The fire in the woodstove Saturday morning brought ambience as well as warmth — dancing flames behind the glass and the earthy aroma of hickory in the air. With an overnight low flirting with the freezing mark, the burn was necessary.
I took Miss Smudge for her after-breakfast walk and looked out over the valley.
That. Never. Gets. Old.
I wanted to do more around the fire pit yesterday, but chores came first. The last of those was adding air to the Silverado’s tires, one of my monthly to-dos.
Then, more raking. More picking up (and digging up) rocks. I cut back brush and damnable greenbrier and made it all disappear. I limbed-up every tree surrounding the fire pit.
It may be rustic, but nothing short of perfection (in my eyes) would do.
Later, I caught myself channeling my inner suburbanite. It struck me that the one place I hadn’t yet neatened was the grassy area flanking the south driveway. I spent a good hour addressing that with the weedwhacker.
I mean, the grass is still brown and dead, just shorter. And the neatness (such as it is) won’t last long — Chinese bushclover (just as damnable as greenbrier) will take over soon, and fighting that would be a losing battle.
But for now, it looks better, and that pleases me. Besides, the effort uncovered a plant I didn’t realize grew near the cabin. It’s in the foreground of the image above.
Here’s a closer look:
You didn’t think we had cacti in Ozarkansas, did you? That’s an eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa), the only species of cactus native to Arkansas. I’d seen it on The Mountain once before, several years ago near a shale outcrop on the south slope.
Anyway, there you have all the news worth reporting from my Saturday — another of the best days of my life.
. . .
Smudge continues to amaze me.
On the day we met, over three years ago now, her first contact with the world that’d become her forever home was my hand resting gently on the back of her neck. I scooped her up and held her in a way that let her know that she was wanted.
She got the message. She felt chosen.
And she chose me right back.
Together, not only have we found a home — we’ve found our place.
This Heeler and I are inseparable. The bond is unconditional.
A promise is a promise.
. . .
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable