Bragg Family South

Just thought everyone would like to see an up-to-date picture of the kids. Seeing them toddling around the house or hamming it up in the morning is a joy to Hope and me...I find myself continually reminding myself to enjoy them at this stage, warts and all. Stopping to smell the proverbial roses, if you will--even if they smell like a dirty diaper! I have been participating in a local chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society. Just yesterday I dropped some aerial photographs I borrowed from a couple of elderly members (Ed and Patsie White), and they showed me their personal collection of artificats gathered over decades of effort in the Ashley County, Arkansas area. They were so proud of what they had been able to do, yet were somewhat dismayed that they weren't sure of what was going to become of their collection when they pass on. They really want their fantastic artifacts to be preserved and displayed for people to enjoy, and not simply stored in some dusty boxes or shelves ...

Spring is going full force here in Arkansas. The picture above is of a redbud just about to come into full bloom outside of my office. Many of the flower trees and shrubs are starting to show good color, and the spring beauties are carpeting the ground. A few trees have even started to develop small green leaves, and I'm thinking of getting the lawnmower ready for action. Hope planted some colorful annuals in the beds along the front of the house this afternoon while Beth and I snoozed, and I think she and Kenny are going to plant some strawberries later. However, the storms that accompany our springs here have also started, and these can be troubling. Today, we have hit the mid-80s (second day in a row), and with a lot of humidity in the air and a strong south breeze, we have the ingredients for an outbreak of severe weather. Many places in the region need the rain, but not in this form! A persistent area of rain has sat over the Ohio River valley, and some places in southe...

We just returned from a business trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. I (Don) had a paper to present at the most recent Central Hardwoods Conference, and since it was relatively close to Monticello, we made a family "adventure" out of it. The drive over went pretty well, and we had a good supper and had just started swimming in the pool at the hotel when Hope slipped on the steps leading into the pool, caught the little toe on her left foot, and proceeded to dislocate and break said toe... This resulted in a 3+ hour visit to the emergency room in large city late at night, and many days of limping for Hope. The rest of my meeting went well, and besides a family-wide meltdown on the way home, the trip was an interesting one. The cannons pictured above were at Shiloh Battlefield National Park in southwestern Tennessee, where General Grant defeated a Confederate army after two days of tough battle in April 1862. Shiloh is reminiscent of many of the other Civil War battlefields in ...