"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!

The "Princess Chair"

Many of you already think I'm crazy, so when I tell you I have spent between 25-30 hours creating this chair, you will understand! This is for the "Chair Auction" in conjunction with Springfest next week. I started with an old child's high chair (sans tray) that I bought at an auction for $1. I painted, and PAINTed and PAINTED, and then I added a "skirt" trim braid and little sparkly flowers, and this is the end result! Let's hope some "little princess" has to have it and the bids go high!!! (I'll be happy if somebody BIDS!)

Backyard Beauties

Monday was a beautiful day, and after dinner I took advantage of the last rays of sunlight and what might be our only dry day until Friday. I grabbed my camera and headed under the bluff to photograph the dogwood trees and some amazing little wildflowers. We pass by these beauties every spring and hardly give them a look, but if you observe closely, they are amazingly intricate and spectacular.
















Equally stunning are what I call "baby leaves" - the leaves that have just begun to form on some of the trees in our yard. These look a little like sea creatures as they unfurl.



There was quite a breeze Monday evening, so some of the photos may appear a bit blurry as the trees and flowers waved gently back and forth, but I still felt they were worthy of a post! Enjoy!

Amazing What a Rain Can Produce....

We had a lot of rain this weekend, and things are popping everywhere... greens, yellows, colorful redbuds, little wild flowers everywhere. This was the view from our back yard after the rain Sunday.

A Walk on Good Friday

Today was beautiful... sunny and warm... and things are bursting out everywhere on the bluff. Spring has SPRUNG! I climbed down under the bluff outside our back door and snapped these pictures. It is amazing to me how the plants and delicate little flowers can grow out of those massive rocks. And the variety of ferns we have growing on this cliffside is astounding!














Back on top of the ridge, I turned and started down the road paralleling Mossy Bluff Trail and the Buckeye Trail, and I found amazing specimens of the buckeye tree in various stages of growth, depending on how much direct sunlight each received. Greg said some of the leaves looked like marijuana plants, but I assure you, they are from the buckeye tree!













And then there is the Serviceberry Tree... bursting with blooms all along the hillsides. The buds have fuzzy pink petals as they unfurl, and then they open into beautiful white blossoms that are really quite large. These trees are making our hillsides white these days, and they remind us that the dogwoods can't be far behind!