Attack of the Beavers

There is a pretty stand of Sycamore Trees on the bank of our slice of Sylamore heaven. It's where we camp. We hadn't been for a visit in almost 3 months. Low and behold the beavers have been busy.

They are eating the bark and killing the trees.








This is all a welcome diversion from the plague of bad front page news elsewhere. But we've got to save those trees! The roots are doing a fine job of staving off flood erosion. ( We lost very little soil during the TWO 100 year floods in the Spring of 08. The lot next to us lost a great deal.)








photos taken with cell phone - sorry.

my temp solution. at hand.










###

Bambi, wildflowers and chiggers

In my August post I wasn't joshing about the deer getting closer to the house. (Maybe related to the fact we got behind on our mowing?) I know in more Northernly states that deer sightings near residences is more common. But not in the South. To see deer munching near your house is rare! This Bambi was the first thing I saw when I woke up the other morning. Her mom was near and could hear the click of my camera. No, it wasn't a hammer on a shotgun, Mama.











Al-Ozarka sent an email recently welcoming Autumn. He spoke of the crop of Autumn wildflowers that were on their way. I still wasn't prepared. Since March, we've had wave after wave of new flower crops. The Autumn wildflowers have been my fave. The Goldenrod is crowning our lot. I had no misgivings about paying $6 for a small bundle in Memphis and now I've got an ocean of it around my house.






(courtesy Ellis Hollow)

We haven't turned on the A/C in a couple of weeks and I'm already cuddling under the blankets at night. Chiggers should be gone by now, right? After a recent good rain, Daren and I went to our special nearby fishing hole. It was a glorious, sunny Sunday and only 75 degrees. I wore long pants, boots and a t-shirt. You have to trek about 3/4 of a mile to get there through the woods, but this insures you're THE ONLY ONE THERE. We both caught fish and I caught all the chiggers - once again. I bathed when I got home too. But I ended up with about 200 chigger bites. Daren didn't get one. And we've been through this before. I cried and cried. When I'm eaten up with hundreds of bites, I can't sleep at night, my bites ooze plasma and blood everywhere and the terrible itch lasts for about 10 days with me. There is No remedy for this, although my personal belief is that if you have chigger bites in your crotch and 50 on each breast, Valium would be very nice. I've spent hundreds of dollars of the last couple of Arkansas Adventure years looking for the most soothing product. Hydrocortisone patted down with Gold Bond Extra Medicated powdered is the best I can find. Daren said he could of made a pie crust on my stomach with all the powder I had on me. Chiggers and ticks will jump on me when I walk to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. WHY???? NOT FAIR!!!!

First Spring Camp

Pure Bliss. My brother Ben, just back from deployment in Iraq, asked to visit our Ozark Oasis. He brought my nephew Moss and my other brother Adam in tow. The weather cooperated for the most part even though we had to hunker down and dodge a tornado one of the nights. Ben's new truck got a good work out and we got a lot of fresh air. If you've been here before, note the how much land got eaten away in the recent flood!(all three of us took the pictures below)








































not much to see in this video but it sure is worth a listen to hear a 6 yr old free style a campfure song.


first person to willingly jump in S. Sylamore Creek this season, I imgaine.