THURSDAY AT THE LAKE

What a beautiful time of the year here in this area.  We have been here at this campground before and really enjoyed it. But it was nothing compared to this time of year. It is magnificent in it's beauty. There is wildlife in abundance, autumn color to the foliage, a hint of the winter to come, and the serenity of peace in the air. This time of year has always been special to me. Maybe it is because I was born in autumn. I really don't know.. but I know that I love the feel of autumn and that feel is intensified when I am surrounded with nature's abundance of beauty. As a child I remember the anticipation of the holiday's ahead... Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Now, as an adult I look upon those same holidays differently but I still have that inner child that enjoys the feel of the season. I hope that you can still feel the season's gifts to your inner child and that you will take a deep breath of the renewing spirit that is in the air. Here the air can be seen as it forms fog clouds that lift up into the sky...the mist is in the air...

 

We spent a couple of days checking out the other parks here around the lake.  That was a lot of fun. Some of the parks were pretty and would work for us but a few were taken off our list. Coming back from the Buckley Park we spotted these wild turkey crossing the road. They were quite a way up the road so this photo is about at the end of my zoom lens possibilities. A little farther away and they would have been a blur crossing the road...

 

 

Even though the truck's hemi motor is loud Phil still managed to get a bit closer for me to get a better shot of them... Now, this is the way to shot wild turkeys.. no mess, no loss of life, and makes great eye candy lol...

 

 

This is a flock of whooping cranes that Phil spotted flying over our camp looking for a nice landing spot. By the time I saw them, ran into the house and grabbed the camera, they were on the other side headed up another arm of the lake. Not perfect but proof that they were here...

 

 

This osprey was so high up everyone thought it was a buzzard circling the sky.  Thus, there is a lot of noise (spots) in the sky and the blue is rather blotchy looking because of it. But it is an osprey looking for fish in the lake below...

 

 

This is an original grumpy ole man... He likes to land at the beach in front but doesn't like us there. As you can see from the photo he is looking back at me on the ledge...I'm not sure what he said but he wasn't happy about it ... for sure!

 

 

I almost cry when I remember this little turtle. He was headed straight toward the cliff and would have fallen onto the rocks below. So me in my wanting to rescue him from that fate, may have caused his death. I picked him up and move him to another area of the park thinking he was safe there. But later Phil informed me someone ran over him. He was coming back. It is so sad that his life was taken so needlessly...

 

 

Below is one of the areas that we chose not to stop at.  We were headed to the Lena Campgrounds and were informed that it was closed. The man that was informing us told us of his private campground. Very primitive but had water and electric at the sites. It need mowing badly, the sites were unleveled and looked unkept. But the real clincher to us not wanting to stay was the price and no lake water...

 

 

We are very spoiled with our lake front views...

 

 

Well, I started this blog when I first got up this morning and it is now ten past three in the afternoon. While waiting on photos to upload I have cleaned and vacuumed the house, baked a chicken with chestnut dressing, and ate. Time to call this blog done. So I am kicking back and resting awhile...

 

 

That's it for the day... so.....

KEEP ON DANCING

 

 

 

 

 

LAKE OUACHITA, ARKANSAS

Wow... what a wild ride.  As we were preparing to leave Greer's Ferry Lake when the camp host came by and informed us the park was closing. Then we learned that all Government Parks and Campgrounds we closing due to the Government shutdown. Oh no... that shot our plans out of the sky. The only thing we could do was head down south to the Ouachita Lake and the Hwy 27 Fishing Village. Even though the park is just outside of the fishing village it was made by and is advertise as an Army Corps campground but it is privately own by the owner of the fishing village. The corps owns the land but it is run and maintained by the owner of the village due to his winning a lawsuit. So he had to lower his fees to match theirs and he has to honor the Senior Passport. This card is what we use to get the rates at half price. We came straight down to this park and were the first here but it has since started filling up. I don't know if it is local fishermen  or full time campers like ourselves. I tend to think most are local.

I have not been able to get on the internet because of poor reception... and I mean very poor...1 bar..no bar. But I was able to get a couple of emails out. We have no telephone reception... no how...no way. So please forgive the slowness of my writing the blog. Also, I cannot upload but a very few photos if any.

We are about twenty plus miles from Mt. Ida, and about twelve or so from Story, Arkansas.  Mt. Ida is known for their quartz crystals. It is where we have always come to get our crystals.  I absolutely love the energy here. It is so nurturing and healing for mind, body, and soul. But I am not sure I want to winter here because it gets cold... ice and snow country.  Guess that depends on what the government does.

I have been busy harvesting chestnuts and roasting them. There are three large trees that are loaded. The deer hit them at night and we hit them during the day. And there are still plenty on the ground... a bumper crop. They have to be dried before they can be stored. That is a chore but worth the work. Phil had his first taste of fresh chestnuts and he is hooked...lol. I really don't mind as he is helping with the collecting of them and putting them up.

This photo is the view that we have in front of us.  I took it the day we arrived...

This is the same area but I was standing just pass the bench in the above photo. It was taken the next morning...

 

Directly across the lake lives an American Bald Eagle. I just happened to have my camera in hand when he started harassing the herons. What you don't see in the photo are the two bluejays that were harassing him lol...

 

I love this photo of Phil fishing from the bank...

 

Except for the park needing  to be mowed the area is beautiful and serene. We are on the west side of the lake. On the east side is Hot Springs.  This is a large lake and my photos only show this tiny area...

 

 

And here is a photo of our campsite. We sit on a bluff with the lake a few feet below us...

 

Even though we feel chained to this area until there is a "change" in the government.... we are still dancing.... Hope that you are too...

 

KEEP ON DANCING

LAST DAY HERE AT GREER'S FERRY LAKE, AR.

Once again we start our packing so  we can move to the next campground. We are moving to the Kennedy Park just outside Heber Springs, Ar. It is on Collins Creek which flows into the lake. We decided against Dam Site Park which is directly on Greers Ferry Lake. That too, is a pretty park but the Kennedy Park is right beside the fish hatchery. Which means there are lots of big trout in the creek. This photo shows a few...

 

When we first arrived here two weeks ago I found this baby watermelon growing at the campsite next to us...

 

 

I watched it grow into a nice looking melon but then the mowers came and killed it.. I cut it open and found that it was just starting to turn pink. What a waste...

Phil took his boat out to get his trot lines in. I was standing out in the water when I glance up to see this boat coming straight at him...

 

I am happy to say that the boat slowed down and turned slightly to miss him and he came back safely to shore...

 

 Poor little SuYang thinks she has to get into the water every time I do. She swam out to where I was standing then turned and went back to shore. This is her standing waiting on me to come back to land. She is getting to where she loves the  water so I will have to watch that she stays out of it come this winter...

 

 

We had a storm blow in and it rained some. Supposed to be more rain all this week...

The yellow has given way to golds, browns, and reds and the trees are so beautiful to behold...

 

I took this next photo when I was standing in the water taking the photo of Phil and his boat...

 

There are some trees that have just begun their color change within the park. They did not start their display as soon as those close to our area did. I find that interesting...

 

 I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this tree stump covered in fungus mushrooms... they formed a heart!... What a rare sight to see!...

 

Phil is really becoming a Grill Master and I am getting spoiled lol.

So, as this day ends we close everything down and we get ready to travel the highway tomorrow. The weather report says it could be stormy tomorrow but...

 

NO MATTER HOW WILD THE RIDE

 

 REMEMBER WE JUST...

WHAT A DAY!

OMG.... it's my birthday...

I thought it was going to be one of those days that I should just go back to bed and I wondered why I even got out of it...

 

My bike stopped working, my family had forgotten me, and nothing was going right. After a couple of hours I gave up hope and decided that it was nothing more than another day in my life. This day was going to be whatever I made of it. So I put on a smile...said my morning prayers...

 

Then Phil gave me a big birthday hug (he had already given me an early present) and he begin working on my bike...

 

 

It wasn't long until my daughter called to wish me a happy birthday and to chat.  She is such a sweetheart and I love her dearly... This is photo taken of her and Tim...

 

 

Here is my favorite photo of her and our granddaughter (Tona) taken years ago. Tona is now a grown woman with children of her own...

 

 

 

While talking with her on the phone I receive an email that was a real surprise and really made my day. Because of a computer crash I had lost touch with my younger sister (Pat).  I was thrilled to hear from her to say the least. Was also surprised to learn that she found me when she googled my name it directed her to this blog...

 

 

Because of family and friends this turned out to be the best birthday ever... I love my life and I know that I am blessed. I dance with Angels...

 

I pray that you too dance with Angels and it is a dance of joy....

 

KEEP ON DANCING



 

 

AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR

Hello again. There isn't much going on with us. Phil is putting in the new holding tank. He has had to do a "make it fit" with it. Meanwhile, I have started another plastic bag rug. I try everyday to get out on the bike and enjoy the autumn changes taken place. The trees are changing from yellow to red.... gorgeous to behold.

 

A couple of days ago Phil and I ran into these two men playing washers.  It is a game something like horseshoes. They explained how it is played.  Seems you try to get  the washer into a little bucket sitting inside the wooden box to get a point. There is a hook on the lid and if you get your washer to stay on it, then you get an automatic win. We had fun watching them play and talking with them. They were really nice.

 

 

Later I watched Phil using his cast net to catch minnows for bait fish. Although he caught some he didn't go fishing lol.

 

 

They have a unique playground here in this park. This is a big plastic ship for the children to play on. While out riding yesterday I stopped and watched to children playing pirates... I loved it. They were having a great time pretending to be raiding pirates with treasure aboard. As I watched they made a imaginary man walk the plank. Hid a treasure chest and battled a shark to get it on shore. They were having a great time...

The far side of the park has just about emptied of people so I ride over there to meditate and watch the critters. That is where I found this little foxy lady... a fox squirrel...

I also spotted this box turtle. He didn't like me at all. When I moved he hissed. I noticed he has tiny puncture marks on his shell. Maybe, that was the reason he had an attitude. Don't believe the saying that turtles are slow... this little guy could move out pretty fast... which he did...

 

 

I haven't seen any honey bees on the flowers here. But there are butterflies and bumble bees pollinating the plants...

 

Although this hummingbird was really too far away to get a good picture.  I did grab a quick shot of him for Ida...

 

Well... here it is that time of the ending of the day and this edition of the blog.

 

 

Find your beat...and

 KEEP ON DANCING