Nature at the window

I love my life. Almost six years ago my husband and I packed up everything we owned, said goodbye to family and friends, and moved to parts unknown. That is a slight exaggeration because we had vacationed in Arkansas. But that was different. All those years ago, actually living here was the farthest thing from my mind.


But today, I realize there is no better place to be.


One afternoon I was walking past the window when I happened to glance outside. When I saw this three deer foraging on clover in the backyard, I couldn't resist just sitting for a while to take in the adorable scene. 

As I watched, little Bambi seemed to mimic everything her mother did.

I watched the three of them for half an hour or more. While mother and child were munching on vegetation, the other doe was eyeing the protector of our property, our cat Timi.

Timi was sitting in a chair and was slightly interested, though not enough to move from her comfortable perch not far from the activity. She did care enough, however, to give a quick wag of her tail. She seemed less interested than the doe who watched Timi intently. Much to the doe's disappointment, Timi finally tired of the whole routine. She stretched out onto her back where she appeared to be asleep, ignoring the would-be intruders. 

Timi was no stranger to the deer. One day I watched her parading another  small herd of them from the woods into the yard, as if to proudly proclaim, so this is where we live.  

But this was a different doe. She tried a characteristic snort, a little hoof-beating with her front foot, and even a swish or two of her own white tail. Nothing. Finally, when she couldn't get a rise out of Timi, she joined the other two, who by this time had scampered off into the woods. 


I will never tire of this kind of scene, and in my own backyard. It is a joy to watch the wildlife that let us share the woods with them. From the three baby raccoons who trailed behind their mother toward the bird feeder, to the road runner that eyed its own reflection in the glass of the front door, to the tarantulas that traverse the front yard, Mother Nature always provides something to see. And I don't want to miss a thing.

Herbs, herbs, herbs

This is my new and improved herb garden. The picture was taken a few weeks ago and already the plants are beginning to fill in the empty spaces.

Normally, I love the unkempt look, but there is something really nice about a new, neat, tidy, new garden. It is all about hope for the future.

This garden used to contain huge plants; lavender, oregano, sage, and rosemary, but winter took its toll. Not only that, but I didn't do much pruning, so the lavender and rosemary were like small trees. My husband John, who has been a gardening trouper of late, dug them out and replaced them. The new rosemary is so small, it is hardly visible. Its growth with all the luscious rain we have received this Spring, however, is measurable. I will be diligent with my pruning this year.

I love gardening because it is such a learning experience. This is the second revision of my first-ever herb garden. It has been great fun to watch the plants grow and to use them in cooking.

This garden now contains chives, garlic, lemon balm, basil, oregano, cilantro, dill, rosemary and thyme. Since the picture, I've added flat-leaf parsley. In the perennial garden, I've added lemon-thyme, lemon-mint, and lavender. My hope is that the herbs will take over the entire yard.

Now if only we could find an herb that eats chiggers, I'd be a really happy Ozark gardener.

Another Ozark Adventure

Northwest Arkansas has gotten hammered by snow. Both our county and state have issued a disaster declaration. The very word, "disaster" conjures up all kinds of ideas. But don't feel sorry for me - I couldn't be more content.

We received 9-inches of snowfall between Thursday through Friday. It is beautiful to look at, to watch the birds scurry to and from feeders, in the trees and on the ground as they make little footprints in the snow. They know they can count on us for a good supply of food to get them through.

This is so unlike a year ago when our area was pummeled by ice, destroying everything in its wake, complete with five days of having no electricity in our all-electric home, this disaster is one we don't mind at all.

The predictions were scary, because no one really seemed to know just where the storm would go, how long it would stay, or what kind of precipitation we would get. It could have been ice, rain, or snow.

The odds were weighing heavily against rain, and it looked early on like it would be plenty of moisture.

Thursday night was ominous as the freezing rain started to fall, heavily, conjuring up thoughts of a year ago. The temperature dropped and the precipitation turned to snow during the night. We woke up Friday morning to see the trees standing upright, snow on the ground, and more falling. The weather radar brought little comfort as the dreaded pink, which indicates ice, continued to flirt with our area. But with each advance, the blue color that depicted snow continued to dance on its toes, causing it to retreat. Thanks to my husband John who kept the wood stove stoked, this turned out to be just like any other day, except that it was much more beautiful as we couldn't keep ourselves from looking out the windows.

It continued to snow Friday night. A yardstick measured more than 7-inches in the front yard.

We awoke Saturday morning to even more snow on the ground--upwards of 10-inches. The snow stuck to the bark of the trees in random patterns like those of an artist's brush. Snow filled the angles where limbs branched out from their trunks. It piled onto stationery surfaces, such as bird feeders, railings, and posts. It looked thick and fluffy, like the landscape endured a shaving-cream attack. The woods never looked more beautiful. Well, maybe except for the greens of spring and summer and orange tones of fall.

So, we now consider ourselves stranded. The refrigerator and pantry are well-stocked, our cats have plenty of food, logs are piled high outside almost within an arm's reach, and the sun is now shining, adding the glitter to the fairytale scene. Life is good in the Ozarks.

Ozarks frost

A friend mentioned to me yesterday that we were supposed to have our first frost, here in the Ozarks. I checked my favorite weather map at Intellicast.com to learn that he was probably incorrect. Nevertheless I'm grateful for his warning because I did begin the arduous process of bringing my favorite plants indoors. I didn't bring them all in, however.

There are lots of chores to do before it gets really cold and this is a good time to do them. It has been cold enough that those pesky chiggers aren't so prevalent--and neither are the many, many spiders we had late summer--so working in the yard might just be fun.

I live in a small ranch house with north-facing windows. It is pretty dark, which I am not happy about. It is built to stay cool in the heat of the summer, but I really miss the bright sunshine in the room. And there are no windows in the kitchen (which I will always hate) but it is an open concept with the kitchen sink overlooking the dining room and living room. The saving grace is the large south-facing window just beyond the kitchen where I can keep some plants. There is also a lovely sun porch, which is the ideal place for my plants. It isn't heated, but it benefits from the warmth of the rest of the house.

I also have five cats--four of which are two-year old litter-mate kittens, who like nothing more than to get into everything--so I'm a little apprehensive about this plant thing. The girls just love to knock things off tables and jump onto things, plus the unmentionable cat problem with dirt. I'm going to try to dust the plants with cinnamon. I read someplace that cats don't like cinnamon and that will keep them away. Yeah right!

So far, none of those things have ever worked for me. I recall the hot pepper to keep squirrels off the bird feeders. Hah! They ate it. I suspect my cats are at least as naughty as squirrels.

While we are not expected to have our first frost where I live--it has occurred in other places in the Ozarks already--until later in the month, I have some time to bring in the remainder. Perhaps if I sneak a few in at a time the girls' curiosity won't overwhelm their good sense of right and wrong (as if they had that anyway).

Today is predicted to be 70º and the sun is already shining brightly. I can't think of anything I would rather do than some re-potting, cleaning up and generally working with greenery.

Summer in the Ozarks

This might just summarize my summer in the Ozarks.

This picture has all the elements
-- My beloved cat, Ryan who loves to peer out the window and watch the wildlife
-- The leaves of the oak tree that frames not just this picture, but so many beautiful scenes in the Ozarks
-- That thermometer tells the tale -- proof of the work of the strong, hot, sizzling Arkansas sun
-- A visiting fawn who stopped by with her mother and sister, who had already scampered off into the woods

This photo was taken from inside the sun porch where I like to wile away the hours, often with a glass of iced tea and my laptop. I am rarely without cats. There are six in all. One is an inside/outside cat. Timi was a stray who seemed to adopt us. We were so smitten by her that when she came home from one of her adventures in a family way, we also adopted her four kittens. They were all named after NASCAR drivers. Ryan is named for my favorite -- Ryan Newman. I already had a cat named Emily, who continues to adjust to the new kids on the block. Some days are better than others. The kittens were born on the front porch, but once Timi completed the event, I moved them all inside -- to the sun porch. Since it is the old neighborhood to them, I'm sure that is why they consider it theirs. On second thought, they think every room in the house is theirs. Hmm. I am grateful they share their room with me.

Life is good in the Ozarks.