Week 20: Nature

     Did you have a special place that you used to love to go to as a kid? Where all your troubles would melt away and you didn't have to worry about anything? Well, I did. That place was Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas. My family has owned property down there since they originally built Bull Shoals Dam. My Papa, My Uncle Lee, and My Uncle Wilbur all had property right next to each other on Dry Run Road in Oakland, Arkansas. Then later on, my dad purchased property just up the road in the 70s. So I've been going there since I was born. This place was my getaway from life. My safe haven. My happy place. So when the prompt of "Nature" came up, this was the only thing I could think about. So let me tell you a little about it and share some photos.
     Before any houses were even built, my family would go down and "camp" in little trailers. My dad has some photos of their set up. I have to say, I'm glad I came along after the houses were built haha! Talk about roughing it. But that's what they did. Dad's house was finished the year I was born. Mom and dad have tons of pictures of us down there. Every day, we lived in our swimsuits down on Uncle Lee's dock on the water. Now, I am not a big nature nut. I hate bugs and I hate the heat. But I tolerated to be down on the water. I can't explain how peaceful it is to just sit on the dock and listen to the water. It's not like the ocean. It's a completely different feel. To this day, being near a lake and water still has such a calming effect on me.
     And of course, you can't be by the lake and not fish. And boy did we all fish. My job as a kid was to catch as many bluegill as I could for bait. I was an expert. I could bait my own hook, catch the fish, remove the hooks and start all over again. The only thing I hated about the whole thing was having to be out after dark to bait the trout lines and throw out the jugs. Cause as soon as we got back to the dock, there were spiders everywhere! Then, we had to get up extra early to go check the trout lines and chase the jugs. As much as I don't like it, I do doing that with my family. Our favorite fish to catch and eat were catfish. Oh I love me some fresh catfish! I used to watch my dad clean the fish all the time.
     A few years ago, I took my hubby with us down to the lake so he could experience everything. He is a city boy, so this was definitely a new experience for him. I warned him fresh air can wear you out and he thought I was kidding. Nope, after the first few days he was like, wow, I'm tired and I don't know why hahaha! And he didn't believe me when I told him we live in swimsuits. So one day he didn't wear his swimsuit and we went out boating. Well he was stuck in the boat while the rest of us swam. He learned after that. And then watching dad clean the fish. That almost did him in. He wasn't sure if he could eat the fish after that. Such a city boy haha!!
     My absolute favorite thing was going boat riding. I would sit up front like a hood ornament when we would go out on the boat. And of course, if you got a boat, you gotta go tubing. That one I wasn't too keen on. I didn't like the falling out part. One time, we hit huge waves and I flipped about four times on top of the water. So I usually left the tubing to my cousins.
     As I said before, this was my safe haven. No matter what was going on at home or at school, this was my place to go to forget everything. Now that I'm grown up, it's not the same. Sad how things change sometimes. But I still have all the memories that were made on the lake. And it will always hold a special place in my heart.