An Outing One Month Beyond the Equinox and One Month After My Stroke
I visited Alabama’s Lake Guntersville State Park April 20 and 21, 2022, to attend the Alabama State Park Foundation Board quarterly meeting, my first non-medical-treatment journey since my March 24, 2022 stroke. Not yet ready for woods-trail hiking, I managed to capture some memorable Nature photos from wandering the grounds near the Park Lodge. […]
Exploring the Spiral Nature of Northern Alabama’s Tree Vines
March 19, 2022 I hiked the Fire Tower and South Plateau Trails at Monte Sano State Park near Huntsville, Alabama. I issued a Post about the general wonders of Nature we encountered along the way: https://stevejonesgbh.com/2022/05/12/march-19-2022-on-the-fire-tower-trail-at-monte-sano-state-park/ That Post included several photos and observations about some tree form curiosities. Here are two without comment: I’m […]
An Early April Day of Spiritual Renewal!
Some days stand higher than most. April 3, 2022 was one of those. March 24, just 13 days after “graduating” from intensive outpatient physical therapy from my November 8, 2021 total left shoulder replacement, I suffered a lacunar stroke. A scary reminder that life is fleeting and fragile. By April 3, I felt buoyed by […]
March 19, 2022 on the Fire Tower Trail at Monte Sano State Park
March 19, 2022, I co-led a hike on the Fire Tower Trail at Alabama’s Monte Sano State Park for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville). Chilly, mostly cloudy, and dry, the hiking weather and conditions proved perfect. In retrospect, this hike proved special. I had been released just a […]
Aftermath of January 1, 2022 Tornado at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
January 1, 2022, a cold-front-triggered tornado cut a quarter-mile swath across the east-central end of Alabama’s Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge just 14 miles from my Madison, AL home. I share on-site photographs (from March 1 and 15, 2022) and reflections on Nature’s fury and the renewal that will follow. Here is my February 16, 2022 […]
Sunrises and Sunsets Over the Period of My Stroke Convalescence
Life’s circumstances, I’ve learned, alter the tone and content of these Great Blue Heron Posts. Normally I offer photographs, observations, and reflections on my Nature-ramblings, generally in sylvan settings in Alabama or whever my ramblings take me. However, March 24, 2022 struck a low blow to my psyche and, for the near-term, modified my postings […]
Falconry at Joe Wheeler State Park
January 28-29, 2022, I participated in Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park’s Focus on Nature Weekend, a workshop on Nature Photography. I co-led a half-day field excursion on the Park. One element of the outing involved accompanying falconer Matt Whitfield as he worked his three Harris hawks in pursuit of the Park’s ubiquitous grey squirrels. I […]
Early Morning Perspective at Joe Wheeler State Park
January 28-30, 2022, I participated in the Focus on Nature (Nature Photography) Workshop at Joe Wheeler State Park. I offer photographs and reflections from my solitary hike beginning at dawn January 30. This Post highlights a 180-degree early morning perspective on the Awesome Trail and some tree form oddities from the entire weekend. I write […]
A 25-month Retrospective on Tornado Damage at Joe Wheeler State Park
January 29, 2022, I co-led a Joe Wheeler State Park half-day tour as part of the Focus on Nature Weekend. We walked the Day Use and Campground areas, devastated by a December 2019 tornado. Both Park use-areas are scheduled to be reopened this spring. I offer photos, observations, and reflections on the Joe Wheeler SP […]
Late January Sunsets at Joe Wheeler State Park
Preface I drafted the text of this Post in February, at least a month before posting it March 30 (today), six days after I suffered a stroke March 24. I offer in these prefatory remarks two particulary poignant quotes from my original draft, which I present unaltered following the Preface. Life on Earth cycles through […]
Black Locust Decline and Two Champion Trees at Joe Wheeler State Park
I participated January 28-29, 2022, in the Focus on Nature (Nature Photography) Workshop at Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park. Sunday morning (1/30) I hiked the Blue Loop Trail shortly after sunrise. This Post offers photos, observations, and reflections on the declining black locust component in the upland forest along the trail. I report also on […]
Some Borrowed Do’s and Don’ts of Wildlife Photography
Reflections on the Adequacy of my Photographs As all of my regular readers know, I focus these Great Blue Heron photo-essay Posts on mostly my own wanderings into terrestrial ecosystems. Trees, wildflowers, fungi, and special places account for most of my attention, photographs, observations, and reflections. You know, too, that I rely unabashedly on […]