A third hot day. And, just looking, but supposed incipient storms are nowhere to be seen.
Along the Mississinewa River, near the headwaters of the Reservoir, there are four 8X12' signboards that chronicle the fate of the natives.
The first is at the battlefield memorial, where there is a flagpole, said memorial, 12 markers for the soldiers who died there, and an engraved stone marker for the 40 and more Miami who died defending their two villages (think towns) from a surprise attack.
The second signboard is behind the memorial, giving a history of the ford in the river and the subsequent development of that area, today, Jalapa. The ford consists of a six-inch riverwide fault in the limestone slab riverbed. It is visible in the Google mapquest land-sat image. The approximate location is S Bruner Road & 300 W in Grant County, IN. The ford looks like a little falls, about what you would expect from a six-inch cascade.
The third board documents "our" story of the Miami.
In the Treaty of 1838, the Miami were "awarded" 6400 acres, including 10 miles of Mississinewa River frontage. 10 miles square, 10 miles on a side. Okay, this is like giving them back their towns and farms. Except, you know, the towns and farms had been destroyed, and the few remaining Miami were scattered, living in "cabins", up and down the river.
Miami Chief Meshinoga accepted the terms in 1840.
In 1873, a "petition to Congress persuaded (then chief) Meshingomesia to divide this land, under government supervision", among the 63 members of the tribe still living there.
These lands were soon in the hands of "Americans" by way of marriage or purchase.
In need of soul relief, I found that Bruner Road actually exited east, and went looking for raptors. Soon, an American Kestrel chased two LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs) into a shade tree, in a rural front yard. I slowed enough to see anything going to ground-nope-and didn't stop.
Coming up on Grant Creek bridge, I saw Great Egrets in the reservoir. Grant Creek had a Great Blue Heron, and I found a turn-around to backtrack, park, and glass the Egrets.
I walked west down the ridge to the bridge, looking for any vista of the summer pool reservoir that is Grant Creek. Through the foliage, I counted five Great Egrets.
The last time I saw one Great Egret was on the Pigeon River wetlands in LaGrange County, 10-12 years ago. These egrets were 100 miles closer.
I walked back up and into "The Hogback", along the east and north side of the flooded creek.
I saw egrets, but never counted five again.
The heron came back, calling, and I saw a heron from where the call was answered, but was unsure of the canyon-like topography to assume there was more than one.
There are always birds on the wires at Pearson Mill Road, and there was such an assortment I stopped in the road to watch. The main show was the barn swallows, blistering the grime off a signpost from either side and never a brush. Eastern Kingbirds were a superb sideshow, breezing and looping and darting with no apparent purpose, except to show the swallows that yeah, they can hang dust in the air, too.
And my rearview was full of a car stopped in the middle of the road, and I moved over, then followed, subdued.
The good part is the lady was out of her car in her driveway a mile on, and I got to apologize.
On Red Bridge there were two, three dozen barn swallows, under and above the roadway, too, too, many to focus, too enchanting to ignore.
I went over the chip-and-seal, just to check the mile and some haunts of kestrels.
There were four, including a big falcon (males are tiercels, as in a third less the size) that was focused on a low, plat-sized piece of fallow ground where I have seen a kestrel take a sparrow into the soybeans. Maybe her.
Hot, and still hot.
No red tails of note.
One working kestrel.
A very nice drive.