Sunsets are back!
Foliage around our homestead has thinned enough now that we can see the horizon — the hills beyond Yellville to the west, the outline of Missouri’s rolling terrain to our north. The sky over The Mountain is bigger than it was only a week ago.
That pays off at sundown. We get to see the whole show again.
I didn’t expect to hear rain on the roof ’til today, but shortly after 7am yesterday morning, there it was. It wasn’t just a sprinkle, either — it came down steadily and stuck around long enough to drop a quarter-inch.
Just like another surprise shower recently, it was the only rain on radar for miles. I’m beginning to think we’re charmed.
The plan for Saturday was to mount the water heater to the outside wall of the cabin. First, however, we needed to leave the Jeep at our neighbor’s garage. Then, before doing anything else (and ahead of incoming storms), I wanted to effect repairs to the soft shed on the lower level — a year of whipping wind had separated one of the fabric panels from the frame.
And we did drop off the Jeep. But as we were coming back up The Mountain in the buggy to work on the shed, Deb’s phone pinged — a message from a Facebook Marketplace seller in Mountain Home, saying that the furniture she’d inquired about was still available, but that we’d have to be quick if we wanted it.
Well, shit. Change of plans.
We made the 20-mile drive to a quaint old ranch house perched high above Norfork Lake, met the 80-something couple who lived there, cuddled their dogs, evaluated the furniture for sale and decided to buy it. Deb and I wrestled it out the door, loaded it into the bed of the Silverado and headed home.
Along the way, we stopped at an antiques shop, where I found an ash bucket (with shovel) for the woodstove.
The new-to-us furniture made it inside the cabin. Now let’s talk about that furniture.
First of all, we have limited room for furnishings in the living space, which also includes kitchen, dining and woodstove. We figured it could accommodate maybe a love seat and a chair.
What we bought yesterday was a love seat and a chair, plus an ottoman and a matching rug.
Second, and ideally, we wanted something that looks like it belongs in a Home in the woods. A couple of years ago we fell in love with a set we saw at a local furniture store, featuring sturdy fabric in a rustic “log cabin” motif.
The pieces we bought yesterday are covered in that very fabric. Bear. Elk. Oak and pine. Canoe.
And third, our dwindling budget meant that we couldn’t afford what we wanted, at least not brand-new. A search of the wwWeb yesterday revealed that the going rate for such a set (minus rug) is over $2,300.
This used furniture — exactly what we were after and found on Facebook Marketplace — cost us $250. Plus gas.
That settles it — we’re definitely charmed.
All of the pieces are clean and in excellent condition. They smell like they came out of someone else’s house (as opposed to reeking of dog piss or stinking like an ashtray). We’ll shampoo them thoroughly, and soon they’ll be set up in the cabin. Perfect.
It was well into the afternoon when we got to fixing the soft shed. That didn’t take too long.
The Wrangler was still up on the lift in the neighbor’s garage. We never did get around to mounting the water heater.
There are only so many hours in a day (time change notwithstanding, if you believe in that sort of thing). I believe we made good use of our hours yesterday.
Deer season (bow) began here at the end of September. A special “modern gun” hunt for youth takes place yesterday and today.
Modern gun season for all ages begins next Saturday and runs through December 1st, plus there’s a Christmas holiday hunt December 26th – 28th.
Bow season is on through February 28th.
We paddled around in glorious rain today, doing The Usual Sunday Things. Our watery world won’t be letting up anytime soon, either, according to the forecast — Tuesday afternoon, by the looks of it.
By the time today turns to tomorrow, we’ll have seen at least an inch-and-a-half. Maybe two.
Maybe more.
Tomorrow night could be a rough one. Stay tuned.
Marion County hasn’t yet lifted its burn ban, and neither has Baxter to our east. Wildfire danger remains high, too, officially, but folks ’round here know that rain has reduced the risk to near zero. We saw a dozen open burns yesterday and today. All were small. All were being managed responsibly.
One is at a home near the base of The Mountain. We’re not the least bit concerned.
We picked up the Jeep late this afternoon and took it for a spin to see if the repairs took. Unfortunately, the wobble remains — and now, inexplicably, a couple of warning lights have appeared on the dash.
Our neighbor asked that we leave it with him again for a few days so that he and another neighbor can investigate. I’ll be shuttling Deb to and from work ’til it’s back with us.
As our Sunday winds down, we’re settled in for a soggy evening. We’ll enjoy the patter (and the roar, occasionally) of rain on the roof. And yes, we’ll keep an eye on weather radar.
Life is good.
While we were out today, we stopped at the local Presbyterian church, across US Route 62 from North Central Arkansas Speedway, and watched rain clouds dance over Hall Mountain (and our Mountain).
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB