Author: samm85

A former rural journalist who now lives with her two dogs in the capital of Arkansas.

Pouvez-vous répéter?

January 20, 2012

Bonjour! I attended my very first meeting of the Arkansas County French Club. They had French wine, lots of finger food and free French lessons on basic phrases.

I have never attempted to learn the French language before. My past foreign language attempts have been in German and Spanish. I love the German language, which I think came from my fascination with my German heritage. Spanish was the only foreign language taught in my high school and two years worth was required for honor graduates.

I would still prefer to refresh my German and Spanish, but it was fun to learn some basic French phrases. Here’s the critical ones I remember.

Je m’appelle Sarah. My name is Sarah.

Comment vous appellez-vous? What is your name?

Je ne comprends pas. I don’t understand.

Parlez-vous anglais? Do you speak English?

Water under the WRNWR Boardwalk

January 17, 2012

There’s been water underneath White River National Wildlife Refuge boardwalk within the past month. Recent rainfall had the White River above its 26-foot flood stage and flowing into the refuge. It’s back down now at 23.7 feet this morning. Here’s some pictures from my trip to see how flooded it was.

My dog Izzie.

A leucistic Red-Headed Woodpecker (I had to email the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for help on this one)
A House Sparrow lounges on a bird feeder outside of the visitor's center.

Sampling ‘coon’

January 16, 2012
The 69th annual Gillett Coon Supper.

I like barbecued raccoon meat.

I finally accepted this fact Saturday night after I tried “coon” for the second year in a roll at the 69th annual Gillett Coon Supper. Believe me, it’s words I never thought I would utter.

The Gillett Farmers and Businessmen’s Club hosts the coon supper as a fundraiser for college scholarship. It originally began after World War II as a way to raise money for athletics at Gillett School District but the focus shifted when the district was consolidated with the DeWitt School District.

It remains one of the most popular events in Arkansas County and is held each January. It also garners more than 600 attendees — pretty impressive for a community of only 691 residents. Continue reading “Sampling ‘coon’”

A better me

January 9, 2012

“All our dreams can come true,
if we have the courage to pursue them.”
– Walt Disney

On Sunday, my congregation was tasked with one simple assignment — to start the new year being a better person. It’s never to late to live up to our dreams and expectations — we just might get a later start then we meant too.

It really struck a nerve with me, especially since the visiting priest was able to phrase the message in a witty, down-to-earth sermon. It reminded me of who I always dreamed of being and had me thinking of how I had drifted from this ideal persona.

I would like to be thought of as kind, approachable and truthful. I want to be known for my morals and to be able to give whenever I can.  It’s easy to be a ditzy blonde, which is a generalization that can sometimes be said about me. So, this year I am going to work on being more knowledgeable, less gossipy and more helpful to others in need. Continue reading “A better me”

A country life

January 3, 2012
A newborn calf stands to go to its mother.

I spent my first afternoon of 2012 at my aunt and uncle’s farm in Jonesboro. My sister and I originally went to pick out some old doors my sister needs for a do-it-yourself project, but we soon spent the majority of our visit heading out to a back pasture to see a newborn calf.

We arrived about an hour after it was born. The calf is beautiful with a grey coat and is the fourth calf born this winter. The only disgusting part of it was watching the mother eat the placenta. It makes sense that the mother would eat it since it could lead predators to her newborn, but it was still a sight I would rather not have seen.

Still, the newborn calf was one of the reasons why Jan. 1st was a great day. It also helped that the weather was nice, I was able to enjoy an amazing home-cooked meal with my immediate family, and spend the afternoon visiting with family.

Two calves and one of their mothers race to food on Jan. 1.
Flowers blooming on New Year's Day.

 

He was curious to see what we were doing.
This little girl nearly followed us every where except to the back pasture.
This chicken means business.

Fly by: 2011’s final birds.

January 3, 2012
A Red-Tailed Hawk soars through the sky on the last day of 2011.

2011 ended and 2012 began with a bang. I was able to scratch off more birds off my list of those to see with the help of my family to identify some of the birds I saw. I’m slowly learning that identifying the birds I take pictures of is the hardest part of my new hobby. Hopefully, it’ll get easier as time goes by. Still, feel free to correct me if I do misidentify a bird.

An American Robin perches on a branch near my house on Dec. 30.
An American Robin perches on a branch near my house on Dec. 30.
American Coots swim away from the road in a flooded field on Dec. 31. It's a frequent sight when I head to Wynne to visit family.
A Northern Cardinal hops around gathering food beside House Sparrows near my back door this morning.
A snow goose, Mallard duck and American Coots swim around my uncle's pond in Jonesboro on Jan. 1.

Living it up in Washington, D.C.

December 30, 2011

My first experience with WordPress was a four-month blog I kept in early 2009 when I lived in Rockville, Maryland. I was interning at a non-profit organization through The Washington Center and I had agreed to keep a blog for my college newspaper (the ASU Herald at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark.).

I’ve always loved keeping travel journels, but this online version was 10-times better. It was way more organized, neat and easier to maintain then my previously written versions. Of course, I mainly contribute that to the fact that blogs are harder to lose than a physical journal.

I hated that I could not include these original blog entries when I first began this new travel blog — it just didn’t feel right. Today, I finally learned how to successfully export these blog posts (from my other—private—blog to this one). Hallelujah!

So, if you are one of the three subscribers (thank you by the way) I’m sorry if you get a whole lot of emails from this blog.

To see my first-ever blog post of the 2009 trip, click here. You can also view the overall 2009 experience of living, studying and interning in D.C. here.

 

Garvan Woodland Gardens

December 29, 2011
A koi fish charges through the water to see if we have any food for him. We didn’t.

I’m talented at losing things for brief periods of time, such as these pictures of Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. I went to the 210-acre forested peninsula on Lake Hamilton earlier this fall with my aunt as a Saturday get-a-way with our dogs. It was definitely interesting and was still filled with plenty of flowers despite the approaching cold weather.

One of the things I like about the place is its Hixson Family Woodland Nature Preserve. The Garland County Audubon Society says it has more than 100 different birds including the pileated woodpecker, tufted titmouse and the occasional bald eagle.

A Pileated Woodpecker we passed on our Sept. 10 hike.

The Garvan Woodland Gardens opened nine years ago and is a department of the University of Arkansas’ Fay Jones School of Architecture. It was initially the beloved property of Malvern businesswoman Verna Cook Garvan, who dreamed of tranforming it into a public garden for all Arkansans to enjoy. She donated the private garden to the university in 1985 (26 years ago) with the understanding it would be developed into a first-class botanical garden.

It’s easy to get lost within the property that includes Evans Children’s Adventure Garden, Garden of Pine Wind (has a cool koi pond, see top picture), Singing Springs Gorge and Millsap Canopy Bridge, Three Sisters of Amity Daffodil Hill and Anthony Chapel where more than 355 couples were married in 2010 and 2011.

I can’t wait to go back in late spring, early summer, especially since it was that gorgeous in late fall. Until then, below are some of the pictures I took: