The Ozarks of northern Arkansas get four distinct seasons. Like most other regions at this latitude, this time of year hardwoods treat us to a display of color. Expecting the show to rival less temperate climes, however — New England comes to mind, and northern Appalachia — would be a mistake. It’s not the same.
Our swath of the Ozark plateaus doesn’t have much in the way of maples, aspens or similar species known for their autumn dazzle. Here on The Mountain, for example, joining eastern red cedar on the slopes are hickory, walnut, elm and, of course, a dozen varieties of oak.
In the fall, rich bronze, soft yellows and deep golden hues dominate the pallette. There’s the odd splash of red from sumac and dogwood and such, and cedars remain evergreen.
Yesterday afternoon, Deb declared herself officially “bored.” (Hampered mobility will do that to a person.) She put in a request for a ride in the Ranger, which I gladly supplied. We took the buggy down to the end of our road, then spontaneously decided to continue on to the county road.
The impromptu escape gave us an opportunity to check out changing foliage within a couple of miles of Home, and at a slower pace than usual. Colors really have started to pop over the last 48 hours.
All of the images in that gallery were snapped along our road. The Mountain is a great place to be in this, my favorite season, and we haven’t seen peak color just yet. Living here full-time now means that we won’t miss a thing.
“I am ungovernable, and I am extreme. And I don’t look at any man as the solution to my problems.”
Chadd Wright, YouTuber “3 of 7”
“You have time. Right up to the day we have no more time, we have time.”
Kris, YouTuber “City Prepping”
I ‘ve spent a lifetime accumulating tools — hand tools, that is, most of them for working on various cars, trucks, motorcycles and other mechanical objects passing through my Life over the years. Almost all of them are American-made. Even the oldest ones, those that have seen the hardest use, are in good condition. They’ve been cared for well.
And virtually all of those tools sit in a storage unit in Ohio, 750 miles from here. The sad reality is that it’s much cheaper (for now) to pay rent on that storage unit than it would be to go get ’em and bring ’em here (where we could really use ’em now). That’s frustrating.
I’ve resisted buying duplicates (here) of what I already own (there). I make use of the few tools I keep in the RV and carry in the truck, and I borrow when I come up short, but that’s an imperfect solution that slows (or stops) whatever I’m doing at the time.
So today I surrendered to frustration and picked up some cheap imported tools. I hated doing that, and they’re nowhere near as good as what’s in storage, but it was time.
They didn’t cost all that much. So there’s that.
It was a great day for the drive to Mountain Home. We took the Wrangler, which hints at the first job my cheap new tools will see.
Replacing the Silverado’s coolant-temp sensor the other day didn’t fix its problems, so tomorrow I’ll tackle installing a new thermostat. I picked up the part while we were out this afternoon, at O’Reilly in Flippin.
It’s always somethin’.
We swung by Carolyn’s Razorback Ribs on our way Home. Deb had a burger and fries. I had the incomparable “Slop Bucket.” And the food was great, as usual.
But that’s not why I mentioned where we had lunch.
When we’d finished eating, we walked to the front counter and paid for our meal. As we turned toward the door to leave, a young man (we judged him to be about 30) got up from his table, jumped ahead of us, opened the door and held it for us.
“Ma’am. Sir,” he said, smiling and making eye contact with each of us. “Y’all have a great afternoon.”
Okay, so Deb’s crutches might make her a magnet for courtesy. I don’t think that’s what happened, though. No, there’s something else going on here.
Rather than trying to explain it, let me just ask this of my silver-haired contemporaries: When was the last time someone did that for you?
Yeah, we love it here.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB