CONTACT INFORMATION:
1600 Mulberry Street
Vicksburg, MS 39180
866.822.6338
601.630.2929
http://www.vicksburgevents.com
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Warren County Wildlife Expo
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Kansas City 0543008 Passing Thru Vicksburg
This was interesting to see the towboat, Kansas City 0543008, beside another barge pushing upstream. Usually all the barges are in front of the towboat. This was a first for me to see.
Zoomed in on the banks of the Vicksburg Riverfront Park and it looks like an old barge that has washed up and now trees are growing in and around it.
More debris lying on the banks of the MS River at Vicksburg.
The Kansas City 0543008 towboat, getting ready to make the big turn in the bend of the MS River at Vicksburg on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
View of Diamond Jacks Casino and Hotel next to the Vicksburg Riverfront Park at the bend in the river.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Finally Made The Paper!
I was so happy to see my brother-in-law's picture finally making our Sunday's paper, The Vicksburg Post. He had posted it on his Facebook page and told him he should send it to the Post and they may published it and they did. Chris is retried from the Corps of Engineers, but works part time and also has his own business called, Ables Electronic Technology, Inc. He was down by the Mississippi River doing some work when he took a couple of pictures of the bridges one foggy morning. This was his first picture to enter and to be published. Now, I have some family competition!
He had sent in both pictures but the The Vicksburg Post chose the one above to publish.
Chris seen here reading the gages on the MS River at the bridges during the great Flood of 2011.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A Wild Boar's Boiler Room
A little history about a wild boar - The term boar is used to denote an adult male of certain species. However, for a wild boar, it applies to the whole species, including for example, "wild boar sow" or wild boar piglet."
The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The color usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in color. During the winter the fur is much denser.
They can weigh from 100 to 300lbs or more depending on the geographical ranges.
Adult males developed tusks, continuously growing teeth that protrude from the mouth, from their upper and lower canine teeth. These serve as weapons and tools. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males, and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. Females also have sharp canines, but there are smaller, and not protruding like the males' tusks.
Wild boar piglets are colored differently from adults, having marbled chocolate and cream stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months old, when the animal takes on the adults grizzled grey or brown color.
Adult males are usually solitary outside of the breeding season, but females and their offspring (both sub-adult males and females) live in groups called sounders. Sounders typically number around 20 animals, although groups of over 50 have been seen, and will consist of 2 to 3 sows; one of which will be the dominant female.
Wild boar forge in early morning and late afternoon or night but rest for periods during both night and day. They eat grass, nuts, berries, nests of ground nesting birds, roots, tubers, refuse, insects and small reptiles. Wild boar in Australia are also known to be predators of young deer and lambs.
If surprised or cornered, a boar (particularly a sow with her piglets) can and will defend itself and its young with intense vigor. The males lowers its head, charges, and then slashes upward with his tusks. The female, whose tusks are not visible, charges with her head up, mouth wide, and bites. Such attacks are not often fatal to humans, but may result in severe trauma, dismemberment or blood loss.
Christopher Columbus brought 8 hogs to the West Indies and was later imported to the American mainland by the mid 16th century by Herman Cortes and Hernando de Soto, and in the mid 17th century by Sieur de La Salle. Large population of wild boar also live in Australia, New Zealand and North and South America. Recently, Germany has reported a surge in the wild boar population. According to one study, "German wild boar litters have six to eight piglets on average, other countries usually about four or five." Info from Wikipedia
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Hog Hunt
The 3rd Annual Hog Hunt is being held at the famous Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club on the edge of the MS Delta this weekend. As Rex (Deer Camp Blog) puts it, the camp is surrounded by these nasty crazy hogs and are attacking anything that moves. The guys are up there now trying to eradicate some of them with bullets and whiskey! Thought I would post a hog hunt with bows which is very hard to do. I would have to use my .270 to get one. I almost came close to getting a hog in December 2011 while deer hunting. I walked in to the Arrowhead stand and as soon as I sat down I heard a noise in the woods and it was a hog! I lost my chance that time but hope to have a hog hanging at the pole this year with my name on it.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Guest Post - Deer Populations Across the Nation
I received an email back in January from, Steve Jacobs, of Sportsman Warehouse, about doing a guest post on my blog. I consider this site to be a great resource for my readers who love to fish and hunt. Below, Steve has written an informative post on our deer population in our great wild outdoors.
DEER POPULATION ACROSS THE NATION
In the early years of the 20th century in the United States, the population of the white-tailed deer was estimated to be under just a half million deer. Those were the early days of conservation, and that was a very good thing for the white-tailed deer. Those early conservationists raised an outcry that the deer was on the verge of extinction. Soon states began creating regulations for hunting the deer. The most important of these was the prohibition of shooting antlerless deer, which saved all of the breeding females.
Unfortunately, the conservationists were not as successful at saving the large predators that feed on the white-tailed deer. Wolves and mountain lions were basically eliminated from the majority of the white-tailed deer’s range. With no large predators and favorable hunting regulations in place, the deer was suddenly free to expand its numbers in short order. This has led to an explosion in deer populations across the country.
It is now estimated that there are over 20 million white-tailed deer in the United States, and that number is very swiftly rising. The number of deer in forested areas of the Eastern United States is usually about 40 per square mile, but it pales in comparison to their numbers in metropolitan areas of the Eastern United States. Many Eastern metro areas have populations as high as 100 deer per square mile. It is no wonder that there are so many deer and automobile collisions. The deer populations in metro areas are denser than they are in the forests.
This is due to the fact that many suburban areas of Eastern metros are perfectly suited for the white-tailed deer’s needs. White-tailed deer love a habitat that includes forest and open areas in close proximity. With the advent of modern urban sprawl across the United States, open areas have been interspersed between forested zones all over. This has created the perfect method to encourage deer to establish their populations in suburban zones.
It is imperative that something be done to stop this rapid rise in deer populations across the country. The reason that deer have rebounded so quickly is that they can double their populations every three years if enough food is present. With the abundance of habitat that has been created for them, they have no trouble finding all the food that they need right now.
Since there are no large predators left to check the deer populations, hunting must be increased to fight the explosion of the white-tailed deer populations. More states need to allow hunters to kill antlerless deer, because this is one of the best methods to quickly shrink the deer population. If something is not done soon, this is only going to get worse.
Author Bio: Steve Jacobs is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys everything from hunting to fishing and beyond. Over the years Steve has come to be an expert in many of the fields – fishing and hunting supplies, gear, ammo etc - he loves and works for Sportsmans Warehouse helping others enjoy the outdoors.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Patricia I. Hart Heading North
Above is the Patricia I. Hart towboat heading north last Friday evening. Much to my surprise, I realized in my search box that I had taken pictures of her headed south last June. This is the first time that I have taken a picture of the same towboat going north and south. As many pictures as I taken of towboats, it had to happen sooner or later.
All lit up and getting ready to make the wide turn in the MS River bend.
A beautiful scenic view from the overlook of the Patricia I. Hart in tow.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Happy "70" Birthday Bob!
Today, February 21, 2012, my husband, Bob, turns the BIG 70! He was born in Dearborn, MI, and graduated from Boys Town in Omaha, NE. He transferred from HUMCO in Champaign, IL, to Vicksburg in 1980, as Director of Labor Relations for Anderson-Tully Lumber Co. We met in 1985 and got married in 1988. He has a son, Greg, who lives in Vicksburg and a daughter, Karen, who resides in Santa Fe, NM. He also has four step-daughters, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, a great granddaughter, and three great step-grandsons with two more step-greats on the way. Bob is now retired and enjoys hunting, acrylic painting, making copper trees, photography and traveling. You can find Bob hanging out at his blog called, Two Dogs Tall or on his Facebook page. I want to wish him a very Happy Birthday and will celebrate by making his favorite cake, Devil's Food with cream cheese icing and of course, ice cream too!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Towboat Picture Published
Marian Love Phillips stood on the Mississippi River overlook to grab this photo of the M/V John H. MacMillan Jr., make a turn in the river's bend.
My picture above was published in The Vicksburg Post yesterday. Actually, I had sent it in a few weeks prior and had forgotten about it.
I had gone to the Vicksburg Riverfront Park on my birthday in January and saw two towboats coming around the bend. This was the first one by and it was a huge load with a row of seven barges.
I had also posted this same picture on an Open Group page called, "You know you're from Vicksburg if: Tommy Paine who used to belong to Cargo Carriers said it looked like 35 loads.
My former Class of 1959 classmate, Walter Little, who now lives in Alabama, quoted as saying, "I miss from my childhood on Oak Street the lightening-like stabs of searchlights in the back windows at night as the towboats search out the marker below the borrow pits we called "the pockets".
Jack Van Devender said that he was the office manager of the Central Terminal Co. (Central Industries) from '75 to '78 which was located just above where this pictures was taken at the confluence of the Yazoo Diversionary Canal and the Mississippi River. A window in his office over looked this great bend in the river. He said he never tired of watching the 35 to 45 barges tow navigate this 90 degree bend heading south under the bridges.
Getting ready to maneuver under the bridges!
South bound!
I am once again humbled to have my picture published in our Sunday's paper.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
A Wedding In The Family
GRIFFING to wed LOVE at OLD COURT HOUSE
The engagement of Cassie Jo Griffing to Marion E. "Bubba" Love, III, both of Vicksburg, is announced today. The wedding will be at 5 p.m. April 14, 2012, at the Old Court House Museum. A reception will follow at the Old Southern Tea Room at The Vicksburg. All relatives and friends are invited to attend.
Miss Griffing is the daughter of Thomas M. Griffing and Melody Griffing of Vicksburg and Andy McWilliams and Donna McWilliams of Kingston, Arkansas. She is the granddaughter of Effie Lee Griffing and the late W. T. Griffing of Vicksburg and Marjorie N. Barner and the late James Houston "Bunky" Barner Jr. of Southaven.
Mr. Love is the son of the late Marion E. "Buster" Love Jr., He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Marion E. Love Sr.
The bride-elect is a 2002 graduate of Vicksburg High School, where she played on the three-time State Championship soccer team. She attended Hinds Community College.
Miss Griffing is an editorial assistant with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The prospective groom is a 1998 graduate of Vicksburg High School. He is a damage prevention specialist with U. S. Infrastructure Corporation.
This will be a big year for our family. I have another nephew, Joey, getting married in September and a granddaughter, Candace, who just became engaged and planned to marry this year also. My great niece, Katherine, will be having a baby soon and will be attending her baby shower this afternoon. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours! I'm so happy for all my family members. Wishing them all happiness and a bright future ahead.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Vicksburg Youth On The Hunt
Lane Gordon,7, shot his first buck while hunting in Carroll County. The 4-pointer was taken with a .243 rifle from 92 yards away. Lane is the son of Will and Amanda Gordon of Vicksburg. My congrats Lane on your very first buck in our great wild outdoors!
Robley Shingleton, 10, shot this 7-point, 125-pound buck while hunting with his father in Texas. Robley is the grandson of Jim and Anita Hossley of Vicksburg. Anita is in my sorority, Pi Alpha Kappa, Omega Chapter, and she told me that her daughter's husband and grandson went hunting near Amarillo, TX on Christmas afternoon. My congrats Robley...what a Christmas present!
Friday, February 17, 2012
River Rat
Yesterday, as I drove by the Louisiana Circle overlook to see if there was any river traffic going by, something caught my eye in the tree. It was a squirrel running all over the place. I managed to get this picture with the bend of the Mississippi River in the background at Vicksburg. I would say this is a "new meaning" for a river rat!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Campaign for Vicksburg
A little history lesson today...
Soon "The Campaign for Vicksburg" will be celebrating the Civil War Sesquicentennial, commemorating 150 years. Special events will be held throughout Vicksburg and the surrounding communities through 2015. You can check out the calendar of events at www.visitvickburg.com or www.vicksburg150.com for programming.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Have A Happy Valentine's Day!
When I was a little girl growing up I did not like my last name, LOVE. Of course, time has changed all that and LOVE my maiden name now. I was very fortunate to be born with such a pretty name. LOVE is all around us in our everyday lives and today is a very special day to celebrate that LOVE. Wishing my extended LOVE family and all my blogging friends a very Happy Valentine's Day and hope it is filled with lots of LOVE and happiness!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Bit The Dust?
It got down in the 20's this past weekend and not sure what will happen to my Japanese Magnolia tree. Some bulbs might make but it does not look good to me. It will be back up to 76 degrees by Wednesday. Can you believe it's snowing in north MS now. Crazy, crazy weather.
Peeping "Deer" Tom!!!
I had to laugh when I saw this picture posted in the Classified section of The Vicksburg Post yesterday. Angel Starr Brown of Vicksburg said she had just returned home when she found a lost baby deer hiding behind bushes outside a window. The deer took off after she took this picture and was gone like a flash and never to be caught!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
An All Hunt Adventure
In the latter part of January via email, I was contacted by Brian, CEO and Founder, of Allhunt.com (a blog network of hunting and guns) to come on board. I was truly humbled and accepted this new adventure.
The site is off to a great start with professionals and even 'celebrities' on board such as Michael Lee (www.huntlikemike.com) and Vincent Buckles from the hit TV show, Sons of Guns (www.vicentbuckles.com). My blogging friend, Phillip Loughlin, from The Hog Blog, (http://hog-blog.com) is also featured and the list is still growing (http://allhunt.com/bloggers/).
The ultimate goal is to increase awareness in our great industries while increasing everyone's traffic via reaching a broader audience that you may not have reached previously! It is a win win situation and offers some good perks to go along with it. So head on over to AllHunt.com and also check them out on Facebook! It may be what you're interested in and I look forward to working with Brian and his staff and watching the new network grow.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Vicksburg Youth On The Hunt
Sara Grace Daniels killed this 8-point deer while hunting with her grandfather in northern Warren County on January 29. She is the daughter of Mark and Shannon Daniels.
Kade Lott shot this 300-pound hog while hunting with his father, Brian Lott, at Kerr Farms near Valley Park. Kade made the 200-yard shot with a 7mm-08. Phillip over at The Hog Blog would get a kick out of this! I think this is the first time that I have seen a youngster harvesting a wild hog and being published in The Vicksburg Post!
My congrats to both Sara Grace and Kade for their successful hunts in our great wild outdoors!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Tennessee Turkey & Deer
I have a dear friend, Sharon, who loves to turkey hunt and lives in Tennessee. When her husband was transferred to Vicksburg for a year, we got together and went to my hunting camp, Jasper Bottom, in Claiborne County and hunted for a whole week and had a blast. Since she and her husband have gone back to Tennessee, they put up this cam to see what's walking by on their land. I love this picture of the turkey...looks like he's posing for the picture! She has invited me up this Spring for a turkey hunt and I hope I can make the trip.
Deer caught on cam. Very nice!
Thursday, February 09, 2012
The Woodland Ninja
I came across this blog the other day called, Babe In The Woods. The blog is owned by Kim who lives in Louisiana and is a nurse by profession. She considers herself a novice hunter and loving the path she is on. She has had three hunting seasons under her belt and loves hunting and the camaraderie it brings. Meeting new people and making new friends is what hunting provides her. She thought that hunting was a solitary endeavor but while you are in the stand it is nothing but solitary. After the hunt her family and friends are eager to find out about her hunt. Even friends on Facebook and the sporting goods store asked her about how her season went. Technology also has provided her the means to stay in touch with her friends while hunting. Text messages fly through the air on each hunt she goes. She loves going on women hunts and enjoys sitting by the camp fire telling tales and congratulating each other on their successes...and sympathize and encourage the ones in their failures. Go over and say hello to Kim and read about her accomplishments in our great wild outdoors.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
For A Good Laugh
They don't make them like they used to!!!
I like the last one the best!
These three clips have to be some of the funniest ever seen.
This kind of talent may not be seen again.
Watch all three of the them and enjoy.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
In Full Bloom
As I look around town I see a lot of flowers in full bloom now. Above is a picture of our Japanese Magnolia tree and it's flower in bloom. By Sunday the temps will be dipping again below freezing. I don't know if it will have any affect on the blooms or not. This has been the strangest weather yet for winter here in Vicksburg that I can recall. It has also been unseasonably warmer in most parts of the United States as well. We just got to take it all in stride and enjoy each day as it comes and be thankful for all that we have.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Sunday, February 05, 2012
8 pt. Buck Found Near Stand
Early yesterday morning my husband, Bob and step-son, Greg, took off for Brown's Point on Kings Point Island before the storm hit. Greg was going to get his chairs from the deer stands and Bob was going along for the ride. When they got to the stand Bob looked over and saw a deer carcass lying on the ground. It was a very nice 8 pt. buck. Greg took a picture of it on his phone and later reported it to the camp. They surmised that it may have come over from another camp and died there. They had recently hunted the area a couple of weeks ago. Above is a picture that I took of the buck on our front walkway. Greg took it home to do an European Mount on the deer. If you are interested on the "how to" on a European Mount, watch the video below.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Vicksburg Youth On The Hunt
Colton Brewer, 10, shot his first deer while hunting in Warren County on January 15. He took down the 8-point, 175-pounder with a .243 from 350 yards away. Colton is the son of Tony and Noelle brewer.
John Ryan Hall, 5, harvested his first buck on January 15 while hunting with his father in Warren County. He shot the 6-pointer with a .243 rifle from 40 yards away. John Ryan is the son of Joel and Amanda Hall.
My congrats to both of our young hunters taking their first deer in our great wild outdoors! Way to go guys!
Friday, February 03, 2012
72 Years Ago Today
In 1940, seventy-two years ago today, my parents (Mr. and Mrs. Marion Edward Love, Sr.), got married here in Vicksburg. Dad was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and came to Vicksburg at the age of nine years old when his Father (James E. Love) was transferred to Vicksburg with the Illinois Central Railroad as a telegraph operator. My mother, Evelyn, was born near Fort Smith, Arkansas and not sure when she came to Vicksburg. I was the first born, my sister, Laura and then my brother, Marion, Jr., now deceased. I love very old photographs and of course this one is very special to me and in memory of their wedding anniversary today!
Thursday, February 02, 2012
New Life and New Tenants
It was a great day yesterday at the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Depot when The Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (VCVB) moved into this grand building. The VCVB had lived four years in a trailer by the Bureau's Clay Street office. They are now located on the second floor of the city-owned building and will share with a proposed transportation museum and Vicksburg Main Street offices. The move was delayed by the record Mississippi River flood that inundated the 105-year-old (icon) building.
Photo taken January 2, 2012.
Photo taken May 17, 2011.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Vicksburg's History Burning
In The Vicksburg Post paper there was an article on supervised burns in our Vicksburg National Military Park. These burns were conducted by the Natchez Trace Parkway Engine Module Supervisor Robert Vick, (in photo) and staff members monitoring a prescribed burn at Fort Hill this past Monday.
The opened view of the Illinois Monument and the Shirley House due to the Battlefield Restoration which is underway.
Many construction zone signs posted.
The Illinois Memorial was modeled after the Roman Pantheon and dedicated on October 26, 1906. It has 47 steps leading up the the entrance, one for each day of the Siege of Vicksburg. On the inside are 60 bronze tablets listing the names of all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign.
At the south loop near the Texas Monument...noticed the blue and red markers!