Mother Nature's Surprises

Super Tuesday tornado outbreak in February 2008 was strong and long lived.  We had roof damage, lost half of our barn (no insurance) and many, many trees. We were lucky.

The neighborhood just over the rise had one person killed and several homes destroyed along with life stock.  The small town of Zion, six miles away,  had one death and the same destructive result.

Here are two pictures from Zion.  I would like to repeat how lucky this county was. Being in a rural area most damage was in sparsely populated areas.

Hubby was Emergency Manager and was out for 36 hours straight  (and for weeks afterwards), organizing, rescuing, and working.  The people were wonderful.  Every one was out with chain saws clearing trails, checking on their neighbors and feeding the people. I was counting cows and calming the horses when a ATV appeared through another pasture to check on us.  I still don't know to this day who it was!

The tornado keeps on giving.  This is one of the large pecan trees.  About twenty feet off the ground we have found a brake cable, we think.  The recent constant winds must have dislodged it and dropped it down where we could see.

Another surprise from Mother Nature is the broken bottle I found as I was cutting down Virginia Creeper from the side of the same tree.  The root had grown through a buried bottle. The mouth of the bottle still was attached to the root.

Mother Nature and man leaves us many surprises,

good and bad.

Here's my most recent find left behind from the previous occupants.

Mother Nature has many secrets.

Rubber Bootin'

Working at the shop Friday morning I left early.  Shame on me.  The storms came later.  We were safe once again.  Batesville had a tornado about thirty miles from our house.  Thursday horrible winds and storms hit Arkansas and we lost two people.  We personally were lucky.  We have a few limbs down and a creek flood but nothing we couldn't deal with like we always do.

One advantage of living at the end of a dead end road in the middle of nowhere is I CAN wear my night gown while I search for treasures during a storm.  The rocks don't care how I dress.

Bonnie and I are battling over where the water lilies should be planted.  She keeps removing my pots and moving them around the yard.   They don't grow very well in the yard.  Now if I could train her to pull weeds it would be perfect.

It is fun to get muddy.  Holding some muddy chips of chert and flint, the by product of flint napping to make arrow heads for their weapons.  I found two or three hands full of flakes and chips.

This is the damaged arrow head I found today.  This style will spin through the air as it heads to the target.
One of the many treasures nestled in this valley of springs.

The thunder rolled, the lightning flashed.  I love the intensity of the storm while knowing I was okay.  I tried to edit a movie so you could witness the fun and listen to my Southern twang.  My edit failed. You will just have to take my word for it that the walk was exhilarating.

Rain Reveals Treasure

Rain brings life with it

and reveals past life

A pottery shard with other artifacts

The rim of the broken pot shard is smooth and formed

while the inside indicates heat

Could it be an old fire pot

or simply a cooking pot forgotten?

We can only guess.

Invaluable Farm Team and Treasures...

The rain and thunders storms rolled in and out all day.

We had uninvited visitors.

Not ours!

Why do ours stay in but we can't keep these out?

Lizzy and Junior

Squiggs, Junior and Ki

Add Border Collie Diamond Lil 

and you have an unbeatable team to move cattle.

To see stock dogs work is a thing of beauty.  Each dog is trained by the one above them.  Lil is a head dog, the smaller ones are heelers and movers.  

When the strangers arrive Marcy can clap her hands, I yell "Yhaw!" and the team moves like a well-oiled machine.  Itty-bitty Lizzy and Squiggy gets them moving, Ki and Junior separate the strangers from our cattle and Lil takes the head. 

I've never had the herds completely blended until today.  Squiggs (not twelve pounds) cut out our cattle and headed them back to their spot while Junior, Ki and Lizzy curved the strange bunch back out of our pasture.  It was simply amazing. I face an oncoming wave of half grown calves.  For a second, just a second, I doubted the power of my team.  I raised my arm and I pointed.  The dogs take our cattle one way and the strange ones are herded the other. As they hit the divide, Lil picks up the chase and takes them totally into their home pasture.

Pure dance and art when they work.  A motley crew of Border Collies, a tiny Cairn mix, a Jack/ Rat Terrier,  my hot pepper Ki-Anne of unknown origin and her son Junior moved together like a well choreographed Broadway musical.  

I am proud of our little pack.  All were throw aways except for Lil.  They fit perfectly together and make a fantastic irreplaceable farm team. Not only with herding but also on protection and patrol detail.

Between rains I took a short walk and discovered a few treasures the farm had to offer for my pleasure and enjoyment.

Friday...

The moon,

mums,

Marcy's treasure,

and more to sell.

I guess that makes Friday

an mmmm day!

Wondering...

Do I talk about how the fog enveloped the valley on my drive to work yesterday, making it look prehistoric or about how beautiful the moon was before full darkness?

Shall I talk of wandering the farm and finding a perfect knife or tell of finding this perfect arrowhead in my yard?

Do I speak of the beauty in the ordinary things around me, that sometimes go unnoticed until the light is right?

Do I share a tale of the old homestead and the memories of my ancestor's and my life here?

I leave you with these questions...

and proof of spring.

Spring Rain...

has rolled through our valley,

filling our stock ponds,

soaking into the ground,

urging the green to come out.

The spring flowers reached for the sun between the rains.

Treasures were uncovered.

As the water cleared,

we see new work,

but the valley is greener.

What Is It?

A frog and a flower
A large garden spider

figs

dried cattails

Marcy's arrowhead she found in the garden