The Nature Conservancy hosted a hike for potential Green Growth members. There were nine hikers along with myself and Ms. Terri, and Lynette Watts with The Nature Conservancy. Lynette's husband Michael was also along. The creek had some water above the sink hole and the springs had some flow. This hike was rescheduled from May 2nd. This weekend was too hot with too many mosquitoes and too few wildflowers. However everyone seemed to enjoy the day out.

Ms. Terri and I spent the might with some of the hikers, who are also coworkers of mine at Bank of the Ozarks. They were John Greenway, Sarah Oliver, Eric and Jenny Humble. The spring close to the bridge provided the perfect music for a night on the creek. Sunday I placed three geocache boxes on the property.

Here are the coordinates for the caches:

Smith Creek Geocache 001 - N 35 degrees 56.2146 W093 degrees 22.9002

Smith Creek Geocache 002 - N 35 degrees 55.5552 W093 degrees 22.6317

Smith Creek Geocache 003 - N 35 degrees 54.7519 W093 degrees 22.4860

If you find them, please record your visit in the notebook inside the boxes. Good luck.

The lower creek trail has been cleared for easier access to the lower creek and the falls located there. On this trip there was a little flow over the falls. These are truly spectacular after a big rain. There are also two trails across the creek from the bridge. These have been partially cleared. The lower trail stays close to the creek and ends up at the lower falls. The other trail is at a higher elevation and also ends at the lower falls. We will finish the clearing when it cools off the fall.

Today the rain held off so we could have our work day at the creek. The TNC staff and I had flagged three new hiking trails for clearing. One is from the main road to the lower creek near the lower falls. The others are on the other side of the creek from the main road and trail. They will connect from the bridge to the lower creek trail near the lower falls. One is a lower trail that is near the creek. The other is an upper trail that is higher up the mountain. These two trails still need a little work to be complete, but are flagged all the way through.

The wildflowers are still pretty showy. New ones for this week include Virginia Waterleaf, Robin's Plantain, Trumpet Honeysuckle, & False Soloman's Seal.

The Green Growth Hike scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd was cancelled because of the rain. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 30th. There will be a group that will camp at the creek that night. If you want to attend the hike, you can contact Brenda Luper at 479-973-9110.

Below are the workers that cleared the trail from the road to the lower creek.

Steve Sampers, Daniel Millican, Nicole Hardiman, Margaret Bartelt, Susan Borne. 

This Friday was a hike for members of The Nature Conservancy's Northwest Arkansas Advisory Council and the staff of the Ozark Highlands Field Office. Staff present were Tim Snell, Associate State Director, Ethan Inlander, Director of Ozark Rivers, & Brenda Luper, Administrative Assistant. Council Members included myself, Joe Woolbright with two guests, & Carolyn Crook with two guests.

Water in the creek was fair with some of the side drains running as well. The wildflowers were really putting on a show. Below is a list:

Crested Iris, Purple Trillium, May Apple, Ozark Spiderwort, Downy Phlox, Wood Vetch, Fire Pink, Hairy Buttercup, Wild Ginger, Wild Geranium, Blue Violets, Yellow Violets, Pale Violets, Blue Phlox, Jocobs Ladder, Yellow Rocket, False Rue Anemone, Golden Seal, Large Bellwort, Showy Orchis, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Blue Cohosh.

Ozark Spiderwort on Steroids

Ms. Terri and I had the pleasure of escorting a small group of ladies who were in the valley for a garden club retreat. They are members of The Highway & Plantation Ladies Garden Club of Lake Village, AR and the Hamburg Ladies Garden Club.

New wildflowers for this week were False Garlic, Golden Seal, Jack-In-The-Pulpit, Jacobs Ladder, & Wild Geranium. Many more are almost ready to bloom.

From left to right Nell Freeman, Derenda Stanley, Betty Ann Freeman, Laurie Black, Carolyn Henley Moore, & Ms. Terri.