February 11, 2023, I co-led some 20 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) hikers on the Certain Trail at the Land Trust of North Alabama’s Blevins Gap Nature Preserve. The west flank of the Cumberland Plateau abuts Huntsville, Alabama, rising from the 800-foot city-occupied valley floor to 1600 feet at Monte Sano State Park just north […]

I visited the Webb Pond Preserve (Land Trust of North Alabama) March 8, 2023 with retired Natural Resources Conservation Service forester Brian Bradley, who worked on the 60-acre property’s wetland restoration project. Webb Pond is located in Madison County near Harvest, Alabama, just north of Madison. Brian had sparked my interest in the project several […]

January 19, 2023, I awoke early to enjoy dawn on the lake, then hike the Cabins Loop Trail at Oak Mountain State Park, an 11,360-acre wildland gem near Birmingham, Alabama. This short trail runs through diverse habitat along the south shore and peninsula of Tranquility Lake. I introduce the trail and some fascinating natural features […]

In concert with the January 19, 2023 Alabama State Park Foundation Board meeting I spent two nights at a Park cabin on Tranquility Lake (Oak Mountain State Park), rewarding me handsomely with one evening and two mornings of short saunters along the Maggie’s Glen Trail. I want to share a compendium of observations, reflections, photographs, […]

I am excited to offer the second of my new GBH Brief Form Post format (Less than three-minutes to read!) to my website. 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 the brief Posts regularly on […]