Washers, Dryers, Graduation, Christmas, Duck Hunting, New Years, New Presidents, Mississippi Waterfalls and of Course the Pileated Woodpecker!

I'm falling behind but I shall try to redeem myself (that sounds like the start of most of my blogs). I can only vaguely remember where I left all of you but it seems like a long way off and far far away. Since about last September I have been in the process of applying for graduate programs, studying for the GRE, and interviewing for potential research positions. On top of all of the graduate school stuff I have been working away at Ducks Unlimited. Lesley and I have managed, however, to have a lot of fun in between our grown-up tasks. After our fun trip to the sand bar on the Red River we went back to Jackson with the knowledge that we didn't have to work a full week of work again until after the new year. I had an interview scheduled with Texas A&M so I flew to Aggie land to try and impress them and convince them that I was worth a fully funded research position.
The plane had hardly landed back in Jackson before Lesley and I packed up, I actually don't think I unpacked, to fly to Colorado for Chris's graduation from the University of Colorado. It was a lot of fun to see the family. We were able to celebrate Christmas while we were there. This was nice because Justin and Chris would be there too. We played a lively game of Scrabble, and even though Lesley and I spelled the best words we came in last, I guess good words don't equal good points. Also while we were there I even had a chance to steal away and see Troy, Heather and their new baby Brennen George. Note to self babies scare me, especially when I hold them but little BGD was a good kid. I should also mention because I was in Colorado I was afforded the opportunity to watch the CSU bowl game...GO Rams! Well, we weren't able to stay too long in Colorado and we had to fly back to Jackson, again, for our obligatory two days of work before Christmas.
When we flew back to New Orleans we also told Trout that we would pick her up and take her home with us for the holidays. Cloud was especially excited about this. The work had barely started before we, still packed from the last trip, loaded up the truck and drove to Shreveport for 5 days relaxing on the farm. It was nice to relax and play on the farm, it always is, and Cloud loved having Trout and the other puppies to play with. Lesley also had a chance to meet up with all of her friends from high school who were in town for Christmas as well.
....Back to Jackson for three days of work....., still packed, load up the truck, pick up a trailer, and drive west; destination Dallas. Before we get ahead of ourselves we need to take a pit stop in Rustin, LA for Christmas with Lesley's Grandmother. The little cousins were there and we had a fun time catching up with everyone. OK. back to Dallas. We have been living in Jackson for about a year and half at this point and have been struggling with regards to cleanliness. By cleanliness I mean keeping our clothes clean. We have no washer and dryer and one day out of the blue Grandmother Downs asked if we wanted a pair. Of course the catch was that we needed to drive to Dallas (about 8 hours from Jackson) to get it. It didn't take long for us to jump on that opportunity. You see Dallas may be 8 hours away but the prospect of clean clothes and the wonderful smell of fabric softener permeating the apartment was too good to pass up. I have had some training, both practical and professional, on pulling trailers behind trucks, but in all of my experience I have never had to drive a trailer through Dallas traffic. This is a horrifying thought and so I pushed it right out of my head and asked Bruce if we could borrow his truck to navigate the Dallas traffic with a washer and dryer and then load up the house hold appliances on the trailer once we got back to the farm, and from there drive back to Jackson. We left early and drove to Dallas to pick up the washer and dryer. It was no sweat picking them up and we were back on the farm by dark. The next day we planned to shoot guns before we drove back to Jackson. Since joining the ranks of Ducks Unlimited I have become interested in hunting but the problem with such a specialized activity are the barriers to entry such as having a gun, knowing how to load a gun, knowing how to shoot a gun etc.. all things I have never learned. Well it just so happens that Lesley's Dad was willing to take me out and show me all the essential gun skills to be a safe knowledgeable gun handler. This is all in the hopes that I may be able to purchase my first gun and go hunting sometime in the future. I shot a .22 bolt action, a 9mm Glock, two different shotguns, and a Remington .270 bolt action rifle. It was a fun experience. Lesley squeezed off a few shots as well. Our imaginary quarry didn't know what hit them. Back on the road we had our washer and dryer lashed to the trailer and our help lined up so when we got home we could haul it up our three flights of stairs. We got it moved into our little home and man has it been sweet. Clothes are now clean and we have freed up a lot of lost time. Did I mention that all of this was happening over New years, well it was, that's how we had the free time to make it happen.
It had been about a month since we had to work a 5 day work week but we are back at it. I was able to talk with Tucker about squeezing in a Duck Hunt before the season ended in Louisiana at his duck camp. The weekend came and we hooked the trailer up to the truck with the 4 wheeler loaded and headed to Start, LA and to the Smiling Mallard Duck Club. We hadn't made it far into Louisiana before a few deer, or should I say a heard of deer came out of the median on the interstate and attacked my truck. They were on the right, on the left, and in front of me; eyes red and frothing at the mouth. I managed to avoid all but two of them. I got one on the right with my front bumper, and one on the left with the fender of the trailer. If I would have let Tucker have his way he would have been on them with a bowie knife ripping the guts out of them, but I said "Tucker be cool... Let them die in peace" maybe I didn't say that but we were lucky to be thinking those thoughts. Most double deer strikes on the interstate don't end so well. Well after a quick pit stop to check the status of the truck we were back on our way to the duck camp. We had deer sausage in tribute that night, not to mention the great hamburgers. After a lively round of Duck Commander videos we hit the sack so we could wake up nice and early. It was muggy that morning, not really suitable weather for duck hunting. Good duck hunting weather involves rain or snow or both. We put on our camo, found our blind and waited. Needless to say we weren't terribly lucky on this morning, though it was a fun trip.
With duck in the freezer and clothes in the washer I think we are finally finding our domestic streak. I was excited for the inauguration of the 44th president Barack H. Obama. I tried with all my might to stream the ceremony on my computer at work, but alas the bandwidth traffic jam got the best of me... good thing I have an iPhone. I was able to live stream one and half hours of the ceremony including the speech on my iPhone...Saved by the iPhone.
This last weekend since we were at home with nothing to do we decided to stay in the state of Mississippi and find the legendary waterfalls of Clark Creek. If you go to the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway and head south and west into the very corner of the state you will come to a remote natural area with 30 foot waterfalls. Mississippi is flat so this is a spectacular sight. These falls don't roar from miles away but they do trickle down a series of steps off of a high bluff. It is a lot of fun to see. Cloud came along and tested out her new backpack. One of the best surprises of the trip was when the Pileated Woodpecker finally reveled itself to us. You have probably heard me talk of this bird for years now. I have been on the hunt and in the process have made the bird my totem. We have searched high and low for this bird from the desert in Arizona to the Buffalo river in Arkansas and we found it right here in Mississippi. I am happy to say that I have a picture of it as well, so thanks for reading and enjoy the wonderful Pileated Woodpecker!

Red River Cookout

Les, Bruce, Kathy, and I took a a little evening excursion to the sand bar on the red river to have a cookout. We loaded up the pickup with the essentials of chicken dogs, puppy dogs, marshmallows and beer. Drove to the gap in the levy and packed into the sandbar. Cloud loved the ride over, she practiced her pickup truck bed riding and then her drift wood gathering... all essential skills for a well rounded backwoods pup. The sandbar was huge and there was plenty of drift wood for a roaring fire. The weather couldn't have been better. We made S'mores and enjoyed the chicken dogs roasted on sticks. Did I mention the S'mores? Cloud also had company, Kathy's dog Taylor came along to play. The puppies had fun and so did we.

The Beach at Ocean Springs

Mississippi does have a coast with beaches that have salt water lapping the white sand while pelicans dive at fishermen. I know, it surprised me too. I didn't have high expectations for the quality of white sand beaches in Mississippi until this past Thanksgiving extravaganza in Ocean Springs, MS. It's great having two paid days off from work that are coupled with the weekend, it makes for a nice weekend with the opportunity to do something different and fun. We thought that because of the Thanksgiving holiday and the time off that we would pack up and ship out to the coast and enjoy a relaxing long weekend doing nothing. We packed up the car with the essentials, thanksgiving feast, golf clubs, and the puppy, and we were ready to go. When we arrived I was surprised to see the coast still destroyed from hurricane Katrina. Newt, Kristy and Trout met Lesley, Jane, Tucker, and I in Ocean Springs for the weekend too. Our vacation house was brand new and so were all of the other houses, all three of them, on our street. The rest of the coast was empty. The new regulations for the coast state that the beach houses must stand somthing like 20 feet off the ground to protect them from a storm surge. Notice Lesley in the photo. There were no other people to be seen most of the weekend so we had the beach to ourselves and the dogs had all the room to run and play that they could want. I can sum up the weekend very concisely, relax a lot, eat a lot, and play golf a little (about three holes worth). The weather was wonderful most of the weekend and only rainy on Saturday. Lesley knit, I worked on grad school applications, Tucker read books, Newt did school work, Kristy knit, and Jane read, but we all played with the puppies. I think that Trout and Cloud probably enjoyed the beach the most. They spent a lot of time chasing the ocean, crabs, sticks, and each other.
We were lucky when they finally would wear each other out and we would have a moment of quiet.
After Tucker and I squeezed in three holes of golf by the Gulf in the pouring down rain we met everyone else for a great BBQ experience at the Shed. Aside from having amazing BBQ the Shed was covered in Shedisms. Such as this one - We celebrated Thanksgiving by combining our many talents for cooking and created a unique and delicious Cajun feast. We had deep fat fried turkey, shrimp n' grits with brown roux gravy, sweet potato casserol and so much more. I really didn't need to eat the rest of the weekend. It was very relaxing and just what we all needed to recharge. I enjoyed the "ghost town" appeal of the area and loved walking with the dogs and taking photos.
We drove back to Jackson on Sunday and I think everyone would agree that it was a great Thanksgiving.
The video is of Cloud Dancing and Trout chasing a crab... They had a blast.

Cloud Dancing

We had the pleasure of bringing a bounding baby girl home a few months ago. A coworker of Lesley's found her in the middle of the highway. Her name is Cloud Dancing and she weighed in at 6.3 Lbs. That was about two months ago. Now she weighs about 25 Lbs and is full of energy. She, like all good puppies (did I mention she's a puppy), is full of worms and vigor. We have worked hard to teach her the essentials such as sit, stay, lay, high five, and come. She really is a great companion when she's not waking us up at 5:30 in the morning. We have had a lot of fun introducing her to her best friend Trout, as well as her other friends Gypsy, Wizard and Heidi (don't tell her that I added that last one). You will most likely see a lot of her in future blogs.

Mom and Dad in the South

I was still studying for the big test that was coming at the end of October, but I was aloud one fun weekend without studying. My parents flew in from Colorado to come visit and see what the Deep South was all about. They found out that 1.) most people do wear shoes (most) 2.) people do know how to read (most) and 3.) it doesn't matter where you are its fun when the fair is in town. They flew in over Columbus Day weekend and the first night we had fun cooking (Lesley made a pot of red beans and rice) and catching up.

Saturday morning we got together at our
apartment. It was a relaxing morning. I made my famous biscuits and we took a walk to orient them with our neighborhood. We walked around the pond and watched the birds and then headed down the bike path to show them our route to work when we pedal. Then we headed downtown to the fairgrounds.


Flashing lights, the smell of stock, and the sound of screams of excitement lay before us in all directions. First things first, foot long state fair corn dogs and fresh lemonade.

After our gullets were filled we wound our way through the games and rides and into the stock barns to watch cows and goats getting ready to meet their maker. Les reminisced of the days she showed sheep at the fair when she was a young girl. My mom reminisced of entering her sewing projects in the 4-H competitions.

We had fun laughing at the half woman/half snake exhibit and remembering as kids we used to beg our parents to pay money to let us go in and see such a site. The fair is one of those things that is the same whether you grow up going to the Louisiana state fair or the Colorado state fair. They probably each have a little something significant that stands out and makes it its own. One of the notable events at the Mississippi state fair is the biscuits. As a bread baker myself with a specialty in biscuits I was drawn to this state fair tradition. A group of ladies sit under a tent cranking out biscuits with fervor.

And anyone who wants one can have one. They are free! They give out over 100,000 biscuits by the time the fair is over. It's best with maple syrup. These biscuits have, I believe, three ingredients; shortening, milk, and flour (the southern way). They are cut out with mason jars and Campbell's soup cans and then baked in the oven, and with a quick turnaround they are eaten by the fair goers. Delicious! Winding our way through the barns we went over to the equine center to watch what must only happen in southern fairs, mule pulling. A team of two mules attached to a sled and 5000+ pounds are encouraged to pull and the team that pulls the most wins. It's quite a site. After the fair we went to enjoy some authentic Jacksonian food at Julep's. Shrimp and grits, spaghetti squash, blackened fish and of course a mint julep. Lesley's mom and Tucker joined us for the evening as well.

The next morning after another fantastic breakfast we chose to check out the Natchez Trace south of Jackson. We drove the National Scenic Parkway down to a little spot called Rocky Springs. There is a trail that follows the old sunken trace for a few miles and you get to see what it was like before the cars and the pavement.

At the trail head we saw a sign that said trail closed due to the bridge across Rocky Springs being out. We decided to venture on despite the obstacles and what we discovered was that the bridge was only kinda out. The bridge was navigable with a little care and we then were able to enjoy the old trace.

We saw birds aplenty, though the mighty Pileated woodpecker still eludes me. The day was fun and it was great having my parents in town.

I however had to go to work the next day. On Monday while I was at work Lesley took them to the Mississippi craft center to see some of the local art and then they swung by my office to see where I worked and to take us to lunch at Hamal's, the down home, soul food, all you can eat, must try before you leave Jackson restaurant. Well, thanks for visiting mom and dad and we can't wait to see you again our way.