GRANDMOTHER BRACELET, HAND AND FOOT, SNOW, CARDINALS AND PERUVIAN PASO'S

This has been a wonderful few days. It started with my picking up my Grandmother bracelet at the jewelry store on Wednesday.

My Mother started this bracelet when my first child, Jim, was born, and as I had children, and they had children, she added a charm with the name and birth date of each child engraved on it. When she died, I inherited the bracelet and I have added my last 2 grandchildren who were born after her death and my great grandson's charm to it. So far it is complete, but there is still room for a few more additions :-)

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed for Arkansas and the Firmin's lake house for the weekend. We arrived in Texarkana on the Texas side in time for lunch (that is where they live) and then we continued on to Lake Greeson which is at the Narrow's Dam and got to their new house by 3:00 p.m.

They have had a place on the lake for many years but this is their new place and it's wonderful!

While we were sitting in the living room the dog started to bark and when we looked out the window, we saw a group of deer going by. They were about 10 feet from the house. There is a deer run on their property, so every evening, the deer walk by there. Thumper (the dog) doesn't like them invading his territory, so he always lets them know when the deer have arrived.

The former owners of this place had left an owl which had made a visit to the taxidermist, so it now graces a corner of the living room. Since there isn't a "Hooter's" in the area, Charles has provided his own ;-)

They have a telephone which has animal sounds for rings and it "Hoots" when they receive a call. It's a real hoot to hear it ;-)
After dinner we started playing cards, and when we looked out the window we realized that it had begun to snow.

It snowed all night and when we woke up the next morning it was literally a winter wonderland outside.

We spent the majority of the day inside, watching the snow fall gently on the pine trees as we played Hand and Foot and Rummikub. It was wonderful. I can't think of a better way to relax than playing cards with old friends and watching another miracle of Mother Nature.

Thumper also likes to play Hand and Foot, so we had to let him have his turn.

When we arrived, there were Daffodils in our room that Judie had gotten from her yard. I neglected to mention that the highway had Daffodils all along the sides of the road on our way up. I think this photograph really shows the beauty of Spring flowers against a winter backdrop. They were lovely.

I have to admit though, that I always get confused about which flowers are Jonquils and which are Daffodils. Whichever these are, I still love them. When they are in bloom, you know that Spring is just around the corner.

I spent a great deal of time taking photographs of the little birds that come to the house to eat. They have many bird feeders all around the place and a large variety of birds come there for sustenance.

I especially love the Cardinals and they look wonderful with the snow for a background. This Papa bird is keeping an eye on his sweetie. However, she looks as though she can take care of herself, even in the snow.These are just several of the many shots that I took and I love each and every one of them. This, for me, was reminiscent of the first time we were at the beach in Hawaii and I kept taking photographs of the waves. Each one that came along was better than the last. It's the same with birds. You always think you can get a better shot next time, so you wait and wait, and eventually a really good one comes along.

This little family gathering of Cardinals on a cold winter day was a real surprise and a photographic dream to be able to capture all of them at once. It was worth the wait.

I also loved the one who kept playing "Peek-A Boo" with me. He was so cute.

While I was photographing the birds, the boys decided that they needed to play a game of pool. I'm not sure who won, but they had fun.We felt as though we needed to have a little music in the background to add to the mood, so we put Thumper in charge of the remote and he found the music channel on the television set and kept us entertained.

Since we had exerted ourselves so much with cards, pool, bird watching and watching snowflakes fall, some of us decided that a nap was in order.

After our naps, we played more cards, had a good dinner, played more games and then decided to call it a night.

It warmed up the next day, the snow had melted and we decided to go into town (Murfreesboro) for lunch. It's a quaint little place with a population of a little over 1,700 and we had great hamburgers at a place called Cheryl's.

This little town had some great little shops on the main square. It reminded me of Frank's home town, Springer, NM and Mrs. Nobles. If you had the time, you could find anything and everything in that store. We used to love to go there and rummage around in all her "stuff".

After lunch we visited the Diamond Mine.

The diamonds found at the Diamond Mine are real ones. The Uncle Sam weighed 40.23 carats.

The Star of Murfreesboro weighed 34.25, Star of Arkansas 15.33 In fact, since 1972 19,473 diamonds have been found here, for a total weight of 3,903.84 carats. Over six hundred of these diamonds weighed more than one carat. You wash the dirt in a "trough" like the one below after you have gotten the earth from the mine.

In 1995 there were 40,013 people from all around the world try their luck in the 35 acres of cleared field at the Crater. (The park is actually 888 pine-covered acres along the banks of the Little Missouri River)

"This park provides a unique opportunity," says Michael Hall, Park Superintendent. "Finding a diamond worth thousands of dollars is roughly a matter of luck. Babies have found diamonds, little old ladies, and big strong men have all found diamonds. No special tools are needed, no special talent is required. Anyone walking through these doors has an equal opportunity to find the diamond of their dreams!" Until recently, the mine at Murfreesboro was the only area where diamonds have ever been found in North America!
When we left there we drove to the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Burial Grounds. They have these enclosed areas where you can go inside and see where they have been digging for artifacts and some of the remains. Long before the white man came, their civilization was flourishing. They were known to modern men only as the Mound Builders. One of the most intriguing examples of their unique civilization lies at KA-DO-HA Indian Village just 1 1/4 miles from Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The
KA-DO-HA Indian village is a pre-historic site that was populated by the Mound Builders approximately 1,000 years ago. At KA-DO-HA Indian village you can gaze backward into time and see beautifully molded and decorative pottery, pipes, and expertly chipped flint, all fashioned by hand by these artistic people. You learn how the mysterious mounds were constructed and you will see the reconstructed mud and straw houses. You come to understand their customs, their ceremonies, and their way of life.
On the way there we passed by the Arkansas Horse Park where they had Peruvian Pasos.

The Peruvian Paso is a breed of pleasure saddle horse known for its smooth ride. It is distinguished by a uniquely natural gait called the paso llano which is a lateral four beat gait. The breed's ancestors has roots to the once populous naturally gaited horses of early Spain.

Once in Peru, horses were used primarily for transportation. In the north of Peru, the vast size of sugar and cotton plantations meant that overseers needed to travel long distances, often taking days to cross the plantation. In the south of Peru, the arid deserts that separated settlements required sturdy, strong horses. Peru did not develop a livestock-based economy, such as in Argentina, and thus did not need to breed horses for the speed or agility needed for those purposes.
Instead of a trot, the Peruvian Paso performs a ambling four beat gait between the walk and the canter. It is a lateral gait, in that it has four equal beats and is performed laterally - left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore.
The Peruvian Paso performs two variations of the four-beat gait. The first, the paso llano is isochronal, meaning that there are four equal beats in a 1-2-3-4 rhythm. This is the preferred gait. The second gait, the sobreandando, is faster. Instead of four equal beats, the lateral beats are closer together in a 1-2, 3-4 rhythm, with the pause between the forefoot of one side to the rear of the other side is longer.
This characteristic gait was utilized for the purpose of covering long distances over a short period of time without tiring the horse or rider. The gait is natural and does not require extensive training. Purebred Peruvian Paso foals can be seen gaiting alongside their dams within a few hours of their birth.

The gait supplies essentially none of the vertical bounce that is characteristic of the trot, and hence posting (moving up and down with each of the horse's footfalls) is unnecessary. It is also very stable, as the Peruvian Paso's execution of the gait means there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground. The rider's back feels no strain or jolt. Hence, this is a favored mount for riders with back trouble.
We returned home in the late afternoon, played a game of Rummikub and then had a delicious dinner that Judie prepared. The Firmin's have been special friends of ours for over 20 years and we feel truly blessed by their friendship. We always enjoy ourselves when we get together, whether it's for fun and games or spiritual gatherings.

After dinner we played more Hand and Foot and the boys beat us soundly! Speaking of Hand and Foot, here is a painting, a watercolor, that I did several years ago that I entitled "Hand and Foot". I painted it right after I learned to play this particular card game.

The time changed that night, so we got up later this morning (not really, but by the clock we did). It takes me several days to get used to Daylight Savings Time. I wish we were like Arizona and remain the same time year round. It makes like easier for me. After a light breakfast, we had Morning Prayer since there is not Episcopal Church in the area. We were going to leave right after lunch and we decided to have one more chance to try to beat the fellows and save face at Hand and Foot. We finally came out the Victors but it was a really close game. As we were finishing our game, Judie's sister came down from her lake home which is located next door and joined us for lunch.

We have heard so much about her over the years that it was good to finally get to meet her.

The drive home was an easy one (it only took about 5 hours and Frank did all the driving :-) and the closer we got to Arlington, the darker the sky became.

We didn't get into any rain while driving, but about an hour after we returned to the house, it began to pour down. We were, however, safe and sound in our nice little house.
We had a wonderful time in the foothills of the Ozarks, but it's always good to be home again.
I exercised this morning and went to the Eucharist and Book/Bible study at church. We have finished our book and will begin a new study after Easter. Next week is Holy Week and there will be lots of extra activity at the church. I will attend a service each day during that time, so will not be doing extra studies per se.
I'll report back in when things get interesting again. I'll paint on Thursday, so I may have a new "masterpiece" to show you then.

XOXO, Pcasso