Ash Cave Falls in February

We've had almost a week of somewhat normal temperatures after weeks of well-below-normal temperatures. Dave and I decided to check out the Ash Cave waterfall to see if it was frozen. On our last trip in January, it had big stalagtites reaching down to a really big stalagmite of ice.

Yesterday, it was running freely and there was still a nice pile of ice at the bottom:


Beware: the trail in was a solid sheet of ice. VERY SLIPPERY!

Feeder Birds in the Hocking Hills, February 5-10, 2007

Last week, our very kind and patient guests reported the following birds at our Marsh Hollow feeder (sunflower seeds in a hopper and a suet cake):

• American crow
• Black-capped chickadee
• Blue jay
• Brown creeper
• Carolina wren (my favorite, next to roseate spoonbills who live in Florida)
• Downey woodpecker
• Hairy woodpecker
• Northern cardinal
• Red-bellied woodpecker
• Ruby-crowned kinglet
• Tufted titmouse
• White-breasted nuthatch

And an unidentified hawk, possibly a Marsh hawk (that would be appropriate, wouldn't it?).

The most unusual creature reported at that feeder, but only in summer, was a flying squirrel.

The feeder area at the Marsh Hollow "homestead" is crowded with gold finches and dark-eyed juncoes, and mourning doves. No kinglets or creepers, but all of the others. Our feeder menu is a little more extensive and includes thistle seed, safflower seeds, and shelled corn.

Photographing Frozen Waterfalls

The Old Bear's Den is offering an all day photography workshop Saturday, February 17, 2007, focusing on frozen waterfalls. This is definitely going to be a great weekend for frozen waterfalls. We walked up to the ones at Conkle's Hollow last Friday, late afternoon and they were the best we've ever seen. Beautiful blue-green shading, amazing shapes and sure to be even better after the storm this week and VERY COLD temperatures today through the weekend.

More information is at: http://www.theoldbear.com/workshops.html

I really need this workshop. I've got lots of bad pictures of frozen falls!

Our creek is doing its version of a lateral frozen waterfall. There's a layer of running water on the bottom, a thick layer of ice, then another layer of running water. I'm expecting solid ice by tomorrow afternoon.

Birth of a Frozen Waterfall

Yesterday (Saturday, February 3), we had a wonderful day out and about in the Hocking Hills with our friends Diane & Sherwin.

First stop: Ash Cave. We got to see how a frozen waterfall begins - it grows from both ends. Right now a pile of ice is forming into a sort of stalagmite on the ground. The water is still falling freely, but has also formed a line of huge icicle stalagtites. Dave & I plan to drive back over on Monday to see how close the mite is to the tite. We saw a similar formation at Cedar Falls.

While it was very cold (in the upper teens), the sky was so blue and clear, and the sun was bright. Since I needed boots, Dave needed gloves and Diane ended up needing a sweater, we drove down to Rocky's in Nelsonville for some shopping. Then we met Sherwin's son Dirk and fiance Meredith at the Coffee Cup for lunch.

To finish off our excursion, we stopped at the Midwest Glass Outlet in Logan so Diane could buy 20 candy dishes to celebrate her office's move into new quarters.

Perfect day!