We're into the merry month of May and all the neighborhood is putting on a spectacular spring show. Yards have greened up and lawn mowing has become a regular ritual. A variety of iris are blooming in our yard, yellow, lavender, white edged in lavender and a delicate Japanese iris, and the peonies are also in full bloom. Honeysuckle in the fence row and wild roses climbing the end of the front porch add their sweet scent to the medley of fragrances.
Several of our tomato plants have lots of blooms. I added tomato cages on Tuesday of last week. The cucumbers are doing well, too, but one was broken off on a night of high winds. I'm blaming the wind, but then it could have been the cat's doing. Miss Abby likes to get in the raised beds and climb around. One of the begonias on the front porch has died, and I suspect she may have sat on it. Some of the strawberries are beginning to ripen, but it may be hard to get any. I looked out the kitchen window and saw a pesky blue jay pecking away at them.
The last week of April was filled with interesting activities. Monday I was called to come check on a mass of swarming bees. The next day I went with a friend to a meeting in Southwest City. We enjoyed a soup and sandwich lunch at the Corner Cafe and did a bit of grocery shopping after the meeting. Thursday I took photos at the police station and attended the city council meeting, and Saturday I joined fellow Lions Club members to travel to the state convention in Clarksville.
Sister Nancy and her husband brought us some eggs on the first of May. We walked down the fence row to check on the iris along the fence because Nancy wants to come back and dig some up. We found a patch of poke greens and I picked enough for a couple of meals. Marlin also discovered a few asparagus spears. I plan to add a rock border around them before the hay is cut off the field.
Citywide cleanup day gave us an opportunity to dispose of several items. We placed some old carpet pad, a few short rolls of carpet and an old chair that didn't seem worth reupholstering beside the curb for pickup. The next day I made us some roast beef sandwiches and rode along when Jim went to work in Noel. He spent most of the day cutting and laying floor tiles. I took along the book I was reading and, sitting in the shade of the tall trees beside the creek, I read several chapters. I enjoyed the serenade of birds singing all around me and watched a lively squirrel scampering among the treetops.
Last week was full of meetings with the museum commission, Lions Club and library commission all holding their regular meetings. The first meeting of the Gravette Day planning committee also occurred on Thursday. It was a pleasant surprise when Jim came home from work on Friday and said he was taking me out to eat. I enjoyed a delicious buffet meal while he ordered a steak dinner. We then took a few turns around the dance floor before heading home.
First Saturday events kicked off last weekend with a pancake breakfast, Main Street events, the library open house and an arts and crafts fair all part of the day. That evening I joined friends near Sulphur Springs for a crawfish boil. Tables on their back patio were covered with newspaper and each batch of "mud bugs" was poured right on the table for us to retrieve, shell and eat. Potatoes, corn on the cob, onions and spicy sausages were cooked along with the crawfish, and several tasty desserts completed the meal. A few guests brought their guitars and serenaded us with songs around a campfire following our meal.
Susan Holland is a lifelong resident of Benton County and a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer. She can be reached by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 05/11/2016