Summertime

Welcome, summer! My pentas have really put on a show. I have them planted where I can sit in the a/c and enjoy them.

Then I go out the front door and what do I spot...the uglies of summer! This guy was very small and hopefully non poisonous so I left him alone. When he gets big I hope he will leave me alone.

 While strolling across the back yard I noticed this 20 foot tall dead tree...but alas, it has turned into a poison ivy tree! It won't be around long.

Kay, Flave, and Flave, Jr. came to town for the weekend and a baseball tournament. We had a great visit, much of it at the ball field, as Flave approached third base.

 After their Saturday morning baseball game, 96 degrees did not seem to hot to go geocaching. Flave is at the boot tree near where he found the cache that Leon and I had looked for several times.

You never know what you will find under a guy wire cover...

or under the edge of a railroad track...

After seven caches we stopped at the park so Flave could check out the old tank. I was baffled as to why they have put a fence around the tank, but glad they left the lock open.  Is it now unsafe for kids to climb on tanks? might there be a lawsuit? can a kid really damage a tank???

 So how does one end an outing on a 96 degree day? Our next stop was the Gulpha Gorge for a wade in the creek, then on to Nom Nom's for ice cream. A fun weekend indeed!

Dog days in June??

So what have we been doing lately? Not much. It has gotten hot and humid too early this summer. But the veranda of the old Hale Bath House provided a nice place for some friends to visit while having lunch.  I now know why old ladies are fat! We go out to eat too much but if not, then we would have no excuse to shop!

We did go out to Garvan Woodland Gardens one morning to walk out and see the new wildflower pavillion. There was plenty of color and it felt cool under the tall pines. We did learn that we can go as early as 6 am and go in the service entrance. Next we will explore the children's section. I will bet we will see no children! I love all the shades of pink.

The hydrangeas are especially showy this time of year.

Most of our time has been spent over on Woodlawn fixing up "this old house" for renters. Leon thought that I could not make a back door out of this junk one but I was determined.

We have gone to several geocaching events. This one was held at Lake Ouachita State Park and it was too hot to be out in the woods and not in the water. I did have a nice visit with lots of people and meet some new geocachers.

Baseball

Now this is how it should look after 5 games.  We were excited that Reid was in Hot Springs for baseball this weekend.

Reid did an outstanding job in the outfield and even hit his first homerun in one of the games. We look forward to watching this team play again!

Don't try this at home

We just never know what the day will bring - Tree and a friend were practicing in the church parking lot behind the house! Their skill is quite impressive.

Moving on......

Kay and Laryssa are both leaving National Park Community College to pursue other careers. When they got word of the theme for their party I think they got the last laugh. They are a couple of angels indeed.

Their coworkers had a funeral theme for their going away party.

Kay made some excellent wings from coffee filters. At least she did not cut her bangs to within 1/2" of forehead like she did the last time she was an angel..oh,  but that was grade school!

Running of the Tubs

Several years we had rain but this year it was a blustery 56 degrees at the 9:25 start of the running of the tubs.

The fire department and police department began the races with a grudge rematch.

When else can kids take their water guns to town and squirt people.

Their steering was a major problem for this tub.

This horse was getting pelted with water balloons as he ran down the avenue. At the time I did not realize that Otto, the jockey who rode Secretariat in the movie, was driving this team. He faired better in the movie!

This was the third of three stopping points before reaching the end. I am not sure what they did at this point.

Clyde is really getting into these new hair styles. What a guy!

The Love Boat is walking back up to the Arlington Hotel where the races begin.

At the first stopping point everyone, including the driver, has to run around the tub.

Batter Up!

Leon and I have a new interest for this summer, but my daughter Kay welcomed us to our first baseball game in the rain!

Flave and Kay seemed to be prepared for any occasion - rain or sun. I think Flave was trying to catch a few winks before the game as he had been in Hot Springs with Entergy helping 800 workers repair the electricity damage from the April 25th tornadoes.

Reid is the team member with his favorite water jug. The team is not so excited as they lost the game but they are an excellent team for 8 year olds.

Flave and Kay do what parents do after each ball game - Wait!  It was a fun experience even though we had showers and we now look forward to seeing Reid's older brother play.

Tornadoes

Three tornadoes ripped through Garland County late Sunday afternoon on April 25. We had just returned from a weekend at Big Cedar with friends in Missouri. Lowe Cemetery on Ragweed Valley Road was covered by the giant oaks that fell during the storm.

We waited several days to take a look so as to not be in the way. The damage along Ragweed Valley, Old Dallas Road and the area around Sunshine, west of town, was still very obvious.

Entergy brought in approximately 800 people to restore power to the 20,000 plus who lost electricity.

The sign at Kilkerry Farms on Old Dallas Road.

Several people posted this picture of the Sonic on Hway 70 west. I still maintain that Sonic is not the healthiest place to dine.

Two of the tornadoes were on the western side of town and another did extensive damage north of Hot Springs along highway 7 north towards Jessieville. We were extremely fortunate that more damage did not occur and only one life was lost. I watched as the trees swirled in the back yard and then the green skies released hickory nut sized hail that covered the ground. It was a tense night to say the least.