Bluff Spring Journal
Current Journal 2008
January 1st
Happy New Year!
I thought I'd start the new year off right and head out into the great outdoors. Annie (our senior welsh corgi) and I packed up the old SUV at 5 am this morning and headed south. Our destination was the Old Mill Pond in the Boxley Valley near Ponca, Arkansas. The Trumpeter Swans have been reported back on at the pond and I wanted to get some photographs of the new arrivals. We were well armed with camera gear, a thermos of coffee, a home made cinnamon roll, a few cookies and a bag full of 'A' treats for Annie. These 'A' treats were left over steak we had grilled outside. Geez, I wish I had my dog's life. We cook for them about as much as we cook for ourselves.
The sky started to glow orange near Compton as we headed down into the valley. It was early enough that just a few of the elk were grazing with the majority of them still bedded down. The valley was quiet as we parked near the pond. Much to my dismay there were no swans. Not to worry I thought, just gives me more time to finish off those cookies and coffee. After about an hour I thought that we had made the trip in vain but I am never outdoors that I don't see something interesting. I was just about to give up and then a huge woodpecker landed on a branch about 50 yards away.
My first thought was that it might be the Ivory Billed Wood Pecker which is a pretty scarce bird. I later id 'd this as the Pileated Woodpecker. Click here to see a few more photographs.
There was also an otter in the pond and it was entertaining to watch him/her splash around in the pond having breakfast. If you look carefully you can see a fish in his/her mouth.
Annie had a great time and especially enjoyed her treats. Especially the ones she stole out of my bag while I was putting gas in the SUV. She sure is a character. We've nick named her the Trickster.
The swans didn't show up but Annie and I still had a great time.
January 11th
Just to sit down for awhile. It's the little things that seem to bring the most satisfaction. So sitting here in this chair is just about all I want to do right now. We've had a full day and previous night of dealing with sick dogs and sick people. First of all Sid (number two Corgi) decided that he wanted to show us what he had for dinner, (read vomit). And, he must have really thought we were interested in his culinary ingest ions because through out the night he repeated the performance four more times. I've seen dogs deposit their stomach contents for full view before and usually the one time was the end of it. They had often gotten into something rotten and nature's way said, "uh, that is not going to work", and up comes the offending matter. This was not the case with Sid as he continued to do encore after encore. Amid the rugs being washed, carpets being cleaned and rushing Sid outside we were really starting to worry that something more was wrong with Sid. I was awake more often than I was asleep so I got on the net and started searching for what might be wrong or better yet what might be a cure for Sid. Several sites advised plain white rice and some Pepto Bismol. After persuading Sid that it was ok to eat something pink, we saw improvement in his general demeanor. Sid is a very playful dog and it was kind of sad just to see him laying quietly with his head between his paws. It was good to see him getting back to his old self.
Then as if I were having sympathy pains I started to feel under the weather and as daylight approached I continued to feel worse and worse. Now I was raised that you just didn't miss a day of work unless you were really bad off. I thought about going in but with little sleep the night before while cleaning up after Sid and feeling like an army was marching through my stomach I decided to stay home.
Afternoon report. Sid is back to his normal self and while I feel a little weak I'm doing fine also.
January 12th
Sunrise
After a good night's rest we both were feeling the need to get outside and breath some fresh air. One of our friends had hiked to Thunder Canyon Falls and said it was an easy hike with a nice waterfall at the end of the hike. After a glorious sunrise we headed out to the trail head near the Erbie Church. The hike was indeed easy for most of the way but as we approached the waterfall the footing got very slippery as we picked our way along the rock shelves along the creek. We finally made our way through the small box canyon and found Thunder Canyon Falls with the water cascading down over the end of the canyon wall.
Thunder Canyon Falls
After sitting for awhile and enjoying the falls we headed back down along Cecil Creek. The water was a beautiful emerald green as it pooled behind several beaver dams along the creek.
It was a great day to be out in the woods. The only good thing about the end of our hike was the steaming hot crock pot of chili my lovely bride had waiting for us when we got back to the cabin.
January 21st
Every time I see an Eagle I'm impressed with the size, intensity and grace of this bird. I know that by nature they are scavengers but it still causes me to well up with feelings of loyalty for what the Eagle represents. Our country has it's problems but I'm still willing to have faith and hope that the soaring hopes of liberty and freedom will rise above the petty politics raging around us.
January 25th
It's time for a birthday weekend trip that my lovely bride has arrange for us. I feel sorry for other men. I know that there are great women out there who are truly devoted to their marriages but I feel that I am the luckiest guy to have met this special girl. Fortunately she was blinded by love just long enough for me to get her down the aisle and exchange two I do's. During the ceremony she followed the proper procedure and waited until the preacher had finished his long paragraph that started with "Do you" and ended with "till death do you part?", to say her "I do". I on the other hand didn't want to chance her momentary lapse in good judgment and murmured "I do" under my breath just as soon as the preacher began my "Do you" paragraph. I wanted to seal the deal as quickly as possible. And, I'm glad to say that some 20 years later we're still saying "I do" to each other on a daily basis. I think "I do's" are the key to strong marriages. Not "You do's".
Back to the birthday trip. We're headed off to do some great hiking, eating and sleeping. We're hiking to a few great spots we haven't seen. Saturday night we're eating at a great restaurant and Sunday we're grilling out some great steaks. We figure that after the hiking and eating the sleeping will take care of itself.
Speaking earlier of preachers, we met the new pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jasper, Arkansas, Shawn Allred. He along with his wife and two small children are busy leading the church to do great things for the Jasper Community. Stop in and talk to him if you have the chance. You'll sure want to meet this kind hearted man and his family.
After meeting the pastor we headed over to the Boxley Valley where we hear they have stocked Trumpeter Swans in the Old Mill Pond. For the past few years a pair of swans has been staying at the pond during the winter. Last year the pair had a gosling and returned to the pond. Unfortunately the male swan was killed soon after they arrived at the pond. We suspect it was some varmint after neighbors found the swan's remains out behind an old barn that used to stand near the pond.
January 26th
A beautiful sunrise greeted us this morning. The temps are really nice. Just cool enough to make this a great hiking day. We're headed to a place we haven't been to with the promise of a spectacular view.
Sunrise view from the cabin
On a whim we decided to try a different route to McFerrin Point. We had general directions but from looking at the topo maps we thought that crossing the river at Erbie would take us on a shorter route. So off we headed with an occasional check of the GPS just to make sure we were heading in the right direction. We were partially right. We did find that this route from Mt. Sherman through Jasper and then through Erbie was the shortest route to the Cecil Cove area and Thunder Falls which we had visited earlier in the month. It was not however the quickest route to McFerrin Point. The point is more easily accessible from the Compton area. It was just a short hike along the ridge to the point and a spectacular view.
McFerrin Point
This point has a 340 degree view of the surrounding valleys. You are truly out on a point that seems to stick out into the sky. I made my traditional pot of hot chocolate (recipe) which we enjoyed while just soaking up the sun and the view. The hike was so short that we decided to take a hike to one of the classic hollows that was just up the road from McFerrin Point. Hideout Hollow is a popular hike but today we only saw one other person. The temperatures had been cool enough in the preceding days to have frozen water that was running over the into the Hollow.
Hideout Hollow
January 27th
It's Sid's birthday today and we are going to celebrate by going on a hike to Magnolia Falls. Sid loves to get out and hike. He can't hardly stand to be on the leash until we get to the trail. I swear the dog is going to choke himself if he doesn't quit pulling so hard on his leash and collar. You can see from the image below that he is having the time of his life.
The falls were running slowly but the icefalls were looking great. 25 to 30 ft ice hung around the perimeter of Magnolia falls. Right below Magnolia Falls, Woodboys Falls had even taller ice falls. The dogs had a fun time exploring the area. I was a little concerned that they might hit some ice at the edge of a drop off and take a bad spill. I guess dogs know more about this than I do because they did just fine. Annie did get on top of a rock that had some ice on it. It was comical watching her spread out her short little legs and extend her claws as far as possible to get some traction. She slowly climbed back up the rock and then scampered off to find some other adventure.
Magnolia Falls