Bugs (photos)

by marica0701

Yesterday morning, while hanging up the washing outside on our huge clothesline, I found these two bugs.

DSCN4475

I could clearly see this large bee standing ten feet away from it… at first glance I thought that maybe it was a spider, but upon closer inspection I was relieved to discover that it wasn’t 🙂

DSCN4477

This one was dead but it was a pretty good length (at least two inches, maybe three? I’m horrible at guessing measurements) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a bug before.

I don’t know both of their exact names haha. I just know that they were big bugs haha.

I’m slowly learning to carry my camera everywhere to capture whatever catches my eye.

5Jun2016

“Battle for Brimfield” – June 4, 2016

by marica0701

Yesterday my dad and I checked out the “Battle for Brimfield” event in Brimfield OH. It was a very small Civil War reenacting event, as it was the first time for this event to be held at its location, but we still very much enjoyed it.

When we got there, we walked around the grounds to see the tents, and then we listened to a Union soldier talk about the daily life of a soldier. At 11am we watched a skirmish demonstration, as the larger battle would be in the afternoon. Afterwards, we talked with some reenactors of the 27th Virginia Co. G “Shriver Grays” and I got some contact information since I may be interested in participating as a civilian, which is something I’ve been considering and may finally do.

We had a good time, and I hope that the event returns to Brimfield next year and grows!

This event was located in Brimfield OH, on State Route 43, just south of I-76 (you can see the freeway from the fields where we were). It was on the big field behind the McDonald’s and Speedway.

To read about the 27th Virginia, Co. G “Shriver Grays” group, click here to go to their website.

The event schedule, click here.

To see Brimfield’s Chamber of Commerce article, click here.

Oh. And you probably want pictures… so, here you go! (Also, I love that slideshows now exist on WP [did this option exist before?] to help keep this post from looking too too long haha)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

8Sep2015

A weekend back in time: the Hale Farm Civil War Reenactment

by marica0701

Last month I attended an annual Civil War reenactment weekend at Hale Farm and Village, in Bath, Ohio. It was for two days, but I only attended its Sunday activities. They had artillery demonstrations, camp chase fifes, reenactments of some events, and some lectures/presentations throughout the weekend.

When I first arrived at 10am, I made my way to the reenactment of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to the Army of the Potomac at Appomattox. I walked through some civilian and army camps, then attended a small and fascinating presentation on photography during the Civil War and how to use the camera of that time. Abraham Lincoln gave a speech (I caught half of it, sadly). They had a Sutler’s Row, where I bought an 1849 Godey’s Lady’s Book, so a) it’s another old book to add to my collection and b) it has many plates of mid-19th-century fashions. I also bought another modern book with more Godey’s images, but from the Civil War years. I watched some of the camp chase fifes, then moseyed over to the battlefield. At 2pm, the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. (yes, I linked to a Wiki haha)

I attended this same event last year, which was my first reenactment experience ever. I loved it, and I knew that I wanted to go again this year. I would love to sew a gown eventually because I love various antique and folk clothing; I’ve been collecting pictures of ideas for a while already. I enjoy reading about history, and I like to learn new things. I would love to learn more about the Civil War. I ought to learn to set aside time in my evenings to read books rather than putz around online, haha. But wow, there is SO MUCH out there to learn and read about the Civil War, that I almost don’t know where to begin! Besides the battles and such, I also want to learn about society, etiquette, clothes, even cooking and everyday home life.

I’m not adding captions because now I feel a bit lazy haha. I hope you enjoy! And if you have a Civil War event near you next summer, I highly encourage you to attend!

Next year I am hoping to attend a WW2 event at Conneaut along Lake Erie, this Hale Farm weekend again, and then a big Civil War event in Zoar OH – I think I read somewhere that a couple will be getting married (legit, real-thing) there, in pure 1860s fashion!

Now, the photos:

All photos were taken with my Nikon Coolpix s9600. Not too shabby for a point-and-shoot! 🙂 And my goodness, I saw so many of those massive and fancy professional cameras there!