Opportunities

When opportunity knocks.....and the surprises on the other side of that door show their faces, it can be shocking, heartwarming, and challenging.

I have been away from here for some time now. The time was spent in Oregon looking after my father who had been threatened with lawsuits from greedy step-children wanting control of his life and his assets and his sanity. Soon those legalities will be over and he has now moved to the Ozarks with me. His cat, Tabby, has also made the big move and is settling in among the other critters.

The respect for my father has always been to the ultimate degree. He spent a vast majority of his years educating himself and retired as chief electrical engineer in the sugar industry. He is talented in music and plays by ear on his Thomas Organ, the ukelele, guitar, banjo, harmonica, and his keyboard. He remembers almost all the old songs and has a wonderful voice. He was always kind, compassionate, and loving. Indeed, a father to be proud of!

Now, at 90 years old, it isn't easy for him to make such a drastic life change moving from the coast in the northwest to the Ozarks in the mid-south. We have fun talking about the early years and remembering the Ogden Nash poems he loves to recite. I like having the privilege of giving and getting all those hugs.

It is a new experience for me. I will always be grateful for this time with Dad.

A Day with Fred

Some days are just what days are supposed to be here in the Ozarks. Today was one of them. Fred offers me a refreshing perspective on the lives we live, the areas around us, the wonders of nature, and appreciating the little quirks that make things unique to me. Fred is one of those rare friends whom I can trust to tell him what I really feel and know he understands me. I'm lucky to be able to enjoy his company and our occasional outings.
Today we went to the Ozark Folk Center and then to Mountain View. This was their big festival of the season and it was amazing. The Folk Center, no matter how busy or slow, is about the friendliest place to visit and learn about all the old ways of life in the Ozarks. The first place inside of the center was the wood turner's shop and the gentleman was showing the kids how to throw and spin the wooden tops. He then demonstrated the lathe which was powered by the bending of a long branch by a rope looped around the turning piece and then to the foot pedal. Every shop had something for us to learn and every store keeper had tales to tell and were happy to demonstrate how they accomplished their trade. The lady in the print shop demonstrated a print press that was powered by "legtricity" and some very fast hand work. We also found the grounds to be interesting as we tried to identify the plants, many of which were wild flowers native to the area. We watched the kids trying their skill on the stilts at the old school and rolling hoops. The blacksmith was making leaves on the ends of iron rods that would make wonderful curtain rods. A lady was "caining" a chair in the furniture shop. The couple in the soap shop could have kept my attention a whole day if I would have had the time.
Then we left and headed for Mountain View. We ventured through quite a few shops, ate a late lunch on the patio of a Mexican restaurant where the service and the food was scrumptious, and listened to the old-time music around the square, visited a good number of craft booths, and finally ended up in a candy shop where one of the owners was kind enough to give us a tour. I got some caramel pecan divinity and Fred got some peanut butter fudge. I believe we walked off most of the calories.
Coming home Fred pointed out some Mayapples that were growing along the road and we stopped so I could see them. It's an interesting herb and something else to learn about.
Thanks, Fred. As usual, you gave me lots of memories and a great time.

"Raising" a Cotter Cottage Garden

Oh yeah, there are a lot of rocks here. Sometimes I think we could harvest rocks. Too bad there isn't a big demand for them. We have big rocks, little rocks, bed rocks, and river rocks and just about any kind of rock you can imagine. Rock gardens are nice and right now mine are full of phlox that are in full bloom.
Because of all the rocks, it is hard to grow a garden unless you do raised beds. That's easy to remember: raised beds to raise a garden. Raised beds mean that you build up the perimeter of the garden bed with rocks, landscape timbers, cement blocks; line it with newspapers and/or cardboard and then fill it with just about anything you can that will support plant life. I try to keep it no more than four feet wide so I can reach everything easily without stomping around in the beds. I like the idea of 'lasagna' gardening because I can use peat moss, lawn clippings, chopped up leaves, any kitchen scraps that don't contain meat or fats, top soil, and anything from the compost pile. I like to pile it way high because it will compact down. Toss in a few night crawlers to help it compost and water it until it is nice and moist. Go ahead and plant whatever you want to plant. You don't need to wait for it to compost down. Root vegetables do exceptionally well in this growing medium. As you harvest, be sure to throw the scraps back in the bed to add to it. Try to avoid using any clippings that contain seeds from weeds.
It is time to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes now. Also the leaf lettuce, radishes, green onions, spinach and other cooler weather stuff can go into the bed anytime now if you are sure to cover the bed if another frost happens to raise its ugly head. Next month the tomatoes and peppers can be planted along with the carrots, cabbage, turnips, zucchini, cucumbers and swiss chard. My oh my, I am getting hungry for a good radish sandwich. My daughter gave me a recipe for faux crab cakes made from zucchini that are mouth-watering good.
Don't forget to put up some type of fence to keep the deer from getting to the crops first.

Myrna's Cotter Cottage Laundry Soap

Here's more than one recipe to save some money and help to keep your drains clean. They will all work well in the high efficiency washing machines as well as the older machines.
Chop up on bar of Fels-Naptha. Put in a cup or so of Boraxo and some water softener or washing soda in a LARGE pot with 9 quarts of water. Now you have some golden colored stuff in the big pot. Turn on the heat and let it simmer. Stir it whenever you feel so inclined. Don't boil it. You'll have a very clean stove after you put in a lot of elbow grease trying to clean it up if it does boil over. Save that chore for another time. When it is dissolved, put a half cup each in clean yogurt containers. A large covered pail also works. Use a half cup per wash load and don't expect it to suds. I want it to clean, not make bubbles to slow down the cleaning action. When the soap cools, it will gel. So, don't make the mistake of putting it in small-necked containers.
***Next Recipe***
Instead of Fels-Naptha use Lirio or Zote and increase the other ingredients by 2-1/2 times.
***Next Recipe***
Use Colgate's Octagon soap and use 12 Quarts of water.
***Next Recipe***
Do any of the above recipes without any water. Put in the blender and grind up really well. I use about double the Boraxo. Use two level teaspoons per wash load or less (never more). Store in a small container. Lightweight. Compact.

You can also add Oxy-Clean, or other additives, depending on the wash load.

You can do the math. It is a little over a penny a load to use. You can put directly on stains, rub it in a bit, and put the garment in the wash.

After about nine months of using this stuff at the beginning, I had occasion for a plumber to check on my sewer pipes. He was amazed at how clean they were and the fact they weren't coated with laundry scum. Not bad considering they were 80% plugged prior to using the homemade soap.

Decompress

Had a short time to spend at the river.  They had six units running and the water was a bit too fast to be successful at catching anything.  It, fortunately, was cool enough for a light weight jacket so there was no desire to do any wading.  I don't like to wade the river when the water is up that high anyway.  No bites, no fish.  The only thing I caught was a chance to relax, sit on a large boulder, watch a blue heron flying overhead, and the teens up at Big Spring trying to warm themselves in the sun after swinging off the big rope into the cold spring water below.  Hearing the laughter makes me smile.  

This year the free fishing weekend starts at noon, Friday, June 11 until midnight, Sunday, June 13.  That is the time that I enjoy watching others fish.  The best years have been those that the kids come to visit.  We pack a shore lunch and head for the river.  By then it is warm and the cool water is very inviting.  Sometimes, we take the canoes and just enjoy the scenery.

There is a large hawk perched in the tree outside my window just surveying the ground below for anything for lunch.  It appears to be a duck hawk.  It is amazing how they can strike another bird by diving down like a bolt of lightning and knock them to the ground.  

The big pileated woodpeckers have already begun their jackhammer efforts in the trees.  That always causes me to pay attention to where the noise is coming from just so I can watch them.  They appear to be an awkward bird until you have a chance to observe them in action in the trees and while in flight.  They are both graceful and playful.  It won't be long before the hummingbirds arrive.  Having several feeders always encourages them to be unafraid of humans and they will get very close.  If you have ever had the opportunity to be have one light on your hand, it is amazing how weightless they seem.  They are gentle and more trusting than most any other bird.  That is, until you discover how territorial they are with the feeders.  They will dive at any other hummingbird that comes near its favorite feeder.

A pair of bluebirds have been exploring the birdhouse hanging on the front porch.  I think they would be happier if the birdhouse wasn't so close to the door, or to the dogs going in and out.  I have some gourds that have dried.  I think I will drill them out and make birdhouses to hang from the tree limbs.

All of this and more are my stress erasers, my decompression chamber, and the only price is to take the opportunity to enjoy it, to absorb it, to inhale and appreciate these gifts.

The Annual Sowbug Roundup

I just got back from a good time at the Sowbug Roundup.  You can check out their site at http://www.northarkansasflyfisher.org/SB%202008.html
John Berry tied his signature fly, the Green Butt, for me and he is always interesting to talk to.  His eyes sparkle all the time he is tying and chatting.  He let me take his picture and I managed to lose it before I could get it downloaded.  Sorry, John.  You can see his site at:  www.berrybrothersguides.com
There are people who do very small trout flies and those who do the elaborate surf flies.  There is a lady there who ties them for jewelry.  She also did them inside of Christmas tree ornament balls.  You can see from the picture that people of all ages tie flies.

See the little boy making a fly next to his dad.  Mom couldn't resist reaching across the table to help him.
I stopped for a chili dog and sat down with some people.  The conversations were about trout fishing, dam generation, best time to fish from a boat, and dieting while eating some really good chocolate cake. 
It is always a good time at the roundup.  You will never see a grouch there. It's not that they aren't allowed.  It is just because they can't stay that way once they walk inside.
It was noted that right now the best fishing spots are Cotter, Wild Cat Shoals, and Rim Shoals on the White River.  The Green Butt fly is "guaranteed to catch fish or double your money back".  That's not a bad deal at all for a free fly.  I don't know whether to fish with it or put it in with my collector flies.
They do free lessons to teach people how to fly fish.  They give free lessons on how to tie flies.  Of course, the best fly to use here is the "sowbug" which is about the simplest fly to tie.  The next best is the "wooley booger" and the "cadis".
Flyfishing is great fun.  I also like to bait fish and spinner fish.  I like to tie flies.  But my favorite is just to go wade the river and fish for peace of mind.
Oh yeah, Mike told me he smoked the trout with hickory and cherry wood.  Yummm!  Maybe I will have to try using that Green Butt after all!

De-junking - a clutterbug's worse nightmare

My older sister is the prime example of organization.  She got so much of that characteristic, that there wasn't any left for me by the time I came around.  It caused a few nasty arguments when we were young and now I admire her more than she will ever know.  It could be the disagreements were the result of sharing a bedroom.  It could be that I was just simply not interested.  Then the passing of the years changed my priorities a bit and I soon found out that it was terribly difficult to clean house when it was full of clutter.  Sis had a very large family.  She, luckily, kept up her talents of organizing and it still amazes me how she manages to do all that she does.  
My sister and her husband were gone for a few years managing a ranch out west and recently returned home.  They were always great at food storage, much of which she canned and preserved from the garden she grew, along with the bargains over the years that paid them well in savings.  She was an expert at knowing how to grow, hunt, fish, store and preserve for her family.  She stored wheat, canned fish and meat along with fruits and vegetables.  She was a very good "back to basics" teacher for me.  Now she is trying to get back to organizing all that storage and we have been communicating about the large task at hand.
I have appreciated hearing from her, sharing ideas, and the smiles and warm fuzzy feelings have been wonderful.  The internet makes it so easy to feel close to family.  We can't talk on the phone any longer.  She has lost her hearing.  But I can almost hear her laughing through the emails.    I had to adapt to the idea that she was out on the ranch herding cows, running the fences, helping with the calving, getting kicked by the bulls, and doing all that rough, tough work on the ranch.  I'm not comfortable with horses and she was spending her days riding them.  I wondered how in the world she could do all that.  Now she's back in the saddle riding herd over the clutter.
What a mentor.  What a great sister.  I have other siblings.  They all have greatness in them.  Maybe because we all had the same oldest sister to help us on our way.  I love ya, Sis!