Lately, my days have been pretty bare of after hours, work-related events. I had to take advantage of my good luck by heading out to bird in Arkansas County and around Little Rock. It paid off — I rediscovered four state birds. The birds were House finches, a Brown-headed Nuthatch, the American Goldfinch, and Green-Winged Teal Ducks. The duck pictures aren’t the best since the ducks were practically on the other side of the lake. But hey, at least you can tell what they are. 🙂
Anyway, here’s my pictures of the birds plus sky pictures that I like:
House Finches and a Brown-headed NuthatchAmerican GoldfinchGreen-Winged Teal DuckAnother look at the Green-winged Teal DuckJuvenile Bald EagleHeading back into Little Rock
The Yankees outnumbered the Confederates seven to one in the Battle of Arkansas. The outcome was obvious, although the Yankee casualty was still higher — by thousands. The facts of the Arkansas County battle were revisited this past weekend during a commemoration of the battle’s 150th anniversary.
I traveled down to Gillett to watch a small re-enactment (many of the expected reenactors cancelled due to the flu or bad weather) and attend a ceremony to honor those who fought in the battle. Of course, I also had to attend the Union and Confederate camps. I couldn’t believe the reenactors spent the night on site and were still so cheerful and talkative throughout the weekend.
(To learn more about the battle, visit here) Here’s some more pictures from the weekend:
In 2013, Arkansas County will celebrate its 200th anniversary. It was named a county in 1813 by the Territorial Legislature of Missouri after an American Indian settlement, the Arkansas. Yes, it’s older than the state. According to arkansas.com, the Arkansas Territory was organized in 1819 and Arkansas was admitted to the Union as a state in 1836.
To celebrate, I decided to look back at pictures from my visit to the Arkansas Post Museum. This year marked my first visit to the museum, although I frequently visit the nearby Arkansas Post National Memorial. The museum, established in 1960, is the first county museum in Arkansas.
It focuses on the Arkansas Delta cultural and biological heritage with an emphasis on the Grand Prairie. I’m fascinated with the gallows — the iron piece was built in 1908 and stored in the Arkansas County Jail’s rafters in DeWitt to use as needed for capital punishment. It was never used since the electric chair was invented in 1913.
I also love the historical and cultural artifacts that the museum has displayed, especially the below dollhouse. The dollhouse was built in 1933 for Harriet Jane Carnes Bonner and is life-size. It even has the original toys and furniture as well as a fire place, electric lights and a screened porch.
Nearby are:
WWI clothing worn by an Arkansas County residentThe main house actually had three pianos/organs in a room. The pieces were gorgeous with great details.
The museum, as the above pictures show, is filled to the brim with fascinating objects relating to the county’s history. It’s worth stopping by to help kickoff the county’s anniversary with a lesson on its history.
If you do go, don’t forget the Refeld-Hinman Log House! It was built for Amelia Haller Refield in 1877 and the widow actually went on to marry one of the men who helped build it. The house was eventually sold to Curtis Hinman in 1884 and was later restored in the 1930s to serve as the headquarters for the Arkansas Post State Park. The house was moved to the museum once the state park became a national memorial.
A rare bird to Arkansas has been spotted in Arkansas County. I met up with a fellow birder late this morning to go see the female Vermilion Flycatcher. The flycatcher is presently living on the 18th hole (which doubles as the 9th hole) at the Oak Hill Country Club in DeWitt.
Luckily, we found it although we weren’t too sure of ourselves at the time. Unfortunately, the pictures are kind of out-of-focused. Still here’s two more shots of the bird.
It wasn’t too hard to spot this Red-Tailed Hawk as I headed to Casscoe. While gorgeous, doesn’t the hawk’s face look like a seal’s face in the above picture (or is it just me).
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.
Izzie and I needed out of the house today so we decided to head to the nearby Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area’s Brett Morgan Halowell Reservoir. Here’s some pictures from the visit:
House SparrowsNutriaDragonflyRuby-Throated Hummingbirds
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.
Memos for Me 