Exotic Arkansas

Entry #1:

While my good friends have scattered to the four corners of the earth, I, in my good fortune, have wandered to the far off place...right down the street. Yes, here in Little Rock, I am kicking off month three of marital bliss and imparting my research wizardry with Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

But while my ex-pat friends are encountering marmots, baby squids, and more, I too have had my run in with potentially dangerous wildlife. On my quest to the rocky summit of Pinnacle Mountain, my mid-mountain break was interrupted by a wooly little creature - a red tarantula. Normally I would say, "Russ, my good sir, that is silly. You probably see a wolf spider." But this time, I would be be proven incorrect as the arachnid in question was most definitely something out of a late 80's horror flick. Later, while jollily sweatin' it out over the vast expanse of the Arkansas River on the largest pedestrian bridge in America, I came across a scene like I'd seen only on the Discovery Channel. Not 5 feet from my reach were two large 5 foot black rat snakes that were performing the annual dance of love. To heighten the drama, I decided to imagine them being venomous snakes of Asia. And finally, on a journey around the psuedo-rustic "Old Mill" of N. Little Rock, my wife and I chanced upon a young snapping turtle which was swiftly caught and dubbed "Bert." My little buddy then became the object of a brief zoological lesson for some interested and overly excited children.

Other than that, all is calm on the western front. I wish, for you guys who are not here, that I could report that LR has declared itself the 51st State or is encountering a SARS outbreak and we're all wearing HAZ-MAT suits. But, nope. LR is just soakin' up the sun and getting humid. Although...we did have some 70MPH winds hit yesterday. Minor damage, but some boat docks flew away... No. Seriously. Well, they turned over and flew a foot or two...

Peace.