Blog Archive

This old schoolhouse is till standing on Highway “N” about 18 miles from River of Life Farm. Otherwise known as Lower Brixey School.  It was still used in the late 1950’s to early 1960’s. It is typical of country schoolhouses in Missouri and Arkansas. Directions from ROLF are easy.

When I made my last trip to ROLF, I arrived after the peak of fall had past. But the morning view from the cabin was extraordinary in the morning sun. Notice the remnants of the early morning fog in the river valley.

Sunrise at ROLF from a porch at a cabin on November 6th. The North Fork River is in the valley below.

A picture taken at dusk on the gravel road to the Whispering Pines cabin.

Pines and hardwoods mixed on a sheltered hillside.

The falls at ROLF right before sundown on November 6th, 2008.

The waterfall at Rockbridge on Spring Creek during the November low light at the noon hour.

This Sugar Maple struck me as particularly beautiful in the Caney Mountain Refuge in the late afternoon sun.

Click to enlarge.

This guy (could be a young female too) was incredible. Females also has a red tuft on their heads in this species of woodpecker.  Born summer 2008, he is already an excellent grub hunter. He worked a sycamore tree for about 20 minutes, peering in every hole, digging out the bark and leaves and finding many nice sized grubs. He (she) sometimes sent down a shower of sycamore dust and bark; then I saw dried leaves coming down too and realized he was just cleaning out all the holes in the tree. The call was adult and he called out about every 5 minutes. As you can see, he is not fully mature yet; smaller in size, less white feathering, and a not so cool “tuft”. Taken with a Canon 5D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens hand held.

The colors in the North Fork valley are past their peak; but some great yellows and golds still exist in pockets and full color exists one some sheltered slopes. Click to enlarge.