At home

 

I'm staying in my van, plugged in behind my brother, Stuart's house.   Since I might have been here a while I wanted to let us both have our spaces and get together when we wanted to.  Each morning I walk through our farm (each of four of us owns part of this).    Whenever I come here, I feel so at peace - you can see why.

 

 

 

 

 

This is my spot behind Stuart and Beth's house.   They loaned my their older Prius to drive while here.   I am so used to hot steamy weather that it feels delightful here.   I use the A/C a little in the day, but don't need it at night to sleep.  Been using my van's "attic" fan.

My family's farm is in north central Arkansas, 60 miles north of Little Rock.   It's on rolling hills.  Some say it is in the foothills of the Ozarks.   We raised cattle here until about 1990.  Now it just sits and everyone in the family kinda treats it like a big park to walk through, four-wheel through, motorcycle through and hayride through.

I was able to make some of the pictures bigger, but couldn't get the rest of them to do it.  You can double-click to make bigger, I think.

Each of us manages (or doesn't, like me) our land differently.   Stuart keeps his bushhogged, but does it later in the year to allow the quail to hatch and grow.   You can hear them and bluebirds everywhere.

Nothing has been done to my land for years.  It's just growing up wild.   Guess that's okay because now it will support a variety of animals and plants that couldn't make it in managed land.

 

 

Phil has been working with the Forest Service and Extension Service to plant a variety of trees selected to provide food to wildlife.  He has just entered a program that will get rid of non-native grasses and plant native, long-rooted ones that will make it through drought. 

 

 

John, like me, doesn't manage his much (being an absentee owner like me).   He does allow someone to come make hay each year so his land looks more finished than many of ours.

 

On John's land is the old barn that my father designed and submitted an idea to a magazine for his great idea on how to unload and store hay.

 

 

 

Phil's house is on the south end of our property.   See what a lovely spot he has created for him and his wife Sue?

 

 

I visited my brother Phil on Friday and Stuart, Beth and I are going back again today.  He has been moved to a University of Arkansas Medical System facility.  Apparently they have "the best" treatment center in the south for Phil's type of cancer.    I'll learn more today and decide whether to stay here 'til the 27th or to go home to the boat earlier.

 

 

 

Yesterday, there wasn't much to do so I went to the nearest park on our nearby Corp of Engineer's lake, Greers Ferry, Cove Creek.  It was fun to take a nap, swim, do crossword puzzles - just drop out.