In my first few months living here, I’ve gone through waves of emotions.. and I think a lot of it had to do with it being wintertime and us being closed up inside. The ice storm didn’t help either, although it was nice having the time off from work. But you can stare at the same four walls for only so long before going stir-crazy.
Well, the ice has melted. The sun has come out. And I am re-connecting with the state again.
R and I went on a guided hike. This time it was Hobbs State Park and met with (no kidding) Bob Ross, our extremely knowledgeable guide.
Bob told us to stretch. I looked at the 75 yr-old woman next to us (not stretching) and figured we’d be okay. R took him up on it though.
As we were waiting for others to arrive, Bob showed us remnants of the ice storm as well as the blooms of various trees. I was just getting used to everyone else getting used to my face sans make-up, when a man pulled R and me to the side. He asked for our names and then for our permission to be used in a news article. Why? WHY? I sucked it up and forged ahead.
I didn’t ask for his permission, but I still took a photo of him.
I learned so much on this hike. Bob was patient while everyone yelled out plant names for him to validate, and answering detailed questions about the footprints left by the Native Americans in this forest. I spent most of the time trying to remember the flower and trees and whispered them to R throughout the hike. We were right on the cusp of everything blooming and it really was a special feeling, being in the middle of the Ozarks and seeing new life forming. I was happy.
Below is the photo chosen for the online newspaper. I look pretty mad. I was probably memorizing plant names.
cuethebanjo.com 
Looked like a fun time until I saw the pic at the end…blisters??Unc
I’m pretty sure that writer (the real one, I mean) had a pretty good sense for people when he snapped that pic. Caught everyone in their natural state, didn’t he?Tom