already calling!!!! As I finished up, I drove over to a place in town that is a remant wet prairie. Every year at this spot congregates spring peepers, American toads, southern leopard frogs, chorus frogs, and (at least in the past) crawfish frogs. Today only spring peepers and an occasional southern leopard frog were calling. For me, the sound of spring peepers signals the change of seasons, and I love to sit in the dark and listen to a chorus. I'm not sure if I stuck my head out of a burrow and saw my shadow whether I would think there'd be 6 more weeks of winter or that spring was just around the corner. But with crocus blooming and spring peepers calling, I'm optimistic, and I'll be keeping an eye out for spring. Below is a video I recorded with my camera. The picture isn't good because it was dark, but I was more interested in recording the sound of the spring peepers. You'll also need to ignore the sound of a car driving by.</p><p align="center"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxu4DLK1Dh6nlQOIpwfN1eWXYGAk78f5aku20o_zyzo9ufrRc-75-ApPxqT9XmfV7Z4zem4BBtsHkaofSW3gA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-21544215084772703322009-01-30T17:18:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:45:46.555-06:00Power's back on, time to help out<div align="left">Late Thursday night, our power was restored. Hopefully, folks still without power won't have to wait much longer. Our power was off for 2 days, but luckily we have a fireplace, gas stove, and a small generator that made the 2 days a little easier to bear. We also have many blankets and plenty of cold weather camping gear and clothes. Unfortunately, many folks out there don't have the ability to keep themselves warm. Since our power was back on, my wife really wanted to help those folks who haven't been so lucky. She is such a thoughtful person, and I am really lucky to have such a positive influence in my life. So, after calling the Red Cross, we found out there was a second shelter opening in Fayetteville at the United Methodist Church on Dickson Street, and they were needing help getting the shelter ready to open. We met at the church and began helping them get the shelter open. There were several different groups represented including Fayetteville Parks and Recreation, Red Cross, University of Arkansas, and Fayetteville citizens. Here are a few pictures.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297480711309756754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-EmVvd3751Cu6e7qut4AXOfVuRub9Nfuewm1q7upZP2MTpdUpmt9qc5xjBEzwRLuCNwYv4fcwN1JgCwijXaRLqNFIDdWuV2ICDJkIfVR5I_s1KwwFDAt9xzhURrJpfvbYkOLOmcIC9A/s320/2009_01_30_ICE_STORM_Shelter_Cots_InTruck.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">The University of Arkansas provided cots and bedding for the shelter, which meant that cots in route from Little Rock Red Cross could be diverted to other shelters. Many thanks to the University students and staff that helped get these cots available, get them loaded at the University, and unloaded at the church.</p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297480711325187298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEzttLSbxjXYOYL1R0phyphenhyphenboB9jsKJUUYZbzSWcdJh5Cjk73IkJRmRDUpdaM0gup_atm6QQch5MWn-z_mH5pyPkIDSIQ7mQtM9Y5EUf5KKP_x6XkNR8pTx0E2upVuFusdBC5H4sKObW5Y/s320/2009_01_30_ICE_STORM_Shelter_Cots.jpg" border="0" />Getting ready to unload cots at the United Methodist Church on Dickson Street. Big thanks to the Red Cross, Fayetteville Park and Recreation, and the church for opening this shelter! Please visit the <a href="http://www.nwarkansasredcross.org/index.htm">Red Cross </a>website for more information on volunteering. </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-37528535112658185422009-01-29T19:03:00.003-06:002009-01-31T09:18:14.787-06:00Using Manly Tools (otherwise known as a chainsaw)<div align="left">We spent most of today cleaning out our driveway, so we can use our vehicles. We had two tasks, 1) get the large branch down that was still part way propped up in the gum tree, and 2) cut up and remove all the smaller branches. To get the big branch down, my wife and I rigged up a 3:1 haul system using an old caving rope I have. It was a bit crude, because I don't have enough pulleys to rig it correctly, and we could really tell that the carabiners were adding friction to the system. After several pulls and repositions, we got the branch down. The rest of the day was spent cutting and piling up branches, and we were very fortunate to have a friend drop off a chainsaw to cut up the larger pieces.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">We're always joking with a couple of grad student friends of ours about how many "manly" things we can do. I definitely got to use a "manly" tool, today. I just hope my "manly" muscles won't be so sore I can't get out of the bed tomorrow!</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297229185037338786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwT27ZJ6xLfbHCnBWy5PB2ebrmnteavT6kR_zGeBPtwsGL4piSA16MMajYpYPBawMmdSH40nIqjvyb26Lj1RmeQIMa30ExzNr8VxNHwuEQdHqrZmS0-M95Am4zKCPHKRs1AxMDaoLyf4/s320/2009_01_29_ICE_STORM_CleanUp_HaulSystem.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">We rigged up the 3:1 haul system from the tree branch to the trailer hitch on back of our Toyota 4runner. It's possible that we could have pulled the branch down with the truck, but I was worried about controlling the fall of the branch in order to keep it off the porch.</p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297229187784826450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77ujaD4H8QDQbrt3kPYhn_2qyHC2NNSd-UAAUlAV2ln4fV7Oku7lGvq031gmPVZLJNOdf9qAOL_Bm_OZHCHEw1Im88ARCxbJodkaLhxAy4pI54hOYfJYsSa-Z9caKSPIzInroX9kX5cU/s320/2009_01_29_ICE_STORM_CleanUp_Mike_ChainSaw_01.jpg" border="0" />Me, using the chainsaw (or manly tool) to cut some of the branches down. Parts of these two branches are still on the side of the house because they didn't break off clean from the tree. Big thanks to my wonderful wife, Christy, because as I cut them into manageable sizes, she would pile them up out of the way.</div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297229190601325154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHVmll1CaJM3iHvHQCpZeh1H6SAgQLkBs_ke2p3ExB5BXTQvJOZmnqDi3y2Xsd-_xPGMJZ_zLSZcxeG_wG5SPswaDcQeK_sEVpJfzZnfF3ZWlnWfEv2HX8Ao5XtEZ9Vc2LrKKTx_Adn0/s320/2009_01_29_ICE_STORM_CleanUp_Mike_ChainSaw_02.jpg" border="0" />Other picture of me using the chainsaw. I have to admit, I really enjoyed using the saw!!!</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-38485659368057643472009-01-28T21:16:00.027-06:002009-01-28T22:14:26.923-06:00The Ice Storm cometh...I'm sure everyone has at least heard about what is being call "ICE STORM 2009". We have been hit with a pretty good ice storm, here in Northwest Arkansas. In Fayetteville, we've recorded over an inch of ice. At my mom's house in Gentry, over 2.5 inches of ice accumulated. Luckily, both of our mom's now have their power back, but we'll still without. In a weird twist of technology, wires, and non-falling tree limbs, we can access the internet using a generator for power. It's a bit funny to think about having internet access, but no power.<br /><br />Our trees took a pretty good beating during the storm, and the beautiful, large sweet gum tree in the front yard is severly damaged. We'll be cutting up some 5-7 inch diameter branches, hopefully, tomorrow to clear out the driveway. Christy and I got out, today, for a walk around an took some pictures. She posted them at the following web address: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/cmelhartslay/IceStorm2009?feat=directlink">http://picasaweb.google.com/cmelhartslay/IceStorm2009?feat=directlink</a><br /><br />Many of the photos are around our house, but we also walked up to the University of Arkansas campus to have a look around. Trees up there were pretty damaged as well. We did get to watch Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, and Gray Squirrels trying to eat frozen holly berrys in the holly trees next to Old Main. Here are a few pictures.<br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296560145522539106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeK9eOsw2gnK4qXBEHhPW9N_CZ52bbhoNxMXzWUaUCrEoJ25_ABxS-Wc038oGrjYn6g9N-jKbtC8Kt_iQkNWM3q1v2TbZwECOD4l_uCr-ofQvwcQ6spR8-_c5HG-q17N_utE790XQuAE/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_House.jpg" border="0" />Looking at the front of our house, and our once beautiful sweet gum tree.<br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296556106741476690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Odckz8iRnUOdZDMVe9OCH4XJxIwmv278RO44tICWTcbGxLH2b3Emxp8cTidYBiWmThHRCz45HEL_jsvPurTDYKNWnQbwZ8g-ZbEikiyr1HISe5OKNnWEM0Lv6D_KGqwbmOBkFiAhwdA/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_ViewSouthFromParkingDeck.jpg" border="0" />The view south, towards our house, from the University of Arkansas parking deck.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296556120000013570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEd4vP8pTJmxDIEtFadD-T68cLbEUYMYl1-bWR3sm4iygNkn3XwmjIWsHoIxtjVbiJKu51A6uJXFB1jJVncjx-Y0zoQQS1Gv52JjCgflSDolikcZXVVvbXUg8aIExoZmCqDsbDVLQqq38/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_TreeIce_BlueSky.jpg" border="0" />Although the ice was damaging, it is still pretty. Here is a tree on campus that made it through the storm. The blue sky behind the tree, and the sunlight hitting the ice, make for a nice picture. </div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296558827086569570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2hfPmp4e4Pm6tMk3ZatbzK-18V9ivUwnUObvKFAZamaTZDSY6Okm8iXHGCRJ8MBUimcORLlIm0I2ul-QBnGyRu8vW0MoWeg9C4nA6gNWDXwjVw_a0aFyXp13uEx8epK407QNiOheSW8/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_UofA_MikeChristy.jpg" border="0" />Self portait of the two of us on campus, while we were walking around.</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296561815178996546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEQjYMtPwueEKjOkFPqA5M5qvUczkawxUx2XrdzMvFOyhO2pt_iNwRs9gpu9XenLx18C2inHFa8FKyUQApmtHCafrnW24Sj76AUON6SmUPi83rV2_v5JorbbXCWIzeuY5aFRcfbFM0fI/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_CedarWaxWing.jpg" border="0" />Cedar Waxwing, near Old Main.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296558840365490034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTenDLvPSYeNkCy5z_dlMCFZ5CMPzoSiO9cRDLpvSizhzWOiFVmIyAfhh2d0jB5VZUueB-KaO8-clheTRwcVQXIudQfmZgh8xgvirbkPLdSp7qHmpOS5eglaCeyvIwUIWhRwW4veNo28/s320/2009_01_28_ICE_STORM_OldMain.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">The South Tower of Old Main. </p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-29478721623288734472009-01-26T22:07:00.001-06:002009-01-26T23:17:10.492-06:00Latest Addition to the Backyard Bird ListToday, we discovered a <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker.html">Yellow-bellied Sapsucker</a> in our yard, which adds another species to our backyard bird list. Technically, it was in the trees along the side of the house, and not actually in the backyard. But, we count any bird within the perimeter of the house as "in" our backyard. Other than that, it's been a slow day. This evening, the weather deteriorated into freezing rain. By Wednesday morning, we are expected to have about 1 inch of ice on the ground. That translates into the possibility for significant power outages from falling trees and tree branches. Over the weekend, we got some extra food stuffs, picked up some additional firewood, and borrowed a generator from Christy's mom. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as expected. We'll know by tomorrow.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-86693028037181556422009-01-25T19:29:00.008-06:002009-01-26T22:54:13.376-06:00Vertical Rope TrainingOn Saturday and Sunday, my wife and I took a <a href="http://www.mcsar.com/training.php">Personal Ropes Skills</a> course taught by <a href="http://www.mcsar.com/">Madison County Search and Rescue</a>. The course teaches how to ascend and descend a rope using various techniques, styles, and equipment. The course also taught how to pass knots when ascending and descending, how to negotiate rebelays, how to rescue someone stranded on rope using a second rope, and to rescue someone on rope using the same rope. For me, the course was a good refresher on ascending and descending, and I had a chance to use several different devices including Petzl handled ascenders, Petzl Tiblok, prusik knots, rescue figure eight, regular figure eight, racks, and an Anthron Double Stop Descender. I also really enjoyed learning the double rope and single rope rescue techniques. Hopefully, we'll never find it necessary to use these rescue techniques, but it's always better to be safe (and trained) than sorry.<br /><br />My wife, Christy, was really excited to take the course, because she wants to go with me on some vertical caving trips. Our next step will be to head out to the local climbing area, drop a rope down the bluff, and practice the techniques we learned this past weekend. Once we are confident ascending/descending rope on a bluff, we'll head out to a cave with a short, less than 30 ft, drop and give it a shot!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295795340137387186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9stZAnZVhBAct1QeT63ZZh_3k0J2XLETvrlFL7zqi5WDUiIvOSAPy9RyNMZjblCgfW_clWcYNJ5eDN7LGStQW0ADDRiRV-zDZsZqh4BwiE0L6YQMEVSR_vvfFdON-LZVo4nKMwtWVyI/s320/2009_01_24_25_MCSAR_RopeCourse_Christy_PassingKnot.jpg" border="0" />Christy ascending rope using a frog system. Here, she is practicing passing a knot in the rope. <p></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295795350283938466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qKauLZzY_EcAaGW7RTVWUaI0D6xLNCFh7M4ZayRE7AfDKd2XbzH-EVIs00gH1gSlDNupLqqWv79fUQx3s0cZ-ua_kioWaIN-eqWIdNAVohqHrTVOAEFT9TbiZc51Yge3wVPuSnqTLJE/s320/2009_01_24_25_MCSAR_RopeCourse_MikeChristy_2PersonPickOff.jpg" border="0" /><br />Here, Christy and I are practicing a 2 rope rescue scenario. Christy, as the patient, is on one rope, and I am in the processing of moving her onto my rope using the blue pick off strap. Once I got her down, we switched roles, and she "rescued" me. I'm glad to know she can do this, in case I ever get in trouble on rope!</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-37906188405142463572009-01-24T20:15:00.002-06:002009-01-26T23:18:26.014-06:00Counting Threatened and Endangered Cave AnimalsOn Thursday and Friday, I worked with the <a href="http://www.fws.gov/arkansas-es/">US Fish and Wildlife Service</a> to monitor populations of the threatened <a href="http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=E02J">Ozark cavefish </a>and the <a href="http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=K02J">Benton cave crayfish </a>in northwest Arkansas. We visited two caves, spending 7 hours in the first cave on Thursday and 3.5 hours in the second cave on Friday. (I'm deliberately not mentioning the names of these caves since they'd be easy to find if I did. Access to both of these caves is restricted to protect the animals living in them). The Ozark cavefish is found in less than 10 caves in Northwest Arkansas, but it is also known from sites in Oklahoma and Missouri. The Benton cave crayfish in found in only 4 caves in northwest Arkansas, and it is one of the rarest crayfishes in the world. In both caves, populations of these to species appear to be stable, with a total of 194 cavefish and 43 cave crayfish counted. Because unrestricted human visitation to these sites can greatly effect the populations by stressing animals and/or killing individuals by trampling, we only monitor every other year.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QFQCzZytRovp47d4a8aC10vLVxg1V1qylctBHi_3QJJwg6F1YUwJ5hiu1izg9cCXbBxWRInDb_1NWeIgbm98-mszGKDBu9q_vV6FoZSwVF8OUGFxUS75FpHTqEOC-n5LbRTYlgyUgFg/s1600-h/2009_01_22_LoganCave_Mike.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295794974022476498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QFQCzZytRovp47d4a8aC10vLVxg1V1qylctBHi_3QJJwg6F1YUwJ5hiu1izg9cCXbBxWRInDb_1NWeIgbm98-mszGKDBu9q_vV6FoZSwVF8OUGFxUS75FpHTqEOC-n5LbRTYlgyUgFg/s320/2009_01_22_LoganCave_Mike.jpg" border="0" /></a> Self portrait after snorkeling 600+ feet of cave passage counting Ozark cavefish and cave crayfish. I'm wearing a 3mm wetsuit and dive hood.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-21425252697271344752009-01-23T21:49:00.012-06:002009-01-26T23:02:49.731-06:001/2 Marathon TrainingI started my training for running another half marathon this March. Last October, I ran my first, here in Northwest Arkansas. The <a href="http://www.nwatour.com/1.html">2008 Tour de Cure Run</a> was held October 11 in Rogers. It was my first 1/2 marathon, and I trained for 2.5 months prior to running it. My goal was to finish without walking or stopping, and I also wanted to finish with a race time of 2 hours and 24 minutes. Luckily, I found a great training schedule at RunnersWorld.com which allowed me to only train 3 days a week. It's called <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-258-9369-0,00.html">FIRST</a>, and having some flexibility in arranging workouts around field work was a definite bonus. The training focuses on a combination of sprints, fast paced runs, and long runs, which really seemed to help me build endurance and speed. In fact, on race day, I beat my expected finish time significantly by running it in 2 hours and 8 minutes.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294707823112140514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zUkK6WjPOGtGMa1875Sjb8FzkbDsXAh_MXdkLeGoiPOFGN0jvs0sc-Sf8yxj3lrORFUxsxxjV6wszVt80n_a4YdSIm3oD2SEQRt0-qogfhr8Wks3R0H787IlQubgCC9lknz43NJ3qsU/s320/2008_10_11_TourDeCure_HalfMarathon_Mike.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">Me, on the big day last October.</p><p align="left"><br />Now, I'm in my 3rd week of training for the <a href="http://www.littlerockmarathon.com/">2009 Little Rock Half Marathon</a> which will be on March 15. I'm again using the FIRST training method, and my goal is to run it under 2 hours. It's a lofty goal, because the race route is much more hilly than my first race. We'll see...Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-11384389070456227002009-01-18T17:31:00.002-06:002009-01-18T17:54:31.671-06:00Saturday night bowling, Sunday morning birding, and Sunday afternoon bikingLast night after going for a good run at Gulley Park, Christy and I went bowling with some grad student friends. Bowling's a fun alternative weekend activity, when you can't be out in the woods.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292703948395135138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXBUyrg9qm9Os1lnZbqdMrHEVed4Jr6q1NWxeN6O5OQsiRXNiskX5EUOrDM9KZHsORtgczbpxI3x1JXCtVB53Lslul9mGzx0ZWaVZksJoBSwBjiNogDhsgc5_jCP2GhGW0qDM2KTMXnM/s320/2009_01_17_Bowling_With_Friends_lowres.jpg" border="0" /><br />This morning we woke up to a new bird species for our backyard, the <a href="http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/630/articles/introduction">Eurasian Collared-Dove</a>. The bird is not native, but regardless, it adds another species to our backyard bird list.<br /><br />Late this afternoon, I went for a 2-hour bike ride to try out part of the <a href="http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/parks_and_recreation/trails_and_greenways/trail_master_plan.cfm">trail system</a> Fayetteville has been working hard to improve. I hopped on the paved route near my house and rode north along the Frisco/Scull Creek trail. The trail follows Scull Creek downstream for a nice ride, past Wilson Park, and then past the University of Arkansas Experimental Farm where the <a href="http://www.chilepepperfestival.org/index.htm">Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival</a> is held every October. The trail continues north, goes through a long tunnel under the Fullbright Expressway, then veers east to become the Mud Creek Trail. It was a great ride along both Scull Creek and then Mud Creek. Although these two creeks flow through town, you can still catch some wildlife if you're observant. Along Scull Creek, I saw Cardinals, Starlings, Bluejays, and Cedar Waxwings; along Mud Creek, I saw a Great Blue Heron fishing in the shallows. Scattered along both trails were scats from coyotes.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292782814668133282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNN0fNlYl1Emy2EZqQNnx6pojjxpiOY0d7t552_pxpQF58pWlH8j0mBfk4GIwqdU2SRVqbz7yFeR6LzDr1PRLz3qBBMQzR5ZHrNElcrut8doYw6qgONRh4yNHvRFlNoIzy2AICB32Rkc/s320/2009_01_18_Frisco_Mud_Trail_Bike_Ride_Mike.jpg" border="0" />Getting ready to ride. It's been awhile, though. Hopefully, I'll do just fine without the training wheels.</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292783429320747746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdT92bjZhaXDRFOUGPVYQg8RcmtMSbhH62PQlz71myBh0BDkWk4dA9cL7l-RLhII3FTFhT2-5loCapFH62Ggy-GmrO-pdutuyexg4_Yvo4FYEeFRkRRPo1M-ATaTYj0bUMfDyIEVsfvLc/s320/2009_01_18_Frisco_Mud_Trail_Bike_Ride_Creek.jpg" border="0" />Heading north on the Scull Creek Trail along Scull Creek.</p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410136243221534065.post-11578556409919385412009-01-17T18:37:00.009-06:002009-02-11T18:49:51.281-06:00Reminiscing Last Weekend<div align="center"><div align="left">Not much going on this weekend, so it's given me time to reflect on last weekend's backpacking trip in the Upper Buffalo Wilderness. I met up with friends, last Friday night, and we camped near the trailhead to Hawksbill Crag. Our plan was to hike down Whitaker Hollow to the Buffalo River, camp Saturday night at the mouth of Whitaker Hollow near the Buffalo River, and then hike up and out of Dug Hollow on Sunday. Friday night was mild, until the front blew through, dropping temperatures into the mid-20s by morning. We hiked down Whitaker Hollow with snowflakes falling. It was a great hike into the wilderness and a good chance to visit with some friends I have't seen a few years. </div><div align="center"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292700408284512642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dSmHFDv47TOQ3d45VilVxTBcoqtd4JfmiusiQurLmfhr-nBtLh4Itb8zCjzZh638-Dex2duedMr7SZBBL2XH7Q_9lgLil3Z4rTIgxz0axGdDp04BLMYg2pSZvUi7BYva6qXMd-8FsVA/s320/2009_01_10_WhitakerHollow_Backpacking_Friends.jpg" border="0" />Here we are below a really neat waterfall. Water was going over the falls, but also through the limestone bedrock and coming out part way down the drop.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292700413814008514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1xFUKgXdDROlkt2kN3-b3Lp4yIVAemsPh3Fu0wNZUln_7Tc7HkAx2DsQMyktMpm3deh06TwTeywBIwSB0iRZ3rLi6YJ8IvtU87Jv1jmcGoZkaVWVKbGl6OvAwhKYYO4s5syV80jEEI4/s320/2009_01_10_WhitakerHollow_Backpacking_WhitakerCreek.jpg" border="0" />Creek in Whitaker Hollow.</div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292700431985985282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6tGy6eYoF9ZN4EoXMETGhGzkoGIYWySdgRj3zC-Or4uDI6XcFPbTy29bTF4hGMn7Zyoa0tQa3o0zZtLO4IleGVJikbuUF9B4SW0JAPYkvCNNi0MFAzBgvqPAbSeCPgH-ivnaJBJh1lQ/s320/2009_01_10_WhitakerHollow_Backpacking_WhitakerCreek_02.jpg" border="0" />Another cool shot of the creek in Whitaker Hollow. Here the stream is dissolving and eroding out the Pitkin limestone.</div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292700467148628882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KocR-JPbXh25iPhhlSA-j8iWRbgexKMrRyr9dpXwJXOe7qBWmXa6iY-g5cxlC5gad1vUb1DLcqP-VGGvf9UItsC8Bx3kH8wP2p9vVp0_DdyytDze1YbRY3vppg-nyGHGQP3BbSv4jgA/s320/2009_01_10_WhitakerHollow_Backpacking_Cave.jpg" border="0" /><br />Later on down the hike, my friends took me to see a cave they'd found previously. I was a little skeptical that it would amount to anything, but I was pleasantly suprised. The cave had about 250 feet of passage, and I found four troglobites (cave-limited species) living in it! </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095126067300301986noreply@blogger.com0