Casual Country Living is Beyond Beautiful

Casual Country living is beyond beautiful, it may be a virtual view of heaven! When relocating to a small town, you may appreciate a little advice on how to fit in. Let’s keep the heaven analogy going for a moment. How will you enter heaven when the time comes? Putting your best foot forward, let’s not enter with “bluster” or “an uppity attitude”. We will enter smiling, shaking hands, saying how do you do?

Try to be humble, kind, and have a joke or two up your sleeve.

It may help to know the locals refer to anyone who enters the county as people from “OFF”, saying it loud and proud to let you know they recognize “OFF” as a country. It is a term all the neighbors will understand, as in “Have you seen those new folks from OFF?” In restaurants and retail shops you will hear clerks state, “You must be from OFF.” You will wonder if preachers lead off their sermons with, “God bless our congregation and those folks that are from OFF!”

By now, you will get a feeling you have been made? You may be thinking this must be a test of the local alert system? Important to know: Take note of the smile and glint of an eye as the expression is tossed about. The locals are quick to toss out humorous local quips. It is the “inside quote” of the day. It starts a communication as if to say, “Where are you from? How far away do you live, and what brings you to our little town?” Most visitors and new residents engage in friendly conversation afterwards.

So just go with it, let the conversation take a turn, and trust me it will. The community is well known as a friendly place, a secure place, and folks are really excited to relocate here.

There is a strong work ethic in small towns, and it is for good reason. Folks believe their beautiful little space in the world should remain strong, but at the same time not change. They love their community and are a bit worried about the world outside the place they were raised. While this is true, you will find the young and the old are accustomed to providing visitors a healthy dose of friendly nature. You will find many folks who are eager to help you as you adjust to your new surroundings.

Once you are settled in the community, look at opportunities to help others. As a volunteer, I have found happiness beyond measure. Most of us are blessed with gifts, experience, and hope for a better tomorrow. The rural areas of the country are desirable places to live, and you may add skills and find community service opportunities.

In my experience, a small community is invariably dependent on the giving and caring spirit of community volunteers. Join in a spirited involvement in planning, parks and recreation, gardening, office skills, etc. The more positive you feel about the community, the more positive the outcome. Be prepared to be recognized for volunteer efforts. There are a couple of “Nicknames” that characterize my years of community service. The nicknames I have attained thus far are “The Iris Lady” and “Forest Gump’s sister”. One fellow calls me “Iris Gump.”

The first nickname was to identify me as one of the volunteers planting irises all over town. The second name was pinned on me as I worked at the courthouse gardens. When pausing to rest on the courthouse benches, the interaction with visitors would begin. The stories shared blessed my soul more than I can say. People want to see smiles, talk, and take in the green space around our beautiful landscape. See yourselves finding peace, laughter, and good ol’ time fun in your new casual country living home.

Karen Avey, Mountain View, Arkansas 72560

Sarah Struthers

In Season … Dandelions

Spring blooms are all around at this point, and some gardeners may consider dandelions in their yard to be weeds. Instead of picking and discarding them, or even worse, spraying them with weed killer, consider options for working with your dandelions.

These bright golden flowers are more than meets the eye at first glance. Dandelions belong to the same family as the Sunflower.

Dandelions symbolize the return of life after a long winter and a bright display of strength and resilience. These plants are a symbol of healing, hope, and growth.

The name dandelion comes from the French “dents de lion,” or lion’s tooth. The plant has jagged looking leaves that look like a lion’s sharp tooth. Dandelion leaves are packed with nutrients. Leaves come in red or green variety. The bitter greens help stimulate healthy digestion and healthy kidney function.

Dandelion greens contain Vitamins A, C, K, E and folate. They also contain minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Dandelion greens have a bitter earthy flavor and can be cooked and used as you would spinach or kale. I like to add dandelion greens to pasta, soups, salads, grains or bean dishes for an extra burst of nutrients.

Dandelion root can also be used, as it can aid in healthy liver, gallbladder and immune function. Dandelion root can be made into tea or tincture. The root can also be purchased in capsule form, but I prefer to harvest and

When the bright yellow flower turns to seed, and little white seed puffs remain on the stem, pick the stem and blow the seeds while making a wish! Spread the seedlings and your wishes!

Sarah is an RN who loves hiking and exploring all the natural world on her time off.