Bragg Family South

Nothing says spring or early summer like flowers, and how about this large southern magnolia flower!  We've had plenty of moisture this spring, meaning things have been nicely green in southern Arkansas for a while...It has also made using our backyard a challenge, but as you can see from the picture below, we've managed to sneak in some activities, such as the evening campfire with Stephen's fellow Cub Scouts: One weekend when Hope and Kenny were at a swim meet, I took the younger kids to an antique mall we like to go to near Little Rock, and bought Beth an antique wardrobe to keep her clothes in: Early June brought some additional adventures and travel...The unfortunate death of a family friend back in Rhinelander spurred a last-minute trip to Wisconsin.  Hope had some 4-H commitments, so the kids and I headed north and met Rich Pruden in north-central Illinois at Starved Rock State Park, which we made a quick hiking tour of: We found a nice little roo...

I know I've used these pictures in the past, but I love them, as they do such a good job of capturing those special moms in my life...the first, pictured above with my children, is my mother, Rose Bragg.  What a special person and spectacular role model!  Then there's the woman (Hope, pictured below) who has not just put up with my antics and shortcomings for 25 years or so, but has become that which she always wanted to be--a wonderful mom! But Hope had also a guiding light in her life--her mother, Ann Pruden: Happy Mothers' Day, y'all!! The last month has been a busy one for me, travel-wise.  The first of the work trips I'm highlighting was a short one to the northeastern Arkansas community of Pocahontas, where I presented to the Arkansas Historical Association's annual meeting.  This year's meeting had a World War 1 theme (it is the 100th anniversary of the US entry to that war), and like many small towns in Arkansas, Pocahontas has a memor...

Beth...er...the Easter Bunny...wishes y'all a Happy Easter from Bragg Family South!  Another busy month has rolled on by, so I really need to get this post in before I fall too far behind.  Beth is also the star of the image below, pictured with some of her friends from a 4-H Day of Archeology Hope helped host recently: Hope and UAM Station Archeologist Jodi Barnes put together an interesting program in the McGehee area featuring the Japanese-American World War II internment camp museum and field site, pictured below (that's Dr. Barnes in the picture with her arms raised): The archeology event was well attended (for being held during Spring Break), and the weather was windy but largely cooperative (the rain didn't fall until afterward). That weekend, Kenny was off to a Scout camp in northwestern Arkansas, so Hope, Beth, and Stephen went with me for a day trip to Hot Springs for a little shopping.  We had thought about going to the horse racing track, but th...

Why start a blog post on spring break with pictures of pasties?  Why not?  We took advantage of a brief spell of cool weather this spring to test out a new crust recipe for this meat- and vegetable-filled handheld pie, and it worked out very well!  The kids and I have been experimenting with some baking this last year, and this was one of the experiments.  Today we made some pretty good naan (and Indian flatbread). I recently attended a business meeting in Blacksburg, Virginia...which should be much warmer than this picture shows!  We actually caught the bottom end of that big Nor'easter that just went up the east coast...Didn't get as much snow as New England did, but we did get some, and several days of cold (sub 20 degree) temperatures.  In fact, I think the windchill the morning I took the picture below of a World War I and II memorial on the Virginia Tech campus was in the low teens: My return trip from Virginia was largely uneventful, if ...