Break Is Over

Hello there!!

What was supposed to be an August beak

turned into a little more than that.

No real reason, just what happened.

I'll catch you up on the last seven weeks.

It won't take very long,

it was a slow time as I spent most of it indoors!!

Here's what I did when I occasionally ventured outside . . . 

watched reflections as I chatted with my sister . . .

spent some wonderful "water" time with family . . .

searched for the last summer flowers . . .

enjoyed the car show at Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas

(our car is the red one, 1943 Ford five-window coupe)

kept a close eye on our buckeye tree trying to beat the squirrels to the buckeyes . . .

visited a different library and discovered a nature trail . . .

anxiously looked for signs of fall and cooler weather . . .

and started dreading the raking of the leaves!

I couldn't pass up the sad face on this particular leave.

Maybe it didn't really want to float to the ground!

That's about it in a nutshell!

I did do a few other things, but I'll save those for another day.

So glad to be back!
So glad you stopped by!!

The Perfect Day

What does it take to have the perfect day? To me, it's being outside enjoying sunshine and nature. I had one of those perfect days this past weekend.

It began with a tour of Boxley Grist Mill which was built about 1869. It's basic function was grinding corn into meal. The mill which is now part of the Buffalo National River Area and is slowly being restored.

Also on the mill property was this old barn, which is just about to be taken over by weeds. Oh, I love barns! They make my heart sing. I saw several, but this was the only one I was able to get pictures of.

The perfect day also includes a perfect hike. What is included in my perfect hike? I'll be glad to tell you.

1. My perfect hike includes finding a good trail; not to strenuous as my knees seem to be aching more and more. In spite of those achy knees, I enjoy trails that have steps that are much easier to navigate than inclines covered with rocks and slick leaves.

2. My perfect hike includes water. Water was a little hard to find on this hike, we've been in a little drought season, but, find it I did. Water was seeping out of an opening in one of the rock formations.

3. My perfect hike includes color, any color; the color of rocks created by minerals in the water that seeps out of the cliffs, the color of the sky, and this time of year the color of autumn.

4. My perfect hike includes unusual trees.

5. My perfect hike includes unexpected surprises like lichen in the shape of a heart and

a face looking down from a huge cliff.

6. My perfect hike includes enough activity to accelerate my heart rate. Only this time it wasn't the hiking that got my heart pounding, it was watching my grandsons crawl all over the boulders and cliffs. Remember the water coming out of the cliff a few pictures up? That picture is a little deceiving. When I took the picture I was standing on a rock across a large rock valley. There's nothing for perspective, so you can't see how enormous this cliff really is. That's where these guys are, at the top of the water fall. Trust me, it's way up there! Boys are made for rock climbing, but Gramma's heart is not!

5. But, more than anything I listed above, my perfect hike includes family!

The perfect day always has to end.

My heart is full of joy!

I am blessed!

"From the moment I woke up,

I could tell that it was going to be

a good day."

~ Aly Johnson

Scene & Story - June 2017

It was on the ground under the shade of a tree, close to a small lake where geese played and swans glided across the water. It was waiting; waiting to be picked up and a wiggly worm put on its hook. It was waiting for its line to be cast into the lake where it’s red and white cork would bobble in the water until some unsuspecting fish snatched at the worm and the cork would quickly sink under water.

The highlight of many of my childhood summers included a week spent with my Uncle Harry and Aunt June. They had no children of their own, but each summer they welcomed not only me, but several cousins as well. Most summers there were at least six of us. I look back and wonder how they every survived the week!

Among the traditions of the week was fishing in the pond across the road from their house. It was in the middle of a cow pasture, but my uncle always mowed us a path to the pond. The boys would go looking for worms and then we’d all get our poles and hike down the path. I remember . . .

Uncle Harry patiently baiting our hooks,

casting my line,

watching the cork float in the water,

the smell of hot grasses,

cows mooing,

the heat of the sun,

the chorus of crickets and frogs,

straw hats,

itchy legs from bugs and chiggers,

the excitement when my cork began to bobble,

Uncle Harry with his camera around his neck taking our picture when we caught a fish,

and

the smell of frying fish for supper.

But, most of all I remember the joy of being with my favorite aunt and uncle and the love they gave us all. I miss them both so very much. I’m thankful for these childhood summer memories that came flooding back when I saw a pole, a line, and a cork under a shade tree.

* * * * *

I'm linking today with Scene & Story hosted

by Sarah and Lee.

Join us each month as we choose a photo and tell a story.

What Does The Word Mean - Part VI

"Think, think, think" is a phrase often uttered by Winnie The Pooh when he faces a puzzling problem. I've been repeating that phrase a lot lately when it comes to photographing "the solace, nourishment and underlying meaning of everyday words" from David Wythe's book, Consolations. As an avid reader I love words, but so many times I read them quickly. This book has made me stop and really think about the meanings of a word and then I have to think of a way to photograph it! Yes, there's lots of things to think about!

* * * * *

Longing

Longing is strong desire from deep within for something that is unattainable or distant. Longing can bring feelings of being trapped. Acceptance is needed when the situation cannot be changed.

* * * * *
MATURITY

Maturity means fully developed. This is a status we earn as we "learn to live fully and equally in multiple contexts" which are our past, our present, and our future. Maturity takes work; much like this persistent little plant works to survive in a a rock wall. This plant needs three things: dirt, water, and sunlight. It can't mature without all three things and we can't develop fully without accepting our past, our present, and our future. (quote by David Whyte)

 * * * * *
MEMORY

Each moment we live creates a memory. These memories are stored and lay dormant until the time we retrieve them, then they flow back into our consciousness.

"Memory passes through an individual human life like a building musical waveform, increasingly virtuosic often volatile, sometimes overpowering." David Whyte

* * * * *
NAMING

What is it?

What do you do with it?

My curiosity makes me want to identify and put a name to things, but sometimes it's better to just be captured by it's shape, color, and texture. Sometimes the mystery is better when it is not solved.

"The precision of naming

takes away from the uniqueness of seeing."

Pierre Bonnard


* * * * *
Nostalgia

He is my father.

He was know as a Jack-of-all-trades

There was nothing he could not repair.

He kept screws, washers, and bolts.
He might need them one day.

They are now all forgotten.

He works no more.

He has Alzheimer's.

Nostalgia is a wistful desire or a yearning to return to a former time in one's life.
I yearn for the days when my dad knew how to do things;
when he enjoyed working with his tools.
I yearn for the days when he was happy.

* * * * *

This post finally catches me up with the current word. Since I'm caught up it will be about five weeks before you see another "word" post. The five words above have been the hardest for me. Maybe my brain is getting tired to trying to picture words! I peeked ahead at the titles of the next few chapters in the book and I'm afraid they look harder than these!  I'm going to have to "think, think, think!"

In case you've recently joined me here. You can go back to this post and read about the project I'm participating in. If you are new, I'm so pleased you've stopped by!

Let's Go Hiking!

We didn't have a normal Thanksgiving this year. We didn't have our meal on Thursday. We didn't have fancy dishes. We didn't dress up.

In fact, we had our meal on Wednesday. We used throw-away dishes and we ate with a little dirt on our jeans. 

It was the most wonderful Thanksgiving week. We spent our week at a cabin in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Of course you can't go to the Ozarks with doing a little hiking. 

We all arrived in stages, so on the first day my daughter, her three boys, and I walked the Whitaker Point Trail. Our destination was a rock formation that juts out from the bluff that resembles a Hawk's beak. Thus it's called Hawksbill Crag. It overlooks Whitaker Creek and a huge valley. Above you can see my daughter and boys. Below, I'm with the boys and you can see the rock formation. Although it is a little scary knowing that you're out on a rock even if it is a wide rock. We didn't go near the edge and we made the boys sit down! I'll have to confess, I wasn't about to stand up!

On the second day, my son and his family arrived. We all hiked the trail to The Glory Hole. The Glory Hole is a waterfall cascading through a natural-made hole in a rock down into a cave. The trail is steep in places, especially going down to the bottom of the waterfall where the rocks are damp and slippery with leaves. None of us minded taking a few breaks along the way!

Gramps arrived in time for the hike on the third day. Lost Valley was our destination. This was my favorite trail. It's beautiful with so many rock formations, a waterfall, a cave, and unusual trees. The trail starts out easy, but as you climb becomes more difficult.

Our little Isaac, whose is two, walked with me at the beginning of this trail. We brought up the rear. Ahead of him is Jerry (my husband), Randy (son), Patty (daughter, on left), Aimee (daughter-in-law on right) and the three other grandson way up there in the distance. You can barely see them. Although Isaac walked as much as he could, his dad had to carry him through the difficult parts.

This trail has a Natural Bridge where water flows out of a tunnel into a reflecting pool. Remember I said it got harder. We actually climbed up the right side of the waterfall into the tunnel. I still can't believe I did that. That's me in the picture above, far left.

There's a second waterfall on this trail, Eden Falls. What happens when you put boys and water together? You get lots of rock throwing! As the rocks hit the water their sound echoed loudly around us. It sounded like small canons.

Rest time again!

The rock formations were breathtaking!  

One last picture, of me and the boys. You'll notice that our oldest grandson is not with us except on the first day. He and his dad hiked the Buffalo River Trail, a total of 39 miles. An amazing accomplishment for these two!  So proud of them both!

(picture taken by Jacob, my son-in-law)

Thanks for hanging around and getting to the end. There's just so much I want to share about our week. I'll be back with a few more nature details as soon as I'm able.

Trains & Boys

wheels

pistons

bells

horns

lights

Those are a few things you'll find at a train museum

along with
rivets

metal

grim

dust

and numerous circles.

Oh, and the textures, they

almost overloaded my mind!

This past weekend
you would have also found my favorite five guys at the museum.

Isaac

Jake

Josh

Aaron
Drew
(starting on the top row, going left to right in photo below)

The lighting in this old building, which was originally a train repair shop, was horrible. The ceilings are very high and the lighting was dim. To complicate things there are windows all around the top that sunlight flooded through. The bottom of the building was dark and the upper part was super bright which totally confused my poor little point and shoot camera!   Since I was climbing up in those trains with the boys, carrying the big camera wasn't feasible. Perfect pictures were not important; family fun together was!

The boys liked the diesels, but me, I liked the steam engines. My favorite was the St. Louis Southwestern No. 819. It was the last locomotive built in Arkansas. The locomotive built in 1943 was retired in 1955 when the newer diesel engines made their arrival. The 819 is called the queen of steam, weighs 368 tons, measures 100 feet, takes 150 gallons of water and 15 gallons of oil just to run one mile of track. I actually got to see this engine run at a festival in 1988. It was an amazing sight to see and to hear!

There was so much to see and do. The boys could climb around and play on most of the engines and train cars. There were a few train races going on as they sat in the windows of the cabs and yelled back and forth. When asked who won the race, Aaron said, "It was hard to tell who won the race since we really weren't going anywhere!!" But, it sure was fun to pretend.

Part of this area is still a working railroad. In one of the shops the train wheels were being refinished and repaired. When the wheels were finished they were rolled down a ramp where they bumped into another set. The boys waited for a good while to see the wheels roll down and bump. The sound they made was similar to a giant bell. BONG!

We had such a fun day.
I love these guys
and cherish every moment I spend with them!!

A Portrait

A Portrait Of My Grandfather

I called him Papaw Culps.

He called me Cafe (Kafee).

My grandfather lived to be 94. He never changed, just aged. He was a small, thin man who was hardworking, full of energy, full of fun, and full of love for his family.

I gathered some of his things together to show you who he was.

• an old wooden cigar box - He didn't smoke cigars, but he kept little bits of his life in them.
• Gideon Bible - He was a strong Christian.
• oil can and wrench - He was always tinkering on something or building something.
• glass bottle - He had a bottle tree in his front yard that was even featured in the newspaper one time.
• backhoe belt buckle - He worked in construction, usually operating a large crane. He was part of the crew that built several bridges in Arkansas.
• coin purse and lucky coin - He always had the coin purse in his pocket.
• cuff links - He probably only wore them on Sundays. Papa was always in work pants and a long sleeve shirt even in the hot humid summer.
• purple rock - He was a collector. He had large crystal rocks around his flower beds.
• collapsible metal drinking cup - It was dented and well used. My guess is he kept it on the dash of his truck for use on the job site.

My favorite memories with Papa were when he loaded us all up in a large wagon behind the old tractor and took us for a ride around my Uncle's land. Sometimes we picking blackberries from the wagon, sometimes we headed down to the pond to fish, and later we shared the ride with our children.