There was a tree in the midst of the garden

So it's been a quiet month here in Fayetteville. As you can see by the pictures, some friends and I went to the Buffalo National River to do some hiking. This is looking from behind the waterfall down the "hollow"(at 200+ feet, the highest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians though not much more than a shower at the end of the dry season). We also saw a thirty foot waterfall significant only because it is entirely underground, in the back of a cave. If I haven't mentioned it before in this blog, the Buffalo River is one the most serenely beautiful places in the United States, earning Arkansas its moniker "The Natural State."

Otherwise, survived having the cold again. Unspectacularly busy with the ministry here on campus. My church youth group is hanging in there. This is the third Saturday this month with me working all day directing traffic, parking cars for the ballgame (the Hogs won today against the "Mean Green" but disappointing that OU lost a close one). Speaking of Oklahoma...

A little history was transacted this last month. A family heirloom was passed down to the next generation. Mom and Dad bought 1974 Ford Bronco back in the late 1970's. Dad put mud tires on it and it spent much of its life as a farm truck in the Ozarks. And in the process, it became the vehicle of choice for teaching many of us kids how to drive (stick shifts are no problem thanks to Dad and the Bronco). Plus many a wild story of Dad chasing errant bulls with all four wheels slinging mud and him stump-jumping in the snow while hauling firewood. But eventually time and neglect took its toll and the ol' Bronco laid down. But now Gene and his eldest son came to the farm to give the Bronco a ride back to Oklahoma to get a much needed overhaul. Father and son working together to restore a fun little truck to serve again as driver's ed teacher.