Triple Bypass Surgery Recovery at Tennessee’s Lake Norris: Nature-Buoyed Aging and Healing!
July 7-14, 2023, I luxuriated (and began deep recovery from major surgery) in the blessed balms of healing Nature and nurturing family on Tennessee’s Lake Norris (TVA impoundment on the Clinch River). I gratefully opened all five personal portals to the powerful elixir: body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit! Shedding the Shrouds of a Major […]
Miscellaneous Treasures from a June 2023 Visit to the Belcher Addition at Oak Mountain State Park!
Fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger and I arrived at Oak Mountain State Park on schedule at 9:00 AM June 8, 2023, intent upon touring the 1,600-acre Belcher property addition, visiting historic Camp Tranquility, and orienting Chris to hazard tree control measures at the Park. I focus this Post on the miscellaneous Nature treasures we encountered […]
Brief-Form Post #18: Lake Guntersville State Park Inspiring Clouds and Sky!
I am pleased to offer the 18th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts (Less than three minutes to read, plus viewing the short videos!). I tend to get a bit long-winded with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So I will publish these brief Posts […]
Three Lake Jewels on the 1,600-Acre Belcher Property Addition: Oak Mountain State Park
Fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger and I arrived at Oak Mountain State Park on schedule at 9:00 AM June 8, 2023, intent upon touring the 1,600-acre Belcher property addition, visiting historic Camp Tranquility, and orienting Chris to hazard tree control measures at the Park. I focus this Post on the three lake jewels that the […]
Revisiting the Old Recreation Site at Joe Wheeler State Park
On May 11, 2023, I revisited the Wheeler Dam construction era (1930s) recreation area (along the Multi-Use Trail) on the Wilson Lake side of Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park. The 90-year-old area, once serving thousands of workers and their families, now lies in decay, deep within the second-growth forest enveloping it. I am not yet […]
Brief-Form Post #17: Goldsmith-Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary Natural Tree Sculptures!
I am pleased to offer the 17th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts to my website (Less than three minutes to read!). I tend to get a bit long-winded with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So I will publish these brief Posts regularly. […]
Early May Evening Shower and Next Morning Sunrise at Joe Wheeler State Park
May 10, 2023, I spent most of the day at Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve, departing with late afternoon showers to Joe Wheeler State Park, where fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger and I would spend the night to tour the Park May 11 with Park Naturalist Sam Woodroof. I focus this Post on the blustery […]
Brief-Form Post #16: My First Cautious Venture into the “Wild” at Eight Weeks after Bypass Surgery
I am pleased to offer the 16th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts to my website (Less than three minutes to read!). I tend to get a bit long-winded with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So I will publish these brief Posts regularly. […]
May 2023 Exploration in Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
May 10, 2023, I spent a pleasant morning and afternoon, interrupted by a brief thunderstorm, deep in Cane Creek Canyon within the Land Trust of North Alabama Nature Preserve of the same name. The Preserve is a wild and special place, evidencing the wonder and magic at the confluence of geology, water, time, and abundant […]
Brief-Form Post #15: Spring Wildflower Delights at Wheeler NWR!
I am pleased to offer the 15th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts to my website (Less than three-minutes to read!) I tend to get a bit long-winded with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So I will publish these brief Posts regularly. Brief-Form […]
A Six-Stop Early May Immersion in the Nature of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge!
May 4, 2023, I spent a lovely late spring afternoon on the nearby Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. I offer reflections, observations, photographs, and five brief videos from my six-stop wanderings within a five-mile driving radius: gravel road wildlife; riparian forest; Tennessee River; Blackwell Swamp; January 2, 2021 tornado recovery forest; Beaverdam Swamp Boardwalk. Jolly […]
March Revelations of Miscellaneous Delights at Joe Wheeler State Park
March 16, 2023 I co-led (with Mike Ezell, AL State Parks Naturalist Emeritus) a Nature walk at Joe Wheeler State Park for members of the Huntsville LearningQuest class that had just completed a seven-week course on the State Parks of North Alabama. I sauntered the woods for an additional two hours after the formal field […]