Walking Through the Back Yard

We are all enjoying an early spring this year. It's probably my favorite season. Here at Rimrock Cove springtime means lots of our favorite wildflowers making their appearances again as we remember them one by one... their names and their locations on the property. We've had some recent rains and the water table is up. The trees want to leaf out, but for a few days here we can capture some great shots in the woods without the leaf cover.

Because I was tired, I bailed out on an offer to go shoot some pics with my friend, Rhonda. Later I was wishing I had gone with her. The next best thing I could do was to trample around on my own place and grab a few late evening shots of the creek.

Tess and I set out for about an hour of shooting and this is what we got.

Enjoy.

My faithful friend, Tess, waits patiently while I try different settings.

Beautiful Red Bud and waterfall here at Rimrock Cove:

Hiking back to the house through the pasture I noticed the sunset reflecting on the mountains across the valley. I pulled my camera back out, caught the shot, put the camera back and when I looked up it was all gone.

River Ride

Today is March 2, 2012. I set out this morning to do a long list of errands when my husband suggested we take a little horseback ride down on the Buffalo River. I can't say "no" to that... ever. So we loaded up a few horses and took off for the trailhead. It wasn't long before we started seeing wildflowers. The ones we usually see later this month or next month. It has been an unusually warm winter and all the signs of spring are starting to appear.

I took my little "not so pro" camera along because it's got a bomb proof reputation and I was able to bring back a few shots from the day. Here's a peek of our beautiful Buffalo River early in March.

White Dog Tooth Violet also know as White Trout Lily

Sneed's Creek feeds into the Buffalo River

Sand Phlox

Jim's Bluff

The weather is forecast to continue to be warm in the coming week. We should begin to see more trees in bloom for a beautiful March.

A Little Bit of Winter

Winter paid a little visit to Rimrock Cove on Monday, but it didn't stay long. Everyone who visits comments that this place must be beautiful in the snow. Here's a peek for those of you who would love to see it. The cabin is cozy and warm in the winter and easy to get to. What a great place to get away from it all... anytime of year. Visit us at www.rimrockcoveranch.com .

The view from the cabin:

The covered porch is a peaceful place to watch the snow fall.

Abby comes to greet me on a snowy morning.

Winter's Beauty

The Buffalo River area of the Arkansas Ozarks is beautiful any time of year. Winter is an excellent time for hiking. The temperatures are cooler and with most of the leaves off the trees you can see through the forest easier. A recent heavy rain perked the creeks and rivers of the area a few days ago and provided an opportunity to see some wonderful waterfalls. The Lost Valley hiking trail is located near Ponca, only minutes from Rimrock Cove Ranch. An easy trail to hike, it's a good choice for families with children. Even though it is easy, the beauty is still abundant. I made the hike with my pal Rhonda and we spent hours photographing the water along the way. Eden Falls is the large pour off at the end of the trail. A must see if you are in the area. These are some of the photographs I captured on yesterday's outing.

Eden Falls:

Plenty of fall beauty to see

Here in the beautiful Ozark mountains the fall colors are making a good showing despite dry conditions for most of the summer. The autumn weather is perfect for just about any outdoor activity, but here at Rimrock Cove we tend to favor horseback riding and we hope you will, too. We have plenty of openings in the coming week so give us a call. We will be happy to arrange a guided trail ride for you. 870-553-2556 for reservations.

Morning prep time

Mornings are usually so pretty here. Good thing, because it's time to get ready to go riding. Here are a few shots from our "getting ready to go to work" time of day.

Scenes around Rimrock Cove Ranch

It's August and it has been an incredibly hot summer all over the country, including here. We finally have some rain and relief from the heat. I was out for a ride on my mountain bike and stopped to visit some of the horses. It was so great to finally have clouds and I had to capture that in my photos of 4 month old Cici hanging out with a gelding, Tom.

I turned to go back to my bike after taking the photos above and this is what was going on. The young Suffolk mares are always curious about my bike even though they see me on it often.