Memorial Week-End: Visit by Ben and Myka

Enjoyed having Ben and Myka up for the holiday! First opportunity they have had since they were here for Christmas. The high water on the rivers curtailed fishing activity, but we did get to spend some time exploring Dry Run Creek and the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. And we were able to share some of our favorite dining establishments in the area: PJs on the White River for fine dining, KTs BBQ, desserts from the Shady Ladies/Heidi's Crazy Cakes at Shady Grove Country Store, and dinner with new friends/future neighbors at White River Valley Estates. We had a great visit and are looking forward to the next visit from our "kids".



In front of PJs; excellent food and atmosphere!


At Bull Shoals Dam overlook; 17 spillway gates open



Stealthy Ben trying to get an underwater fish pic


Nice cutthroat trout


Rainbow trout rising for a bug

Higher Water

We have heard reports that the releases from Bull Shoals dam are as heavy as they are going to be this go-around. We thought we had witnessed the peak levels yesterday, but returned today to see just what forces are released with 6 generators and 17 floodgates open. We joined a parade of folks that were walking across the bridge to capture images. Many houses, docks, businesses have been trashed - we see entire large trees floating by from time to time - pretty powerful stuff!

Record water releases from Bull Shoals Dam

Lots of homes and other properties being flooded downriver from Bull Shoals dam as Beaver, Table Rock, Norfork, and Bull Shoals lakes reach flood stage - water must be released to mitigate the potential damage. For those of you familiar with the Cotter Access and Roundhouse Shoals, this is an even more jaw-dropping scene. Where we are staying and where we will eventually build are both far removed from flooding danger. We just have to find a hidy-hole occasionally due to tornado warnings this spring, as we know a lot of you have had to do. Stay safe!


Cotter Trout Dock under seige - swimming hole to the left is no longer a hole




Water flowing over the berms and through the parking lot


Top of island: Roundhouse Shoals


Bottom of island: Roundhouse Shoals

Charlcies flower pics

Clipping Fins

Along with others, we volunteered to help Arkansas Game & Fish trout biologist clip adipose fins on Cutthroat trout before they are released. This will help identify this group in the future to determine growth rates, survival rates, movement, etc. This class averaged 11" in length, which is larger than the normal stocking size - it is hoped by releasing larger fish their survival rate will be improved. I don't know how many we clipped (in the hundreds), but a total of 12,000 will be marked in a two-day period.

Toy Story

Finally had a chance to take our Polaris Ranger to the land for our initial ride in it. Although we've had it for awhile, we couldn't seem to find the right time to take it for a spin. I imagine when the house starts, we will have it out there often. We enjoyed exploring the hills and valleys.

Cicada

This is the coming out year for the 13-year periodical cicadas throughout the south (called the Great Southern Brood). These guys have been living underground as nymphs for 13 years, and are coming out now to shed their shells, mate, and then die. As a survival mechanism, they emerge by the millions to satisfy the appetites of their many predators. The idea is that the predators will gorge on the plentiful prey until they can't eat anymore - leaving the surviving cicadas to lay their eggs to produce the next generation - coming to you in 2024. To attract mates, they congegrate in groups and when there is a forest full of them, produce sounds like a distant jet engine. We were out at our property and heard this relatively loud noise that we initially thought was bulldozer work going on in the area, until we started seeing many of these little guys (about a third of the size of the black/green larger ones we are all familiar with) buzzing about. They're colorful little buggers.

Along the walking paths

With both tail waters pumping out flows of water that are prohibitive for wade-fishing, we have openings in our recreation schedule. Spurred on by the cool weather and the full blooming of honeysuckle along the walking paths, we have extended our walks to cover more ground and at a faster pace. Conventional wisdom says that this is good for our physical and mental health - we're hoping this is the case. We always take our camera and when the opportunity arises, we brake for interesting plants, bugs, animals, etc. Unfortunately, we don't have the right stuff to capture suitable images of all the cool birds along the way.

Mother's Day

Instead of getting cut flowers for Mother's Day, Charlcie wanted to go on a hike along the river to capture images of wildflowers and also to get some exercise on a gorgeous day! Charlcie couldn't resist harvesting a few roses from our yard after our hike. Of course, a call from Ben and text from Myka made the day complete for Charlcie.

Another Mother at our house



Ozark Columbine

Cotter Trout Festival

Sherman Mtn. Boys: these 16-yr. olds could really pick and sing!

Big Spring swimming hole



Living in a small community surrounded by other small communities, there is no shortage of activities to entertain, educate, and amuse. Seems like there is always a fish fry, pancake breakfast, music night, festival, or other event to lure you into sampling a taste of the local culture. This week-end we participated in the annual Cotter Trout Festival, a celebration to recognize the importance of trout fishing in this area - including, of course, the tremendous economic impact of tourism and retiree settlements based on this sport :). Arts and crafts, a parade, a flyover, bluegrass music, and the old swimming hole for the kids were all part of the festivities - oh, and Food! Funnel cakes, fried pies, BBQ!

USA! USA! USA!

We were lying in bed reading Sunday evening when Ben texted that our military had killed Osama bin Laden. I just happened to be reading the chapter about 9/11 in George W. Bush's book "Decision Points" when Ben alerted us - a little chill ran up my spine and a smile spread across my face. We finally got the murdering coward! A proud day for America!