DOGWOOD ACRES, 02/18/07, ELANE CRUM
Hello friends. Ladybugs, Kittens and Puppies are the most easily seen signs of wildlife around our house. There are not many squirrels or birds to be seen although Rick would like more squirrels so that he can train his Treeing Feists. The lack of birds may be due to our cat population, although as much bagged cat food as we put out I cannot imagine they do much bird hunting. We cannot feed birds because of hungry bears that lurk in the nearby woods.
Last week’s ice finally melted and the weekend’s heavy rains have left us with lots of mud, but farm ponds are full and that is a good thing. We survived the ice storm well with only the customary amount of limbs down and no bad falls. Our electricity stayed on so we did not have to use the containers of water or burn candles. The Taney County & MODOT road people got our roads cleared quickly so I had no excuse for missing more than the first day of work. Fortunately I did not have to go north on H as the Christian Co. end stays icy for days longer.
On our way to church Sunday, we saw that Clell and Dean Smithson’s front yard was full of a huge part of a tree broken by the ice storm. There is a lot of firewood on the ground but surely a lot of work to get it cleaned up.
Swan Creek was running high, lapping over into adjoining fields and within a couple feet of Lone Star Road. A good rain or two like that changes the channels and creates new swimming holes.
There will be a lot of traffic past our house for a few days, as our Round Mountain Rd. neighbors cannot cross the Goodnight Hollow Slab. It always seems to take several days for Bull Creek to run down after a big rain.
I had a phone call from Louise Meier who lives near Monett. The storm had caused a lot of tree damage so she and James had spent their Valentine’s day picking up limbs. I told her I want to visit them and copy pictures from her old albums. She told me not to wait too long and I know what she means as I often think of things to ask my dad.
While grocery shopping in Forsyth Saturday I had a good visit with Ruby Brafford. I only see Ruby occasionally, either at church or out shopping. Sometime soon I want to go visit and look at her old pictures too. I found a picture in one of our family albums of Bilyeu ladies at New Haven Church when it was still located in Dry Hollow. Both Louise and Ruby are in the picture with their Mothers, my Mother and several others. I am going to scan it and put on the Bilyeu Family website real soon.
Rick saw Jeff Dalton at Mike Stenger’s house one day last week. Jeff was working on another custom gunstock, this one is Walnut trimmed out in Maple. It will be beautiful as Jeff always does excellent work.
I got a letter from Marguerite Burger Jennings who lives in Williams, CA. She had just celebrated her birthday with church friends who had surprised her with a party at Straw Hat Pizza. I did not know that she and her sister, Louise Burger Haworth, shared birthdays as Marguerite was born on Louise’s second birthday. She also spoke of the years when she was schoolteacher at Swan. Although I never went to school at Swan, I did go to Sunday School there when we lived in the log house across Bilyeu Creek from Burger’s Store.
My Aunt Bonnie Gimlin Bilyeu called on Valentine Day evening and we had such a good visit. She and Marguerite Burger were childhood friends so I read Marguerite's letter to her. Aunt Bonnie has just finished writing her life story and I am so anxious to get a copy. She said she waited until she was 80 years old to begin her book and now only a few months before her 90th birthday has finished it.
After church on Sunday Christie, Loretta Bearden and Makaylee Tilley went into Branson to check out the President Day sales and enjoyed a jolt of Starbucks. It was a cold and windy afternoon but was worth it for the good deals they made at the new Branson stores.
Our neighborhood is changing again as Bob and Margi Reed have sold their home near Pine Ridge Church. The new neighbors are coming here from North Carolina. Just a little farther up the road are Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Westfall who live off the Red Bridge Road. Harvey had the guys over for coffee last Saturday morning and Rick said they have a real pretty place way back in the woods.
Rick and I went to Springfield the day before Valentine’s Day. While we were out, we went to Ryan’s for lunch and called that our Valentine’s Outing. After church Sunday night LeaAnn roped the married couples into playing the Newly Wed Game. At forty years of married life, Rick and I were the youngest of the older group and we were the winners. Obviously, we agreed on most of the questions, only a couple that were up for grabs. I know that I was right and he was wrong, but he would probably say, “So what else is new?”
We met in 1962 and even then I carried a camera with me most of the time. We went to Vacation Bible School at Taneyville Apostolic Church that summer and I got him to have his picture taken with me. Just for fun, I posted that picture on my blog for Valentine’s Day. You can see it by going to www.dogwoodAcresOnline.blogspot.com Bye for now.
...this week's picture share is Marguerite Burger Jennings and her son at Lone Star Homecoming, 2007. Her father, George Burger, helped build Lone Star Church over 100 years ago.
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