I had never been to a White Sox game. Somebody at work gave a friend and me four tickets so we could take our wives to this game over Memorial Day.
We had great seats, in the second row just beyond the White Sox dugout. The two guys who sat in front of us came late, drank 10 or 12 beers each, and left in the fourth inning. It was Cap Day and we each got a cheap White Sox cap.
The White Sox won 8-3 and went on to win the American League West.
elaphe obsoleta
Friday, May 13, 1983 — 3:00 pm
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
I saw a Rat Snake stretched out on the ground along a dirt road that ran through the woods on the ridge above the valley. Its head was resting on a log. It didn’t move until I prodded it gently with a stick. It then moved slowly to a nearby bush, climbed it and tried twice, unsuccessfully, to reach a nearby tree. On the third try, it missed again but fell onto a low fork of a second tree. It climbed slowly up that on into the top branches, moving slowly the entire time. It was three feet long, black with cream showing between the scales. Its chin was white. Its belly was checked cream and gray.
terrapene carolina
Thursday, May 12, 1983 — 1:00 pm
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
In two days, I found nine Box Turtles walking through leaves and grass on a wooded hillside. The longest was 6 inches, the shortest 4 inches. The shells were domed on top and closed tight underneath. They were tan or olive on top, some with yellow markings and others unmarked. The undersides were mostly light, a few with dark marks. The heads and legs were marked with yellow and orange.
trionyx spiniferus
Monday, May 9, 1983 — 3:00 pm
Woolly Hollow State Park, Arkansas
At Woolly Hollow, a small stream has been dammed to create a small lake in a hollow. I walked the path around the lake, then walked along the entrance road which runs along the shore about 30 feet above the water.
The soft-shell turtle was lying on a log along the shore with other turtles. It dropped into the water as I approached.
passerina (sparrow-like) ciris (bird into which Scylla, daughter of Nisus, is fabled to have been changed)
Thursday, May 5, 1983 — 8:20 am
Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas
I arrived at Holla Bend early in the morning. I hadn’t been there too long and had just started along the drive above the Arkansas River. I saw a Painted Bunting standing on the road in front of the car. The instant I got it in my binoculars, it flew into the weeds along the road. I stepped from the car, and it flushed again and landed in a small tree at the edge of the bluff. It didn’t stay there long, either, but shortly dropped over the edge and disappeared from sight.
