We’re still working around the place, cutting a few storm damaged trees and ones too close to the lane from the street to the house; most are Eastern red cedar, and the heartwood is really hard.  On Sunday, a couple of local high school boys came by to work a couple of hours and they were really put through the paces, piling logs and limbs.  I worked solo on Monday, cutting several more trees and piling the debris; it’s a real job!  While finishing the job, the on/off switch on the chainsaw stuck in the “On” position, so it was to the repair shop.  I’ll finish next week!  Anyway, the place looks a little bit neater now.

There are still a few butterflies and moths flittering about, offering some photo opportunities.

The duplicate bridge class is waning in attendance, but we are still going on Wednesday afternoons.  An then, on Friday afternoon, we played duplicate bridge at the Van Matre Senior Center.  It was Kay’s first time to play duplicate bridge but she did well, and we finished 5 out of 8 teams—could’ve been better, could’ve been worse.

The days are beginning to warm to the mid-80s with attendant high humidity; consequently, our outdoor activities will begin to cease, unless on water.  Speaking of which, water surface temperature of Norfork Lake is only 68 degrees.

We’re both beginning to have RV withdrawal, but no end is in sight for being homebound!  Until next week…

We’ve finally settled down into a routine and rhythm in our life at Dunnhill.  Both last spring and again this spring, we debated whether or not we wanted to continue to live in Baxter County, Arkansas.  We find the culture to be both delightful and challenging; we miss the opportunities available in larger urban areas such as dining, entertainment, and even the arts.  However, we profoundly enjoy the lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests surrounding us, and our 4 acres is truly heaven on earth for us.  We continually work on the flora, both natural and domestic, and creating good spaces for the birds and butterflies, notwithstanding the deer and turkey.  Having said all this, we think we have finally decided to stay put, at least for 5 years.  Consequently, we’ve been working with an added fervor, and are redecorating the house to more accommodate our lifestyle—we don’t entertain as much as we initially thought, and our family has grown considerably as each of the kids has a significant other, and we have two “new” grandkids.

Each morning, with coffee in hand, we sit out on the patio and watch the birds “come to life” after the weather warms a bit.  The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds take on sugar water for their busy day, and the American Goldfinches, Tufted Titmice, Pine Siskins , Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Robins, Mourning Doves, and Robins eat black sunflower seeds from the tube feeders, and the Pileated, Red-bellied, and Downy Woodpeckers, and even the Blue Jays, eat the peanut-based suet.

During the course of the day, we’ll see various species of butterflies sipping nectar from one plant or another.  It’s amazing how many butterflies there are around here, if we just look.

I have been chasing a Zebra Swallowtail all spring, but could never get one to sit still long enough to photograph, and then this week this particular butterfly stayed put for a long time, enjoying a small chunk of bark mulch.  It would fly off, and then return to the same spot.

We also have had several Spicebush Swallowtails around the garden, and this particular one really liked the periwinkle, though they also like the marigolds despite the repulsive odor marigolds emit.  If you look carefully, note that it’s right wing is a little frazzled, perhaps from a difficult journey as it migrates north, but it’s still one of God’s beautiful creatures with lots of color and the notable swallowtail. 

Each evening, weather permitting, we sit on the patio and watch the birds, especially the hummingbirds, zoom here and there.  There is always a male guarding each feeder, and Kay calls him the air traffic controller for that particular feeder as he will chase off any other males, but allows any and all female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to sip away.  Already this year, they are emptying feeders everyday, and we have a half dozen or more. 

So, as you see, despite the challenges here in Baxter County, we love our little piece of heaven, and will stay put here awhile longer.

Today, Kay and I drove to Bentonville to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to view the Norman Rockwell exhibit.  This is a special exhibit featuring his most famous paintings, sketches, and illustrations, and all the Saturday Evening Post magazine covers attributed to him.

Enroute, we stopped at Pea Ridge National Battlefield and enjoyed the short drive around the park.  The Civil War battle lasted only a couple of days, but was decisive in the Union maintaining Missouri—two CSA general officers were killed; the Pea Ridge battle was payback for the losses the Union suffered at Wilson Creek in the Springfield, Missouri, area.  Many improvements have been made to the grounds in the last few years, and the park roadway would be a great bicycle ride.

Over the years, I have heard much of the Elkhorn Tavern in northwest Arkansas, and finally saw it at Pea Ridge.  This is not the original, but an old replica.

At the Norman Rockwell exhibit, we found the parking lots to be full as the museum was packedl; I dropped Kay off at the door and found someone pulling out in the uppermost lot.  We waited in line about 20 minutes to get into the exhibit hall, but it was worth it. 

With the museum’s IPods in hand and earphones on, we really enjoyed each painting and piece of art in the exhibit.  Photographs were not allowed to be taken at the exhibit, but the flowers along the walkway back to upper lot were beautiful.

Kay and I had a full week.  After church and Sunday school, we worked on the property for a few hours doing odds and ends such as cleaning up ditches, raking leaves, and cleaning out our “dry” creek in back.  A couple of local high school boys helped us by doing all of the heavy lifting and hard labor—character building.
The poison ivy consequence of our fern foray is taking its toll—my left arm is practically covered in a
rash, the right arm is broken out in several places, and the upper part of my left leg and stomach have some rash as well.  We use an OTC product called Tec Nu Extreme, and it helps tremendously in relieving itching and drying up the rash.
One of only two surviving Dunn aunts (an in-law) died early this week.  Aunt Banty, known more properly as Evangeline, was Uncle Tommy’s wife and they lived next door and down the hill from us.  Having a car, she drove her kids to school each day, and always provided me a ride.  The last of a generation, she will be greatly missed, but leaves a magnificent legacy.
Anyway, back to yard work, we hung an oriole feeder I built last week; it has wooden dowels to hold orange halves, and two cup holders for grape jelly.  So far, there have been no takers even though we’ve played Baltimore Oriole calls each morning and afternoon to attract them.  In addition, we installed a moving water feature to assist in attracting birds, comprised of a garbage can lid and a solar pump.  It works great, and the birds and other animals practically drain it each day.  It’s located next to a pile of brush to provide some cover.

And our work last weekend revealed that the “dry” creek is too low in one section, allowing soil and mulch to cover it.  We dug a trench along side it, and installed upright cedar logs, effectively making a short retaining wall.
We also planted red salvia and lantana to provide nectar for the birds and butterflies and to add some color to the yard.  American Goldfinches and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have practically been swarming; we feed about 50 pounds of sunflower seeds each week, filling the tube feeders daily, about 5 blocks of suet, and are now having to refill 7 hummingbird feeders daily.  That’s in addition to 50 pounds of corn per week for the deer and turkeys.  But it’s all worth it, at least to us, for the inner peace and solitude provided.
Ron and Kaden came up Friday evening to spend the weekend with us, celebrating Mother’s Day.  We fished Saturday afternoon, but it was crowded where we like to fish as one of the local guides has begun trespassing on private property, bringing in clients to fish, violating not only “No Trespassing” laws, but also subdivision restrictions preventing commercial and business activities within the subdivision.  Oh well, someone else’s battle to fight!  Fishing was difficult, though Kaden caught a couple, out fishing his dad who only had one.
We all enjoyed a quiet time on the patio watching the hummingbirds swarm a couple of feeders.  Ron bravely held each of the feeders via his outreached arm and saw them feed up close and personal.  He grilled lamb for our dinner meal, and it was delicious, making for a great weekend.

Kay and I were scheduled to participate in the Ozark Ridge Runner’s rolling rally to Pella and the Amana Colonies in Iowa this week, but changed our minds because of the distance, weather, and significant down time during the rally—this proved to be a fortuitous decision, at least weather-wise.  Consequently, we had a hole in our schedule for the week.  On Wednesday, we hunted ferns at our favorite fern digging place, and filled the Explorer with wild ferns.  After planting these, we dug up, separated, and replanted three Quince shrubs.  After our bridge lesson, we picked up more plants and resumed gardening Wednesday afternoon into early evening.  The pollen is so bad that I had a fierce allergic reaction, and slept very little Wednesday night.  We had ordered a replacement burner from Bass Pro Shops for the electric smoker and received notification that it had arrived in the store.  With some down time and bad weather forecast, we drove to Branson for the day and evening.  After lunch at Olive Garden, we walked through the Butterfly Palace and stared in wonderment at all the beautiful butterflies.  (More photos of butterflies can be viewed on our web album.)  It wasn’t the same as seeing them in the wild, but sufficed until warmer weather brings them our way.  Kay shopped and I took a long nap at the motel.  We attended the Bald Knobbers show in the evening and laughed almost the entire two hours at their silly, corny comedy. 

During the night, freezing rain, sleet, and snow began falling, though the highways were clear.  We drove to Springfield to have maintenance performed on the Honda, and several inches had accumulated on windshields of cars in the lot—crazy weather for May 3; Kay snapped this photo via her cell phone.  It was odd watching cars pull into the maintenance bays covered with snow—on May 3!  A few of the overpasses in Springfield were slick, and there were several fender benders.  Leaving Don Wessel Honda, we picked up the replacement burner at Bass Pro Shops, and Kay bought a pair of shoes.  We made our last stop at Sam’s Club for groceries and a few other odds and ends before returning home.  On Saturday, I discovered a poison ivy rash on both arms, no doubt from the fern digging on Wednesday.  No good deed goes unpunished.