Bienville Park Overlook

Ever since a sewer cave-in propelled the renovation of Bienville Park,

 the view of the Alabama River has been a lot less crowded.

 The thick overgrowth is gone, and it's a good location to see

 yet another angle of the Edmund Pettus Bridge,

 although NOT from this direction!

Linking to Good Fences and Skywatch Friday

The Pink Box Bakery

From Beatrice to Selma with strawberry, red velvet, pound

 and caramel cakes, homemade bread and cookies,

The Pink Box Bakery sells its goodies on Water Avenue

 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

 Find them in front of The Harmony Club!

 I bought the bread...delicious! 

Linking to Signs, Signs

PAINTINGS by Joanna Nichols

Joanna Nichols' love of nature sparkles through her PAINTINGS of flowers,

fruit, landscapes and animals.  A Selma artist since the turn of the century,

 she is Artist of the Month at the Selma Art Guild where her works

 will be on display through this weekend. Nichols began drawing and painting

 as a young girl in Northumberland, England, and she later married

 and moved to the U.S. where she spent more than two decades

 as an art student and art guild leader in Stamford, Conn.

 In Selma, she says she has been intrigued by the old buildings,

 vehicles and "remnants of the past"

 which she enjoys capturing on canvas. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday

where the Letter of the Week is P.

Charlie's Place

Charlie's Place: It's fast food that's homemade, served in the historic 

Harmony Club building and with an atmosphere that promotes Selma.

 Decorated with local memorabilia and business signs, this new restaurant

 offers huge tasty burgers, and the fries are sliced right from a real potato.

 OR, you can try the pimento cheeseburger that I am told is fast becoming 

their specialty OR a salad or grilled chicken sandwich. 

I liked the fast-food style of placing my order at the counter,

 fixing my own sweet tea, then taking a seat while they prepared my order.

 And no doubt, you will meet Charlie. He's the hospitable type

 and makes sure his guests are happy! 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

 

Field of Prairie Buttercups

If you drive out U.S. 80 West, many fields have turned bright yellow

 with prairie buttercups. While visually striking, farmers don't want them,

 because they are a weed that can irritate the stomachs of livestock.

 However, the buttercups aren't very tasty so livestock tend not to eat them,

 picking between the blossoms for the grass beneath.

 Apparently, this is a very good year for the buttercups!

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows

Earth Day

                                                         Psalms 24:1
                     "The Earth (is) the Lord's, and the fullness thereof;
                               the world, and they that dwell therein."
                   

Mid-March in west Dallas County, Alabama

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Things You Find at a Yard Sale

So, among the many unusual items at last weekend's U.S. 80 Hi-way Sale 

was this sign, which I believe, speaks for itself!

Linking to Signs, Signs

Patriotic Rocker

This child's rocker painted in red, white and blue and inscribed

 with the Pledge of Allegiance was by far the most patriotic item

 I found at the Historic U.S. 80 Hi-Way Sale!

 I didn't buy it but certainly had to have a photo of it!

 I wonder if it sold.

Rooster Hill Woodworks

From benches to baby quilts and bed-size quilts,

 Rooster Hill Woodworks & Crafts offered lots of beautiful creations

 to U.S. 80 Highway Yard Sale shoppers on Friday.

 The vendor is among those located at Angie's Auction 

at Potter's Station, and the sale continues on Saturday.

Pickin' along Highway 80

The pickings are plenty at the Historic U.S. 80 Highway Sale!

Formerly known as the World's Widest Yard Sale, vendors will set up along

 or near the major east-west route THIS Friday and Saturday, April 15-16.

The sale extends from Georgia to Texas and offers travelers a treasure trove

 of bargains in addition to "the many historical and cultural amenities 

found along the route," according to the

 Alabama Rural Development Office/Black Belt Commission.

This photo was taken last year at the large vendor area at Angie's Auction

 in Potter's Station, and frankly, I have yet to venture beyond that place,

 because there is just so much STUFF to see! It's where I found

 a couple of old shutters, a farm animals baby quilt, toys, 

children's hardcover books in great shape, a handmade hammer

 and a brand-new tent still in the box!

 Plus, there is always somebody cooking barbecue!

However, if time permits, the yard sales at the Marion Junction Community Club and Volunteer Fire Department are on my list!

You can find the vendor list for Alabama HERE and the main page HERE.

The Office

The pretty Roseland Plantation Office and Apothecary on the grounds

 of Sturdivant Hall is an additional attraction to the historic house museum.

This small Greek Revival structure was moved from Faunsdale

 in 2005. Roseland was a 1,200 acre plantation

 in the Canebrake region but deteriorated throughout the last century,

 and its property is now known as Roseland Historic Farm.

 A seven-seater privy from Roseland also is preserved at Sturdivant. 

Pink Blitz

Selma showed off its annual pink blitz the past couple of weeks

 as azaleas peaked here, there and everywhere!

 Had it not been for storm after storm after storm,

 I do believe the town would still be pink! These azaleas bloom

 on the  Presbyterian corner that is just across the street 

from the Baptist corner. First Baptist is seen in the background. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

The Yellow House on Lauderdale

This pretty yellow home on Lauderdale Street sits on a hill like a beacon

 of sunshine. The early 1900's Victorian was once the home

 of Dr. Walter Ellwanger, president of Alabama Lutheran  College

 (now Concordia). and served a Lutheran congregation until members

 built a church. The home was shown during the

 Historic Selma Pilgrimage 2010.

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows

The Dogwood at Weaver Castle

The dogwood at Weaver Castle was turning from tender green 

to glowing white last week on Lauderdale Street. The Gothic residence

 was built by William Weaver in 1868 and is said to be inspired

 from a castle on the Rhine River 

The house's bricks were made from an on-site kiln, and its magnificent

 woodwork and flooring are from trees cut in Weaver's Grove.

 Weaver Castle has been undergoing extensive renovation

 for the past several years and is privately owned.

Linking to Skywatch Friday

The Methodist Tower

Selma is known for its beautiful downtown church spires, and here

 is the tower at Church Street United Methodist.

.

 Methodists have worshipped at this location since 1835 on land set aside

 in 1817 by the Selma Land Company. However, this is the third structure.

 It was built in 1901 to replace an 1853 sanctuary that sustained 

extensive damage when its steeple was toppled by a storm

 and landed point down at the altar. Over a century later,

 this spire is holding up just fine!

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is M. 

 

Azaleas on Selma Avenue

I was really glad to catch these azaleas in full bloom on Selma Avenue

 last week! Since that afternoon, we had about five inches of rain,

 and so many flowers have fallen off. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday 

Legend of the Lady Banks Rose

Back on April 2, 1865, much of Selma was looted and burned

 in one of the last battles of the Civil War. The Rev. Arthur Small,

 young pastor of the Presbyterian Church, was among 2,000 volunteer

 defenders, but he went ahead and preached his sermon

 before Union troops arrived.

 That sermon was to be his last.

 He died in battle, and when his body was laid upon the steps 

 of the church manse, it is said that the Lady Banks rosebush nearby 

 cried its petals upon the beloved pastor's body.

 Small is buried in Old Live Oak Cemetery. 

This Lady Banks rose blooms in the courtyard

 of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church,

 formerly First Presbyterian Church of Selma.  

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows

 

April Theme Day (The Beauty of Simplicity)

A pile of leaves on a bench in Old Live Oak Cemetery fits the April Theme Day

 challenge, "The Beauty of Simplicity" for the City Daily Photo Blogs. 

The challenge is to focus on just one subject and make it simple!

Linking to City Daily Photo Theme Day