Mid-February Gulf-Coastal Alabama Delights!
Judy and I visited Alabama’s Gulf Coast on February 21 and 22, 2025, inhaling spring breezes, experiencing hints of the season’s first gentle vernal touches to Alabama’s south shore, and contemplating Hopkins Law tracking vernal progress north at 120 miles per week! I captured still images and brief videos of treasured elements of the season […]
Mooresville, Alabama Cemetary: A New Dimension to Life and Death in the Forest! [Volume One]
On March 8, 2025, at the request of local history buff Gilbert White, I visited the Mooresville, Alabama Cemetery as a group of a dozen friends of the 200-year-old graveyard (Madison History Association) cleared brush and storm debris. I snapped photographs and recorded brief videos to develop a photo essay with observations and reflections. I […]
Abandoned TVA Recreation Area and Construction Village along the CCC Trail at Joe Wheeler State Park
I revisited the CCC Historic Trail at Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park on January 23 and 24, 2025, to gather additional background on the 1930s Wheeler Dam Village (for construction crews and their families) and the 1930s to 1950 Recreation Area, both located on what is now State Park property along the CCC Trail. Nature […]
January Natural Delights along the CCC Trail at Joe Wheeler State Park
I spent January 23 and 24, 2025 at Joe Wheeler State Park primarily to learn more about the 1930s Wheeler Dam Construction Village and 1930s to early 1950s Recreation Area remains along the CCC Trail on the hillside above Wheeler Dam overlooking Wilson Lake, which lies just downstream of Wheeler Dam. This photo essay reports […]
Brief Form Post #43 — January Afternoon Saunter along the Beaverdam Creek Boardwalk
Brief-Form Post #43 I am pleased to add the 43rd 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 January […]
A Unique Forest at Prattville, Alabama’s Wilderness (Bamboo) Park
On December 17, 2024, Judy and I visited Pratville’s Alabama’s Wilderness Park. We resided in Prattville from 1981 to early 1985, when our two children were still under ten. We visited the park occasionally during that period and decided that while in the Montgomery area, we should stop by the 30-acre preserve. Our kids […]
Perfect Autumn Morning Hiking at Hickory Cove Nature Preserve
On November 23, 2024, fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger and I co-led an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Alabama in Huntsville) hike at Hickory Cove Nature Preserve near Huntsville. Owned and managed by the Land Trust of North Alabama, the preserve encompasses 146 acres of second-growth hardwood forest, rocky ledges, wet weather springs […]
Early December Circuit of Jones Branch Trail at Shoal Creek Nature Preserve
Fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger and I hiked the Jones Branch Trail on December 9, 2024, at the Shoal Creek Nature Preserve near Florence, Alabama. The preserve’s website: The Shoal Creek Nature Preserve (dedicated by Forever Wild resolution as the Billingsley-McClure Shoal Creek Preserve) allows visitors to explore 298 acres of fallow fields, mature upland […]
Brief-Form Post #42: A Short Afternoon Trek to Maggie’s Glen at Oak Mountain State Park!
I am pleased to add the 42nd of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I tend to get a bit 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 November 7, […]
Intergenerational Woodland Venture at Wade Mountain Nature Preserve
On Monday, November 25, 2024, Alabama grandsons Jack (17) and Sam (11) hiked the Devil’s Racetrack Trail with me at the Wade Mountain Nature Preserve near Huntsville, Alabama. The 935-acre preserve includes the 1,453′ elevation Wade Mountain summit. The racetrack loop circles a lesser peak at 1,050′. We covered just under four miles…not bad for […]
Brief-Form Post #41: Outdoor Alabama Adventure Elementary School Field Trip at Oak Mountain State Park!
I am pleased to add the 41st of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I tend to get a bit 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. As a member […]
At the Cross Section of Nature and Holiday Festivity
I know the date is January 31, 2025! Thirty-six days after Christmas. Why am I posting a Christmas-themed Great Blue Heron photo essay? I published a full essay earlier this week focussed around a typical Nature-Inspired Life and Living theme. This essay has a mood that I want to persist year-round. Although this one presents […]