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 evening of May 10, 2023 at Joe Wheeler State Park and the glorious May 11 dawn and sunrise from the Lodge pier.

A Squally Evening

As showers raced to the park late afternoon, Chris and I visited the Day Use Area overlooking Lake Wheeler. Gusty winds, rumbling thunder, and showers greeted us.

I wanted to capture the evening’s unsettled weather. The two still photos above only hinted at the stormy condition. My 15-second 4:20 PM video captures the intensity on our exposed perch above the lake..

I walked down to the Day Use Area dock, somewhat protected from the wind racing across the half-mile fetch from the south. The leaden clouds upwind carried rain that would grow steady by the time we returned to our vehicle.

The 33-second video from pier at 4:28 PM depicted a much quieter interval between showers. The dark sky and calmer winds offered a soothing respite from the wilder conditions we had just experienced.

I enjoy Nature’s changing moods, her shifts coming unexpectantly and unpredictably. I relish that spending 30 minutes on such an evening in this one place is akin to being in several different places, as the weather surges, pulses, attacks, and abates. One place shape- and effect-morphing. Bursts of energy, vigor, and easing that transport me literally and metaphorically within a single space.

A New Day Dawning

I refuse to allow a dawn and sunrise to pass unattended, especially when I am on the road to experience Nature. By 5:30 AM I was on the dock at the Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge. The sun still 20-25 minutes below the eastern horizon, I captured this view of the surrounding forests and the marina. I’m never disappointed by a new day.

This civil twilight new beginning warranted a full 2:22 video, May 11, 2023 at 5:42 AM.

Serenity, tranquility, and peace meet the promise of a new day!

By 5:57 AM, the sun had not yet broken the horizon. The twilight show continued, and I am grateful for every minute!

The sun is just lifting above a distant horizon-hugging cloud deck at 6:08 AM, a full 38 minutes from my first dawn photograph above.

I can only imagine the relative worth to those who may have said, “I think I’ll catch another 40 minutes of sleep before heading down to the dock.” The greatest gifts of Nature bear little cost. All that is required is choosing to show up for the moments that accompany every new dawning.

John Muir missed little of Nature’s wonder:

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.

Alabama State Parks Foundation

Thoughts and Reflections

I offer these observations:

• Nature’s greatest gifts require only choosing to be present…one dawn daily!
• The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. (John Muir)
• I enjoy Nature’s changing moods, her shifts coming unexpectantly and unpredictably.

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Steve’s Three Books

I wrote my books Nature Based Leadership (2016), Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading (2017), and Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits: Stories of Passion for Place and Everyday Nature (2019; co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Wilhoit) to encourage all citizens to recognize and appreciate that every lesson for living, learning, serving, and leading is either written indelibly in or is powerfully inspired by Nature.

I began writing books and Posts for several reasons:

• I love hiking and exploring in Nature
• I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
• I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
• I don’t play golf!
• I actually do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
• Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
• And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few other lives… sow some seeds for the future

All three of my books (Nature Based Leadership; Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading; Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) present compilations of personal experiences expressing my (and co-author Dr. Wilhoit for Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) deep passion for Nature. All three books offer observations and reflections on my relationship to the natural world… and the broader implications for society. Order any and all from your local indie bookstore, or find them on IndieBound or other online sources such as Amazon and LifeRich.

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 life.

I published subsequent to the visit one of my Brief Posts on Cane Creek deep within the canyon: https://stevejonesgbh.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=13606&action=edit&classic-editor=1. I offer this full Post as a follow-up to my June 2, 2023, Brief Form Post #11.

The Preserve Legacy

I first visited the Preserve in April, 2018 (https://stevejonesgbh.com/2018/03/20/cane-creek-canyon-preserve/), meeting then with proprietors Jim and Faye Lacefield, and touring the property, delighted to have met new friends, experiencing the canyon and its rich spring wildflowers with Jim.

Chris Stuhlinger (fellow retired forester) and I began our May 10 visit relaxing with Jim and Faye, land stewards extraordinaire! Since my 2018 visit, Jim and Faye have transferred Preserve ownership to the Land Trust of North Alabama. This special place will remain protected in perpetuity — kudos to Jim and Faye.

I’ll begin this Cane Creek photo-essay’s dive into the canyon from above. The topographic interpretative sign at the Preserve’s trailhead hints at the sharp canyon walls that drop 350 feet to the canyon floor.

Anyone familiar with topo-lines will immediately recognize the severe local relief from the tightly packed contour lines.

The Canyon

With my left knee total replacement surgery scheduled for just five weeks beyond our visit, I am grateful that Jim toured us via his four-wheel all terrain vehicle, leaving our still-extensive hiking to the canyon floor. For those of you who have followed my personal health issues, you know that emergency triple bypass surgery (June 19, 2023) delayed my knee replacement and placed a temporary hold on subsequent forest wanderings.

A canyon-rim stream (low flow from 2-3 weeks without significant rain) dropped its first of many steps where we also began our descent into the canyon.

The Point (below left) captures the canyon (and Cane Creek) opening to the north as it empties into the broad Tennessee River valley. I’m a sucker for cerulean sky, puffy cumulus, overhanging pine trees, and forested hillsides. I love deep forests…I’m in love with rimrock vistas. I could have perched at The Point for hours!

I recorded this 58-second video at the overlook:

Sharing the view with friends (Chris at left; Jim by the benches), especially those who share my deep passion for Nature, sweetens the moment.

Beyond Jim and Chris, mountain laurel in full flower shows faintly. Closeup the blossoms are spectacular. Thank God for the perfect timing in placing us a Cane Creek at peak flowering. Hard to beat serendipity and fortuity.

A favorite spot at Cane Creek Canyon Preserve — count the overlook as one of many.

Cane Creek

We dropped into the canyon, where we found yet another favorite place! Peace, serenity, tranquility, warm breezes, and birdsong welcomed us. Once again, I could have settled in for hours…perhaps days! The gentle creek gave clues that its mood varied across wide arcs of extremity. Water-deposited debris from recent deluges hung to branches several feet above the banks visible streamside in both photographs. I snapped these photos from a low-water concrete trail crossing. During flash flow I would have been crushed and swept by a torrent ten feet deep. Peace, serenity, and tranquility would have yielded to the deafening roar of rushing water, rolling rocks, and tumbling branches and forest detritus.

Sure, I’d like to visit when water roars, but I’ll accept the calm of our May visit…and simply envision the wild side.

Here’s my 18-second video of the creek’s calm-side:

I’m accustomed to finding box turtles roadside and on the forest floor. This was the first time I’ve found one luxuriating in a woodland stream. The creek-turtle-spa looked inviting, another place to spend relaxing hours.

As we hiked along the canyon creek, approaching the point where Jim had pre-determined we would head back to the creekside shelter where we had left our transport, we felt clouds thickening and heard the first rumbles of thunder echoing within the canyon. As subsequent booms grew louder, we began our retreat, covering ground with an increasing sense of urgency.

Thunderstorm Sanctuary

We made it to the shelter just as the first fat raindrops fell around us. I can think of no better place to wait out a thundershower than a deep woods picnic shelter along Cane Creek. We listened to the rain, actually felt and heard one particularly loud thunderclap, enjoyed a refreshing breeze, and embraced the creek’s pleasant gurgle. I estimated that a quarter-inch of rain fell, not enough to influence the stream, but enough to generate some satisfaction from the three of us that we were able to experience yet another face of the Preserve and her sundry moods. Jim (left) and Chris in the shelter below.

I recorded this 23-second video as we relaxed under the streamside shelter, absorbing the sights and sounds, grateful to be out of the storm.

In comparison to memorable storms that swept over me in years past when shelter was not at hand, this one proved entirely pleasurable. I recall a dawn storm that overtook me during a marathon training run when I lived in Prattville, Alabama in the early 1980s. Four miles from home when cloud-to-ground lightning drew way too close for comfort, I found “shelter” in a roadside ditch, where I dropped to all fours to reduce my target profile. I survived, yet returned home shaken and chilled. That was in the days prior to readily available live weather radar.

Special Curiosities

Always alert for tree form oddities and curiosities, I watched as Jim and Chris debated the oddly shaped leaves of an American beech (left). We found a sugar maple woodpecker buffet nearby (right). We assumed pileated woodpecker given the size and scale of the excavations.

I stay vigilant about finding what lies hidden in plain sight.

Flowers

Are northern Alabama forests are seasonally alive with wildflowers, shifting as the seasons progress from February through mid-summer. We found small ragwort (left) and a pale blue beardtongue.

I don’t recall seeing bigleaf snowbell in flower. A lovely flower; a great find. Once again, serendipity and fortuity at play!

American columbo, a large and dominating presence, greeted us with lush leaves, red stem, and a profusion of flowers.

Jim made sure we visited a sandstone glade, characterized by shallow soils, seasonally wet, with a unique floral community. Lavender phlox provided the color.

Thoughts and Reflections

I offer these observations:

• Snowscape and ice-locked waterways are rare in northern Alabama; instead, Nature’s water-worlds reign!
• Water is the driver of Nature. (Leonardo da Vinci)
• Nothing in Nature is more dynamic than her endless, restless, life-giving cycle of water…and life.

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Steve’s Three Books

I wrote my books Nature Based Leadership (2016), Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading (2017), and Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits: Stories of Passion for Place and Everyday Nature (2019; co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Wilhoit) to encourage all citizens to recognize and appreciate that every lesson for living, learning, serving, and leading is either written indelibly in or is powerfully inspired by Nature.

I began writing books and Posts for several reasons:

• I love hiking and exploring in Nature
• I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
• I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
• I don’t play golf!
• I actually do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
• Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
• And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few other lives… sow some seeds for the future

All three of my books (Nature Based Leadership; Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading; Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) present compilations of personal experiences expressing my (and co-author Dr. Wilhoit for Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) deep passion for Nature. All three books offer observations and reflections on my relationship to the natural world… and the broader implications for society. Order any and all from your local indie bookstore, or find them on IndieBound or other online sources such as Amazon and LifeRich.

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

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 B Road — Gravel Road Wildlife

I entered the Refuge about 15 miles due south of my Madison, Alabama residence, turning from County Line Road east onto gravel Jolly B Road. About a mile into the Refuge I stopped to admire (and usher from the road surface) a five-foot long grey rat-snake. The snake certainly has a right to sun on the road, but I feared that other driver’s may be less apt to recognize the snake’s privilege.

I recorded this 29-second video as the snake slithered into the forest.

Within a quarter mile, this incredibly muddy cooter turtle was near the road edge about to enter the forest. Once again I braked to capture an image. I would love to have the turtle’s explanation for its supremely mud-caked carapace!

Speaking of privilege, I felt fortunate to visit with two reptilian friends along Jolly B Road!

Riparian Forest

Within four hundred yards, I turned west onto HGH Road, parking a half-mile further, where I entered the riparian hardwood forest, one of my routine exploration areas. I’m never disappointed by what I find hidden in plain sight. This large black oak presented itself. Two features suggested its heart-rot-hollowed trunk. Its swollen base is an external signal of internal decay. It also provided a direct peephole into its hollow core at roughly five feet above the ground. A squirrel left its teeth-gnaw marks around the hole’s perimeter, as the rodent attempted to prevent the tree from callousing over the point of entry. This is apparently a family den tree for the aerial rodents. The tree may also furnish habitat for chipmunks, snakes, birds, lizards, and other forest residents.

I recorded this 1:02 video of our black oak family tree:

I found one of my favorite fall-fruiting plants in full spring flower, strawberry bush or hearts-a-bustin’. Their soft yellow-green flowers give little hint to their special fall-fruit-glory (see public domain image below).

The aptly-named hearts-a-bustin’ fruit.

Public Domain Image

Along the Tennessee River

The entire Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge exists around its Lake Wheeler core, the body of water created by Wheeler Dam 40 miles downstream on the Tennessee River at Rogersville, Alabama. The shoreline below is a little more than a mile south of the riparian forest. I chose (it chose me) a picture-perfect day of cerulean sky, high white clouds (alto cumulus), and light breezes to wander the Refuge.

As I strive to do, I captured a short (20-second) video to amplify my narrative and still photos.

The Refuge manages some 4,000 acres for crop production under an arrangement that calls for leaving a percentage of the crop for winter wildlife food. The contract agricultural operator was sowing seed this day in the fields adjacent to the river.

Here’s my 0:18 video of seeding underway in the agricultural fields adjacent to the river:

Dazzling clouds and magnificent sky bring life to the river and its adjoining forests and fields!

Blackwell Swamp

Blackwell Swamp lies just a few hundred yards north of the Tennessee River, the swamp created by a Refuge drainage gate that impounds water, thus artificially keeping the swamp well-watered year-round, all in the interest of maintaining waterfowl habitat. I snapped the photo below from the gravel road crossing the wooded outflow at the gate.

The swamp offers a welcome habitat break from the continuous riparian forests that border the swamp. Again, cerulean sky, fresh summer greens, ample wetland vegetation, and plenty of associated wildlife.

I recorded this  sound- and sight-dense 30-second video from the southwest shore of the swamp, the same location as the two photos above.

Tornado Recovery

January 1, 2022 an EF-1 tornado dropped from a strong cold front adjacent to the swamp’s northern end, approximately 1.5 miles from the earlier swamp photo points.

I’ve been monitoring forest recovery since I first discovered the twister track March 22, 2022, when I photographed the shattered bur oak below left.  I revisited the shattered tree May 27, 2022 (below right) following green-up. Already, the oak was fighting back, transferring root reserves to growing resurgent foliage.

May 4, 2023, I made the fifth of six stops at the bur oak. Nature equips all living organisms with the genetic capacity to overcome setbacks. The bur oak, and the entire “destroyed” forest within which it stands, is rebounding remarkably. The tornado did not destroy this 80-90 year old forest. Instead, the storm delayed the forest’s rush toward maturity. It remains a forest, albeit altered.

Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts. John Muir

Beaverdam Creek Boardwalk

I made my sixth stop at the Beaverdam Creek Swamp National Natural Landmark, an ancient water tupelo swamp transected by a boardwalk, reconstructed during summer 2022. I see little need to offer detailed reflections and observations. Suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite Nature-destinations in north Alabama. This special place exudes its magic and mystery.

I recorded this 15-second video from the boardwalk, telling a palpable visual and audio tale.:

The great tupelos reach back at least two centuries, having born witness to many seasons, storms, droughts, deep cold, and searing heat. Oh, if only we could hear their stories!

Six stops on an early summer day, a rich sampling of a small corner of a magnificent national natural treasure. I’ve resided nearby since January 2018. I’ve met many people who have lived in the area far longer, yet have never visited the swamp. I am blessed to have such a special place in my backyard. However, so many of the long-term residents know nothing about the Refuge. Perhaps Posts such as this will find their way to those who have not yet sampled the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual fruits of this exquisite slice of Nature.

Thoughts and Reflections

I offer these observations:

• Nature is a panoply — a magnificent or impressive array.
• The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a 38,000-acre ecosystem potpourri.
• Nature appreciation involves seeing and understanding both the components and the whole!

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Steve’s Three Books

I wrote my books Nature Based Leadership (2016), Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading (2017), and Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits: Stories of Passion for Place and Everyday Nature (2019; co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Wilhoit) to encourage all citizens to recognize and appreciate that every lesson for living, learning, serving, and leading is either written indelibly in or is powerfully inspired by Nature.

I began writing books and Posts for several reasons:

• I love hiking and exploring in Nature
• I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
• I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
• I don’t play golf!
• I actually do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
• Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
• And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few other lives… sow some seeds for the future

All three of my books (Nature Based Leadership; Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading; Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) present compilations of personal experiences expressing my (and co-author Dr. Wilhoit for Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) deep passion for Nature. All three books offer observations and reflections on my relationship to the natural world… and the broader implications for society. Order any and all from your local indie bookstore, or find them on IndieBound or other online sources such as Amazon and LifeRich.

I am pleased to post the 14th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts to my website (Less than three-minutes to read! Not including the brief video). 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.

I visited Alabama’s Joe Wheeler State Park the evening of May 10, 2023. I focus this Brief Post on the spectacular dawn and sunrise May 11 from the pier at the Park’s Lodge pier.

Early in my career I reported to a WWII veteran who set our starting time at 7:00 AM (which translated to 6:45!), at our Working Circle Forest office and shop deep within one of our company owned tracts 40 minutes from our first apartment. I’ve been addicted to dawn ever since.

I awoke May 10 by 4:30 and stood at the pier by 5:30 AM, when I snapped this dawn image to the east, looking beyond the Park marina.

Twelve minutes later I recorded this 2:22 video. I can’t recall capturing a more complete dawn video. I can’t imagine a more compelling combination of sky, clouds, light, and sounds — serenity, tranquility, and peace!

By 5:57 AM, dawn showed signs of progressing toward sunrise.

By 6:08 AM I officially observed the rising sun!

I accept the challenge of distilling these Brief-Form Posts to a single distinct reflection. Sometimes, I borrow such a reflection from the truly great conservation minds of antiquity, for no matter how hard I try, I am unable to best those whom I have followed and revered across my seven-plus decades. In this case, it is Leonardo da Vinci who captured the moment 500 years ago:

• Of the original phenomena, light is the most enthralling.

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

NOTE: I place 3-5 short videos (15-seconds to three minutes), like the one in this Post, on my Steve Jones Great Blue Heron YouTube channel weekly. All relate to Nature-Inspired Life and Living. I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE! It’s FREE. Having more subscribers helps me spread my message of Informed and Responsible Earth Stewardship…locally and globally!

I am pleased to offer the 13th of my new GBH Brief Form Posts (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 these brief Posts regularly.

Brief-Form Post on Spectacular May 4, 2023 Sky and Clouds

I ventured south fifteen miles from my residence to the east-central arm of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, with no particular purpose in mind beyond inhaling Nature’s late spring/early summer elixir. I’ll publish a future Post offering a wider taste of what I experienced. For this Brief-Form Post I restrict my focus and observations to the glory of the day’s firmament. I stood along the Tennessee River’s north shore, capturing the blue sky and high clouds above the distant shore.

I recorded this 2o-second video nearby, looking south across the river:

The Refuge manages some 4,000 acres for crop production under an arrangement that calls for leaving a percentage of the crop for winter wildlife food. The contract agricultural operator was planting seed this day in the fields adjacent to the river. A perfect sky!

I proceeded to Blackwell Swamp a quarter-of-a-mile north of the river, rewarded there by the same incredible sky.

I recorded this 31-second video of the full package of images and sounds signaling the beauty, magic, wonder, awe, and inspiration of Nature within the reach of my daily Nature-ramblings!

I accept the challenge of distilling these Brief-Form Posts to a single distinct reflection, a task far more elusive than assembling a dozen pithy statements. Sometimes, I borrow a distinct reflection from the truly great minds of antiquity, for no matter how hard I try I am unable to best those whom I have followed and revered across my seven-plus decades. In this case, it is Leonardo da Vinci who captured the moment 500+ years ago:

• Once you have tasted the essence of sky, you will forever look up. 

NOTE: I place 3-5 short videos (15-seconds to three minutes) on my Steve Jones Great Blue Heron YouTube channel weekly. All relate to Nature-Inspired Life and Living. I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE! It’s FREE. Having more subscribers helps me spread my message of Informed and Responsible Earth Stewardship…locally and globally!