To stalk a house, it helps to know where your house might live. We have two preferred habitats, the Washington-Willow Historic District and Wilson Park. As you’ll see if you click through, the habitats are not very big, so it’s not very hard to drive through and check on the status of our houses. In fact, we often do. (Wednesday, I came home and told Don that one of our potential houses had three garbage cans out front — and he’d seen the same thing on his own drive-through.)
Wilson Park. The Wilson Park habitat is hillier, with a big park at the center depression where you can see many of the rock houses in their native habitat. They are mostly 1920s to 1940s, cottages and bungalows, many made from native stone. Cute, small, and highly prized for their location near Wilson Park.Â
Wilson Park is the first and largest park in Fayetteville. It has a swimming pool, tennis courts, playgrounds, and a castle. I think the Little One believes that the Park belongs to someone named Wilson — she always asks if we can go to Wilson’s Park. (As a result of the park being in a valley, it’s always a long, uphill walk to get home.) Also very near the main restaurant drag, Dickson Street.Â
At the edge of this habitat is the Little One’s school and Mt. Nord. Mount Nord is even smaller than the other habitats; it comprises four houses, including the Fulbright House. (You’ll remember I had a tremendous crush on it. It still makes my heart beat a little faster, but I hope we can find something else that makes my heart sing, and isn’t such a gigantic project and imposing house.)
Washington-Willow. Washington-Willow is flatter, and thus more walkable. It’s also older on average, mostly late nineteenth/early twentieth century houses. Thus, the houses are bigger and in the genre we understand. (Victorian, in case you’re new to the blog.*) It’s generally our preferred neighborhood, although Wilson Park is growing on us (especially since we live on its fringe.)Â
The Little One would have to cross five lanes of Highway 71B to get to the grade school, but I believe crossing guards are available to get her across in the morning. If not, I think we could tie a bike flag to her and cars might see her. Or … well, we could walk her to school like we do now. This district is also on the same side of the highway as the grocery store and further from the restaurants, which would be a good thing if we wind up with a project house that requires all our income.
A good way to learn more about the habits of resident houses is to take the Washington School House Walk. This spring, we toured all seven houses, and got to see a variety of houses without being too obvious about stalking the neighborhoods.Â
Another way is to use your resident five-year-old.Â
She usually dawdles enough that you can see lots of details in the houses, again without being too obvious about your ulterior motive: bagging a dream house. We used her last night. She really enjoys running along the top of rock retaining walls, visiting with strange cats, sniffing lavender, and running away from us. (Eek! She does still have the sense not to run across the street, but she’s fast, and presumably could run around the block forever.)
Have a good weekend! I think we’re going to Prairie Grove for the 56th Annual Clothesline Fair, and to the Fayetteville Arts Festival. I’m kind of hoping to see Ed Pennebaker at the Heartwood Gallery Street Art Show on Saturday. He makes some amazing blown glass pieces, including chandeliers and sconces. Chihuly-like or perhaps Dr. Seuss-like. He has pieces in galleries in Fayetteville, Little Rock, and even Chicago. (And in my brothers’ houses — I gave them Pennebaker vases for Christmas.) I suspect we’ll find a house that just really needs a Pennebaker chandelier or sconce or two.Â
ETA: Full story about both the Clothesline Fair and Fayetteville Arts Fair here, with schedules.
*Speaking of our blog, I apologize for the continuing dearth of pictures. Our digital camera’s connecting thingy (not to mention our computer) is still at my parents’ house, so I find myself composing in my head at night and blogging on the fly — with nary a picture to be had.  I promise more house pictures soon-ish. About the same time we get a land line and cable at the townhouse. And more interesting entries. I keep thinking of things I want to write about, but they are more suited to pictures than words. (Like what our townhouse looks like now. Or what we would have done with our Kensington kitchen. Or what a rock house looks like in NW Arkansas. Or what the Little One looked like at Kiddy Park. Or what the house where I grew up looks like, then and now.)
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 In those 7.5 years, we’ve lived in 4.5 houses. (We’d signed the lease on our townhouse, but hadn’t spent the night there yet. The houses are: Howe, Ashland, Kensington, my parents’ guest house, and the townhouse.) That’s a lot of moving, isn’t it? Here’s hoping we stay longer in our next house.
