Rosebud Arkansas Relative found

Kathy's grandfather's resting place was found in Rosebud, Arkansas. She had only met him once before he passed away. So far as we know, none of the family were able to attend his funeral, including Kathy's mother. This gave Kathy much joy to visit his final resting place. She said he was a very gentle, slim and tall man.

Proof positive that Kathy was here!

Kathy standing under the arch at the entrance of the Rosebud Cemetery. It was very nicely maintained, and a beautiful edifice.

This is the entrance to the cemetery.

Tornado!

Pictures of a devastating tornado that came through Horseshoe Bend, AR Friday. It missed our branch members the Suttons by just a few hundred feet, but these homes were not spared.

 

This is Crown Lake looking south. The tornado first touched down on the lake, and then skipped up to the houses at the top of the hill about 1/4 mile from the lake. Debris scatter across the road shows the direction of the wind.

Looking north at the south face of the homes that took the brunt of the storm.

The deck was completely torn off this home. Notice the support pillars and where it was attached to the home.

The deck ended up in the neighbor's front yard. The deck from the neighbor's house probably was what blew out the picture window which provided a picturesque view of Crown Lake.

Tree uprooted in the front of this house.

A close up of the tree uprooted.

Debris in the tree . Many of the trees to the right of the debris were broken in half.

The roof was almost completely torn off this house.

A boat turned up on its side.

Another of many uprooted trees in the neighborhood.

Trash everywhere.

A travel trailer turned up on the side. The trees stopped it from going any further. Behind it was a boat that was undamaged.

A close up of the scattered debris across the street from most of the damage. Much of the debris was spread over a half a mile from the homes. Several trees had to be removed from the streets, and were cut up into firewood. The end result was a good one in that no one was hurt.

 The red line shows the direction and location of the tornado. It started at the lake, and then jumped up 1/4 mile to South Little Rock Rd to the left.

Our Spring Equinox Experience

So, do you believe this? Our Spring Equinox becomes a wet, snowy mess. But we LOVE it!

 It is REALLY coming down!

 We just got home from our dinner with the Child's, and the snow was starting to stick.

 Notice the carport is wet. As the snow fell, it melted on the pavement, and quite a lot in the forest as well. Now it has completely covered the earth around us. I just wonder how fast it will melt when the rain comes tomorrow.

 It is about 9:30pm, and it is really unloading outside.

 Our bird feeder is loaded down with wet snow. Birds won't like that.

Our bridge in the backyard is covered with snow. The yard is also well covered now.

The next morning:

  This wet snow will not last too long they tell me. It is already starting to disappear. Looks good though!

Spring is ALMOST sprung.

Looking around outside today reveals that Spring is beginning to spring. Birds, flowers, etc. Here are a few pictures:

 You don't suppose that this is an Eastern Bluebird or something do ya? Brown breasted?

White-shirted Elder-Birds taking pictures of the picture taker. Elder Gregory on the left, and Elder Castañeda on the right. Elder Castañeda has been learning English in a reverse from most of our Elders as he is from Guatemala. He has done fabulously and is learning really well! 

 This little guy stayed on this limb for about 5 minutes. He was fighting with the cardinals for the seeds I had put in the feeder. The cardinals were winning because they were bigger.

 I kept trying to get a picture of his backside, but was unsuccessful. You get a glimpse in this photo.

 Alright, any Arkansans tell me if these daffodils are native, or planted? We see these things everywhere. These were coming out when it was still below freezing so they must be quite robust.

 You see the daffodils in these two colors: yellow, and white.

 These daffodils were unusual compared to the others because of the 2 colors.

Here is the cardinal that kept protecting the bird feeder from the bluebird. He was way up at the top of the tree, so I had to zooooooom waaaaaay out. He was a beautiful one!

Don't you just love the flowers?

This is an Ann Magnolia Tree, and the color was fabulous!

Little Rock Central High Tour.

Went to Little Rock last week with the senior couples for a quarterly training, and social get-together. After our luncheon and our training session, we were dispersed to downtown Little Rock to tour the Central High School. Famously known for the 1957 civil rights desegregation disaster known as the "Little Rock Nine". Very interesting, and highly recommended taking time to go on the tour. It will open your eyes to new thinking about our racial differences, and our need to learn to be more tolerant, and do what ever we can to improve our interactions in this great nation. I for one will remember that it starts with me.

 Here we all are! In one place. All 15 couples of the Arkansas Little Rock Mission!

 The Central High School tours are conducted by the United States National Parks Service, and is still under Federal control. Our Ranger tour guide was the best! He was very emotional, and helped us understand why we all need to re-evaluate our attitudes concerning racial conflict in the US, and why we need to change. It starts with us!

 A close up of the beautiful edifice. This high school remains very much the same inside, and out with little change. In fact, the chairs in the auditorium are the same ones from when the high school was built. It has been intentionally kept in this state because it is a National Historic Site. By the way, this is a WORKING High School! It was in session while we toured.

Wide view! This high school was HUGE! There are 2600 students attending. What you don't see is that there are also some portable buildings in the back of the main building as there isn't enough room for all the students in the 6 stories (2 levels below ground in the basement)!

February Ice Storm

 Icicles hanging off the mirror

 The entire car was covered with ice when we drove back from Mammoth Spring, AR.

 Pictures of the shrubbery covered with ice.

 Ice on the shrubs.

 Trees covered with icicles in the front yard.

This tree was starting to bloom. Notice the red buds.

My bird feeder. No seeds, no birds, plenty of icicles!

 Frozen wonderland is intriguing.

 Looks like glass formations!