Friday Night Traffic

Friday night my husband and I biked along one of the trails that connects downtown Bentonville with our neighborhood. Bentonville has a fabulous trails system, and it was a perfect evening to enjoy it. We passed families with strollers, other bikers and walkers as we rode past the construction site for Crystal Bridges Museum and Compton Gardens to get to the Square.

After checking out First Friday, we headed down Main Street to get a quick bite to eat. As we biked, my heart welled up with love for my fair town. It was 8pm on a Friday night and there was not a car on Main Street to disturb our casual bike ride. WE were the Friday night traffic. True, there was plenty of traffic on the square, and a party was in full swing with a community-full of people, but otherwise the town was quiet. What a joy!

We found a place--Sabores is a new Mexican restaurant on Main and 8th, and we enjoyed the food and reasonable prices. One of the owners was helping wait tables and we congratulated him on a great place to eat.

As the dusk was darkening on toward night, we biked back towards home, zipping along the dark paths daringly, enjoying the cool of the evening and the joy of living in this corner of heaven.

First Fridays on the Square

First Fridays

First Fridays are yet another example of Bentonville awesomeness. Last night it was Art Walk, and it was packed. People come to mill around the square, enjoy the weather, enjoy each other, enjoy the booths set up with arts, crafts, and an assortment of local businesses.

Last night the local elementary school had tables with crafts the children had created by class, patterned after crafts from around the world. There was a South Africa table with beaded necklaces (very pretty!), a China (?) table with hand dyed silk scarfs, a Bolivia table with felt wall hangings showing traditional scenes, etc. etc. Proceeds went to Heifer International, another fabulous product of Arkansas. There were also magicians and a local theatre troup and martial artists, and of course about a thousand people milling around the little town square. Ah, the heart of Bentonville is alive and well!

My favorite First Friday of memory was Oktoberfest last year. Being a dry county, root beer was served (how awesome is that!?). There was a yodeling contest (hilarious!) followed by a mandatory funky chicken dance. Yes! The whole crowd on the square was doing the dance. Hurray for Bentonville, where people aren't too proud, and laughter is more important than looking "cool." I love this small town.

Video proving the chicken dance to come soon.

Courteous Driving!

As I waited to pull out of my kid's school parking lot today, I was reminded again of another reason I am so grateful to live in the blessed corner of the world: courteous driving!

The road that I have to pull out onto from the school is one lane each way, and in the morning the in-bound lane is backed up a good ways. Traffic moves, but slowly, and I have to make a left turn into that in-bound lane. If I had to wait for the traffic to pass, I would never make it. There is no turning lane, and I have to depend totally on the kindness of drivers in oncoming traffic. Because of the frequency of traffic coming the other direction, I can't just pull out and "put my nose in" as my husband says, because I would be blocking the lane of oncoming traffic. Every time I need to turn, though, without fail, a kind driver slows to let me in. I have come to depend on it and have never been disappointed or left to wait minute after minute as the traffic shuttles by.

Thank you, Bentonville drivers.

Spring in Bentonville

Free compost days, nesting birds, mom and pop shops and Walmart. !

In case Bentonville flowers weren't thriving enough, each Spring and Fall the City Compost Facility, where all our yard and tree waste have been going all year, gives away free compost.

As I drove by today, trucks and trailers were lined up to get their fill of the richness. And I am already seeing it in flower beds around town, dark with nutrients recycled the natural way. Maybe I'll pick some up on Thursday. . . a good way to celebrate Earth day! I can throw some into my own composter as well and get my personal compost off to a good start.

Can I just admire Spring some more? Having come from a desert state, the sheer power of the earth and sun and rain and such continue to astound me. Here, in a few short weeks the world goes from gray to green. Already the underbrush in my wooded areas is knee high, and I know it will be above my waist before much longer. Plants, flowers, tree and all manner of growing things appear as if my magic. Spring really is a miracle.

In my door wreath a house finch family is growing. The mother had made the nest and laid the eggs before I discovered it, or I would have discouraged her from that particular location. But it was done and I have really enjoyed watching that little family through the window in the door. "Little mother" is gone now that the chicks are hatched and getting feathers at an amazing rate; she is apparently off making another nest elsewhere. "Daddy bird" is doing the feeding now, and soon those three little babies will be on the wing. It has been a joy to have the chance to watch their family so intimately through the glass.

Ah, Bentonville. My sweet, quiet little community. How I love sharing Spring with you!

Yesterday I picked up my lawn mower from its Spring tune-up appointment. I took it to Bates Small Engine repair, a true Mom and Pop shop. I knew to take it there because of the number of lawn mowers that are lined up outside waiting to be serviced. There is no other signage or advertising that would indicate its presence, that I noticed. Inside is a greasy handed, long- bearded gentleman in his 60s, I'd say, who sorts through stacks of repair parts that are piled high on the counter in the dirty, dimly lit workshop. His wife is behind the counter to take your name and jot down on a tag what is needed. Above the counter, on a hand written sign it states "Estimates are NOT free" and on another "Rate: $40/hour." The couple work well together, and when I pulled up in my minivan with two kids in tow, they helped me unload the mower and get it tagged. They told me they were running two weeks behind, and that if I'd come in January it would've been quicker. No doubt. When I swung by yesterday, it was ready, as they'd said, and again, they helped me load it. What a gift to a community, to have knowledgeable, down-to-earth folks, doing their thing and contributing their expertise. I look forward to going back, probably in January.

My next stop was Walmart, for shoes, eggs and bikes for the kids. Buying bikes with kids in tow at one of the busiest times of day was. . . bordering on insanity? "What do you think this is, a three ring circus?" laughed a gentleman from church who I ran into as my kids were riding their new bikes through the grocery aisles. Apparently. Then, with a grin, he asked "are you going to buy those bikes? That's my department, so you would be doing me a favor!" Ah, only in Bentonville do you run into (not literally, but almost) your friend, who is responsible for purchasing the goods that are now it your shopping cart. I should have told him I wanted more selection, but since my kids has almost run over him, and were about to crash into an end-cap, it wasn't an ideal time to ask for favors.

Well, there are my Bentonville thoughts for the day. More Spring pictures are coming soon!

Spring, Glorious Spring

Spring is beautiful everywhere; in Bentonville, it is heavenly. Light filters through the new leaves, and this time of year driving down the street is like going on an Easter parade. Forsythia and daffodils, quince and Bradford pear, phlox and tulips and as of today the dogwoods are all splashing color into what was recently a dull world. No more! Yellow, pink, orange, white, purple, blue and all shades of green abound. It makes my heart dance to enjoy the splendor of Spring here.

Is there a felicity greater than this?

My Corner of Heaven

I fell in love with Bentonville before I even arrived.

My husband and I had been checking it out on GoogleEarth as we pondered moving there for a job opportunity, and I was taken with its small-town look, the pasture land in and around town, and the five-minute commute that was a clearly within reach. While my hubby held back, I advocated for the little piece of heaven that had captured my heart.

When he came home from his first round of interviews, my hubby had words of foreboding. "Stinks like a chicken farm," he warned, shaking his head. It was music to my ears. "Chicken farms!?" I thought, "how charmingly rural!" I checked around and called some locals. They didn't notice the "stink," and described the town square, friendly neighbors and Christian community. I was sold. We accepted the job.

My first experience of Bentonville was on a cool evening in mid-May as we drove through the fields and pastures from XNA (Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport) into town. I rolled down the window and my heart leaped as the smell of sweet summer grass, the whir of crickets, and the quiet of the evening blew in. I knew this was the place for me.

The next day my man and I drove around town, getting a feel for the community. With every turn I was more enraptured. The houses on Central were picturesque, architecture and age creating an atmosphere of small-town Americana that I'd never been lucky enough to live among. The town square was ideal, surrounded by little shops and sporting a fountain and Civil War statue. There was no mall, no down-town high-rises, and the office where my hubby would be working really was five minutes from every house we looked at.

And so began my love-affair with this little corner of heaven. It has grown as I've discovered more of the beauties of this town and its area, and I can't wait to share them with you!