Happy Halloween

May your spiders smile

and

all your pumpkins sparkle.

Happy Halloween!

When Yellow Turns Black

The old four wheeler has been with us since Andrew was five.

They decided it needed a little face lift so they sanded

painted and cleaned to paint some more.

Looking good...may it run another fifteen years.

Flat Rock Cemetery

Hubby worked on the county road system and emergency management for years.  Last Wednesday he shared an old cemetery with me he knew I did not know.

The first thing I imagined was the horses used to pull these large stones into place for the steps front and back.  The second thing I noticed was the sound of pigeons in the bell tower.  Every thing eventually goes back to nature.

It's good to see that people try to preserve history here.  I noticed the hand quarried stones in the foundation and was saddened by the poor shape of the building.  I wondered how much longer people would care.

 There were stones so old they almost could not be read.

I was reminded how rough life was during these times when I discovered these stones.

One child that lived and the mother did not live to see her baby grow up.

Such a lost I can't even begin to fathom.

Two days after her last birth/death the mother died.

Puts things into prospective.

Life has improved.

We are truly blessed to not know this sorrow.

I appreciated the history Hubby shared 

but I left with an ache in my heart for those gone before me.

This N That

Piece work patching done and the ancient smokehouse will weather another winter.

Doghouses cobbled together, scraps used, ready for winter.

Dog approved.

A work bench painted in a light color so dropped parts can be seen.

Equipment winterized.

In Aesop's Fables The Ant and the Grasshopper I like to think I am the ant.

There Are Some Rewards For Aging

but I forget about the senior citizen discount!  Hubby did not forget about buying his life time Arkansas Sporting License (hunting and fishing) for the price of one normal year.

I always enjoy Arkansas Game and Fish displays

but they had moved some.

We saw the Muskrat,

Bass and Otter, 

and the Bald Eagle.

Treasures Found

Hubby brings me found treasures.

I coat them to display outside

and they live on with me.

"... we all shine on

 Like the moon and the stars and the sun..." 

John Lennon

Andrew's Campsite

Always careful to put out the fire before they leave

 this secluded valley on the back side of the New Ground.

I'm sure many football games were replayed, romances discussed and fire side games played while hot dogs and s'mores were being created.  Strange noises heard at night. The sky visible beyond the trees in this, the place Andrew and his friends have camped many times through their years of high school.

As each move on in their own direction, they try to gather here now and then to catch up.  It is what friends do even though the ball game and high school is over.

Some will move on.  Some will be life time friends.  The future bonfire burns in their thoughts.

The wood awaits the next camp out/catch up.

'Tis The Season

The food plots are growing.

The automatic feeders are full.

The hunting blinds are repaired and readied.

Tree stands are relocated.

Buck scrapes/rubs are found,

noted and remembered.

In hopes of "bagging" one of these

the ladies must lure them in.

All feeders are emptied prior to season and refilled after season 

but the planted fields will feed the deer and other wildlife all winter.

Foliage Fossil and Fruit

Four leaf clover

fossil rock

Indian turnip

fruits after foliage dries.