Still Looking: HSV, HS, or NWA? (Little Rock, Springdale: house, retire, offer)

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by HoneysuckleHobo

Thanks again for the additional replies!

Stormcrow, you have probably "et" 'em by another name. Scuppernogs are wild grapes, they are indescribably delicious and unusual in their taste. I think they are kin to Muscadine grapes, if you know them...we also called them "fox grapes." I get choked up thinking about the natural beauty back in Arkansas -- maypops btw are the fruit of the passionflower vine, same thing as the mayapples? Who has seen a maypop vine with dozens of their incredible exotic blooms twining up an old fence or tree? You will never match such a sight!

Marianinark, thanks for the heads-up about the ticks getting on dogs, and for the remarks concerning being kind of left out or adjusting to such a different area. I was born and lived in Arkansas as a child and have lived all over. I can always claim to be an actual born Razorback. But it's funny, I can't remember Arkansas very well at all. I have a child's memories of it, once I even told my husband that the "world's biggest" dam was in Arkansas, because I was evidently extremely impressed with Narrows Dam at age 3. *laff* I also remember getting ticks on me and running around screaming.

Sam I Am, excellent advice about keeping the dogs on Avantix. I have them on Revolution b/c I am petrified of fleas and ticks tho we have none here. And many thanks for the warning about not giving the cats the dogs' medicines, so true.

Sorry to be such a chicken about the bugs...

OK!!! Yes I know those grapes. scuppernoNg. (Scuppernong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) My dad calls them both scuppernongs and fox grapes but I didn't recognize it without the last 'n'. And no, mayapples are not the same as maypops. Here are mayapples: Podophyllum peltatum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I'm partial to elderberries and pawpaws.

[HoneysuckleHobo]

LOL I guess I just spelled it as we said it, we always said Scuppernog, like eggnog I guess. I liked elderberries made into jelly, but I was the one who had to go fetch them for my mother, and let me tell you, they were always having big batches of stinkbugs on them, eek.

We also dug sassafrass roots (I won't spell it as we said it, "rhuts" LOL). I liked persimmons the best of all the wild foods, I guess. I ate (chewed) lots of rabbit grass, too, whoowhee, sour. Now I'm remembering dozens of foods we gathered.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by HoneysuckleHobo

LOL I guess I just spelled it as we said it, we always said Scuppernog, like eggnog I guess. I liked elderberries made into jelly, but I was the one who had to go fetch them for my mother, and let me tell you, they were always having big batches of stinkbugs on them, eek.

We also dug sassafrass roots (I won't spell it as we said it, "rhuts" LOL). I liked persimmons the best of all the wild foods, I guess. I ate (chewed) lots of rabbit grass, too, whoowhee, sour. Now I'm remembering dozens of foods we gathered.

My dad loves persimmons but I never could eat them. Anyone else use the seeds to forecast the winter???

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

My dad loves persimmons but I never could eat them. Anyone else use the seeds to forecast the winter???

never heard that one, I don't like them either, they are either not quite ripe and awful or they are too ripe, but they do make great Christmas cookiies and pudding.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by HoneysuckleHobo

Thank you kindly for your reply!

I think Bella Vista is more expensive than HSV? HSV is so cheap I can't believe the prices, just can't believe my eyes.

BV is the same. New Mexico is cheap but we are replacing our home here in BV for about $10,000 less.

Nita

[Megande]

I grew up in Hot Springs and have also lived in NWA (and currently live in TX). I don't find the weather in Hot Springs (or HSV, since they are so close) to be very different than that in TX. It is a little cooler, but still hot and humid. There is a significant difference in NWA, though. One summer I voluntarily ate lunch outside every day, which I would NEVER do in TX and it wouldn't be pleasant in Hot Springs. The real difference in climate is in the winter, namely, there is one. Hot Springs is still pretty temperate, but it does get pretty chilly. When there is winter weather, they tend to get freezing rain or sleet, which can shut things down for a long time. I remember being snowed in for 8 days without power as a kid. It stays pretty cold in NWA in the winter, and they actually get snow. They are better prepared for it, though, so it doesn't seem to shut everything down.

About crime, there are some areas of Hot Springs that are pretty sketchy, although it is easy to avoid them. For a smallish town, the traffic in Hot Springs is ridiculous (although NWA seems to be doing its best to catch up in that department). Things are not well planned at all. There is a particular shopping center on Central Avenue that they had to hire an off duty police officer to sit at and direct traffic or you could never get in and out of it.

All three areas are beautiful.

[JeffAtkins]

I spent over an hour in the woods yesterday here in HSV, down by the Middle Fork of the Saline River. It didn't suprise me that there were *no* mosquitoes, but somehow I dodged all of the ticks and chiggers! well, at least none found so far

[luvarkansas]

I have a small piece of a passion flower vine in my yard that a friend gave me late last summer. I just planted it out a few days ago on a chain-link fence....I hope it grows well, it was beautiful in her yard! (I'm trying my best to cover up that chain-link fence, I hate 'em.) I also have three coral honeysuckles, two native (from the woods) and one cultivar that my mom gave me, and some purple hyacinth beans and moon flowers started. I also have some mayapples (and trilliums and jack-in-the-pulpits) in a nice shady spot up next to the house....hope they survive the summer and come back up next year! Oh yeah, we were talking about bugs! I get redbugs just being out in certain parts of my own yard....and as soon as it gets warm in the spring, the mosquitoes come after me! In the summer you can hardly go outside.

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by Marianinark

Hi, I live in the woods in NWA, in northern Newton county.

Marian, you are blessed to live in the most beautiful county in Arkansas, IMO. I love the little town of Jasper. We used to go there on all our trips and looked for a place there for years, but never found anything. My mom found a cabin for not much money in Franklin county, which is beautiful also. We still make day trips to Newton county when we're up there, though....gotta go back to Jasper and Bradley Park, and Ponca and the low water bridge, and Steel Creek, and Boxley Valley, and Lost Valley hiking trail, (it was just positively magical this past spring with all the water flowing!), and Cave Mountain cave. The Buffalo River is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

We always used to stay at the little Parkway Motel in Jasper, and I always dreamed of buying it and fixing it up, living in the little apartment there and running it. Now (last time I went, anyway) it's just sitting there since Ruthie (the lady who ran it) died (bless her heart, she was pretty young, got cancer). I can just see the little motel with the original sign back in place (hope the family kept it!), lots of old metal chairs out in front of every room, the little "creek" that runs beside it kept clean and planted with weeping willows and other things. It's a neat little place.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by nmnita

never heard that one, I don't like them either, they are either not quite ripe and awful or they are too ripe, but they do make great Christmas cookiies and pudding.

Nita

Well what you're supposed to do is cut the seed open lengthwise. There's a little white thing in the center and depending on whether or not it looks like a knife or a spoon you can tell what the winter will be like. A knife means it will be cold and a spoon means lots of snow. Note there is no option for mild winter!

I make no assertions as to it's accuracy!