An Afternoon of History in Ripley, Oh

I didn't have my camera with me for once so had to "borrow" this picture from the Fall Back Into Time folks who are sponsoring a multi-county contest featuring various living history reinactors from the area in an effort to fund raise for local historical societies. Maysville's Gateway Museum's character is Simon Kenton but this is the Ripley's Ohio Tobacco Museum's historical figure, Captain Frederick Kautz, the Civil War captain on whose farm the famous White Burley tobacco was first discovered. Lots of area history enthusiasts and tobacco growers attended the presentation- lovely blue skied afternoon in the Ohio River Valley learning some local history and munching on strawberries and swiss cheese as I enjoyed the presentation. That's why I'm here- the history, the slower pace, the friendly people. Then to the flea market next door to the museum and back to Maysville.

A Vortex of Vultures Circling the Morning Moon

For those of you who don't know me, turkey vultures are the bird I enjoy the most, and envy the most too. They float on the currents of air almost effortlessly, have almost no natural enemies, don't have to fight for their food. So, it was a good omen this morning when I spotted a vortex of vultures flying high over my house in the Ohio River valley hills. No camera with me so no pictures, but imagine this- a multitude of vultures circling in a clear blue sky with a waning moon in the center of the vortex. Quite amazing! And what a beautiful day I've been having. Went exploring to the next town southeast of Maysville, Flemingsburg, where there was a jazz, blues and arts festival at the city park. As usual here there was no fighting crowds, no lack of parking, plenty of friendly people but worry that things are so sparsely attended they won't continue. I plan on volunteering time on a variety of projects in the area, trying to think of ways to promote them so they don't fade into oblivion.
You can see my new blog, msrebeccasart.blogspot.com for all the pictures from Flemingsburg today. One favorite one is at the top of this entry- this is just a world away from Central Ohio.