next chapter

We've enjoyed this lake house so much but we're leaving tomorrow.    Time to highlight some of the experiences from our time here.    I tried to see all there was to see.   Once I hiked up over some rocks on the tip of the peninsula past our house and down to the lake on the other side.  Here there were some lovely private spots where one could see all kinds of rock formations above and below water and driftwood.

On top of those rocks I climbed there were all kinds of glade plants: lichens, mosses and sedums.

The first Sunday we were here, the sailing club I belong to raced in the lake right before our deck and its lake dock.   Normally it would have been me out in my boat competing. But I don't have a boat now so we watched, first from the deck and later from the house's boat dock/float below.   

One day, Tom and I drove over to Lake Leatherwood near Eureka Springs.  We walked the four miles around the lake and later talked with a manager about fishing/kayaking there.    Here Tom notes the handsome bark of a tree.

The lake was built by the WPA.  This is the dam at the base.

I had been admiring this old house each time we passed it.  This time, on the way back from the lake, we stopped so I could get pictures.

One Sunday, my friends and neighbors from Fayetteville, Julie and Andy, came up for lunch and to hang out a bit.

This is another old building, a barn, that we pass each time we drive in from the lake to the main road.

Memorial Day weekend, we took a road trip in the van.  First we stopped at my cousins, Pat and her husband Jim, who live near Bull Shoals.  Their house overlooks the White River and the valley.  Nearby, they've been watching an eagle nesting.  Below is a picture of the "leftover" baby.   Apparently eagles hatch two, but only nurture the first one that flies.  The other is left to fend for itself and you know how that will probably go.

Pat made us the most wonderful dinner:  spinach stuffed filet of beef, a fresh vegetable salad and some pan-roasted potatoes, followed by a strawberry /blueberry dessert.

I so regret that I didn't get pictures from the rest of that weekend.  Tom was kind enough to attend with me my 50th high school class reunion where most of my classmates did show up!   I really enjoyed seeing that they all seemed to have made it through all those years with little wear and tear.   I hope to do better at keeping up with one of my girlfriends from those days, now that we've met again.  

Then Tom and I visited with my brother Phil who has bone cancer.  His cancer count seems to be improving and he may soon be in remission.  He especially was pleased then  because he had just had an operation on Monday to reinforce a hip joint.   He will walk again.

Then, we got to spend Sunday with my brother Stuart and his wife Beth.  We park our van below a tree behind their house when we visit.   We helped them and their grand daughter gather cherries, then went to breakfast before parting ways - us driving on up through the Ozarks back to the cabin and them to explore the mountains in a different direction.

The couple renting my house have found another house to move to on July 15.  A friend Johnny has found us a house in Fayetteville to live in in the meantime.   It's an old stone house that's being slowly renovated.  It has all new appliances and some furniture, enough to be habitable.   It's right in the middle of the in-town historic neighborhood and near many of my friends.  You'll see pictures of it once we're there.

Also, today, our neighbors have asked us to house sit for ten days in early July, just two doors from my home.  It will probably work out that we are there a lot of the time, too.   So I'm calling this next six-weeks - in Fayetteville, but not at home -  the next chapter.