A former rural journalist who now lives with her two dogs in the capital of Arkansas.
My newspaper gave me four free tickets to Disney on Ice Friday, allowing me to take my cousin’s wife Amber and his two little girls, Brittany and Maria, on Saturday.
It was great. The girls love princesses and they couldn’t wait to see the Tangled portion of the show. Tatiana and Repunzel were the favorite princesses.
It’s been months since I last visited the White River National Wildlife Refuge. I finally decided to rectify this problem now that the weather has cooled off. Apparently, I was not the only one to decide to visit. There was plenty of wildlife there as well.
On Tuesday, I saw my first Rufous Hummingbird at a nearby house in Stuttgart. A female or immature, the Rufous had a greenish gold crown and back, a white breast and dull reddish/brown sides. The males have bright orange on the back and belly with a red throat.
I originally heard of the bird through the state’s only hummingbird bander, Tana Beasley. The owner of the house with the Rufous later dropped by my work to invite me out to her house for a look.
I couldn’t resist. Tana said it is the closest “unusual” hummingbird (meaning not the common Ruby-Throated we have here) to the Stuttgart/ Casscoe area that she has heard about. She did attempt to capture the Rufous for banding, however, the bird was not having it.
The Rufous refused to stay where it usually sat until the cage was gone. I actually stopped by the house twice before I finally saw the Rufous: Once with the cage there and once afterwards. Ruby-Throated hummingbirds swarmed the enclosed garden area on both visits.
The Ruby-Throated hummingbirds were hoarding the feeders so much that the Rufous had taken over a portion of the garden’s flowers. It was funny to watch the Rufous sit on favored spots above this section, which it guarded fiercely.
I recently traveled to Memphis to celebrate my Uncle Rob’s declaration of candidacy to become a priest for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. He is presently a third year theology student at Sacred Heart School in Wisconsin.
Well, I’m pretty proud of my uncle and his accomplishments. I’m proud to say he will be ordained a priest in 2014.
My Uncle Rob has always been a cheerful presence in my life. Growing up, he was the one who played football, softball, etc. when my sister and I joined my cousins for holiday celebrations at my grandparents’ house. Even on Sundays, he was the one who played badminton with us in our grandparents’ back yard.
He has always been a dog lover and every single dog in our family absolutely loves him. They ignore us when he is around.
You probably didn’t know that there were cattle being raised in Arkansas County — some its own residents often forget this fact. We’re more focused on row crops.
It’s hard to not think of the county’s cattle now since the state has experienced a horrible drought this year. Ranchers are selling out while others, like the local one I interviewed, was working hard to just make it through the year. Row crop farmers were also struggling to just keep water in their fields, although the heat helped keep a lid on disease.
A tough year is not that uncommon for Arkansas County. It’s the fifth year of natural disaster in Arkansas County — it began with a tornado, continued with record-breaking flooding and has ended (so far) with the drought.
If there’s one thing the past few years have taught me, it’s that even positive things can come out of a disaster, such as an early harvest for Grand Prairie farmers. (I absolutely love harvest season for some reason).
The heat has also kept a lid on disease in row crops and the recent rainfall from Hurricane Isaac has helped ranchers (although it did knock down three fields of rice belonging to a friend’s family).
My favorite message coming out of a disaster though is that life continues on with its beauty even more appreciated. It’s hard not to be appreciative when the sights you see are the above and below:
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
We preserve, conserve, and study the native plants of Arkansas
Our Nicaraguan Journey
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Think left & think right & think low & think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" -Dr. Seuss
I previously worked as a news and sports photographer. Recently I have been enjoying wildlife photography. My approach toward bird photos is similar to sports photography. I attempt to capture mostly action and hopefully a unique perspective.
Urbanites in the woods, doing all our own stunts.
WILD IN FLORIDA: Exploring and Photographing Florida's Threatened Ecosystems, Wildlife, and More
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Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Memos for Me 