A wake-up temperature of 73°F wasn’t necessarily unpleasant on its own — that’s what greeted me at 6:30am when I stepped onto my chore path — but relative humidity of 99% made the air heavy and thick, just awful. But I knew I’d be going right into the shower afterward and spending most of my day in the air-conditioned truck and the laundromat, so I got busy and got shit done.
Small pleasures… I packed the burn barrel tight this morning, having more combustibles than usual, and the fire was magnificent. Seriously. With more fuel and (naturally) less air, the flames didn’t roar or tickle the sky, but this burn was strong, complete and efficient. It may have been the best fire I’ve ever built in that barrel.
Anymore, it’s the sort of thing that makes me happy. Welcome to the Country.
I was snapping a picture of the burning barrel when I noticed something on the ground behind it, something I didn’t expect to see. Still, I knew right away what it was.
I looked up at the tallest white oak next to the road. A large branch snapped by tornadic winds the morning of May 26th — and hanging there since — was missing.
That was it on the ground.
I suspect a big blow two nights ago brought the widowmaker down. This literal windfall will supply either half a day’s fuel for the woodstove or, if it turns out to be too punky for that, a respectable burn or two in a fire ring.
That makes now four trees (or parts thereof) that I have to process when cooler weather arrives. All were gifts of the tornadoes 12 weeks ago today.
It’s such a simple, satisfying Life I live these days. Everything’s so basic, so present and so very real. No fluff. No show. Even on a muggy Sunday morning, it’s a dream fulfilled.
Later, laundry happened. Likewise curbside pickup. The usual (for a Sunday).
But that wasn’t all. We began by picking up mail at the Yellville post office, then ducked into Harps for laundry snacks (yogurt with fresh strawberries and blueberries, topped with granola).
On leaving the laundromat, we drove straight to Carolyn’s Razorback Ribs so that Deb could have the Sunday special, billed as “our triple-decker BLT served on Texas toast.”
The owner’s daughter is back in town this week, pinch-hitting while her mom’s on vacation. She sat down at our table, and when she learned that we’d missed Thursday’s special — Natchitoches meat pies — she dashed back to the kitchen and prepared a couple of the off-menu delicacies, just for us.
We love it here.
We backtracked to Flippin, where I topped off the Silverado at Casey’s ($3.579, because I inadvertently picked up the ethanol-free nozzle). Then on to Walmart, after which we spontaneously turned north instead of south toward Home.
Our destination: Stetson’s Resort on the White River, nine miles (and 20 minutes) away.
The trip was just for a look-see, nothing more. Stetson’s, on the west bank in Marion County, is less than two miles downriver from Gaston’s, which is on the east bank in Baxter County. It’s smaller and much more modest — no grand dining room, no gift shop, no airstrip.
The staff we met were friendly and hospitable, clearly proud of this well-maintained fishing resort in a picturesque setting on The Mighty White.
I believe we’ll come back one of these days and rent a boat.
We noticed that the river was running high this afternoon. That could mean only one thing — the US Army Corps of Engineers was letting more water flow over Bull Shoals Dam, about four miles upriver.
A check of the USACoE Little Rock app showed that while we were at Stetson’s, the dam was releasing just shy of 21,000 cubic feet of water from Bull Shoals Lake every second. It dropped the level of the lake six inches, raised the level of its tailwaters (the White River, that is) six feet and, of course, generated one helluva lot of electric power.
How much? A generation rate of 312 MWh, or 312 million watts per hour.
So it ended up being a great day. After the work we put in yesterday, we deserved it.
On our way back to The Mountain, we couldn’t stop talking about how it feels like we have it all here. I’ll close with what Deb said on social media this evening:
“I’ve lived in some amazing and beautiful places around this great country, but nothing compares to the entire package of beauty and hospitality we experience here. I do truly believe that the locals make this place the hidden treasure it is.
“Ozarkansas is definitely Home for me.”
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB