Down With The Sickness

Wow. Sorry about that guys. I apologize. It seems like it has been forever since we last did this. So much has happened. Unfortunately catch-up posts are never fun, but I promise another post after this weekend.



1st thing's first. I went back down to Gurdon to do some more research. This photo was taken at 2:10 AM. It was a full moon night so it was bright enough to see where to walk without flashlights, but it wasn't quite as bright as the picture lets on. I was taking some very slow shutter shots, but I did find a possible explanation for the light. Notice how the trees overhang to form balls of light that become an optical illusion that look brighter than the actual sky. Now the lights we saw this night were different and nowhere near as bright as the time before so even if this was the cause, I still would like more evidence. Plus, what is that mysterious ghostly figure right below the balls of light. It shows up in all of my pictures . Hmm. . . .


Then, somewhere between the Gurdon trip and Halloween, I went to my cousin's wedding and got sick as a dog. Some sort of virus was going around and it knocked me down for the count. I lost 4 days of work to that thing. I actually ended up in the Hospital after fighting it for a whole day. I couldn't hold any fluids in. I was dehydrated and worsening as the day went on. The Hospital pumped a liter into me, gave me some nausea medicine and 3 days later I could drive without the whole world spinning. Speaking of Halloween, I carved pretty much the best pumpkin in the world this year. You know you're jealous. If you can't make it all out, here's what it is: It's an evil scare crow (think the People of the Corn) with a blackbird resting on his arm in a field of corn that is on fire. There is an eerie moon with a cloud rolling in front of it int the background with a rolling hill that has a mushroom cloud exploding a nearby town (the mushroomy part kind of fell out before I took the picture).

That brings us all the way up to last weekend where I went hiking along the Ouachita Trail near Lake Sylvia. Actually, we walked across Lake Sylvia, it has been that dry. The hike was great though. We hiked about 12 miles, saw a handful of deer in one spot, lots of squirrels and about 14 people along the way. I'll leave you with some pictures of the hike.

Open Season

Quick post. I should have been in bed an hour ago, but I have been so busy since the last post that I haven't gotten a chance to sit down and write another.

Spring officially started a week or two ago. I don't care what the weatherman or the groundhog says. Spring starts with one thing: Opening Day. And no I don't mean Opening Day Boston vs. Yankees. That doesn't count, although it was a very entertaining game. Opening Day was the next day when all of the other teams got a chance to play. It's also when my beloved team, the Chicago Cubs could start disappointing me all over again for another year. Don't get me wrong, I am not a self-hating fan. I will be the first to say that we are going to the World Series this year and WE ARE going to win it. I already have my plans lined up for where I am going to be in Chicago that weekend, but on the off chance that it doesn't happen, I have plenty of practice waiting for next year.

Another opening day was last Thursday. It was the first home game for our local team, the Arkansas Travelers. I didn't make it to the first game, but I made it to the game Friday. It was great. I had a great time, and so did everyone else who was there. Unfortunately, we had to pay the full price ($6) for admission. Can't wait for all of those $3 off promotions from Exxon, Ready Ice, and the Ark DemGaz. That extra $3 really helps on the old pocketbook. Luckily the Travs won that day so all was well in the world.

I didn't make the first home game, because of another Opening Day. The Opening Day of Bullfrog Season here in Arkansas. This is probably the most anticipated day of the year. At least it is for me. There's nothing better than scuddling across the water with your grandpa and cousin gigging some frogs. We only got 7 frogs last Thursday. I would have taken a picture if we had gotten more, but we didn't so you'll just have to wait for next time. At least we didn't get skunked. I think it was just a little too cold for them still. The nights need to get a little warmer before they come out and get real active. Friday night there was supposed to be a meteor shower, but we stared up at the heavens for a long time, and I only saw 1 meteor.

Saturday, you guessed it, was another Opening Day, at least it was for me. It was opening for Wedding Season. I went to my first wedding of the year. My cousin got married. Get this she got married at Hot Springs, and her reception was at Petit Jean (over 2 hours away). It was amazing. Definitely the most unique wedding receptions that I have ever been to. We spent the night camped outside their cabin up on top of Petit Jean. One word: awesome. It was a simple and pure wedding and reception, just how they should be. Just how they were intended to be. It wasn't ruined by commercialism and high society. It was just all about the two people getting married like it should be.

Ok gotta go. See you in Tunica tomorrow night!