~ LET US WORSHIP ~

 On our recent trip to northern Arkansas, we

drove through the Ft. Smith downtown area.

There are some beautiful churches there and

I got just a few pictures to share.

Isn't this church beautiful? I am sorry I didn't get

the names of any of these. There are one-way streets

everywhere and we weren't familiar with the

neighborhood, so we were trying to stay on our

route and I was just snapping pics of these

churches as we came across them.

I loved the spire on this one as well as the window.



This one is a little different, more traditional and southern looking.

I like the keystone above the windows.

(I think they look a little like stern eyebrows).

This last church is located in old Washington, Ar.

It is in need of repair, but I find it endearing in it's

current state. The covered entrance is unusual

with the arched porch.

These windows are so pretty.

Hopefully, it is on the list to be restored

sometime in the near future.

I am drawn to beautiful and unusual architecture,

especially houses of worship.

I would love to visit again with more time to devote to

capturing these beautiful churches in pictures.

Just so many pictures to be taken and so little time!

Hope you have a wonderful and

blessed weekend. 

BREAKING CLEAR AWAY

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away,

 once in awhile, and climb a mountain

 or spend a week in the woods.

Wash your spirit clean.
 John Muir

I think John Muir and I are kindred spirits.

Every so often, I am drawn to the mountains.

This time it wasn't the Grand Tetons, or the Rockies.

Dear hubbie and I decided to break away and spend

a week one of our favorite places, the Ozarks.

This was our first visit to Devil's Den State Park

in Arkansas. We found wonderful hiking trails and

stayed in a cabin built by the CCC boys in the 1930's.

These rock houses can be found all

around the Ozarks. I fell in love with

the first one I saw when I was a child and 

have loved them ever since.  

Here is the fireplace from one of the old

kitchens originally built on this site at the park.

 It was huge! I imagine many a dinner had been

cooked here and it surely warmed the room

nicely in the winter.

We decided to drive to War Eagle Mill one

day for lunch. It is still a working grist mill

and you can watch as the miller grinds corn

and the big water wheel turns.

I had a cup of pinto beans and cornbread

with blackberry cobbler for dessert.

Good home cookin'!



We traveled the back roads and came across

this covered bridge and little cabin decorated for fall.

I am pretty sure in the past someone lived a good life

 here in this peaceful spot beside this little creek.

The trees were just beginning to change color.

The temperature dipped into the low 30's 

while we were there, so I imagine this next

week will be spectacular! 

We had a wonderful time, wandering around

the northern part of Arkansas. We climbed a

few mountains, spent some time in the woods,

ate some good home cookin' and came home

with our spirits refreshed.

That John Muir was a wise man!

Bosses Day

I work with a great group of folks

at my church and our church hostess is awesome.

Last week we celebrated Bosses Day and

she gifted our ministers with a special lunch to go

along with the surprise we had for them.

I'll share just a few pics of our lunch with you.

Her table settings are always so pretty

and make everyone feel special.

The girls sat at this table with the

pretty ruffled plate. Isn't it adorable?

(I can only imagine what her dish closet looks like.)

She used simple fall decorations. These "horse apples"

make a great centerpiece.
Their color complimented the tables perfectly.
Nature tends to do that don't you think.



We gave our four guys camp chairs in

their favorite team colors. Our one

hunter in the group scored with a

camo chair.

Hmmmm.....not sure how much work

will get done this afternoon. I think

they have this chair thing figured out.

Thank you again, Mrs. Glenda and crew for helping

to make this lunch so special.

I am blessed to know and work with these folks!

Autumn Gold

The heat of the summer put a damper on

my outside walking. Since the temperature

has dropped a bit (down to the 80's), I have started back.

This past week I decided to take a peek at the

secret garden I found last spring.

I really didn't expect to find any

 flowers due to the drought. 

I was surprised to see

pretty gold and yellow flowers everywhere.



They covered the field and road with cheerfulness.

Even the golden bitterweed is a welcome sight

in a mostly dry and brown landscape these days.



We will be taking a few days off to

visit the Ozarks this week.

I hope to seem more fall blooms

and some pretty color on the trees.

I will share what I find when we return.

Have a wonderful weekend filled with

sunshine and autumn gold!



Melrose Plantation

  

Melrose Plantation was one of the places we chose to visit

on our recent Pilgrimage Tour in Natchitoches.

It offers a wonderful picture of life in the South

beginning as early as 1796.

In addition to the Big House, the buildings on tour included the

Yucca House, the African House, the Writer's Cabin, 

the Weavers House and the Bindery.

I am just going to share a few of the pictures Shannon &

 I took and I hope you enjoy the tour as much as we did.

The Main or Big House.

This started out as two upper rooms with a carriage house

underneath and wound up as this beautiful home.

 

The back veranda of the Main House.

Photos were not allowed inside so I took some 

pictures of the beautiful arrangements outside.

The inside of the house was decorated as well, with

mostly flowers, leaves, berries and whatever

could be found on the grounds.

The Africa House 

You can see by the Congo inspired shape

how it came by that name. 

The front of the Africa House.

The faded blue doors I love!

The Writer's Cabin.

When Miss Cammie Henry lived at Melrose in the

1800's, she would invite writers and artists

 to come stay on the plantation.

The only stipulation was they must show some evidence

 of their work each night at dinner. If they failed to do so,

they would be politely asked to leave!

Here we are in front of Yucca House which was

 the first house built on the plantation

probably around 1796.

One of Miss Cammie's favorite writers ended up living in

this house for over 20 years. That is a lot of writing!

Another pretty blue shutter on the Yucca House.

This is one building that has recently

 been completely restored.

( Being over 300 years old, it was probably time.)

The chimney on the Bindery.

The color and texture of the stones caught my eye.

And finally, Shannon sitting on a root of the Century Oak

 in front of the house. This oak is thought to

have been here since the early 1800's.

Oh, to think what this tree has seen!

 ~

 If you visit Natchitoches, it is worth your time

to travel to Cane River Country and tour Melrose.



Melrose is open for tours daily from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. excluding major holidays.

More information on Melrose can be found at CaneRiverHeritage.org.

A Pilgrimage

I have shared photos before of beautiful Natchitoches

on the Cane River located about an hour south of  here.

This weekend they hosted a Pilgrimage Tour

of town homes and plantations.

 Shannon said "let's go" and I said "okay"!

The town was all decked out in it's autumn finery for the event.

My mother would love all the flowers.

Hundreds of mums and pumpkins with

shocks of corn and stalks of cotton decorated Front Street.

The Cane River, which runs through town, 

is at an all time low due to the drought.

Here we are by the river taking a break under

one of the beautiful live oaks that grace this lovely city.

We toured three town homes and one

plantation home as well as shopping Front Street.

Stay tuned.....I will be back next week to share in pictures

just a bit of the beautiful things we saw.



~ Welcome October ~

Then summer fades and passes and October comes.

 We'll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness,

a thrill of nervousness, swift elation,

a sense of sadness and departure."

- Thomas Wolfe