...Oh! and, by the way....

The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement for Monday...
Hot and humid conditions will increase Monday...Hot temperatures in the mid and upper 90s, along with high humidity, will produce heat index values between 100 and 105 for several hours Monday afternoon across the southern and central portions of the Tennessee Valley including Chattanooga and Knoxville. People participating in outdoor activities should take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water. Heat exhaustion, cramps, and heat stroke can result from prolonged exposure to these conditions. Friends and co-workers should check on people who may be at risk.

Pigeon Mountain/Pocket Wilderness

This primitive area contains 16,000 acres, with no developed facilities, and over 40 miles of trails. Most of which are shared by hikers, mountain bikes, and horseback riders. The trail which the Mysterious One and I walked on the 4th, was the Estelle Mine Trail, and consisted of a total of just under 6mls., in and out. The route we chose took us through several mines or tunnels, some longer and darker than others, and all much cooler than the 90+ degree temperatures outside. These tunnel were spurs off the marked trail and went through small ridges that would shorten the walk somewhat, teasing us with much cooler air for a while.
This wildlife area is popular during the fall for usually two short hunts for deer season and less so during the spring for Turkey hunting.
The Mysterious One and I saw some beautiful blooms and interesting rock formations, plus got some time outside in these beautiful north Georgia forest. Peace

Lumber Ridge Trail, rodo's, waterfalls, and a wedding

This walk involved about 9mls, of sunny skies, lots of rhododendron's blooming, waterfalls, and a wedding party. The moderate climb, consistent for approx. 3.5 mls, from Tremont, where Lumber Ridge Trail begins, should be considered difficult for those who don't get out as often. At one point in the walk we turned to the right down an old unmarked route and walked along the path of a former railway used for removing timber. This trail leads through bunches of rodo's, numerous stream crossings, and metal remnants of the old railway. The 'Mysterious One' and I stopped for lunch along this portion of the walk and made sure to keep hydrated along the way.
As we made our way back from Spruce Flat Falls, we stepped aside for a group of folks in rather odd attire. Turns out they were hiking to the falls for a wedding ceremony which caused the 'Mysterious One' to chuckle and share with them that she had noted in her thoughts that the scene at the falls was set for some type of ceremony. Seeing the picture you may agree. Peace

The March to Blair Mountain

The March on Blair Mountain was a large victory for all those who want fair pay, safe working conditions, an important part of America's history told and preserved, and an end to the most destructive form of mining (Mountaintop Removal) stopped. The first march up Blair Mtn., in 1921, was about organizing workers for fair pay and safer workplace conditions. This was one of the major points addressed in the most recent march, as well as preserving the mountain as an historic landmark by protecting it from MTR.
Estimates on the number of those attending the rally in Blair were as high as 2000+, and more than 850 folks were counted on the march up the last 2 miles of roadway which crisscrossed through the battlefield. The picture of the three women standing beside each other wearing the signs is important in several ways especially in that the folks way in the background, above them to the right, were counter protester telling us to go home and leave their state alone. Read their signs! There were several dozen West Virginians walking with us as we covered the fifty mile route and we often received friendly greetings from locals, stating their support for the march, with relatively infrequent, misinformed, verbal attacks from counter protesters.
As was pointed out by several speakers at the rally we must reach out to those who oppose us and open a dialogue so that we can better understand the fears they face and for them to understand ours. Peace

The March On Blair Mountain

Hello from Marmet WV, feeling resistance from police and counties over the first two days with most of the local folks being very polite. The marchers have encountered problems but they are being overcome with hard work on behalf of the organizers and patience from the walkers. I will post pictures asap as this is not my computer and others are waiting to use it. Please call your local media outlets and ask them if they know about this march and if so, have they heard of the "institutional resistance" coming from county governments and police. Also if you or someone you know can support the March on Blair Mountain, please do so. Or better yet come join us in Logan WV, and Blair Mtn. on Saturday!!! Musicians, speakers!! See the web site for current information at marchonblairmountain.org Peace

Blair Mountain's Fate

Come join the march and/or rally with folks from the mountains of Appalachia and other parts of this country as we honor those miners and their families who payed with their lives struggling for a fair wage and worker safety. The march and rally will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, when 10,000 coal miners rose against the rule of the coal operators and fought for the basic right to a fair wage and safer working conditions. Please See the link (click the entry title) for important details to ensure the greatest value for your efforts and everyone's safety. The March on Blair Mountain is a peaceful, unifying rally involving environmental justice organizations, workers, scholars, artists, and other citizens and groups. Currently, Blair Mountain is threatened with obliteration by mountaintop removal (MTR) mining, and it is here that a new generation of Appalachians takes a stand.

Nina Leopold Bradley Moves On....

Nina Leopold Bradley Passes Away at 93
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Nina's passing on the morning of May 25, 2011. After 93 years of exceptional health things deteriorated rapidly for Nina beginning on Monday of this week. She was with her family, surrounded by the wildness she loved to the very end. The Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Leopold family thank you for all of the outpouring of support.
Nina Leopold Bradley, 93, died May 25, 2011 at her home on the Leopold Reserve near Baraboo WI. She was born August 4, 1917 in Albuquerque NM, the third child of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold and Estella Bergere Leopold, of a prominent Hispanic family in New Mexico.
Nina will be remembered as a scientist, conservationist, philosopher, and humanitarian by an international community of colleagues. After growing up in New Mexico, she attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating in the 1930s with a major in geography. With her first husband zoologist William Elder, she collaborated on many wildlife projects, studying Canada geese in Illinois, ducks in Manitoba, big game populations in Africa, and the rediscovered but nearly extirpated population of Nene geese in Hawaii. During World War II, she worked for Dr. Thomas Park on the Tribolium project at the University of Chicago studying insect populations. In 1971, Nina accepted a position with the Thorne Ecological Institute in Boulder, CO, facilitating conferences to introduce corporate leaders to important ideas in ecology. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Northland College and the University of Wisconsin.
Along with her second husband Charles Bradley, she rekindled the "axe-in-hand" philosophy of her father, establishing the Bradley Study Center on the Leopold Reserve along the Wisconsin River in 1976. This work included creation of a graduate ecological research program in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin and expansion of the land restoration and phenological observation that her family had begun so many years ago. The work of Nina and Charles was instrumental in the establishment of the internationally recognized Aldo Leopold Foundation and the construction of the Leopold Center.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Box 77, Baraboo WI 53913.