Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Roger

In search of something to do, I drove an hour and a half down into Clark County and saw the sights. My first stop was Jenkins Ferry, one of three southern Arkansas Civil War battlefields preserved by the state. At none of them is there much to see. Jenkins Ferry consists of a picnic area in a swampy woods along the Saline River. I hung around for 45 minutes looking for birds, but there weren’t many of them to see either.

In April, 1864, a Union army … you can read about it on the sign.

There was also this monument, which gives some idea of how well the battlefield is maintained. It reads, “Erected in memory of the soldiers of the Confederacy, who gave their lives for the cause at the battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1984. Dedicated September 19, 1938, by the James F. Fagan and Jenkins Ferry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. We honor their valor and sacrifice.”

From the battlefield, I went to the Clark County Historical Society Museum in Sheridan. It’s a typical local historical museum, filled with random old stuff donated by local citizens, although this one had some cool displays and a “village” of old buildings that could have been interesting if taken care of. As is, the whole place feels likely to rot away within a few years. In the museum, I found this photo of Jenkins Ferry. I don’t know when it was taken.

Here are a few other random shots from the museum.

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Overflow National Wildlife Refuge

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Roger

I drove the three hours south to this refuge in extreme south Arkansas because other birders were finding Least Bitterns there regularly. I’d never seen one except for brief views in flights over marshes.

There were a lot of birds around, but not a lot of open areas where viewing was easy.

I found a small pond of open water, surrounded by reeds, and parked my car at an angle that let me view out the window. Over the next hour I saw at least three Least Bitterns, including an immature.

As I watched the bitterns coming and going, I noticed a log that blinked.

I stayed about two-and-a-half hours, then headed back home, stopping to look at some dark ibises nearby.

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Arkansas Travelers vs. Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Roger

On a whim, I contacted the Kleins, friends from Illinois with whom we often went to baseball games. My purpose was just to say hi, but it turned out they were coming through Little Rock and planned on seeing a game. We met them downtown and had a good time catching up at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Our seats were on the first base side, between home plate and the dugout. The Travelers were playing as the Diamantes de Arkansas in an attempt to be relevant to Spanish-speaking fans and sell more stuff. There was nothing else about the game that was Spanish or Hispanic in anyway, so it seemed odd. Here’s the view from our seats.

The game began with a string of lucky hits and wild pitches, and the Travelers gained an early 7-0 lead. They scored two more in the fourth. The Naturals, who didn’t seem like a very good team, scored three meaningless runs in the last two innings and lost 9-3, but we weren’t around to see it. It had rained hard all day — to the point where we really thought the game would be called — and started up again in the eighth, so we left.

I wasn’t into the game much and didn’t care which team won. But we had fun with the Kleins talking about baseball and old days.

The highlight for me was when I noticed that the Traveler’s pitcher was named Woo. I immediately thought of the old term for flirting, “pitching woo,” but when I cracked the joke, nobody got it. I took a photo of the scoreboard and sent it to several people, but none of them had ever heard the term either. Still, I got a kick out of it. And he pitched a perfect game through six.

It was our first visit to this ballpark. It had a nice view of downtown Little Rock over the right field wall, for what that’s worth, but otherwise was a pretty conventional AA stadium.

Our tire light was on when we got back in the car. I checked quickly to make sure none of the tires was already flat and made it home OK. the next morning the tire was flat. There was a nail in it, so I had to put on the donut and take it in for a patch.

Here’s a news article on the game.

The Arkansas Travelers (19-11) scored seven runs in the first two innings Thursday while starter Bryan Woo carried a perfect game through six innings of a victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (15-15) in front of an announced crowd of 4,028 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

The Travelers scored three runs in the first inning on an RBI double by Robbie Tenerowicz, who along with Spencer Packard scored later in the inning on wild pitches from Naturals starter Jonathan Bowlan. Packard added a two-run single in the second inning and the Travs got RBI singles from Jonatan Clase and Robert Perez Jr. to push the lead to 7-0.

Tyler Tolbert broke up the perfect game bid in the top of the seventh inning with a single on an 0-1 pitch. Tolbert and Tyler Cropley both hit RBI singles in the eighth inning to account for two Naturals runs, with the other coming on a Jeison Guzman solo home run on a full-count pitch in the top of the ninth inning.

Further note: Less than a month after this game, Woo was called up to the Seattle Mariners.

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Reptile/Amphibian #37 – Copperhead

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Roger

agkistrodon contortirx

Sunday, May 7, 2023 – 10:47 am

Faulkner County, Arkansas – Bell Slough Wildlife Management Area

I was out birding and had just crossed over the dam on Lake Conway. On the narrow trail that leads back into the woods, I saw a Copperhead. It was stretched out, with its head in the vegetation along the trail but most of its body on the trail. I knew immediately what it was. It was perhaps 18 inches long. It never moved as I gingerly approached and took some photos.

It had the classic fat body and wedge-shaped head of a pit-viper. I was surprised at how nonchalant I was about it. I took the photos, but there wasn’t much else to do since the snake wasn’t moving. I actually walked past it on the trail, coming within six inches of its tail. It never moved. I continued on birding, but also watching where I stepped. Twenty minutes later, when I went back along the section of trail where I’d seen the snake, it was gone.

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Toad Suck Daze

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Roger

Years ago, when we happened to be visiting Arkansas in May, I went to Toad Suck Daze to buy Toad Suck, Arkansas T-shirts for several coworkers. At that time, the festival was held along the river at Toad Suck. Since then, due to flooding, it’s been moved to downtown Conway.

Of course we had to check it out the first year we lived in town. We found a parking space a couple blocks up the road and wandered through the crowds. We were in time for some exciting festival events in the main tent.

First there was the crowning of the Toad Queens. There must have been 20 in total — from infants to old women — all with slightly different titles. Here are just a few.

Next, the Miss Toad Sucks and others did the Toady Woady — which is identical to the Hokey Pokey except for the name.

And then, finally, it was time for the Toad Races. The toads here, as is the case most places throughout the festival, are actually frogs. After explaining what to do if your “toad” goes out of your lane, the Emcee gave the rules — “No flippin’, no floppin’, let the toads do the hoppin’. After a rousing cry of “One your mark. Get Set. Toad!” the race was on. And over in about two seconds. The flying toad in the background crossed the finish line way ahead, but not in its proper lane. When it was placed back on the track, it just sat there, pouting. The winner was the portly gentleman in the blue shirt who is a state congressman. He’s also a cheater, and he did considerable shoving of his “toad.”

The freshly repainted the Toad Suck Daze design in the middle of a downtown intersection.

We wandered around the vendors and into the Toad Store for maybe half an hour and that was all the Toad Suck Daze we were in the mood for.

Some Conway streetside sculpture.

I’ll use this space to air my complaint. “Toad Suck, Arkansas” is funny. We like to buy gifts for non-Arkansas that say “Toad Suck, Arkansas” on them. The problem is that they’re really hard to find. Almost everything says “Toad Suck Daze,” which means nothing to anyone who hasn’t been to the festival. Fortunately, a few appropriately labeled souvenirs are available at the gas station at Toad Suck Lock and Dam.

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