With spring about a month-old today, the Ozarks are beginning to blossom and really get into the spirit of the season.
Our daffodils have disappeared, but the pink hyacinths are still blooming nicely and peonies have grown several inches tall. The early purple iris are displaying several fat buds, and flowering almond, forsythia and japonica are blossoming. If you want beauty on a larger scale, the plum trees and redbuds are also in bloom, complementing the Bradford pears across the street. We’re hoping the heavy rain last week will encourage some morel mushrooms to appear in nearby wooded areas.
The first two weeks of April have been filled with a variety of interesting activities. The “My Collection” exhibit at the museum on the 6th was a real success and fun for all who participated. Then we were able to dispose of several unwanted items at the annual spring citywide cleanup the following Tuesday. The first two farmers’ markets have featured tomato plants, baked goods, blown glass and other craft items, and a few fresh veggies. Vendors say they’ll have mixed salad greens and radishes this Saturday.
Last Friday members of our local quilt class had an enjoyable outing. We met for lunch at the Tex-Mex restaurant in Centerton, then drove to the county fairgrounds for the Tomorrow’s Heirlooms XIV quilt show sponsored by the Q.U.I.L.T. (Quilters United in Learning Together) Guild of Northwest Arkansas. We browsed through over 300 quilts on display, voted for our favorite and visited the booths of vendors selling quilt-related products. Just before returning home, I enjoyed a brief visit with Gentry resident Nora Krein, whose quilt, “The Garden Path,” won the Judge’s Choice award.
April is National Poetry Month; and next week, April 21-27, is the twelfth annual Cowboy Poetry Week, sponsored by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry in San Francisco.
Gravette Public Library is participating in the week through the Center’s Rural Library Program and is displaying a colorful poster celebrating it. Why not drop by, check out a book or two of poetry and admire the poster art by noted Arizona artist, rancher and poet Shawn Cameron? The library will also be receiving a copy of “The Bar-D Roundup: Volume Eight,” the Center’s annual CD of the best in classic and contemporary cowboy poetry. Many thanks to Gravette resident Ron McDaniel for enrolling our library in the Rural Library Program.
Most folks have strong opinions one way or the other about poetry; they either love it or hate it. When I was teaching English at Green Forest High School, I had a class of young men, mostly football players. When we started the poetry unit, as you can imagine, most were not too fond of it. I tried my best to make it interesting, and one of the greatest satisfactions of my teaching career was when one of those students reluctantly admitted, “Miss Douglas, this poetry stuff isn’t so bad after all.” I felt I’d really accomplished something!
Susan Holland, an employee of the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong resident of Benton County. She can be reached at [email protected].
News, Pages 7 on 04/17/2013