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

 

MOTHER NATURE IS WEARING HER SUNDAY BEST

The weekend has arrived and the park is filling fast. There is going to be a fishing tournament and I expect even more people will show up. It has rained all day today but is supposed to clear tomorrow. Should be noisy around here with all the boats coming and going. Guess we will stick close to home this weekend.

I found a photo taken just before arriving here. Not sure where it was taken. It is an old manure spreader, an old milk jug, with some geese decoys. I do remember it was in a person's front yard. Manure spreaders were used to fertilize the gardens and pastures years ago...

 

Our first day here at this park there was a flock of wild Canadian geese that flew in. Most landed right in front near the swimming area but a few came in next to us. They are very wild and weary of any movement. I managed to stand on the patio and get one photo. Once they spotted the girls the whole flock flew away...

 

  

Here are a couple more barn scenes that I found that I had over looked during my last posting...

 

This next old faded barn almost looks like a house. The only reason I say it is a barn is the big double door ...

 

Small home and large barn that have fell on hard times...

 

 Really not sure what this building shell was. There is a road coming down off the hill as you can tell. Maybe someone removed the tin off the barn. Or could be it was never finish. Fun to try to guess it's story... Barn, house, shop, or what? Your guess is as good as mine. 

Here are some photos taken of the autumn colors that are showing around the park... Mother Nature is starting her show...

 

 What a color show it is...

 

 Took this next photo standing near the swim beach looking back at our campsite...

 

This next one is a cypress tree on the beach...

While I was taking the fall color shots I let the girls run and play.  They had a blast running here and there checking out stuff...

 

But all things come to an end. This was my last photo of the day as we left the swim beach behind us...

But tomorrow is another day. The inner song we each have will once again animate us to dance to the beat of our hearts. And once again we begin our dance with the Angels...

 

DANCE ON...



 

 

GREERS FERRY LAKE, ARKANSAS

After checking out the 125 Campgrounds at Bull Shoals Lake we decided to head south.

 

The photo above is a view I had of Bull Shoals Lake as we drove around to the 125 Campgrounds. The photo below shows Missouri across the lake but the only way to get there on Hwy 125 is by boat... ferry boat that is... 

 

 

Actually, there are two ferry boats at that crossing.  The one pictured above and this one below. Both are in service but after taking a look at them both Phil and I agreed.... no way, lol. You can tell business is slow when you see the captain of the ferry out in a dingy fishing and a heron resting on the boat.... lol...

 
At the 125 campgrounds they have a unique sundial. It is a giant treble fishhook...

 
The ride down to this new campground was mainly on Hwy 65, then over to FM 16. We passed through several towns coming down. Several were nice sized town, while others were the... " don't blink or you missed it" size.  I mainly focused on the old barns and farms. Here is a few of the pictures taken... not sure where this one is located on the map. An old barn with a tractor shed and a stock pond. Nothing special but pretty in it's field of yellow flowers...

 

 Because Arkansas is mostly hills and mountains this is the view one usually sees of barns... just the tops ... I passed up a lot of photos like this next one...

 

But I still found a lot of old barns. This is a common shape one but I liked the setting with the mountain range and it nestled down by the trees...

 

This old wooden barn has seen it's better days but it is still in service.  Things don't rust as fast as it would near the coast. I coat of paint would reserve it's roof but then the image capture below would be lost forever...

 And then there is this magnificent old faded red barn that has a sun ray beaming down upon it.... one of my "wow" moments...

I took many shots of this old farm as we passed. Although this photo isn't what I was striving to capture on film, it is the best I got... so, sharing it also with you...

 And, how about this fancy beauty sitting up near the entry of a large ranch entrance?...

The scene below is a fairly common scene of an old barn and farmhouse.

No big bucks here but a good life just the same...

 

 Hay for sale... fertilized and wrapped... $25.00 a bale... Nice...

 

 Now here is one I really liked. It is two barns joined as one... the old "A" frame roof hay barn and the Quonset hut round barn for the tractor. Both have the cow shelters leanto jutting off them... This farmer even has his pasture divided into sections so he can rotate the cattle for better grazing...

 

I think this old barn below is the oldest.  Just out of range is an old farm house that doesn't show in this photo. Another thing I found interesting is the person in the photo coming around the old building to the left...

 

We passed a lot of beautiful scenery of trees, hills, rocks, and cliffs on our way to the next lake. We knew we were getting close to our destination when we saw this mailbox...

 

Here is a photo of the view we have from our front door... You can see Autumn in the yellow of the trees...

 

Stay tuned... tomorrow I will post some photos of "colors" that are showing now...

 

But meanwhile... the dance goes on... so................

 

KEEP ON DANCING

 



 

 

MOVING DAY TOMORROW

Sunday morning will be a busy day for us as it is time to pack up and move to Hwy 125 Campground tomorrow. It is the local fishing hole I am told. Fishing isn't good right now so Phil has been busy fixing this and that. Here he is fixing a chair for me as mine collapsed.

 

 We made a run into Harrison for shopping and I took a few pictures on the way. I saw a house coverted to a shop. I liked the style and the mural. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I sorta felt it was folk artsy. But it is different and is someone's ideas brought to reality. They did a lot of thinking to get this little shop to come to life...

 

The leaves are just beginning to change their colors, plants are seeding, and there are butterflies everywhere. Lots of little yellow sulfur ones and plenty of this little beauty...

 

I found this a rare sight. Clover all summer ...

 

There are several Great Blue Herons here at this campground. I chased this one all around the point trying to get a decent shot of him. This is what I settled on...

 

Down around the boat docks there are a bunch of Mallard ducks. They stay in this area...

 

Nothing unusual here except maybe the mama duck. All those younger ducks are following a black and white mama duck. Wonder what happened there? Is papa a Mallard? Did someone slip her some wild duck eggs? She is an excellent mama and they listen well to what she is teaching them. Seems they talk the same language because they all say quack - quack... lol

And then there was this herd of cows cooling off in a pond.  Beautiful serene scene in a beautiful pasture. I took the photo as we drove past it going to Harrison. Didn't think much about it other than it was a pretty scene. Then while chopping it down for this blog edition I notice there was a strange looking cow and calf...

 

Turns out I had captured a buffalo and her calf. The calf is called a Beefalo. A cross with a buffalo and beef cow...

 

 

Yesterday morning Phil drew my attention to the firetrucks at the boat landing across the way...

 

I grabbed my camera and zoomed in on them so I could tell what was happening. Turned out to be several communities were testing people and machines. Some type of training exercise, maybe. There was someone with a clipboard and someone else was timing them. The crew would drive up to the lake, connect hoses and pump the water out over the lake while they were trying to have the winning time. There were several brand new looking trucks. But it seems that the winner was the oldest, a yellow truck that you see in line below...

 

 

 Phil and I rode our bikes around the park yesterday.  His sense of balance is so much greater than mine. He zips around like he is a teenager ... even does circles around me...lol

 

Most of the time he is way ahead of me now that he has his new electric bike...

 

We even rode our bikes into Diamond City for an icecream cone. While there we rode around the main street. I liked the cement zoo that someone had created in their yard. Was busy taking photos of birds, deer, fountains, and Indians. Then I glance down and to my surprise I found this little pig looking at me... cute...

 

 

We ended the day watching the sunset at the park...

 

 The time has come for me to end this edition of the blog and think about getting ready for the move tomorrow. I have finally come to realize that we are not retired... we are just on a permanent vacation... Love it!

 

As Phil and I dance together over a dance floor filled with Angels ... know that in your own way you too are dancing with Angels... the people in our lifes.

 People may come and people may go but the memory of the dance, as well as the dance itself ... will last forever.... So continue to dance in the circle of life.

 

DANCE ON