It was cold enough to snow.  We haven’t seen any since last March and we’re poised to set a record for days without snow.  I hope we get some soon because we have a lot of brush piles to burn.  Today I continued making brush piles on the hilltop between the Scuppernong Springs and the Indian Campground.

There are some nice, new, views of the river opening up from this high spot.  Here are a couple shots looking down at Connie and Sophia standing by the Scuppernong Spring.

As the sun broke through the clouds around noon, I was treated to flock after flock of Sand Hill Cranes migrating South.  They slowed to a lazy float as they loitered high above me, discussing our work in progress at the Springs no doubt.

Good news!  The algae is receding at the Hotel Springs.  When I met DNR Water Resources Management Specialist Craig Helker on November 15th, I forgot to ask him to check out the algae but he gave this reply via email after checking out my pics:

“If you would, please keep an eye on the algae – say, over the next few months and into spring. We’ll see what happens. I’m curious if it’s a fall phenomenon, or there is something more sinister going on. I didn’t speciate it out, but it does not appear to be “rock-snot”, which was my number one fear. So, that’s a positive.”

We’ll definitely keep an eye on it and consult with Craig.

“I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
Oh yeah”

I’ll be heading back to the Springs on Monday, November 26th to finish piling brush along the river.