Kenny's big weekend

On Friday, our little martial artist Kenny turned 11...Hard to believe!  It is also hard to believe I haven't posted a blog in over a month.  Between my work/travel schedule, moving back to the UAM campus, and all of the other activities (including deer hunting), there hasn't been much time for anything else.  Here's a quick wrap-up since our last post...  We spent some time watching the UAM football team struggle through their season.  The Fightin' Boll Weevils only won one game, but we really enjoyed tailgating most of the home games this year, and the UAM band did a fine job during this cool but clear fall game:

Kenny (dark green coat, in middle) played a pick-up game of football with some of his friends and some UAM students:

We also had fun carving pumpkins right before Halloween--the jack-o-lantern in the middle has other gourds for hair and a nose, and pecans for eyes:

Stephen's preschool also do a "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in which each kid gets to bring their favorite foods to share with their classmates, siblings, and parents.  Stephen's favorites--string cheese, cheese quesadillas, and beets (yes, beets):

As I mentioned earlier, I spent much of the month out of the office, either traveling or training.  Below is a picture I took at Denver's International Airport:

It was a good thing I was out--we were in office limbo while we waiting for the final improvements to be made to the UAM forestry building.  Nominally, I was working at home on my computer, but in reality I was out so much that I actually didn't spend a lot of time there.  One such "escape" included a Thanksgiving week trip to Michigan to visit Hope's family and attend the Packers/Lions game.  Below, Kenny and his grandfather Rich Pruden ("Bumpa") ham it up outside of Ford Field in Detroit (which is right next to Tiger's Stadium, which you see in the background):

While the Packers haven't been world-beaters this year, they did manage to rally at the end to beat the Lions.  Below is a picture of pregame warm-ups:

We also visited the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary in southwestern Michigan with the Prudens.  The kids had a big time feeding corn to the waterfowl:

Rich and Ann joined us to help keep the kids in check:

There were a bunch of swans at the sanctuary, and being the biggest of the birds there, the geese gave way when a hungry swan appeared:

Stephen really seemed to enjoy the antics of all of the birds when he'd throw them corn:

To me, one of the neatest things about this location is its dominance by "melanistic" gray squirrels.  This is a recessive color phase of the common gray squirrel, and most of the squirrels we saw here were black, like this guy:

I've seen a lot of regularly colored squirrels while hunting deer this year (so far to date, I've bagged one doe, and have missed another). 

We've also been busy running around the state of Arkansas this last week.  Kenny has developed an interest in the Civil War, so for his birthday we made a quick trip to northwest Arkansas to watch a Civil War reenactment at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park (http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/prairiegrovebattlefield/), located in northwestern Arkansas not far from Fayetteville.  The Battle of Prairie Grove took place in early December 1862, and was fought by probably less than 20,000 Union and Confederate troops.  Though relatively small, it was a very bloody fight, with approximately 2,700 combined casualties.  Below is a picture of some of the Confederate reenactors in their camp before the "battle":

Here's another small group practicing their battle formation:

Here are some replica cannons (which they did fire) on a steep hill overlooking some large fields:

Unlike at national parks, which do not permit reenactments on their sites, these reenactors were on the actual battlefield, which helped give the observer a better feel for the nature of the engagement.  Below, they had a small number of cavalry to highlight that this battle began with a clash of these forces:

The small clusters of men in the background are Union artillery, which you can see firing blanks in the following picture:

The thin line of Confederate skirmishers who were laying low for the artillery then stood up to fire a number of volleys:

prompting the Union army to bring up infantry of their own to protect their cannon:

This reenactment was done with hundreds rather than thousands, and was compressed into about an hour and a half, rather than over a day as it really took place, but they did try to follow the order of the battle, including its ebb and flow.  The arrival of Union infantry drove the Confederate skirmishers off the field onto the ridge:

which the Union followed up with a charge up the slope:

and was promptly beaten back by well-placed Confederate troops at the crest of the ridge:

Note the flag-bearer in the picture above getting "shot" as the Union troops withdrew.  Confederate forces then drove the Union soldiers back to their artillery and reserves:

One of the things these reenactors do is try to have people in character as much as possible, including these signalmen who were sending messages in a flag-based code:

Union forces regrouped at the base of the hill and repelled the Confederates, driving them back up the hill:

and up past the Borden House, which is a real Civil War period structure that had been located on this site and somehow managed to survive the engagement.  Fans of the 1980s miniseries "The Blue and the Grey" may remember that this house (though somewhat modified for the movie) was in that miniseries in the climatic battle scene (yes, it was actually filmed here):

The reenactment included "casualties" on both sides, including these Union soldiers near the Borden House:

A Confederate counter-attack drove the Union troops back in disarray, leaving more wounded behind:

This battle was not terribly one-sided, but the better supplied Union forces did control the field after the poorly led and ill-trained and equipped Confederates retreated away, surrendering most of northern Arkansas to Union control for the rest of the Civil War.  Below, Union troops march back to their camps after the battle, watched by a couple young lady civilian reenactors:

We feel that our kids need to see a taste of what the Civil War was about--not just the glamorous events portrayed by Hollywood, but a desperate struggle between countrymen who were often also friends and even kin, in places like they're growing up in...Just so you don't think we spent the entire weekend on this grim anniversary, we also went to a drive-through Christmas light show in Pine Bluff:

I figured mom would like this--it is an Elvis Snowman (the lights in the background are other displays we had yet to drive past).  Happy Holidays!