Entries by Steve Jones

Aerial Tour of Joe Wheeler State Park Man-Enhanced Amenities!

On August 20, 2023, a friend took me aloft in his Cessna 182. We departed Pryor Regional Air Field, Decatur, Alabama at 7:00 AM under cloud-free but hazy skies, the threat/promise (depending upon perspective) of expanding heat index…arriving long after our return to the airfield. Our flight plan encompassed exploring the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge […]

Three Mid-September Nature Stops at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge!

By September 16, 2023, nearly three months after my triple bypass surgery, I had healed enough to spend time alone at the nearby Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge…unaccompanied by a fellow Nature enthusiast. I enjoyed three distinct facets of the Refuge that afternoon: driving and stopping along Rockhouse Bottoms Road on the north shore of Lake […]

Mid-September Wildflowers, Mushrooms, and Trees along the New Hiking and Biking Trail at Wheeler NWR!

On September 16, 2023, I co-led an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville) Nature interpretive saunter on the Hiking and Biking Trail at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge near Decatur, Alabama. Although the dual-stemmed yellow poplar tree beyond the sign is sporting a few yellow leaves, I view mid-September […]

Mid-August 2023 Aerial Exploration of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge!

On August 20, 2023, a friend took me aloft in his Cessna 182. We departed Pryor Regional Airfield, Decatur, Alabama at 7:00 AM under cloud-free but hazy skies, with the threat/promise (depending upon perspective) of expanding heat index…arriving long after our scheduled return to the airfield. Our flight plan encompassed exploring the Wheeler National Wildlife […]

Mid-August 2023 First Time Visit to Forever Wild Shoal Creek Nature Preserve

August 18, 2023, while in Florence, Alabama taking photographs in preparation for my October 13, 2023 presentation at the city’s 27th Annual Horticulture and Tree Conference, I stopped by the nearby Forever Wild Shoal Creek Nature Preserve, my first “wildland” venture since triple bypass surgery eight weeks prior. I admit to a bit of trepidation […]

Early September Potpourri at Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park!

I returned to Joe Wheeler State Park on September 6, 2023, to meet with Renee Raney who had recently been appointed as the Alabama State Park System’s first Chief of Education and Interpretation. Appointed from within the System, Renee is a consummate nature devotee, experienced naturalist, and committed champion of the System’s three-part mission of […]

Steve’s New Book Emerges from his Dutton Land & Cattle Land Legacy Project!

My Dutton Land & Cattle: A Land Legacy Story copies arrived September 25, 2023. Its 58 pages, with my observations, reflections, and many of my own photographs (130 images), tell the remarkable Earth stewardship tale of a dedicated family resurrecting abandoned strip-mined land to premium beef production and luxury off-grid lodging! The Dutton land is […]