Over the Thanksgiving break, my young friend Bob and I set out for an adventure at Pinnacle Mountain (Penuchle Mountain, as I like to call it). Bob and I were heading down one of the roads that leads to the East Summit Trail. Just at the opening of the road, as you look to the right into a ditch, there was a beautiful Red Tail Hawk. This hawk seemed to have had a successful rabbit hunt. As quickly as I could, I stopped my truck and snapped some shots of this beautiful creature. Bob then said, "Well, this is weird. I've never done this before." Bob and I slowly and calmly approached the bird until we were no more than 10 feet away. Just amazing.
Afterwards, we made it to the park. We began fishing at first, no luck. Bob then decided that we would walk around the base of Pinnacle, hike up the east side and descend on the west side. Bob and I were like two friendly mountain goats jumping and bounding from one boulder to the next. In less than two hours, we completed the entire mountain and claimed it as our own. Lewis and Clark, that's a laugh. Bob and John, now those guys should be taken seriously!
Grassy Lake, near McNab, has to be one of the most beautiful and fragile naturally formed bodies of water in Arkansas. I will post more on the flora of this swamp during the spring of 2009. These are some photos I shot this weekend. It is a shame that this habitat is being threatened by a local coal plant being built near the area. If nothing is done to protect Grassy Lake, its fate is sure to be grim. 
Photo by Silvia T.
This past Saturday, Silvia and I headed to Lake Sequoyah for an exciting and cold day of fishing. As we walked the trails around Lake Sequoyah, our ears and noses numb from the cold breeze through the tall Gleditsia triacanthos tress, I spotted a Botrychium dissectum at my feet! It was bronzed with touches of green. What a great sight to see. This isn't a protected species in Arkansas, but it is nice to see some diversity around all the Lonicera maackii. The Amur Honeysuckle is an invasive species in Arkansas. Just walk around Lake Sequoyah during the fall, you will see nothing but those horrible plants choking out the rest of the native species.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
I left for Artist Point in Mountainburg, Arkansas. I was there last year and discovered a unique plant. However, it was not flowering. My plan was to catch the plant in flower so that I would be able to identify it. But once again, the plant had already flowered nor was any fruit attached to the plant. One difference from last year, there seems to be many more of these plants than last year! I wont miss it another year! Ha!
After studying the foliage and the fruit of the plant from last year. I think this plant is Galearis spectabilis. It flowers from April - July (I was totally wrong about going out there this time of year). Anyway, I will be looking for this plant next year! Wish me luck!
Silvia and I were at the end of the trail near the small waterfall. Very wet area, great place for strange creatures! As I was digging through the dead leaves and turning over logs, we discovered a beautiful spotted salamander. 
Hiking through the Ozark Natural Forest is always a pleasurable experience. I was accompanied by a team of artists, gardeners and photographers as we explored the beautiful wilderness. After passing through a wonderful grouping of beech trees, one of my team members discovered a beautiful millipede!
When we arrived at our first lookout point, I first discovered a beautiful colony of Spiranthes species. I have attempted to identify the species; however, I am not confident enough to clarify the name of these flowers.
Next to the Spiranthes, another flower caught my eye. This is something that is unknown to me. Polygala sanguinea, commonly known as Milkwort. This plant is commonly found in fields. It also has some kind of medicinal value.
As the sun dropped below the horizon, it seems that the hills caught fire. A great way to end the day, I say!
There is nothing more depressing than having food poisoning my last weekend in Edinburgh. Help.
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