Special Celebration: Papaw Tabor's 90th!

To celebrate Dad's 90th birthday, my brothers Ronnie and Steve brought Dad up to Cotter for his special treat - fishing at Dry Run Creek. We were also joined by our nephew Andrew, niece Heather, and great niece Jaden. Something about a fishing trip that whets Dad's appetite, so at his insistence, we started each day with a big country breakfast at the White Sands cafe. We then headed to Dry Run Creek for many hours of fishing on Saturday and Sunday. Dad is so happy on the stream catching big trout - especially when he has a supporting crew of admiring children and grandchildren. Charlcie was busy taking pictures to journalize the festivities.

Heather and Dad gearing up

Would you please hurry up and tie that thing on so I can continue fishing!

Focused on the big one

OK Steve, hurry and release that fish so I can catch another one

Heather guiding Jaden on her first Dry Run Creek experience

The whole group, with exception of Andrew, who had to get back to Little Rock

And many more!!!!!

Cotter Trail Hike

After the area tour, Heather and Jeff and Charlcie and I hiked the Cotter trail and enjoyed the fantastic March weather and the early-blooming wildflowers. I had failed to take the camera along, so Charlcie and I went back the next day to take pictures. Although it was a little too overcast to get good light and the full bloom of some of the flowers, we were still able to get some decent pictures along this neat trail.

Active bald eagle nest across the river

Great blue heron rookery across the river and next to eagle nest

Flox among group of yellow trout lilies

Hillside covered with small white flowers

A solitary red flower on a bluff

Trout lilies galore

Grape hyacinth in our front yard

Grape hyacinth at an abandoned old house in Cotter

Reptile crossing the road near our new house - not for sure of the make and model, so I didn't get any closer

Fishing Buffalo Shoals with Heather and Jeff

Enjoyed a week-end with our niece Heather and husband Jeff; valued kinfolk and devoted fly-fishers. This was Heather's first trip to the area in which she was able to see it all - and we obliged with our standard full day tour on Saturday. And Sunday we all spent a beautiful day fishing our favorite spot at Buffalo Shoals on the White River - and we were all rewarded with good numbers of fish caught.

Charlcie's first fish of the day - not the largest :)

Fishing was so demanding that Charlcie had to take time for a little island relaxation

Heather coaching Jeff on how it's done, or something like that

Annual President's Day road trip

We again made the annual trek to the President's Day races at Oaklawn with Ben (Myka couldn't attend due to school demands). Luck was not with us at the wagering window, nor in the cash drawings after each race. But we had a great time spending time with Ben and Myka and enjoyed some good meals together, including some baked ziti Myka had waiting for us when we returned from the races.

How many Tabors are needed to perfect a bowtie knot?  Actually only one, along with two advisors, and one YouTube instructional video.

He did it!  Ready for the Derby!

Trout Lily

White trout lily.  We find individual flowers like this scattered on our acreage. 

 "Trout spots" on foliage

Yellow trout lilies.  We viewed acres of these on the hillsides of the Cotter trail

Follow the signs home

Building our home in a rural area, where the streets have not been named, we were allowed to pick our own street names to comply with the 911 Emergency Response protocol. Some of our initial choices were already taken, but we had been asked to choose several options.
We had to come up with two names, one for the road coming off the last-named main road, and then the road back to our house.
Dragonfly Trail: Dragonflies are prominent in most areas where there is water (and fishing) and they are also a common theme in Craftsman/Arts & Craft style homes/design, which ours is.
Trout Lily Lane: The trout lily is a flower we have admired for a long time - it arises from the leaf-covered ground in the woods in springtime and is common in Arkansas. The name apparently came from the foliage of dark-green mottled leaves that resemble the flank of a brook trout - and is topped by intricate yellow flowers that decorate the forest floor. A passion for trout and for the forest, and the prevalence of these flowers on our acreage, presented a perfect choice for the name of our physical address.

 First turn

Our physical address will be on this lane

Annual Winter Outing with the "Cabin Group"

As we have done every February for the past umpteen years, we recently had an outing with our great friends from Northwest Arkansas - all of us former soccer parent "road warriors".  This year we gathered at a lodge somewhere in the woods off state highway 7, south of Jasper.  Although I didn't get to participate much in the festivities due to recent hernia surgery, and an inopportune stomach bug, it was so good to spend time with our good friends - regrettably, we don't get together enough in my opinion.  Anyway, everyone had a great time as usual and we are already looking forward to our next annual get-together - hopefully we can rally again long before next February.

Milestone reached

There is good news and bad news when you turn 65. The good news: you've made it this far in relatively good health, you get your Medicare card, you buy your last fishing license which is good until you croak, and you get to have a lovely birthday dinner with your loving wife of 37 years at your favorite local restaurant, capped off by a good-luck kiss! The bad news: None - although another year older, with all the blessings that we have enjoyed over our lives and continue to experience, I would have to lie to complain. Kinda sappy, huh - but I'm a sappy kind of guy - deal with it!

Christmas in Siloam Springs: 2011

The celebrations continued in Siloam, with stocking stuffers at Charlcie's Dad's (we're making it simpler while keeping it fun) and dinner at the Riley's - not to mention Chris's birthday celebration on Christmas day. All-in-all the Ft. Smith, Siloam holiday road trip was responsible for a calorie intake exceeding safe limits - oh well, it was worth the risk, and there's always the new year to start over in attempting to be healthy.

Christmas in Ft. Smith: 2011

Tradition has continued for decades for us, splitting time between our families in Ft. Smith and Siloam Springs. The road trips continue! Christmas Eve at Dad's and Christmas lunch at Ronnie and Sally's.

December 20: Work has begun!

Things are finally falling into place and construction has begun on our new home. Today, the base for the driveway,the initial scraping for the foundation and contouring the site for proper drainage got underway. Charlcie enjoyed visiting with the four-legged companion of the bulldozer guy - a very large, but very gentle and carefree English mastiff.
Won't bore with the day-to-day progress on the home, but will update periodically.

An appreciative trout

On one of the few opportunities to fish lately, spent some time with a couple of friends on the Norfork River.  Not a bad weather day for winter.  Among the fish caught, I'm pretty sure this one felt a lot better after I caught and released him - after I removed the foot-long lamprey that was securely attached and sucking out his life's juices.  Saving the world, one fish at a time.

Crystal Bridges - A quick initial trip

The heralded new Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville is all that it has been touted to be. We were happy to go on our initial visit with our nephew Ryan and his wife, Kalen, as well as Ryan's grandparents, Pat adn Jack  This museum is definitely world-class and is a treasure for Arkansas and the US. We are already looking forward to our next visits!

 Tree sculpture at entrance

 Over 20,000 spools of thread suspended on bead chains; viewed thru a glass orb and it appears in detail, right side up.  Unbelievable!

 Incredible architecture - will be more impressive when the pools are filled

 Norman Rockwell's famous "Rosie the Riveter"

View from the back since this site is PG :) 

Even though this artist's self-sculpture is much larger than real-life, it is so realistic it is spooky.