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Smith Creek Photo Field Day - April 10, 2010

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:52:52 -0700

Saturday, April 10, 2010 was the photography Field Day at Smith Creek. We had 25 plus participants and great weather. The creek had an adequate crop of wildflowers and a good flow of water above the sink holes for many varied photo subjects. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and perhaps learned something fro the pros that were on hand.

Perhaps we can make photo days a regular activity on the creek. Let me know if this is something that is wanted.

Smith Creek Wildflower Update - March 27, 2010

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:57:41 -0700

Visited the Creek today to check on the progress of this year's wildflowers. The toothworts, white trout lilys, and Harbinger of Spring are still in bloom. The Yellow Trout Lilys, Blood Roots, Blue Violets, and Pale Corydalis are just getting started.

The creek had good water flow, with most of the side drains and springs running well.

Smith Creek March 13, 2010

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:09:52 -0700

Spring is almost here, although it was hard to believe today. Temps in the 30's and 40's and misting rain. Not a good photography day. The creek has fair flow above the sink hole. The springs along the creek are keeping some water flowing. The cascades and falls provide good ops, but there is little color now.

The wildflowers should be good this year. The amount of new sprouts comming through the leaves appears to be more this year. I was able to find small patches of Harbunger of Spring, White Trout Lilys, and Sharp Lobed Hepatica. These and more will become more prevalent in the next few weeks. Smith Creek has one of the few patches of Sharp Lobed Hepatica in the Ozarks. They are not rare but uncommon.

Just a reminder about the Photo Field Day at Smith Creek. It will be April 10, 2010. This should be near the wildflower peak for the Preserve. The cost is $25.00 to the Nature Conservancy. You can reserve a spot by calling Brenda Luper at 479-973-9110 or email at bluper@tnc.org. We will have Michael Doughtery, Paul Caldwell, and Bob Shull.

Harbinger of Spring

White Trout Lily

Sharp Lobed Hepatica

Smith Creek Photography Field Day

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:17:48 -0700

The Nature Conservancy will be hosting a photo opportunity at Smith Creek on Saturday, April 10, 2010. There will be Arkansas nature photographers on hand to answer questions and offer tips. Those scheduled to attend are:

Michael Dougherty www.arkansaswildlifephotography.com

Paul Caldwell www.photosofarkansas.com

Bob Shull www.bobshull.com

and yours truly!!!!

You can contact the Nature Conservancy for details and reserve a spot at 479-973-9110, speak with Brenda Luper.

Smith Creek - October 24, 2009

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:27:04 -0700

The creek has a good amount of flow, including a number of the side drains. The preserve does not have alot of color, but some good color on the rocks and boulders. The best time to visit is early or late on sunny days or all day if its cloudy.

Fall color in the Valley is probably past peak, but still good in some locations.

The elk in the valley are putting on some good shows most days. The largest numbers are near the intersection of 43 and 21. One really nice herd bull in the Steeel Creek fields. Be sure to check out Lost Valley as well.

Smith Creek - September 26, 2009

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:28:51 -0700

Was in the valley to see how far along the Elk rut has gotten. Still a week or two away from the peak. The creek had a fair amount of water for good water pictures. The leaves are starting to turn and fall. Some of the creek has some good color that is in the water. The average peak for fall color in the valley is November 7, 2009. With the color and temperatures getting good, should be prime photograhy time in the valley soon.

Villines Store - Fall Schedule

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:43:49 -0700

The Villines Store in The Boxley Valley has set their hours for the fall. They will be open on Saturdays from 8 am till noon and 1 pm to 4pm. They are also open on Mondays from 1pm to 4pm.

For September their Artist of the Month is Michael Dougherty of Arkansas Wildlife Photography.com.

Wyoming - Montana Trip

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:12:12 -0700

Ms. Terri's cousin Don Brazeale has been talking about going to shoot prairie dogs for a long time. He recently retired from farming near Pine Bluff so I set up a trip to Eastern Wyoming to shoot for two days at the Rockin 7 Ranch near Shawnee, Wyoming. I didn't really want to drive to Wyoming for two days, then shoot for two days and then drive home, so I scheduled a trip to the Nature Conservancy's Pine Butte Guest Ranch near Choteau, Montana with a side trip to Yellowstone National Park on the way home. We traveled for nine days, drove 4,039.7 miles, and saw a large part of the country that neither one of us has seen before.

The highlights included the Pine Butte Guest Ranch. It is located where the Montana prairie meets the Rocky Mountains along side the South Fork of the Teton River. Snow had fallen the weekend before we got there and some was still covering the mountain tops. The Pine Butte Swamp Preserve is located near the ranch. Jim Culver, manager of the ranch, gave us a private tour of the swamp area. The only way to safely watch wildlife in the swamp is to climp the mountain about 500 feet and glass the swamp. I was able to see my first moose from there. Even with my 200-400 lens, it was too far for a pic. There were lots of birds and animals that we had not seen before. I would definitely recommend the ranch for a vacation trip. Ms. Terri and I are already planning a return trip for a week or two.

The other highlight was travelling through Yellowstone National Park. We did not have alot of time, but we were able to see quite alot. Bison crossing a river, a bald eagles nest, elk, and the geysers. When we got to the continental divide at 8,400 feet there was three foot of snow in the timber, 34 degrees, and snowing. The rivers inside and out of the park were moving fast with lots of white water.

A small Herd of Bison crossing the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park.

Smith Creek Green Growth Hike - May30, 2009

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:03:13 -0700

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.

Smith Creek Preserve - May 1, 2009

Sat, 02 May 2009 11:12:22 -0700

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.