| When temperatures hit the hundred degree
mark even the horses and cows seek out the nearest shade tree.
People in Arkansas yearn for
more shade. People in Mena Arkansas love the shade too. I don't know of any house in Mena that isn't at least trying to raise a shade tree. Here at 1303 Hamilton you will find a comfortable old home with the friendliest shade trees in town. |
| In the mornings the trees let the sun
in to warm the house. As the sun gets hotter shade trees
cover the house from the glare. In the afternoon the house
is once again protected from the direct rays of the sun by the
shade trees on the west. Morning or evening, rain or shine, the big front porch is a place of refuge with gentle breezes to take the stabbing sting out of the day's weather. The porch is a good place to ean back and let your troubles seep away. Only occasionally will you see cars on the street. The neighbors are there, and they are nice if you ever need anything but most of the time you don't even notice they are there. |
There's an auction going on at eBay
for this house.
In the right hand corner is a search box
Type in the reference number 130013978896
| The pear tree on your right here has the best tasting
pears I've ever had outside the store. It is about
thirty feet tall and there is no way one family can use all
the pears it will produce. Over in the opposite corner
there is another pear tree almost as big. The pears on
it are delicious too. In between there are five plum trees that should begin bearing fruit next year. Four of them come from stock that produces just absolutely delicious plums. The fifth one came from a nursery. Then there is a grape vine that should produce in abundance next year. And there is a big splot of fig trees that really should be thinned out. The figs are great and they are already producing. Then there is one large apple tree. The best I can say about it is that it makes great shade. The smaller apple tree came out of a nursery and should begin producing next year. I hope you don't think I'm running out of room for trees because there are more of them. There are three pecan trees, all mature, all producing pecans, but each one a different kind. Just one of the pecan trees produced enough pecans to have buckets full left over after the family got all they wanted. Pecans from the other two pecan trees were left where they lay. Then there are two more pecan trees besides these, both mature, and both sending fertile limbs over into this yard. If you love pecans, this should be your nightmare where you get far more than you want. Then there are two cherry trees that came from a nursery. Wild cherry trees grow (ahem) wild here anywhere a lawn mower can't reach. Consequently, I believe that at least one of these trees will reach maturity and begin producing in abundance. The other one, has been lawn mowered once too often and looks butchered, but still growing. Then there are two sweet gum trees, several oaks, then there are some trees I don't know the name of and don't care if I never find out. Suffice it to say, there is lots of shade here. |
| As you can see, the house has a fireplace. It has been used as a fireplace twice in the past four years, and it worked well but consumed too much wood for an old man with a bad back. So a wood stove was brought in and the smoke pipes run up the chimney a little ways. That worked great for one whole winter. Unfortunately, every time the door was opened to put in more wood, smoke billowed out and the owners were afraid that their computers would be damaged if they went for two years. Even though computers are cheaper than wood when you go to buy one, the real cost is in transferring all the data from one to another and have it still work. |
| Something all the thirty-somethings ask about is
signs of the house settling. That's because
they are used to houses that have been slapped down
on a pad. A lot of builders put the pad down
on cow patties and move on to the next town.
Two years, ten years, and the house is listing so
badly the timbers are splitting. That makes it
a good question to ask on a newer house. But
the older houses were meant to last for centuries.
Back east I've been in houses that were already old
when King George was on a rampage. This is an
older house too. Older houses are different. So, let's get down to basics. The house jousts here sit on solid rock and IF IT EVER DOES NEED ATTENTION, the jousts can be leveled at any time with nothing any more complicated than a house jack and a pair of levels. Next, the worst signs of a need for leveling are NOT at the base where most people look, but at the top of the house. With a chimney you can glance up and study the structure where it joins the house. No gaps? no coverups? no damage. Then you stand back and run your gaze down the walls for signs of bulging. No bulging? No damage. What about the boards around the windows? Are they lurching a bit? No lurching? No damage. Next you look for doors that don't match a warp at the top. No warps? No damage. Then you look at the built in cabinets and built in mirrors. Is there any sign of warpage there? No warpage? No damage. Now then you want to check the floors. These are hard wood floors so all you have to do is put a marble down. If it starts rolling on its own then the floors need to be leveled. If marbles always roll in one direction in every room in the house then the foundation of the house has settled on that side the marbles roll to. Marbles roll here. However, since every room in the house will make the marble roll in two or three different directions then it is the floor that needs leveling, not the house. Therefore, these floors need to be leveled. A house jack and a couple of levels inside will put the floors straight. The floors are in good shape, but they do need to be leveled. Someday. However, you might want to wait a few years to decide how much and where you want to do the leveling. Even hardwood is subject to changes in dimension with changes in the weather. Floors built as tightly as these are have to give and take to keep from bursting. I'm happy with these floors the way they are; you probably will be too, especially if you are older and more experienced with quality craftsmanship. |
