And the Summer Begins ........

                            And so the Summer season begins .......

  This is the time of year when it can be cool and chilly , especially in the morning , or ultra sticky-steamy after a afternoon storm event. We have been blessed with a wet spring season with plenty of rain , which has made everything very lush and green in the fields and forests .
   After breakfast this morning , the air felt pretty good outside , so I suggested to Penny that we take a hike up to the bluff on the Big Bluff Trail down at the state park . It has been a while since either
Penny or I have felt like doing any hiking  , and Penny was reluctant when I suggested our trek today . I pleaded my case , and explained it wouldn't be a long hike , just a short jaunt off the road to check out the view of the White River from the bluff overlook.
   We got our shoes on , filled up a couple water bottles , blew the cobwebs off of our hiking staffs and then we were off . Once arriving at the trailhead , we quickly noticed how grown over and muddy the trail was ... but we trudged on . After starting up the hill , the ground gave way to rocky soil and I soon remembered why I like hiking so much in the fall and winter seasons. Gnats started buzzing all around our heads , and since we were the first ones to hike the trail today .... all of the spider webs were left from last night for me to plow into with my face ! I couldn't get Penny to trade places and take the lead , so I used my old trick and picked up a forked stick and held it out in front of me as I walked ... it works pretty well . Soon after that we saw two deer in the woods . They seemed quite unafraid of us and trotted along near us for a good bit as we ascended the hillside . We never get tired of the deer around here unless they bound out of the woods in front of your car . I also noticed ticks ..... lots of ticks ...... crawling up my legs as we walked . I stopped and flicked them off every now and then and continued onward .They seem to like me the best , as Penny didn't get any on her . Once we reached the overlook , it was nice though . We sat on a bench and looked out over the valley below and watched some men who were fly fishing for trout in the cold waters below us . It was a really nice and peaceful scene and that is why we hike .... you brave miles , cold , heat , wet or thirst , to get to the destination that others won't exert the effort to go to . The prize is the vistas you see , the wildlife you see , and the pure enjoyment of nature which God has created for us to live in .

    That being said though ..... I can't wait till WINTER again ! :)

     My latest photo interests have centered around nighttime photography  which I find fascinating. By setting the camera on long exposure settings you can capture light the human eye can't see ..... very cool . Most of the time you really don't know what you have got until you get them offloaded into the computer and see them in full detail . My next venture will be to do some nice waterfall shots , if I can luck out with days off work right after some heavy rainfall . More to come .............  :)

 

My campfire from last April

 

 

 

This photo was the starting of the Blood Moon eclipse on April 14 , 2014 .

I shot it with a exposure time of 1/8 second ... a standard shot . It is about 9:30 PM

 

 

 

This shot was taken a few minutes later , but by changing the exposure time to 16 seconds , the camera is able to catch all available light from the moon ... making it almost look light a daytime shot !

 

 

 

A good shot of Blood Moon No.1.  I maxed the zoom out on my camera and got this ....... REPENT America !! God is speaking to us .....

 

 

 

 

Against Penny's better judgment , I love to shoot shots of lightning . I get these kinds of shots by setting up the camera on the tripod , and adjusting the exposure time to the longest time my lil camera will go (16 seconds) . Then I just keep taking one shot after another hoping a lightning bolt will flash during one of the exposures . After about 50 shots ... I got this !

 

 

 

Another lucky shot ... after this I gave up and went to bed ...

 

 

 

 

 

This was my very first try at night photography , when I got this great shot off of our back deck . Once I got this onto the computer and saw it ... I was hooked . WOW !

 

 

 

Penny's bedroom light shines as her crazy husband is out on the deck at night dodging lightning bolts !

Spring Hiking and Camping is here !

    Well .... I think winter has finally loosened its grip on the Ozark region . I actually had to MOW the other day! It has been a long winter , but I don't mind , as I prefer cool weather to being soaked with sweat every time you step outside. It's been a long while since my last post and I apologize for that . Seems that the instant gratification of posting to Facebook has stolen some of the content for the blog.

   Penny and I are proud to welcome our new Granddaughter .... Anna Bulak , who was born on April 6th, 2014. She is Kyle and Laura's second child , and our sixth grandchild .
   We continue to lure visitors up to the Ozarks .... the first weekend in April Penny's sister Peggy and her son Adam drove up from Texas . Penny and Peggy had a girls day out shopping , while Adam and I drove down to the Sylamore forest to go on a hike . It was a lot of fun , and Adam enjoyed the trail a lot.

   Penny decided to make a trip down to Texas over the Easter weekend , and I took the opportunity to load up some camping gear and spend some time down in the Sylamore forest . I left after my 1/2 day at work on Saturday , and when I arrived a Gunner Pool campground , there was only ONE camp site left . It was kind of out of the way , and way off of the creek , but I didn't mind , as I wanted do some more nighttime photography and I didn't want all the extra light around . I hiked down to the creek and took a few nice shots around the bridge area , showing all the life that is returning to the forest . Later , as I geared up for some night shots , the moon was late coming up , so there wasn't a lot of light to work with . I got one decent shot as the moon was coming up behind some trees . Then I drifted off to sleep in my chair waiting for it to rise further . When I awoke , I notice the sky had become cloudy and had blotted out any more chances for photos. Sigh.... But , the good news is , I had a nice comfy air mattress with a recently purchased new sleeping bag waiting inside the tent .... I slept like a log in the forest . Wait .... I was in the forest .....

                                                            Enjoy the pics !

Panorama shot of my camp site

How much junk does one person really need ?

Gunner Pool is a nice area .... I guess everyone else had the same idea as me !

My truck guards the camp against a roving band of boulders with bad attitudes!

Sylamore Creek bridge

A look North up Sylamore Creek

The leaves are a bloomin !

Look SEE .... there I am coming down the creek in a Kayak .... no wait , that is just wishful thinking :)

This lil gal heard there was one of those reality show tryouts coming to town , and took extreme measures to lose weight ! Look at those teeth !

Amazing what a few sticks, paper and a lighter will do ....

My humble abode .......

My one and only night sky shot that turned out ...... see the moon peeking through the trees ....

Switching Gears .............

   Well .... those of you who know me well , know that I like to trade cars . And boats . And camper trailers. And motorcycles. Even houses ......

    The latest trade involves my much sought after and whined for Jeep . After owning it for a few months , I realized that although it is fun to drive , and looks COOL ..... that it is just not practical for an everyday driver.
I missed having a truck bed to haul stuff in .... it was hard to get in and out of , especially when it was icy. I missed windows .... actual
glass windows , that you can roll down instead of fumbling with a zipper . With the huge tires , it had a hard time pulling a trailer because of the stock gearing setup. And I had to pull a trailer anytime I wanted to buy anything of size .... say a 2x4 .

     So , I decided I had made a mistake in buying it , and started looking for a truck . I still wanted (need!) a four wheel drive , so I concentrated on small 4x4 trucks. After some research and scouting Craigslist , I found this clean 1999 Toyota Tacoma for sale . It is a nice truck overall, and in good condition for its age. It is set up with a smaller tire and geared well for pulling a trailer , or maybe that fishing boat in my future.

    I sold the Jeep to a fellow who drove over here from Alabama , so I guess I'm not the only one who drives great distances to get a vehicle that I think is a good deal.

The Jeep and the new Tacoma growl at each other ...

we see who is closest to the heated garage ! 

 

Penny says it is the same color as my old Ford Ranger ....

 

I think this will be much more practical to drive , plus still has the 4WD to get around good in the snow and ice that we have had so much of around here this year .

 

 

    In other news .... We had a good visit a few weeks ago from Mike and Peggy . I was nice to have family over and to show them around the area we call home. We toured the Bull Shoals state park , visited the Peacock Zoo at Gaston's Resort , saw both nearby dams , and visited the trout hatchery over by Lake Norfork. We had a nice time and had a cozy dinner at our favorite local diner , "The Village Wheel" . We hope to see more visitors soon , as we miss y'all !

 

The birds line up for bread treats.....

Ever seen an albino Peacock?

I've got my eye on you !!!!

Birds all around .....

A Peacock -A- Courting ........

Mike & Peggy near Dry Run Creek at the Norfork Trout Hatchery . It was definitely nippy that day.

We all pose for the new camera .......

 

This is where Penny works ... Actronix Inc.

 

Gaston's Resort rental cabins on the White River.

 

 

 

 

A Snowy Day in February

   February has come to our small town here in the Ozarks , and with it another round of snow . Snowy days are great .... most of the time you can stay home from work , and just build a warm fire and take life easy .... which seems to be the best pace to me.

 

I have been wanting to get out and try out the new camera , so I bundled up and headed outside to our back yard and hillside behind our property . I'm still trying to learn all of the bells and whistles of this new camera , but so far I'm impressed with the many features it has . Now , I just have to learn when to APPLY the features to produce quality photos !

 

Throw a log on the fire and grab a hot tea or bowl of soup and enjoy these latest pictures. I'm hoping we get into a wetter weather pattern soon , because I got a new Tim Ernst book  "Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook"  which will guide me to some great areas down in the Sylamore Forest to snap some high quality waterfall photos .

 

Enjoy!

 

A look across our back yard with the sun coming up

Our home and back deck area ..... 

 

This is our lower property .... where Penny got poison ivy last summer !

We also have a sinkhole nearby ..... not on our property , but close to our line ....

The deer love this area ...tracks are everywhere ...

 

 

A look up the hillside behind our property

 

A Cardinal waits out the storm ....

Working the zoom lens on the camera ......

 

Applying special border effects .......

 

 

 

A big load for a lil tree ......

 

 

 

 

 

Time to fill up our bird feeders .... they can wipe out a lot of bird seed !

 

A New Year in the Ozarks

 

 

   A new year has arrived here in the Ozark Mountains. As Penny and I think back on 2013 , it was a year of us following through on a dream of  "picking up and heading for the hills" . This time last year we had completed our move from Gainesville , TX to the small town of Lakeview , AR . It was a big challenge .... and also some risk involved , as we did not know anyone in this area (except my uncle Denny) , and also we both left good paying jobs in Texas and had no immediate prospects of employment up here .

 

I am happy to say ... so far so good !

 

  Penny and I have both found decent jobs , for this area , and we are settling into the quiet lifestyle that is abundant around here . Although we miss our family , we are starting to get occasional family visitors to venture this far into the mountains. We always look forward to showing off the special areas that are close by to enjoy .

 

We recently upgraded our digital camera to a Samsung WB250F and I intend to learn to use its many functions to take some really special photos this year . I have gotten lucky last year and shot a few really nice shots , but I want to get better .....

I am also exploring several photo editing programs to be able to process my images with special effects and watermarks .... who knows maybe one will get published !

 

Link to our new camera website :

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/smart-camera-camcorder/smart-compact/smart-compact/EC-WB250FBPWGB

 

 

This is a good one ... Gunner Pool in the Sylamore Forest

I love this shot of the sun shimmering off of Bull Shoals Lake . This was taken from the Dogwood Trail near our home in Lakeview .

The Big Bluff trail overlook on the trail down the road from our home in Bull Shoals State Park.

We still have a lot of icicles forming from the bluffs and rocks as the snow melts off

I am in the process of creating a logo to attach to some of my images in hopes of maybe getting a shot published someday .... I can DREAM !!  :)