When The Moon Hits Your Eye...

Okay, so I was up at 3:00 a.m. and got these shots - don't ask. My back "went out" on me last Friday and I had 2 days of spasms, and I'm slowly getting back on my feet - literally - so I haven't slept well. I passed through the living room this morning - at 3:00 - and the moon was high in the sky shining brightly. In one shot, you can see lights down below - that is Wilburn (be sure to click the photo to enlarge). In another, the moon itself is out of focus, but the reflection on the window glass of "another moon" was cool. See what we miss by sleeping?! Enjoy!

Squirrel Power?

Ever since we moved in last fall, we've stored bird seed under our back porch (which is underpinned in lattice) in hard plastic recycled kitty litter tubs with tight snap-on lids. When I went out to feed the birds yesterday, this is what I discovered. We had seen squirrels on our lattice and porches, so we can only assume that these critters were the culprits... nothing else could squeeze through the lattice, we're thinking! But who would believe they could chew right through this hard plastic!

At any rate, the bird seed is now in the garage, and the critters are on probation - no more seed for a few days!

Water Gun Fun!

Our great-niece and nephew - Caitlyn and Chase - are visiting from Missouri this week. We've seen then a couple of times already. Caitlyn is 8 - Chase is 4. They are a barrel of fun. One morning the doorbell rang, and Caitlyn was there, water gun in hand. "Poppy" Bruce and Chase were in one of Bruce's WWII Jeeps near the street... their mission was to "shoot STOP signs" and they were out of water - could they reload at our hydrant? They were only here about 10 minutes, but I managed to get a few good pictures to share. Notice Chase's T-shirt - it says "That's it... I'm calling Poppy!"

Light Show

We had a thunderstorm blow through Friday night - not much rain or anything else, but what a light show! We sat on the back porch and managed to catch these images... maybe more next time! The little row of lights in the lower left corner are the dam, and in picture #1 there are a couple of fish hatchery lights near the center. I'm pretty sure I took the first photo, and Greg caught the neat streak in picture #2!

Interesting Storm Clouds

As I write this, we are waiting for another round of thunderstorms to hit. But Tuesday night, we had an interesting storm come through. I thought I would post these photos of the dark, dark wall cloud that rolled over our house and through the valley, followed by 1.4 inches of rain! The last photo is the same valley in the bright sunshine the next day. (This is looking southeast toward Wilburn!)

Sunny Morning

Our cats took advantage of a beautiful sunny morning to soak up the rays and warmth. They LOVE the morning sunshine that floods our windows, and that is their new morning retreat. When I look at their faces, I am almost overwhelmed at God's artistry! I know, I know, I'm a doting "mother!" Humor me!!!

The View From Our Window

We have had our share of weird weather this spring. Last week, we had a lot of rain and thunderstorms. When they finally broke - I think on Thursday evening - I looked out across the valley, and this is what I saw... the sun was shining in almost a perfect "V" well down river from our house. It was as if just a little triangle of the valley had sunlight!

Can You Count the Birdies?

Yesterday we sat outside on the deck and listened to the birds. Greg said, "It's like being in the aviary at the zoo!" We think it is because of our bird feeders, as we don't remember this much of a symphony last summer! Greg has been organizing the garage, and he found a tube bird feeder with tray and refurbished it. I hung it on the stub of what was a branch to a hickory tree near our lower deck and filled it with thistle to hopefully attract some finches. Saturday morning, we came home from our garage sale trek, and the feeder was FILLED with goldfinches. I think there were close to two dozen there!

I grabbed my camera and started snapping photos. The movement and swinging of the feeder didn't help my efforts, but I managed to catch at least 11 in one frame. Aren't they beautiful?!

I am still trying to catch a picture of the pair of Indigo Buntings we have at another feeder. Apparently they are nesting in the trees near the waterfall beside our house. Stay tuned!

"Take the Lake" 5k Run/Walk

The "Take the Lake" 5k Run/Walk was held last Saturday evening near Greers Ferry Dam. All proceeds from this event went to The Christian Health Center of Heber Springs, which provides affordable, quality primary health care for the uninsured and those with inadequate financial resources, utilizing the volunteer services of health professionals from Heber Springs and the surrounding area. A huge group of volunteers rallied to produce this event. I offered to do press releases and handle media publicity. Pictured are Drs. Sarah and Chris Tate crossing the finish line, our friends Fred Davis (#350) and Cynthia and Ryan Kashbohm (#12) catching their breath after the race, and our very own Stephen and Ladd Choate. Laddie had the time of his life running and playing with all of the other children. He had plenty of people who love him to look after him while Stephen worked the finish line, Melissa ran with the women from her walking clinic, and Granddaddy took care of Ada Jane!

















Don Burns, on-air morning personality for Spirit FM, our new local Christian radio station, came and set up his tent, so that he could present the awards after the race. He even participated as a walker!

There were probably 175 runners/walkers, and I don't know how many children who participated in an earlier "children's race" in Dam Site park. The main race started at 6:00 p.m. at JFK Overlook and brought the participants across Greers Ferry Dam, into Dam Site Park, and through the park to the front entrance... a 3.1 mile course. One of the youngest participants was Cale Anderson, the son of our friends Boyd and Shannon Anderson. Cale is only 4, but he "ran" most of the race. Since he was one of the last finishers, there were plenty of people at the finish line chute to cheer him on, and I am sure Cale thought he'd won the Olympics! These photos are of Cale as he finishes (Stephen Choate is on the left taking his bib info), then with his dad, and then hi-fiving his mom. It was a great event and a wonderful evening for families to come out and enjoy fantastic weather and a wholesome even for a good cause. No word on how much money was raised yet!













As for the rest of Springfest... a huge thunderstorm arose just at start of the chair auction. There might have been 50 people in the room - seven chairs. Mine struggled to pull in $45. Thanks to the auctioneer's wife, Cheryl Orr, for purchasing my chair!