'Tis The Season!

Indian Creek Falls

The morns are meeker than they were,

The nuts are getting brown;

The berry's cheek is plumper,

The rose is out of town.

Emily Dickinson

The view from my window is deceiving! Sunshine, blue skies, trees of yellow and gold on the mountains across the valley, birds soaring high in the sky--all make up a perfect October day. However, the brisk fall winds remind us that October is a month of contrasts. One day warm and sunny, the next day a chill is in the air. The dogs are confused! They bounce out of the door expecting the warm temps of yesterday. A few minutes later a scratch at the door means "let us in, the wind is blowing us off this mountain!" This goes on all day! A cold front moved through last night bringing much needed rain and colder temperatures. Looks like a fire will feel good tonight!

I love this change of seasons that we will experience in the next few weeks as fall moves into winter. The cold fronts move in from the north, and are visible for hundreds of miles as they slowly make their way into the mountains. The dark, ominous skies forecast a change. It is energizing and exciting to watch as the winds whip through the trees and send leaves sailing across the yard and down into the hollow. It's a time we rush to save delicate flowers still blooming on the porch and secure all chairs and other loose objects that have been a part of our summer days.

Have I told you I love fall? Okay, at least a dozen times!

These are the days when Jack and Ed take a hike to Indian Creek--Jack is always awestruck with the beauty of the area. This is the month we slip away for a leisurely trip to War Eagle Craft fair, sit on the banks of the river, and have a lunch of corn dogs and ice cream. These are the afternoons when we hop on the 4 wheelers and ride across the road to Delano's mountain pastures. When we reach the summit, we stop and look back across Kenner Creek to our own house and cabins--so far away, they look like a Google map! These are the nights we have a wonderful Italian meal at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. (So good we have to take the Tiramasu home for later.) Or go to the Ozark Cafe on a Friday night for not only a good meal, but great music with Joe Villines and friends. These are the days we can linger over coffee late into the night as we visit with family and friends that have come for the weekend. And, the days when we look forward to meeting new cabin guests and renewing friendships with returning guests who all want to be here in October.

These are the days I hang out my laundry on my new clothesline just because I want to be outside and feel the breezes blow the sheets over my head. The days I refuse to listen to television and choose, instead, to pull out a book saved for just such a time. The days I sit by the window and do an extra Bible study lesson. The days I meet the horses at the fence and give them a good currying. The days we listen to the Razorback game wearing our "Hog shirts" and cheer or cry depending on the score. On one of these days, I find a reason to take a drive up Highway 103 to Green Forest and Berryville, and maybe on to Eureka Springs, alone and quiet in the car--medicine for the soul. The road is a ribbon through the mountains and valleys. At one point, you can look in the distance and see another stretch of the same highway miles away.

These are the days we pick up walnuts that have fallen in the grass, mow the yard wearing a coat, discover the turnips in the late fall garden have grown to be enormous since we last checked! And, in the evening we stop whatever we are doing,gaze across the valley and marvel at the folliage colors that have deepened since yesterday. On one of these afternoons, I pick the last roses of the summer and collect the wildflower seeds to save for next year. We stay out long enough to see a beautiful October sunset. We notice the big orange ball of the Harvest Moon as it rises over the mountains when we drive home from Sunday night church in Boxley Valley.

This is the season that, unlike summer that lingers too long, flies by too quickly. It is too soon gone. It is a season to drop everything and get out and do something!

"In October in Blue Hill the world was so pretty it set everyone in a good mood. Houses were thick with the scent of apples bubbling on stove tops, and gardens lay ripe with the flowering of good green kale."

from THE BLUE HILL MEADOWS by Cynthia Rylant

Hikes, bikes, and flower gardens

Camille on the Hideout Hollow Trail near the Buffalo River

Jack and I are planning an early spring hike to McFerrin Point near Compton, on Saturday. It is our favorite, and one we always do in the spring when the turkeys are gobbling. We have hiked this trail in snow too. The view is always breath taking! If the weather is clear, you can see down into the fields along the river. If there is fog hanging in the valley, the scene with the sun coming up is spectacular.

Since Hideout Hollow is near by, we usually do that one too. The falls there should be flowing. These are two hikes we recommend to our guests. They are not too extreme for inexperienced hikers, but full of photo opportunities. Check in next week for a report on our excursions.

A bike trip is also in the plans. My friend, Darlene, convinced me to get a bike last year so we could ride the valleys (not the mountains!). I lucked out when I found a good bike--one with all the gears-- at a sidewalk sale at Walmart with a price tag of $11. I have certainly gotten my money's worth from that bike, even though I really can't get the hang of all those gears!

On our trip to Little Rock last week, I purchased an old, fat-tire bike--the kind I remember riding as a child--at a pawn shop in Perryville. I had planned to use it as "yard art" (something my city-dwelling son can't understand! ) It has a large basket for pots of flowers, and other neat features. However, the more I look at it, the more I am thinking I might ride it. The man who sold it to me said, "all it needs is new tires" (paint job not withstanding!) If you are driving through Boxley Valley, or along Highway 103 and see a vintage bike (I won't admit to 'vintage" rider). Just give a "HONK" and I will wave and move over!

More outdoor activities are coming up. The days of watching a dormant flower bed from the window and feeling smug that I don't have any yardwork to do is over. Little green shoots are making their way up through that new layer of mulch. Many are weeds, or "extras" and must be dealt with. Every year I am amazed at the number of plants that propogate by seed or roots and come back to the point of making themselves a nusiance. But, I still say "there is no such thing as too many flowers".

Jack helped me clean out the water garden near the steps. I am always a little leary of that job, since I never know for sure what may be lurking under those water soaked leaves and rocks. This year it was only an unlucky frog who probably thought he had found a great new place to spend the winter. Soon I will have the fountain bubbling and little fish swimming happily in their new home.

Wow! Thinking about all these activities makes me tired! But, ready to get out of doors and do something!

This is the day that the Lord has made,

we will rejoice and be glad.

Psalm 118:24

A Time for Everything

We are so ready for Spring!! The picture above was taken by Ed last weekend when we had one of our biggest snows of the winter--7 inches! The snow soon melted, and patches of green are showing up everywhere. That is good for our wildlife, who have had a hard time this winter. The deer herd, which was numbering 20 or so last week, has dwindled to a few stragglers who are probably waiting around to see what we plant in the garden. We are discussing what we will have to do to save the garden (and flowers) this year. It is one thing to throw out a little corn for desperate wildlife in the winter, but quite another to offer them an "all you can eat" buffet all summer!

Bluebirds!! Everywhere I look, as walk around our 65 acres, I see bluebirds flitting around our bluebird boxes. We cleaned them out a week ago, and bluebird couples are already moving in. We have one bluebird female who flies up to the window on the porch, attaches herself to the screen, and looks in as if to say she really would like to make her nest in the living room. Maybe she sees the many bird figures and nests I have on display, and thinks she would like to join them!

Jack spotted the first martin scout on a unexpectedly warm day just before the snow hit last week. We quickly got the martin box up. Minutes later the sparrows were checking it out! We have discovered martins will usually run them away when the time comes to move in.

We are planning a wonderful week with cabin guests coming for Spring Break. Besides minding the cabins, we are planning a few hikes to see waterfalls and early spring flora-- maybe even look for morels; do a little garden prep, including planting potatoes--old timers up here say plant potatoes on St. Patrick's Day. And, of course, we will slip in a visit with the grandson and family on Easter.

Remember--There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecles. 3:1

Happy Spring!!

Our World Is So Full....

Wildflower Falls at Mountain Springs Cabins

As Jack and I drank our first cup of coffee before daylight this morning, we discussed the weekend and decided it was perfect! The rains came, the winds howled, it snowed, we had unexpected guests, and we cleaned two cabins!

Friday was nice. I drove in to Jasper to visit Mother, then hurried home to decorate cupcakes and make a casserole for the Valentine's Banquet at the church. We got the cabin guests at both cabins settled in just before leaving for the church. The food was delicious, the company wonderful, and the music outstanding. Joe Villines brought his guitar and banjo and sang for us. His family has lived in Boxley Valley for over a hundred years. It is encouraging to see him and his young family living and working here. He will be singing at the Ozark Cafe in Jasper this month and into the spring.

Saturday morning we got a call that my favorite cousins would be driving up to visit for the afternoon. They arrived in a rain storm. We had a couple of hours of catching up (not enough by any means!) Then they left in another rain storm! They will be back. We aren't too far from their new retirement home on Greers Ferry Lake. Jack made a trip to Berryville to check on a tractor, and came home the proud owner of a new (slightly used) tractor. He has dreams of a summer filled with tractor "work"!

Then, the rains came! It made "springs pour into ravines so streams gushed down from the mountains...Ps.104:10 It is one of life's "little joys" to curl up on the sofa by the fire and hear the raindrops pound the roof and splash over the gutters. Our mountain is so in need of rain! It was a night to watch a good movie. We thought "South Pacific" with Glen Close was perfect. Jack followed the story, but cringed everytime they broke out in song. I loved it and sang along, remembering most of the lyrics from my teenage years when I owned the original LP. The night was my version of Some Enchanted Evening!

Sunday was still cloudy as we went to church. Jack and I were in charge of a lively Sunday School class of first and second graders! We fed them left over Valentine cupcakes which, I'm sure energized them for Children's Church later. The sun was peeking out as we walked out of the church house. We could hear the roar of the river from the parking lot. We drove down to the Ponca low water bridge to check the river. Water was gushing over the top. Logs and other debris were sailing past. This weekend will bring out the kayakers and other brave, and experienced floaters. This isn't a time for the inexperienced! It is fun to watch them though.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a great floating season for all, lasting to early June.

We capped off the weekend with cabin cleaning, which, thanks to our considerate guests, didn't take long. We even had time for a little hike/four-wheeler ride to our own Wildflower Falls. We check often to keep leaves and debris from building up. In another month or so the wildflowers will be peeking through.

I stitched a quote on a pillow years ago. I still have the pillow, and I still love the meaning of the quote.

The world is so full of a number of things, I think we should all be as happy as kings!