Heritage Village in Bloom

Japanese Magnolia provide the early February foreground of the

 James M. Calhoun Law Office in Heritage Village. The office is a replica of

 U.S. Senator and Secretary of State John C. Calhoun's law office.
James was John's nephew, and John was a powerful politician from South Carolina

 and one of "The Great Triumvirate" in the 1830s and 1840s. 

 James became a lawyer and planter in Dallas County, Alabama,

 and served in the state House of Representatives and Senate. 

 This one-room, Greek Revival structure was built in the 1830s

 and moved here from the little town of Carlowville.

Blue Skies Smiling

Blues skies are FINALLY smiling!

After a week of rain, day after day after day, 6.5 inches here since last Friday,

 the wet weather systems moved out a few hours ago,

 and right now we have blue sky!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Posting to Skywatch Friday

Holiday House Ceramics

Yes, those whimical ceramic trees are BACK, and several styles are available

 at Selma's Holiday House at the Striplin Performing Arts Centre,

 next to the Walton Theater.

 The festival ends this weekend, so hurry on by!

Marble, the Decoration

Marble is one of the dogs featured on Sky Hill Animal Society's Christmas tree at the Selma Riverwalk. Numerous businesses and organizations decorated trees, and they can be seen along the walk and even from the Pettus Bridge as vehicles drive into downtown. 

May Theme Day, Let's Eat!

It's May Theme Day at City Daily Photo Blogs,

 and we are sharing "Let's Eat!"

Since I could not decide on one meal from so many great 

Selma-area restaurants, I returned to a pasture

 where spring grass is growing, and the cattle are so glad

 to be eating something besides hay!

Linking to May Theme Day 

Prairie Buttercups and Partly Cloudy

That dark cloud is just pretending it wants to rain,

 because it was a perfect weather day in the Black Belt prairies 

of west Dallas County. Those yellow wildflowers are

 prairie buttercups, and they can be spectacular 

when covering an entire field. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday 

River Birds of the Black Belt

The red-shouldered hawk, belted kingfisher and great blue heron 

are a few of the river birds that you might see in the

 Alabama Black Belt. This informative sign is located 

on an overlook at the end of Clear Creek Nature Trail in the

 Old Cahawba Archaeological Park.

 The paved trail is wheelchair accessible.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Noon

It's almost NOON in the pasture, and while the calves rest,

 their herd eats lunch. 

Linking to ABC WEDNESDAY (depicting the letter N)

The One-Room Schoolhouse

The one-room schoolhouse at Old Cahawba still stands.

Used until the 1950s, it was one of less than 100 segregated

 African-American schools in Alabama. The school is located near

 the ruins of the Methodist-Episcopal Church that burned in 1954.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and Tuesday's Treasures

Clear Sky over Marion Junction

Early morning sunshine bounces off the steeple of the

 Marion Junction Presbyterian Church. A soft blue sky promises

 a perfect spring day!

Linking to Skywatch Friday