And A Good Time Was Had By All!

Cave Mountain Road

There is an air of excitement in the mountains this time of the year. The colors are glorious! A main topic of discussion is whether the colors have "peaked" and how do they compare with last year's. Who cares! We don't complain! The temperatures range from cool in the morning to "just right" in the middle of the day. It is a great time to do anything in the mountains!

I was in Jasper this week, and the little mountain town was bustling with visitors and locals. I stopped by Emma's Museum of Junk (by far the best little antique store anywhere!). I am on a mission to rid our house of clutter and "stuff". Emma needs "stuff" to sell in her store. We both agreed it was nice to let go of things now and then. But, it is hard to do. These are little treasures that I fell in love with through the years as I shopped little places similar to Emma's. When we moved to the mountains, those things were packed away in boxes and they have just taken up space in the basement for seven years. I hope Emma's customers will love these old and nostalgic things as I once did and take them home to enjoy. Emma and I agreed on a price, and soon my "stuff" will be on her shelves. She has a way of displaying items that make you want to take them home. I just hope I don't walk in her store some day and purchase some of the same items I sold her!

The same day we took Mother out to eat at one of her favorite little restaurants, The Boardwalk Cafe. They serve only organic foods, most is locally grown, even the buffalo burgers and elk sausage (all meat is farm raised, not wild).

Joseph, the owner, was happy with the business they were getting throughout the week. We both wished for several months of fall weather that brings out the tourists. We ordered our favorite winter meal, Janet's Cajun gumbo. The couple are originally from New Orleans, and the seasonings reflect that!

Saturday was a good day to do some yard work. I always leave some plants standing for the wildlife in winter, but some of the grass had to go! Got one bed done with two more to go! For another day, no doubt! It was a good day all around with the Hogs winning and the cabins full of nice folks who came to enjoy the Ozarks.

We capped off the weekend with a hike to Hawksbill Crag up on Cave Mountain. I really prefer to call it by the name most locals use--Whitaker Point. We went with a group of friends from church and packed a picnic lunch. There were about 15 of us--all ages, from 3 to 63! Lots of fun, even though this was not your "quiet walk through the deep woods" sort of hike. Seems like everyone else had the same idea. This is probably one of the most publicized scenic areas anywhere in the Ozarks, and people come from everywhere to view it, especially when it is clothed in fall colors. We even met a group from Japan! This was our third time to hike there--only about 2 miles round trip--not too strenuous, but hold on to the little ones as they near the bluff line.

Today, it's back to school for Jack, and back to the cabin business for me. Looks like another beautiful week to be living in the Ozarks, or anywhere you live for that matter. It is especially a good one for me. I am having a birthday on Friday, and I plan to celebrate all week!

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

John 1:16

'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

Perfect Peace

Parthenon Valley in Newton County

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows. 1 James 1:17

Perfect: exact, precise, true, flawless, complete, absolute, impeccable, ideal, unblemished, faithful, right as rain...

"It was a perfect weekend." I found myself discussing our weekend with Jack after a visit from my brother and his wife. Distance, health, work, and other circumstances make these visits all too rare, and I was wanting everything to be perfect. It was--all of us hanging out on the porch, no real time table--just relaxing, watching the birds, butterflies, feeling the wind blow gently across the mountain-- it seemed the leaves changed colors as we watched.

Being a practical person, I rarely describe something as "perfect". But, maybe, one doesn't have to be a "perfectionist" to use the word to describe something, someone, someplace, a time, etc. I am beginning to look at this word differently. Not a word to throw around carelessly, but one to use for certain times and places in our life.

The word took on more significance after I read the cabin journals from our latest guests. As they recorded their thoughts, the word "perfect" was used frequently to describe their days at Mountain Springs. I now believe "perfect" is a feeling. A feeling of joy, delight, happiness--fleeting, but memorable. A souvenir to take home in one's mind to pull out when things aren't going so very "perfect" at the moment.

Here are their journal entries exactly as they wrote them. (It seems a perfect time to get in a little cabin commercial! :-)

Deer Pond Cabin--

"We love it here! We had the most perfect day ever! Perfect weather, awesome hiking! Ate a fantastic dinner in Jasper, then later saw 3 falling stars from the deck! Oh, of course, the elk. How gorgeous! This cabin is perfect too--it lacked nothing--very homey." Keith, Kim, Scott, Missouri

Eagle's Rest Cabin--

"Wow! Can't say enough about how wonderful our stay here has been. Thank you! Thank you for everything--your hospitality, helpful hints about activities, and absolutely perfect cabin. We will be recommending Mountain Springs Cabins to everyone who will listen. We really needed this vacation and you made it perfect! God Bless you both." The Jacksons from Ft. Worth

I might add, we considered them the perfect cabin guests!!

Enough perfection!

However, in these days when very little seems perfect or right, focus on He who is perfect.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3

(Don't stop with this verse --read the whole 26th chapter of Isaiah!)

The True Story of Mama Dog

Mama Dog

Recollect that the Almighty, who gave the dog to be companion

of our pleasures and our toils,

hath invested him with a nature noble and incapable of deceit.

Sir Walter Scott

I knew my neighbor, Darlene, had a soft spot for dogs when she first visited us and fell in love with one of Maggie, the Jack Russell's, puppies--Cricket. At the time, Darlene had a lot of irons in the fire--including a move from South Louisiana, and building a new house. On every visit to Mountain Springs, she would stop in and check to see if Cricket was still with us. Finally, she gave in and "adopted" her. She is now her constant, and sometimes exasperating companion. Cricket joined two older dogs, and quickly made her place in the dog family.

It wasn't surprising when Darlene called one day to tell me she had found a very hungry and dirty old hound female dog at the river, and she was in need of some loving care. So she brought her home, bathed, fed, and doctored the poor thing. Her idea was to feed her and find the owner. However, it was soon apparent that the owner wasn't interested in being "found". We are quite sure she was abused, as she is very meek and skittish when corrected in any way. Two days after bringing her home, the hound gave birth to nine fairly healthy pups! Thus, the name "Mama Dog"!

With Darlene's nursing background, Mama and her family thrived. I told her that Mama obviously believed she had died and gone to "Dog Heaven" and had taken her pups along!

With some convincing on Darlene's part, the pups were adopted by families with similar "soft spots" for animals in need. However, no one was willing to take a skinny, abandoned female hound dog. All the time, Mama was working her "charm" on those she came in contact with. Her only sceptics were our husbands who were convinced that a deer hound on the mountain would be the end of wildlife of any kind. Mama proved different. She might run a rabbit around the yard in the early morning, but she wasn't interested in chasing deer for hours on end--which is why she probably was never claimed by the original owner!

Nowadays, Mama Dog spends her time in her own "dog heaven"--our mountain neighborhood. You might find her basking in the sunshine in Darlene's flowerbed, guarding the yard from critters, or sleeping in her very own bed in the basement. Occasionally, she may look up the hill at one of the cabins. She has a way of knowing who "needs" a visit, and who doesn't. Numerous guests mention her as the "cabin dog" who comes to the door, offers a paw (if you don't respond, she will offer the other paw), and, in her own way, Mama welcomes you to the mountains. She has had several names--Molly, Lady, Rose-- and answers to any name that is spoken in a soft voice. Both cabin journals have several stories about her. She does have a way of encouraging one to offer a snack, but she doesn't insist, and will leave if not welcome. Children are her joy, and a little kind attention from a child is all she wants in life (other than a scrap now and then)!

Wouldn't we all be better off if we were so easy to please, and content with our lot in life?

Life is good on the mountain for dogs and people!!!!

Happy Fall!

Welcome to Mountain Springs Cabins

Did I say that springtime was my favorite season? Oh no, I changed my mind! The cool mornings, the hint of color on the mountainside, the call of the bull elks in the valley all remind me that I love this time of year best! Autumn!

Since I was a little girl, I have loved the autumn (of course I should, I was born in the fall--not saying which year!) I can remember raking leaves(mostly jumping in big piles of them), jack-o-lanterns, Halloween wiener roasts and Trick or Treating around the neighborhood, inside birthday parties when the weather didn't cooperate. Later on, the fall brought high school football games, Homecoming dances, mum corsages from someone special, and wiener roasts with s'mores at the deer camp.

When Jay was young, carving the pumpkin was a big deal, as well as choosing just the right Halloween costume. As he grew up, he and Jack would wait anxiously for that first cool, crisp Saturday of squirrel season followed soon after by the deer hunt. Never mind if they brought home nothing but stories that now are wonderful memories.

Now, fall is a time for walks in the woods down by the spring, favorite drives through the mountains (more on that later), early morning elk watching, wild geese flying over the house, and wiener roasts, especially those marshmallows!

We drove down this weekend for Jack Henry's second birthday. Two years of joy to celebrate! It is no doubt every day is a party for a two year old. Two doting grandparents had a wonderful time--even enjoyed some time with this parents! Then it was time to go back to our mountain home.

Driving south reminded us of the contrast in the seasons in the lowlands and the mountains. On the way home, Jack suggested a detour through unexplored territory. We followed the Highway 7 detour that goes through several little communities--not a convenience store/gas station for 48 miles! Beautiful countryside--old barns, deserted homesteads, cattle grazing on pastures of a few large ranches, country churches with old cemeteries next door (both still in use),little mountain streams, and wide open vistas was worth a little extra driving time. By the way, Highway 7 is scheduled to reopen next week after repairs of a slide near Pelsor.

On this first day of autumn, I look forward to more of "why I love this time of the year." Every morning, I will check the leaf color change on the mountains just outside my window as I work(?) at my computer. As the season moves on, I will linger over lunch on the porch, find a dozen reasons to go outside, and, even hang out the laundry on my new clothesline more often. I will walk (or maybe ride my four-wheeler) along the trail to the spring and look up at the blue sky through yellow-gold-red maple leaves. I will take my thermos of coffee, leave early as the sun comes up, and drive to the valley to elk watch.

And, of course, I will have a wiener roast. (I am wondering about those chocolate and strawberry marshmallows I picked up on a whim at the store.) This year, Jack and I are discussing just where to build the new campfire ring. We expect to need it soon enough when a little boy comes to visit and discovers the pure pleasures of sitting around a campfire, roasting hot dogs, and making s'mores on a cool autumn evening in the mountains. Making mountain memories!!

September

A road like brown ribbon, A sky that is blue, A forest of green with that sky peeping through.

Asters, deep purple, A grasshopper's call, Today it is summer, Tomorrow is fall.

Edwina Fallis

The Best Things...

Can you find the butterfly?

This is the day that the Lord has made; we will be glad and rejoice in it!

Psalm 118:24

This is a "Count Your Blessings" day!

We never tire of saying our Mountain Springs guests leave as friends. A new "friend" who has recently come to Eagle's Rest Cabin is Sandra McClure, a wonderful artist and photographer from Van Buren, who is also an art teacher. In visiting with her, we were able to see our mountain through her artist's eyes, and, thus, were reminded to count our blessings in our life at Mountain Springs and the Ozarks.

Sandra and her husband, daughter and husband spent a weekend with us--visiting some of the scenic areas from the comfort of their car since their son-in-law was hindered with a cast on his foot! They were celebrating an anniversary and birthday. In the cabin journal she thanked us for "sharing our butterflies" with her. It was our pleasure, Sandra.

A visit to her website, www.artwanted.com/sondramcclure is worth a few minutes of your time, and will give a lift to your day, as it does ours each time we click in. The photo above is one of hers, and she has posted others on the website. I can hardly wait to see what paintings spring forth from her photos of the area!

After the recent storms, the weather is clear, cool, and just right for hiking to waterfalls. Sitting on the porch (too cool? sit at the window by the fireplace) in the early morning with that first cup of coffee and watching the mist rise over the mountains is a blessing in itself! The elk are bugling in the valley,(another blessing to experience) and many trees are beginning to show their fall colors. It promises to be a beautiful and blessed autumn season!

The best things in life aren't things!

Hurricane Relief

Welcome Sign at Mountain Springs Cabins

A small hurricane arrived on the mountain very early Monday morning in the form of seven travel-weary young adults and their 3 lively children--4 and 2 years and 4 months. We were expecting them as they had called earlier inquiring about an opening in one of our cabins. They told us every place they called was already booked with others escaping the furies of the storm. The Labor Day holiday made it especially difficult to find an available hotel room or cabin. There was no room at the inn here either, but we told them to come up anyway, and we would find them a place.

They traveled in the dark, a caravan of two vehicles on unfamiliar roads, up and down and around endless mountains so different from their flat delta homeland. They pulled in to our drive just before daybreak. We had prepared all guest beds, and inflated air mattresses in anticipation. Bleary-eyed and disheveled, they quickly spread out all over the house from loft to basement. Then all was quiet for a couple of hours. Jack and I sat on the porch with our coffee watching the sunrise--a brilliant red sky. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight.

Our Texas guests from Eagle's Rest Cabin were off early the next day, so we were able to get our group settled in their own cabin by mid-morning. But only after we had fed the babies, consumed a couple of pots of coffee, and made real introductions all around.

Three 3 siblings, their spouses and their babies, and a cousin--well-mannered, self-confident, and with those gracious southern manners, a result of being raised in the south--where everyone older than you are is addressed as "Miss" or "Mr" preceding your first name. Their soft, southern Louisiana/ Cajun' dialect brought back memories and added to their charm. We accepted their invitation to supper last night--wonderful meal prepared in the confines of the small cabin. We were drawn right in as a part of the family--almost literally. Without our prompting, the children began calling us "Uncle Jack" and "Aunt Camille"! (It's a "southern thing"-- we know from living in South Arkansas most of our lives.)

They came as our guests, they will leave as our friends. And we are reminded as to why we love our job as cabin hosts.

May God bless them as they make their way home today!

Up-Hill

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the day's journey take the whole long day?

From morn to night, my friend...

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

Yea, beds for all who come.

Christina Rossetti