Is It Fall Yet?

McFerrin Point Near Compton in early fall

If you aren't up here in the mountains now, you ought'a be! After some hot days in July, it seems we have skipped the rest of August and jumped right into the wonderful early fall weather of September. I don't hear any complaints! With temps in the 60's at night and 80's daytime I can't think of any place I had rather be. Our cabin guests from Texas say the same thing!

Jack started school this week--always a mix of not wanting summer to be over, yet anticipating the excitement of a new school year. I remember those days of anxious little faces starring at me from the back of the classroom. I'm not sure who was more intimidated--the teacher or 30 brand new first graders!

Summer guests have been lots of fun. We've had a honeymoon couple--one comes from Alaska and the other Hawaii; a group of college friends from Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Texas; another group of friends who were saying goodbye to one going to Iraq for a tour of duty; families from all over-- California to Tennessee, Louisana to Minnesota, and even France! There was the family with five little boys who jumped in Deer Pond to cool off. And the lady who sat under the stars until midnight only to find out she had locked herself out of the cabin! She had to walk up the hill, barefoot, in pj's, to ask us for a key (thank goodness, we keep flashlights in the cabin for emergencies!) One couple from Mississippi loved the area so much they bought a cabin just down the road from us! It just proves our saying--"You'll want to stay forever!" We are looking forward to more guests as we continue to book for the fall and winter. Fall days in the cabins are filling fast! Call us soon!.

Elk are gathering in the valley. One guest reported seeing a "good size bull" and, with the cooler weather , we expect to get reports of bulls bugling soon. What an awesome sound and sight! It will bring shivers of excitement to be out there in the early morning-- mist rising out of the valley, sun peaking over the mountains, the shrill call of a bull elk echoing across the fields and bouncing off the river bluffs. It will also bring chills to the bone, so bring a jacket! A thermos of coffee hits the spot also!

If you can't join us on the mountain, join us on the web. We have a new newsletter--comes out just once a month--with pictures, news, stories(mostly true!), happenings, and even a coupon for cabin specials. Visit our website http://www.mountainspringscabins.com/ and sign up. In the meantime---Happy Fall!!

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of Heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Welcome Folks!

Eagle's Rest Cabin Welcome Bear at Mountain Springs Cabins

I always say we have the nicest and most interesting people visit our cabins. They come as our guests and leave as our friends.

This poem was written by Kenny Hill after he and his wife stayed at Eagle's Rest Cabin. I will always treasure it.

EAGLE'S REST

A little cabin on the side of a mountain

Watching over the valley below

Covered porches with rocking chairs

And a little bear that we loved so.

There is no way you can really explain it...

The feeling you get just from being here.

You can almost reach out and touch the clouds.

You smile, knowing God is so near.

The awesome beauty of the Buffalo River,

Mountain springs that never run dry,

Wildlife seems to be everywhere!

Amazed, you can only sigh!

It is a place where I'll never forget.

Pictures in our hearts will not soon fade away.

The warmth and hospitality offered to us

Makes us long to come back again some day.

But, if we never travel this way again,

We're certain we've been at the best.

A place where God is welcomed and lives are touched.

A place where the eagles rest.

Kenny Hill

Because of email address changes, job transitions, new computers etc., we have lost touch with Kenny and his wife. He has sent more guests our way, as well more of his poems, and we thank him. Kenny, if you are out there--We are still on the mountain and the little welcome bear is ready and waiting for your return.

"Summertime and the Livin' is Easy"

Lucky Swimmer on the Buffalo River

Jack just opened his "Back To School" letter. It's a shock to realize summer vacation is almost over! And the cabin paint job isn't finished, the shelves in the closet aren't built, we haven't even made our annual fishing/floating trip! Where did those "lazy, hazy" days of summer go? Our days are a whirl of cabin guests coming and going, preparing the cabins for the next guests, and squeezing in a little "down" time for ourselves in between.

We have especially enjoyed the live music at the cafes in Jasper, (not to mention the good food!). Joe Villines is a talented blue grass singer as is his brother and wife, Pat and Mattie. They have also brought in others, all winners of various music awards, such as the Honey Dewdrops. Check them all out on "My Space" .

Cabin guests are always fun. They come as strangers, and leave as friends. We enjoyed getting to know the family from Louisiana who decided to take a road trip to the Ozark Mountains on their Harleys. They miscalculated their travel time, as well as gas mileage, and literally coasted down the last mountain to the bottom of our driveway--at 10 o'clock P. M.! We always leave the light on, and in this case, were anxiously watching for them. Jack gassed them up, and they settled in Deer Pond Cabin for the night. Being so late, they didn't get into Jasper in time to buy groceries so they were "running on empty" in more than one way the next morning! With a sandwich or two from us, they were out for a day of exploring. They returned to the cabin that evening in time to make a blackberry pie with berries picked in the cabin yard. We supplied the sugar and enjoyed a delicious dessert with our new Louisiana friends.

The rains continued to keep the river up and floatable. That has attracted a lot of families to the area to canoe and kayak. Looks like real summer weather is here with temps rising, but that's okay. Our families are now finding the swimming holes, fishing, touring caverns and having a great time. We love to read the notes they leave in the cabin journals.

Here's one recently written by some Eagle's Rest Cabin guests:

"Last night I lay on a blanket and watched the stars with my two-year old...I watched the whole sunset for the first time in my life...my twelve-year old left his video games long enough to canoe the river with me. And he enjoyed it!... I remember why I love my husband... We will be back!"

Come make wonderful memories at Mountain Springs Cabins. It will give your children something to write about in that "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay!

"It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest and living close to nature." Laura Ingalls Wilder

Welcome to my Ozark Mountain Garden

My Ozark Mountain Garden

When Jack and I married, our first house was duplex on a college campus--basic student housing. If those little houses were there today, they would be considered historic structures. The white wooden buildings were part of the Rohwer Japanese Internment during World War II. When we lived in them, they were a row of little one-story apartments just off to the east of the football stadium. An easy walk to campus. Our first spring there, Jack borrowed a shovel and dug up a little piece of ground just under the living room window for my first flowerbed--pink petunias. It was the beginning of a series of flowerbeds that have multiplied each time we have moved.

Today, Jack is still digging flowerbeds. The little borrowed shovel has turned into a new Kabota tractor--his pride and joy. Mine too! We can now move dirt, logs, rocks of all sizes, and anything else that isn't attached to the mountain.

When we first saw our 65 acres with the remains of a burned down house with an old fence surrounding the backyard, I had no idea of the joys that were in store for me! This yard was once a barnyard, and the soil is so rich that I usually don't have to add more nutrients. And rocks! They are mine for the taking! I have outlined beds, laid walking paths and patios, built stonewalls and steps, and have the beginnings of a water garden with a waterfall and fishpond. Only time and my aching back keep me from going crazy!

I love to share my garden with our guests. Most of my plants have come from friends and family, and many guests and friends leave with a seed packet of hollyhocks, Angel Trumpets, or Mexican Hats, or a clump of whatever is blooming at the time. Most of the flowers in my garden are "pass-alongs". And, so I continue the practice. I also have plants that I brought from my yard in Hamburg that have special family ties such as the dark pink phlox that grows by my fence just as I remember it growing near the fence in my grandmother's backyard when I was a little girl. It's roots are from those old, original plants. Also, the day lilies from Jack's mother yard, and the pink old-fashioned rose I call "Aunt Marie's Rose" have a special place in the garden.

Today, if you were to visit Mountain Springs, you could probably take home a clump of Butter and Eggs, a vigorous little yellow snapdragon-like flower that blooms from early spring to frost, and spreads like wildfire! Soon, I will be collecting seeds from Coreopsis, Blanket Flower, fever few, and hollyhocks. We have a sack of daisy seeds already. Along with these flowers, the hummers and butterflies and bees are really enjoying the lavender, oregano, garden phlox, butterfly weed, and butterfly bush blooms. The wildflower seeds that I sowed several years ago make a wonderful "natural" area outside the fence. The seeds are collected every year and planted each spring. And, outstanding this year, are my "Candy Stripe" zinnias. I have never had such a wonderful "crop" of zinnias, though I never miss growing them somewhere in the garden, this year they are something to brag about!

I hope you will check in occasionally for updates on what is growing in my garden. I love to walk around the yard and talk about my plants and flowers. We might even get our hands dirty!

Just living is not enough..

One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

Hans Christian Anderson

All Creatures Great and Small

Our mountain is teeming with 'critters' this time of year. Some are welcome some are not.

Our deer are a welcome sight. We are still feeding a small herd each afternoon. We now see the mothers bring their fawns out in the open when they come. It is always fun to watch them chase, play, and interact with each other, just as all children do. I even notice when mom has had enough, and gives the little fellow a bump' with her nose to show her disapproval.

The little bluebird couple are still hanging around. They chose a box in the backyard to raise their little ones. These babies are now on their own. She never seemed to be too concerned about them, and he did a lot of the childcare, or fledgling care, while she sat at our window and looked in. We can count on seeing her each morning at our bedroom window. Then, in the afternoon she joins us at the living room window while we are reading the paper. The couple seem to be leaning towards housekeeping in the box on the porch. That is just about as close to the house as she can get without moving inside! I have become accustomed to seeing her each morning as she joins us for our first cup of coffee. I expect she has been up since first light, has eaten her breakfast, and is wondering why we are such sleepyheads, staying in bed until 6 in the morning! This little couple is welcome to share a few early morning moments with us.

Speaking of early morning! We always see a family of rabbits scampering around the backyard when we look out the kitchen window while pouring that first cup of coffee. If we are quiet, they will stay until we let the dogs out for the day. Other than nibbling a few green shoots in early spring, they don't seem to bother the garden too much. They are welcome as long as they eat only their share.

And then there are the UN welcome ones---

One night this week as I stepped out on the porch just before going to bed, my eye caught a shadow undulating across the yard toward the porch. Being familiar with the movement and scent, I realized that Mr. Skunk was making a visit. I called for Jack, though I knew we were not going to do any kind of confrontation with the critter being that close to the house.

And close he was! After shinning his light around under the porch, Jack declared him gone! I think not! I went to the back door to close it and heard a scuffling sound very near. Mr. Skunk was checking out the dog food bowl! Or, at least checking to see if we had accidentally left it out, as we had done the night before. Fooled him! Again, I called Jack to come see. His light revealed no critter on the back porch.

Then, I went to the side door close it. From the scent of things, Mr. Skunk was very near, and I saw a form scuffle away from the door as I again, for the third time, called Jack to bring his light. Mr. Skunk was obviously playing a game of hide and seek around the porch with us. Jack never saw him. I saw him three times that night.

Because skunks, even those with a playful sense (scents) of humor are really not welcome around here, Jack set out a trap--Have-a-Heart, of course. He baited it with dog food dipped in barbecue sauce (sounded good to him) and placed it in a place not too near the house, but within the path he had come the night before. The next morning the trap was empty, but the barbecued dog food was gone! Mr. Skunk is such a joker!

The next night, same trap, same bait--no skunk! But it was very obvious he had left his "mark"! On the third night, Jack moved the trap a little further from the house, thinking we may have made him a little wary of us! Ha! I doubt it! Mr. Skunk isn't worried about us!

End of story--We never were successful in catching Mr. Skunk, who hasn't been heard, seen, or smelled of since. However, that next morning when we checked the trap, a very large brown raccoon was puffed up and very mad about getting caught. (I think Mr. Skunk tricked him into crawling into that trap.)

The rest of the story--Jack relocated Mr. Raccoon down on Possum Trot Road. Yes, there is a Possum Trot Road. Just come up here and we will take you there! You may even see Mr. Raccoon--and, of course, a possum or two!

When the sun has slipped away and the dew is on the day,

Then the creature comes to call (that) men malign the most of all...

All he asks is that men let him be.

Robert T.Coffin

Little Joys

Summer Sunrise at Mountain Springs

I think it's the "little joys" that keep us going. The big ones are usually too few and too far between. You might call them "lifesavers". Here are a few that I have experienced lately.

Jack and I are in the habit this time of year of rising at the regular "getting ready for school" time and spending an hour or so on the porch watching the sun come up over the mountain as we drink our coffee. There are usually a few rabbits playing in the garden, (the dogs are up, but obviously too sleepy to notice) and a chorus of songbirds singing their morning melodies. It's a good time to take stock of the garden and flower beds and lay out a plan for the day. It is the most exhilarating, and at the same time relaxing, way to start the day. I certainly recommend it!

Speaking of coffee. I am glad I have lived long enough to learn that two of my favorite things, coffee and chocolate, are now "good" for us. It eliminates any guilt I may have had about indulging in the two. And, it seems, with coffee, the more the better! "Who'd a thunk it!", as they say in these parts! Wonder if that goes for chocolate too? Maybe so, since dark chocolate, which is more intense, is better than milk chocolate, which is milder. A few years ago eggs, peanut butter, nuts, and olive oil were not "good for us"--now we are told they have essential antioxidants. I am waiting for the study that declares cookies a major nutrient and vital to our well-being (which most of us already know).

And, speaking of chocolate--I have discovered a major gourmet dessert. Gourmet to my way of thinking anyway. A few days ago, Jack and I got up early and drove out to Fenton's Berry Farm. It was a beautiful morning, cloudy, slight breeze--just the weather for picking berries--raspberries! I have picked blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, dew berries, and wine berries but never raspberries, and they are my favorite! When we got home, we were tired and hungry. Jack suggested a bowl of berries, with ice cream. Good, but just drizzle a little chocolate on top, and you have one outstanding gourmet delight!

And, speaking of wine berries--a berry very similar to raspberries that grows around here on the mountain sides. I have heard it is a tame berry gone wild! I'm not sure about its origins, but it is one little burst of flavor, and well worth a few chigger bites. Of course, you need to watch for other critters as well. Jack and a bear were once picking in the same patch. Since there was plenty of berries for both of them, it worked out okay.

We eat wine berries plain, (hummm, think I will try the ice cream, chocolate combination with them this year), mixed with peaches in cobblers, and I usually make a little jam with them. The name, wine berry, tells you they might also be used for other indulgences.

It's getting close to dark, and another "little joy" we have is sitting on the back porch for just a few minutes to see what the sunset will look like this day. We are seldom disappointed!

And, speaking of "little joys"! We have a total of eight boys and two girls, all under 12, staying in our two cabins this week. Talk about little joys! They find joy in everything--from frogs to horses to rocks! Everyday should be such fun for us all!

The world is so full of a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings!

Robert Louis Stevenson

Home Again, Home Again

Harris Brake

Jack and I just got back from our first real vacation since moving to the mountains and taking on the cabin business--one that didn't include visiting relatives--though we do love our family. We found a lovely little lakehouse on a small lake near Perryville. Other than an early Father's Day celebration on the weekend with the four Jackson Henrys, we spent a few days of peace--just the two of us. No phones, computers, emails, nothing (0f course tv and movies! ) Fishing wasn't so great, but we did spend a lot of time on the dock with a fishing pole in hand. Got lots of practice casting and reeling in. A flock of Canadian Geese had set up residence on the lake and regularly checked on us as they made their rounds of docks and yards around the lakeshore.

My favorite time was the late afternoon rainstorm that lasted through the night. The wind, a little lightning and thunder, the clouds blowing in from across the lake--we watched from the porch until dark. The little bedroom with wrap-around windows on three sides made sleeping in the rain that night wonderful! Worth the whole trip!

Time to go home, and we took the long way home seeing parts of the Arkansas countryside we had not seen in our many roadtrips around the state. I always watch, as we drive north, for the first glimpse of the mountains. It will be somewhere around Russellville. As we travel Highway 7, we are feeling more and more at home. If you love the mountains you will know what I mean. Soon, we are on Highway 16 driving through Deer, Nail, and Swain. The views on both sides of the highway through here are unbelievable! Then on to Highway 21, by Mossville Church, and down into Boxley Valley.

As we drive by the mill pond, we notice the three Trumpter Swans. Yes, these are the ones they released this winter as part of a reverse migration imprinting experiment, and the ones we thought flew north for the summer. Seems they have been visiting up near War Eagle area for a few weeks, and have now come back to Newton County with little indication they are going anywhere else. Officials had hoped they would fly to Iowa, and return in the fall, bringing more with them. I guess they have other ideas. They seem as happy as "larks" or in this case, "swans", as they paddle around in the marsh, nibbling and splashing, and chattering to each other.

Could be the swans feel just like we do, and why we chose as our cabin slogan--"You will want to stay forever!"

I leave you peace; my peace I give you...John 14:27