1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air Convertible, Museum of Automobiles, Petit Jean mountain, Arkansas, July 2005
1957 Chevrolet:
Museum of Automobiles:
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For more images from the Museum of Automobiles and Petit Jean State Park, visit our Petit Jean State Park and Petit Jean Mountain photo gallery.
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Native grasses at a travel rest stop at Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, Kansas, intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Kansas 52 – with our motorhome and car in the background.
From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
The Refuge is named after the Marais des Cygnes River which runs through the middle of the refuge and is the dominant natural feature of the region. The name, Marais des Cygnes, comes from the French language and means Marsh of the Swans. It is presumed that trumpeter swans, which were historically common in the Midwest, used the wetlands adjacent to the Marais des Cygnes River during spring and fall migration.
The Refuge was established in 1992 for the protection and restoration of bottomland hardwood forests. Approximately 5,000 acres of the 7,500 acre refuge are available for wildlife oriented recreation including hunting, fishing, and birding. A wildlife sanctuary encompasses the remaining 2,500 acres of the refuge and is not available for public use.
The Marais des Cygnes Massacre:
The Marais des Cygnes Massacre is considered the last significant act of violence in Bleeding Kansas prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War. On May 19, 1858, approximately 30 men led by Charles Hamilton, a Georgia native and proslavery leader, crossed into the Kansas Territory from Missouri. They arrived at Trading Post, Kansas in the morning and then headed back to Missouri. Along the way they captured 11 free-state men, none of whom were armed and, it is said, none of whom had participated in the ongoing violence. Most of the men knew Hamilton and apparently did not realize he meant them harm. These prisoners were led into a defile, where Hamilton ordered the men shot and fired the first bullet himself. Five men were killed.
Hamilton and his gang returned to Missouri. Only one man was ever brought to justice. William Griffith of Bates County, Missouri, was arrested in the spring of 1863 and hanged on October 30 of that year. Charles Hamilton returned to Georgia, where he died in 1880.
The incident horrified the nation and inspired John Greenleaf Whittier to write a poem on the murders, “Le Marais du Cygne,” which appeared in the September 1858 Atlantic Monthly.
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If I were to post a photo a day – or even 5 a day – it would take quite a while just to share those that I have selected for posting.
By putting together a video, I can share a large number at once – and create a video library that we can view on a TV screen. The original of the video below is higher definition than what I uploaded to YouTube.
The photos, in the sequence that they appear:
The music, Improvisation On Friday… by Alex, is licensed under a Attribution (3.0).
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Seven of the writers that I am including at Daily Observations from The Civil War wrote diary entries or letters on July 21, 1861 that related to the battle near Manassas Junction and/or the aftermath. The following are excerpts from their writings of the day:
Josiah Marshall Favill – “In the order prescribed by the regulations, for a force feeling the enemy preparatory to an attack, we marched forward, passing over the open field and into a piece of full grown timber, apparently the slope of a considerable hill. As we slowly ascended the rising ground, suddenly a loud screeching noise overhead sent more than half the regiment pell mell the other side of a fence that ran along the road side. Here we crouched down flat on our bellies, our hearts in our mouths..,” – Diary of a Young Officer.
John Beauchamp Jones – “The President left the city this morning for Manassas, and we look for a battle immediately. I have always thought he would avail himself of his prerogative as commander-in-chief, and direct in person the most important operations in the field; and, indeed, I have always supposed he was selected to be the Chief of the Confederacy, mainly with a view to this object, as it was generally believed…” – A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary at the Confederate States Capital.
Judith White McQuire – “We were at church this morning and heard Bishop Meade, on the subject of “Praise.” He and his whole congregation greatly excited. Perhaps there was no one present who had not some near relative at Manassas…” Diary of a Southern Refugee During the War.
Joseph Howland – “On The Battle-Field Near Bull Run… Our brigade is making a demonstration in the face of the enemy and a fight is going on on the right of the line five or six miles off.” – Letters of a Family During the War for the Union.
Horatio Nelson Taft – “This has been the most exciting day yet. We have heard the guns all day from the battle which has been raging at or near Mannasses Junction. There is no news that can be relied on public tonight, only that a terrible fight has been going on all day.” – Diary of a Clerk in the U.S. Patent Office.
William Howard Russell – “The calmness and silence of the streets of Washington this lovely morning suggested thoughts of the very different scenes which, in all probability, were taking place at a few miles’ distance. One could fancy the hum and stir round the Federal bivouacs, as the troops woke up and were formed into column of march towards the enemy.” – My Diary North and South.
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Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin, September 22, 2008, unidentified blossom.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located in Madison, Wisconsin. Named for its founder, Michael Olbrich, the gardens are owned and operated jointly by the City of Madison Parks and the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society. The gardens were officially established in 1952.
Noteworthy additions to the gardens were the Bolz Conservatory in 1991 and a Thai pavilion or sala, a gift to the University of Wisconsin–Madison from the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the government of Thailand through its king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Opened in 2002, it is one of only four sala outside of Thailand and one of two in the United States (the other is located in Hawaii). – Wikipedia
Olbrick Botanical Gardens:
Madison, Wisconsin:
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Dane County Farmer’s Market Photo Gallery
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Late yesterday afternoon, while I was at work in the simulator, Karen texted that our over 20 year old air conditioner (heat pump) had stopped working. 
We ended up spending the night in the motorhome as the house was warmer than we like for sleeping. I didn’t get off until almost 10 P.M. and Karen had the motorhome all set up when I got home, except for connecting the water. The plumbing was still “winterized” with no water in any of the supply lines and I wanted to be home when the lines were filled.
With the current weather, it’s not a good time to be without cooling
The country is in the grips of a pretty widespread heat wave. The orange on the map is a heat advisory, which is what we are in – “dangerous heat stress conditions…” during the afternoon and early evening hours. The purple area is a excessive heat warning. “A prolong period of dangerously hot temperatures will occur. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely.”
To the east, Tropical Storm Bret is expected to stay out to sea and will provide no relief of any kind for the heat.
Fortunately, the service tech from the heating and air company showed up about 9 A.M. The problem was a fan motor and they had a replacement on the truck. Replacing it and checking the refrigerant pressure took less than a half hour. Now the house is cool and the air conditioner is cycling on and off periodically.
No relief in the near term:
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