Brief-Form Post #50: Field to Forest in a WNWR Bottomland — Armed with a 1937 Aerial Photograph
I am pleased to add the 50th of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So, I will occasionally publish these brief Posts. I’ve rambled through the bottomland forests of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (WNWR) […]
Brief Form Post #49: Lessons and Observations from a Maryland Mountain Hardwood Forest Fire
I am pleased to add the 49th of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I get wordy 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. On July 29, 2025, my […]
Teacher-Educator Adventures in Alabama State Parks Workshop Lakeside at Joe Wheeler State Park!
On August 9, 2025, I assisted with the delivery of a Teacher-Educator Adventures in Alabama State Parks Workshop at Joe Wheeler State Park. Funded by a grant from the Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the workshop introduced the 23 participants to the Nature of the park face-to-face. They engaged with expert naturalists, […]
Part Two 175-Year-Old C&O Canal Pawpaw Tunnel Hill Trail
I drafted this Post a dozen weeks ago. Oh, the sweet memories it rekindled…of the hike itself and of the deep recollections of my wanderings there with Dad, as well as with Judy and our kids. And on November 14, I will take Jack, who has since turned 18, for a second visit to Auburn […]
Brief-Form #48 : Demons, Ogres, Wraiths, Ghouls, and Other Halloween Forest Spectres!
I am pleased to add the 48th of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I get wordy with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So, I will occasionally publish these brief Posts. Happy Halloween! I wander (and wonder) in […]
Brief-Form Post #47: Strange Bearded Tupelo Trees — Air Root Mysteries and Curiosities!
I am pleased to add the 46th of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I get wordy with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So, I will occasionally publish these brief Posts. I frequent forest wildness wherever my excursions […]
MD’s Rocky Gap State Park: Habeeb Lake and the Canyon
On the morning of August 2, 2025, my son Matt, Alabama grandson Jack (17), and I hiked to the Canyon Overlook at Maryland’s Rocky Gap State Park. We then visited the Habeeb Lake spillway and returned to the parking lot along the Lakeshore Trail. We enjoyed Nature’s beauty, magic, wonder, and awe hidden in plain […]
Nature Attractions within Reach of Leighton, a Stop on Alabama’s Singing River Trail!
Note: I am flagging this photo essay as one of a sub-series that introduces North Alabama’s emerging Singing River Trail: A 200+ mile greenway system that strengthens regional bonds and creates new health and wellness, educational, economic, tourism, and entrepreneurial opportunities for the people and communities of North Alabama. As a designated Ambassador to […]
Hiking the Homesite Trail at Rocky Gap State Park
On July 29, 2025, my older Alabama grandson, Jack (17), and I hiked the Evitts Homestead Trail on Maryland’s Rocky Gap State Park. We ascended 1,100 feet from Lake Habeeb to Evitts’ 2,200-foot summit. I wanted to share the magic of the place with Jack and rekindle my aging memories. Still in high school, […]
Leighton, Alabama, A One Square Mile Whistle Stop on the Singing River Trail!
Note: I am flagging this photo essay as one of a sub-series that introduces the Nature of the emerging Singing River Trail (SRT): A 200+ mile greenway system that strengthens regional bonds and creates new health and wellness, educational, economic, tourism, and entrepreneurial opportunities for the people and communities of North Alabama. As a […]
Part One 175-Year-Old C&O Canal Pawpaw Tunnel: Where Nature Meets Engineering and History
I once again visited the Pawpaw Tunnel on the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) National Historical Park on July 28, 2025. Alabama grandsons, Jack (17) and Sam (11), accompanied me. I grew up 30 miles upstream along the Potomac River in Cumberland, Maryland. I wanted the boys to experience the Nature, history, and engineering marvel of […]
Mid-August Morning at the Goldsmith-Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary: A Great Blue Heron Encounter
[Note: I dedicate this Post to the memory of Charlie Kirk, a bold, courageous pioneer who tirelessly promoted a life of Faith in God’s merciful love, Patriotism, and Family. Two days after his assassination, his widow Erika said of Charlie: He loved nature, which always brought him closer to God. I echo those sentiments. Nature […]