Visitors

My brother and sister-in-law are visiting from Albuquerque and they came at a good time of year, when the woods are lush with new green, birds and wildflowers abound, and small streams are still running after the rains.  They love many of the same things we do about this place; from inside the windows we watch turkeys and deer and bright yellow gold finches.  They are also fascinated by the squirrels, which are so abundant here that we scarcely notice them any more.

Saturday, a sun dappled trail invited us into the woods and down to the creek bed, but when we arrived at the hollow, the lake had beat us there.  Bull Shoals Lake is now nearly 35 feet above normal pool and rising, and the hollow is filled with chocolate colored water.  Eventually, it will recede, and in the meantime, under all that muddy water, a quiet stream bides its time.

Rain returned that evening, seeming like it wasn't planning to quit, but we had plenty to catch up on, and table games to play, and my sister-in-law and I had bread to bake, and an internet cooking show to plan, at least in our imagination.  Whatever else happens, we laughed enough to fill a couple of hours of footage.  Stay tuned...