Crappieking's baby sister holding our only girlie grandie!
 

The holidays are upon us. Twelve of us took a trip to Dallas over Thanksgiving to visit with the CrappieKing's baby sister.  We looked a bit like a caravan toodling down the hwy.  The grandies look forward to the fact that it is still warm enough to swim in a pool in TX vs MO. When you're a kid, there's nothing like eating your turkey and swimming it off all afternoon with your cousins.
Life is good!






Heated pools are the greatest!



 

Let's Play Tourist



Sunday morning we filled our bellies with biscuits and gravy, jumped in the truck and headed to the other side of the lake to:  Ha Ha Tonka state park.



Rules for fishing

It had been years since we went with the girl scouts. Now, our girl scouts have little scouts of their own! I'm not sure how that happened so fast!  There are many things to see when visiting, plus breath taking views of the castle,

Picture perfect



the spring, and lake below. The little scouts were quite excited to see a muskrat on a log in the water, while the rest of us tried to think of that old song from 1976, by Captain and Tenille, "Muskrat Love." The bigger scouts became enthused upon seeing some large trout suspended in the clear water.    



How to catch trout



Trout hangout





If you get a chance to visit us here at the lake, take a day to wander at

Ha Ha Tonka.  You won't regret it.





photo Op



View from above at the castle





There's A Monster In Our Yard!

There's a monster that comes out after dark in our yard.  Each day we see where the monster has dug more holes in the yard and ran crazy through our flower beds.  We can no longer see beautiful mulch! It looks like we hoed around what flowers the desperate deer have not munched to the ground in this year of the drought.


Scare him and he'll jump straight up in the air, due to poor vision



Time was one only saw these monsters in Texas, but they are slowly creeping north. Yes, it is the Armadillo, derived from the Spanish term, "little armored one." Nine bands cover the body, a hard shield protects the face, even their tails are covered in rings. Only the belly is soft, their legs and claws are very strong to help dig for dinner.  They can weigh from two to twenty pounds and eat up to 200 pounds of insects in a year.  They do not fair well in cold, maybe we will have an early winter since we had an early spring?  Wishful thinking on my part.

An interesting fact from history - President Herbert Hoover promised a chicken in every pot.  However, this did not pan out and many took to cooking armadillos, nick-named "Hoover Hogs."

Something's Burning - I think it's me.

   

Pink Knock-Out Roses


This was our forecast, April and May will be much cooler than normal, with near-normal precipitation. Summer will be drier and cooler than normal, on average, despite hot spells in early and late July. If expected rains do not come in June, drought will be an issue.
September and October will be cooler and rainier than normal, with snow in late October.


Gladiola



A record-breaking heat wave in Missouri.  In late June and early July, we broke several hot temperature records. I fear my electric bill.

So far, this forecast has been fairly consistent. Our spring was quite warm and we are now in a drought. We almost get giddy if we see a gray cloud. We frown when said cloud blow on past. The other day the radio mentioned one had to be 58 years of age to remember it being this hot for this long. I mentioned this to my better half, by stating I probably didn't remember much of it I was so young. At this point he informed me I was 57, not 58, so at least one good thing has come out of this heat - I have become younger!

Little Lime before it cooked in over 100 degree temperatures

 Last summer we had so much rain, we hardly had to water the yard or our flower gardens.  This year we drag the hose around and water all day long and still plants are cooking in the ground. What hasn't died has been consumed by deer. Our hostas have been consumed, along with purple coneflowers, knock-out roses, even Virginia creeper has been chomped up like a precious delicacy.  Even with watering the grass is brown where the sun hits it all day. I will close with a picture of our beautiful knock-out roses before the hot weather and the deer worked them over. Last winter I made the decision to get rid of Stella O'Day lilies the deer ate, and I feel the hostas may follow the same path for something less yummy to our four legged neighbors.

Rumor Has It

Rumor has it now that Dollar General has arrived in our neck of the woods  it is the largest store built recently.  Another rumor is that it out sold all the area Dollar General Stores Memorial Weekend.  One thing I do know, I have yet to drive by that there aren't at least 2 cars parked there shopping, normally there are several cars parked out front and it is unbelievable by the weekend.

Another rumor has it that we are now going to see a motel of some sort - either on Y-10 or across from Dollar General.  How can this be we asked at? However, as we thought about it, the more sense it made.  There is rarily a weekend goes by that there are not fishing tournaments underway all year round.  Where do all these fishermen with plain and beautiful bass boats stay when not tearing up the water for the perfect fish?After all Coffman Beach Public Launch is very close by. When I hear more on this interesting story, I will keep you apprised. In the mean time, the water temperature is 81 degrees and I will leave you to ponder a quote by A. K. Best, "The fishing was good, it was the catching that was bad."



Me trying out a $20 fishing chair.



Grandie thinks it was made for her!



Life with a Dollar at the Lake

Rocky Mount, Missouri is showing signs of growth with the opening of the largest Dollar General in Missouri.  I am not sure what the thinking for this was, but it made me happy.  We have all taken turns trying to figure out how we ended up with this Dollar General. Some think the owner must live nearby, while others think Dollar General knows just how many fishermen and lake lovers truck through here in the summer, and others hope to see them sell the main staples in life - beer, worms and minnows!



Fish Boots



Fish Crocs



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           



Big carp.



The photos above to the left and right feature our youngest grandson, Will. The pic to the right is our eldest grandson, Nicholas. It seems Bill, aka Grandpa Grandpa Grandpa has done his best to turn each grandchild including the one girl in the bunch of five into pro fishermen.  They say more money is spent each year in the sport of fishing than all other sports combined.  I'm not sure if I believe it, but we do buy worms and minnows quite regularly. 



Bask, I mean BASS!



As Spring Unfolds at the Lake

     Spring popped out this year before winter stood a chance to become cold.  What does this mean at Long Cabin Rental?LongCabinRentalatLakeOzark.com First off we noticed the grass greened up early. This, in turn, made us transplant some items in the flower bed and put out bulbs earlier than I can ever recall. Next, the Redbud and the Dogwood bloomed about three weeks early. The crappie began their spawn three weeks early, according to reports from my personal crappie king. 

    This year we have been caught by the Hydrangea bug.  After admiring the big blue ones surrounding the front of our daughter's home at Osage National, we studied up and bought three. We purchased two Little Limes to sit in the sun and one pot of Endless Summer to sit in partial shade.  Now we wait and see how tasty they are to deer.  Late this winter, the monkey grass became so comfy, they began sleeping in it!

     The early morning hum from bass boats involved in tournaments reminds one of some kind of giant group of bees about to land. The crappie king always gets a little excited when he sees professional fisherman testing the waters near our docks. I'm never sure if that is a happy excited or sad when he sees these guys. He's been known to count how many fish the neighbor pulls out of his boat well in order to decide whether to check out the fish. Each week not only do we see bass boats, fishing boats, but the leisure boaters are beginning to exercise their propellers. 
            Even the roads and stores near by seem caught up in spring growth.  We now motivate about on new by-ways and highways designed to get us to our destination faster, designed to help lake visitors not get choked in traffice as they drive to and from the lake.  It seems to work, even though it took us old times awhile to get used to it.  Store seems to be springing up in weeks.  The latest to pop up on the scene are Kohls, CVS Pharmacy, and JoAnns. Right behind these latest opening is Menard's near Eagles Landing.http://lakeexpo.com/community/community_news/article_73a799f4-4696-11e1-9fcc-001871e3ce6c.html 
     What do all these early signs of spring mean, stock up on bug spray, I think they're going to be hungry this year!

When Spring Arrives

Although spring will not officially arrive until March 20th, I'm afraid it will already be summer when the 20th debuts at our casa since winter this year seemed almost balmy in my perception.  Spring for me is time to glance out the windows and see our landscape greening more each passing hour.  We gaze across the cove to see the trees budding, in the sunshine of one day - today the service berry tree bloomed white in a matter of hours in our Ozark hills. I stumbled across this bit of information about where the name service berry derived from.  Here it is:

Historically, a blooming serviceberry was an indication of important timing, and that is how many of the common names used for this plant came about.  One such common name is shadblow, called as such because serviceberries bloom when shad fish have come to spawn.  The name serviceberry came about from the colonists.  After a long winter, serviceberry was in bloom when the ground had thawed enough and it was a perfect time to bury the dead.  So serviceberry meant funeral service.

After reading this tidbit it seems ok to mention we lost a friend this week, Jim Brand.  He used to be our weekend lake neighbor until moving to Texas about fifteen years ago. Jim always had a big smile for everyone, a big belly laugh and an endless line of jokes he could tell and make everyone laugh till they cried.  I remember he would take his upper teeth out and put them back in upside down and do "Hey Vern!" jokes for hours. Rest in peace dear friend.



Grandson Nicholas



Bowl of perfection



In Bill's case, the crappie king, spring means keeping track of the water temperature, he also watches for visual changes in the landscape to know the best times to start testing the waters for fishing. Crappie is the only fish he cares to catch and the only fish he truly cares to eat.  Crappie  are a member of the sun fish family and are known by many different names, depending where you are catching them.  Other interesting names for this delicate tasting fish are: speckled perch, goggleye, paper mouth, white perch, and my favorite - Sac-a-lait. Normally he has relied on advice from his favorite past fishing partner, his mom. Zelma always believed when the red bud and the dogwood trees were blooming the fish aught to be biting! One knows when the service berry blooms, the dogwood and red bud blooming are shortly behind.  However, this year all bets are off! The service berry just bloomed today, probably a couple of weeks early and the white perch have already started biting! As I finish this the crappie king has arrived and my nose tells me he has been successful!

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.  ~Hal Borland



Family Operation



The Memorial Tree

Do you ever feel at a loss of what to do, no ambition, no goals, numb?  With the murders of James and Zelma, the death of Aunt Rita,  that's how we felt, and sometimes still feel everyday, from the time the sun slowly peeps out a good morning over the horizon till the sun slides back down out of our view. We had lost our purpose and were at a loss to regain it.  We tried therapy, books, articles, advice, we took short weekend trips, trying to regain our perspective.  Slowly, almost without our knowing, one interest began to take hold.



Charlie Brown no more!



Moon Flower





Peonies from Jim's garden

 One day as we drove across the state back to the lake during one of our many trips to court for a case that has stretched from 1996, still running today, we stopped at a nursery along the interstate.  Earlier we had talked of planting a memorial tree.  We looked at a tiny, Charlie Brown looking Japanese Maple and took the poor thing home.  We chose it because of Bill's dad's life-long habit of bringing home Charlie Brown Christmas trees.  Then we added Knock Out Roses in memory of my dad, Moon Flowers in memorial to his parents.  Then came old fashioned Day Lilies in honor of my mom and Uncle Floyd.  China Boy and China Girl Holly Bushes arrived one spring in memory of Aunt Rita along with a grass. 

Each spring we do fine tuning, making changes, moving this or taking out that.  There are two things that have remained constant - President Cannas and Elephant Ear plants.  These two plants originally came from Jim's garden.  We have planted them every year since and given away hundreds.  One year, the Elephant Ears grew so large we had to use a chain saw to cut them down in the fall.  Another year one Elephant Ear plant bloomed a few small white lily looking flowers, a phenomenon so strange we discussed it with the St. Louis Botanical Garden people and area Master Gardeners.  We finally came across one person who had also seen the same thing; she suggested it was an Elephant Ear that had reached it's life potential and would probably not live much longer.

Today we look at the flower bed often, fishermen and boaters float by to enjoy the colors and shapes, visitors compliment our lovelies, grandkids sniff them, cats fertilize them, deer sleep in them and nibble them. They are conversation pieces to remember our loved ones gone too soon, but not forgotten.


Knock Roses with Blue Fescue



Our Neighbor on the Other Side of the Gray Cabin



My Dad, Raymond Frederick Sparks



My Aunt Rita F. Sparks Farnham





My Paternal Grandparents
Verna and Fred Sparks

My dad passed away in 1967. Thirteen years later with two young daughters keeping me busy, my mother passed away.  It seemed unfair at the time, but God had a plan.  My dad's sister, retired from school teaching early and took care of the girls so I could spend as much time as I could with my mom.  Over the years after mom died, Aunt Rita became like a mother to me.  After several years of taking care of my Grandmother, Grandpa and Uncle Floyd both had long since passed, my Aunt was free to do as she wanted.  She decided to become my neighbor again and move to the lake!  We had been neighbors back at the time my mom was sick. So, she purchased the house next door when it came up for sale.  She told us how she wanted it to look and we remodeled it.  Six weeks after she moved in, she passed away from colon cancer.  I was devastated, my second mom had been taken away, Bill was still reeling from his parents murders and the trials - still going on yet today!  We slowly came out of a fog and began to think about renting the two little cabins on each side to pay the taxes, insurance and upkeep.  Thus, we slowly began to refer to them by color -   Green Cabin and Yellow Cabin!

The Sun is Shining and I'm Remembering Dark Clouds

James and Zelma Long around 1947



Blame it on former Mississippi Gov. Barbour, these dark thoughts I try to push out of my mind on this sunny day ever since our lives changed in a matter of minutes in July of 1996.  Have you ever given thought to how you feel about the death penalty in this great country we live in?  A lot of people have an opinion, although the fickled finger of fate has never reached out and touched them. It's never struck them so hard they're scared to walk out of their home. It's never touched them so hard they fall to the floor and sob.  It's never touched them so hard they pull the covers up over their head and refuse to move. It's never made them afraid to walk in a store.  So, how do they know what they'd really feel?  I'm here to fill you in - they may think they know, but they don't and please, God, don't let them ever find out.  It's the worst kind of nightmare one can ever not awake from. Bill and I had this debate alot for awhile.  He felt it was terrible for his parents who were murdered, execution style in the bedroom of the home they shared. I thought it was worse for my parents who both suffered the slow death of cancer eating away at their bodies until they were gone - both at an age much too young, since I am older now than either of them.  But then it slowly seeps back in, my inlaws, they had to have been terrified, the kind of terrified where you wet yourself and you can't hardly draw a breath, you can't think to make sense of anything.  The murderer admitted that in court.  My father-n-law could not remember the numbers to open the safe.  How would you feel if someone took away your loved one before their time, just because they wanted to?  Years later, I  have come to think it was harder on Jim and Zelma's children, the loved ones left behind.  Once supposedly a close knit family, with the nucleus gone, their DNA scattered like particles of dust after a windstorm.  Where before they got together and there was no hesitation to pick up the phone and call, now if a phone rings on a birthday from everyone once a year, it's a miracle, easier yet, text two words, Happy Birthday, and move on, relieved no voices communicated.   That's the story of what happened to my next door neighbor's in 1996, six weeks after we moved back to the lake.

Jim studying for the horse track











Jim and Zelma being chauffeured by grandson, Jimmie.