Kellee with Sinclair in Greystone by Warby Parker

Kellee decided to look all spiffy today, so I decided to archive the spiffyness with a photo, above. Kellee then decided to get all spiffy with the photo and turn it into a mock Warby Parker ad, below.

The ad…

Old Lodge Trail

One of many scenic overlooks at Mount Magazine

Fallen tree beside the trail

Plants beside the trail

Cedar tree and scenic overlook

Gnarled cedar tree

Arkansas River Valley from the Old Lodge Trail

Cliffs visible from scenic overlook

Cedar on the edge of a cliff

Old Lodge Trail

The lodge viewed from the trail

Peeking through the trees at the river valley

 Wildlife on Mount Magazine

We frequently saw a variety of animals while driving, and on the trails. There was at least one rabbit that we saw daily beside our cabin. There was no shortage of butterflies either, they were everywhere we looked!

One of many, many on the mountain

Our friendly neighbor rabbit

Deer just beside our car

Mount Magazine’s Scenic Overlooks

Here are a few pictures taken from just a few of the many scenic overlooks on the mountain.

Roadside scenic overlook spot

Path on a scenic overlook

Natalie on a cliff at a scenic overlook

Natalie was brave enough to sit on a cliff!

Here she is standing on the cliff

The trees just go on and on here

"Sunrise Rock" overlook from the Bear Hollow Trail

Beautiful cliff, great spot for panoramic view

These cliffs are visible from the above spot

A dead tree on an outcropping

Panorama of the Arkansas River Valley from a Mount Magazine hang gliding spot

Plants on the Mountain

There is no shortage of plant life, with many beautiful flowers along the roadsides and trails.

Deep woods on the Signal Hill trail

Flowers beside the road

This plant was growing on the edge of a cliff

Oak leaves in the sun and shade

Flowers in front of the Mount Magazine Lodge

Very green cedar branch

Loved the color of the leaves on this plant! Leave a comment if you know what it is!

Hope you enjoyed, I know I did!

Seed of Hope from Above

Per the Cancer Institute, the Seed of Hope “is a symbol of hope and healing for patients at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

On each patient’s final day of active treatment, we present him or her with two seed-shaped tokens. One token is placed in the sculpture as a celebration of survivorship. The second token is taken with them to keep or to pass along as a symbol of hope to someone else facing a challenge.

It is our hope that one day, through the power of research-driven treatment, the Seed of Hope will overflow with tokens symbolizing countless survivors who have won the battle against cancer.”

Seed of Hope

Chadley

A quiet room

While there's life, there's hope

The Gathering Place

Chandelier

You can learn more about the fight against cancer here in Arkansas by visiting the Cancer Institute website.

Asclepias Variegata Bloom

Asclepias Variegata, or redring milkweed, has a beautiful complex bloom. The small white petals appear smooth, almost creamy, as if they were molded from clay.

Apartment Star Trails

The other night I the stars were exceptionally bright, so I decided to see if I could pull of a decent time-lapse picture of them from my balcony. I started at 9:18 pm and took 30 second exposures for an hour. Unfortunately I have misplaced my remote shutter release, so I had to manually set it off. This was cause for a little more pause than I would have liked between exposures, and is noticeable when you view the picture up close. But, for my first star trail picture, I count it as a success!

Here’s how I did it (specifically):

Set up my tripod on the balcony, put the camera on it and aimed it where I wanted. Then I did a couple of test shots to make sure everything would look ok. After that, I put a camping chair outside with me (later Natalie joined me to keep me awake). I set the shutter speed to 30 seconds, and the ISO was as low as possible. The aperture was around 5 maybe, if I remember right. Might have been 8 or 10…

So I took a picture every 30 seconds for an hour, and then used photoshop to combine them all into one picture. When combined, you can see how much the stars moved in one hour (really how much the earth spun).

P.S. You can kinda see where an airplane flew by a couple of times, which annoyed  me greatly at the time, but I think it adds character now.

P.P.S. I could not have sat outside for an hour without the company and help of my lovely wife!!

Wavy Clouds near Bryant, Arkansas

Strange Wavy Clouds

Different Angle on the Wavy Clouds

This morning on my way in to Little Rock, I saw some strange but beautiful wavy cloud formations. The pictures don’t really do them justice, but I thought they looked neat anyway. I’ve always wanted an excuse to take pictures of that particular field, so I’m glad I finally got the chance!

First United Methodist Church

A striking sunset behind the First United Methodist Church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.