Today marks our two year anniversary of moving to Arkansas. My husband and youngest daughter rolled up to our house with one Uhaul, his car on a trailer behind it and our entire home and family possessions inside. Maddy and I would show up two days later with our livestock.
It was scary, as we had always lived in Colorado, did not have any friends or relatives in Arkansas. Steve didn’t have a job. I owned an HOA management company and worked remotely, flying back for meetings occasionally, so we used that income to help us get settled. We bought 18.5 acres with only a home on it, and the home needed work, but the land was magical and we could not pass it up. A mixture of pasture, woods and backing to national forest, there was no way we were going to let this slip through our hands.
The first year was definitely a learning curve. I hadn’t realized how big the spiders get down here. They are so big that if you go out at night with a flashlight, you can see their eyes reflecting the light from your flashlight. We’ve captured them as big as my hand (we are a catch and release family, so no spiders were killed). Frogs that sound like killer clowns laughing at you in the middle of the night, ticks everywhere along with teeny tiny little red things called chiggers that once they bite you, you can’t stop itching for weeks. But there is also beauty here too. Birds of so many colors and sounds you think you are in a tropical paradise. Turtles flock to our pond in the summer and we even had a river otter enjoy a summer in the pond, feeding on the turtles and frogs. The fall colors of the numerous trees and the rain, oh my, the rain showers are incredible with gentle, but heavy fall and everything glows green as the moss in the tree branches and bark come to life. I’ll sit on our covered back porch and listen to the critters talking and the rain gently tapping on the roof.
It’s absolute paradise for this author, for as the night begins to creep in, and the mountain fog sends out its tendrils towards the house, the night sounds change, my imagination comes to life. Creatures like Wendigos, fairies, changelings and other monsters wander through our woods. We never call them by name and are very respectful so as not to offend or bring attention to our mortal selves. During the day, you can witness many fairy traps which eliminated any doubt in my mind that they do exist. I do not venture far from my porch at night, and if we do have to do livestock check, we travel in pairs with very bright flashlights.
I do miss Colorado for the reasons of my family and friends are still there, it was home to me for over 50 years, my girls were born there and there is nothing like the Rocky Mountains. I enjoy going back for visits, but will not lie, when the wheels of my car crosses the cattle guard, my entire body relaxes and I breathe a sigh of relief. I am home. I’ll be able to sit on my porch and listen to the creatures of the night that are not cars, sirens or threats of a human nature.
Off to write about some really dark creatures as my imagination is being fed with incredible tales of living in the South!
Be blessed!