Bluff Spring Journal
June 2006
June 17, 2006
As you can see from this late journal starting date I have been amiss in keeping the journal up to date. I do have an excuse. I have 28 workshops scheduled this summer that have been keeping me rather occupied. But you know there is no excuse good enough to keep you out of the 'hills and hollars'. So... today we're headed off to the woods. First things first, I just can't pass by the Neighbor's Mill in Harrison with out stopping in for some of their mouth watering bread. Mike serves up some of the best bakery delicacies in these parts. After we had satisfied our craving for cinnamon bread we headed back out to the SUV and were greeted by rain! Glorious Rain. We've been needing a good soaking for the dry spell we've had and it looks like today were going to get just that. Who cares if we don't get to trek in the woods. We have had a really busy week and spending a day just listening to the rain on the metal roof of the cabin was just what we needed. You could almost hear the land breathing a sigh of relief as it soaked up the much needed moisture.
June 21, 2006
I've always wanted to get a photograph of cypress trees with their reflections in water. So today I'm headed off to Reelfoot Lake just inside of Tennessee. It's a decent drive except that you have to go south to cross the Mississippi River at Caruthersville and then go back north to get to the lake. Which means quite a bit of driving. I got started about 7 pm with the plan being to drive to the lake, sleep for a few hours and get up in time to get a sunrise picture on the west side of the lake looking towards the east. Everything went according to plan as I made my way across the bootheel of Missouri and on into Tennessee then north to the Reelfoot Lake. Legend says that the lake is named for a clubfooted Indian Chief of the Chickasaw Tribe and was created by the huge earthquake of 1811. Fact or fiction it's still a beautiful lake ringed by Bald Cypress Trees.
I arrived at the Reelfoot State Park on the south side of the lake just before 1 a.m. and lucked into a camping space close enough to the bathrooms for convenience sake but far enough away for the sake of my olfactories. I quickly set my alarm to get me up in time for the sunrise at 5:41 a.m. and drifted off to sleep for 4 hours, excited about the possibilities.
Waking up at 5 a.m. I headed out for a section of the lake that would afford me an eastward view of the rising sun. On the way to the west side of the lake I spotted a Mom and Pop store that was open and afforded myself to the the luxury of a hot cup of coffee and a Honey Bun. It has been awhile since I have feasted on this sugary, sticky, melt in your mouth delight. It was going to be a good day.
I drove around for about 20 minutes looking for the perfect spot and finally decided on an area that had Cypress Trees growing close to the shore line as well as a stand of trees that was about 300 yards out into the lake. The eastern horizon was cloudy and I began to doubt if I was going to get my photograph. 5:41 came and went with no sun. Just as I thought all my planning and driving was in vain the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and I was able to capture the following.