A Visit to Stones River

Saturday we went to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Stones River. It took place December 31, 1862- January 2, 1863. First we went to the visitor’s center where there were two reenactors in character talking about their points of view. One of them was a union officer and the other was a southern civilian.
Next we went to the “Slaughter Pen” where the union was positioned in “nature’s fort,” (natural formations of limestone) but it was hard for them to get out. There was a confederate soldier talking there and a union soldier. They had different points of view about what happened at the Slaughter Pen. Also the union reenactors were firing from their positions in the Slaughter Pen.
After the Slaughter Pen, we went to the Cotton Field where the confederates came out of the woods and faced union artillery in the distance. At this stop on the tour one confederate and one union reenactor were talking about that part of the battle. The confederates were driven back here by lots of artillery fire.
Then we went back to where we began, but it was changed. They signaled two union soldiers to come out of the woods. They did some demonstrations of the cannons and guns. After that we went to a monument erected soon after the battle--one of the first Civil War monuments--and I liked that the best. I liked the old, old stones and the weathered writing.
Dude Boy

Happy Sir Isaac Newton Day

Agustus Gloop

As part of our science lesson on States of Matter, Dudeboy got to make and play with some “Mystery Substance,” or Non-Newtonian Fluid, or Oobleck. Great stuff. To make the gloop, combine 2 cups of cornstarch with 1 cup of water in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Then play with it. We had seen this stuff in action before on MythBusters. As they state on their website, “this mixture of cornstarch and water acts like a liquid. But hit the surface just so and the cornstarch particles bunch together, creating a temporary solid.” Of course we made it on a much smaller scale.

A Few Pix

Here are a few photos to share with you. First is a photo from the T-Giving festivities at Ann's restaurant. And there are a couple of photos taken from our backyard tonight. These photos are untouched. You don't see skies like that every night.