Stage by the River

Knockout roses are blooming along the Carneal ArtsRevive fence

 by the Alabama River, and in a few weeks, the terrace stage (background)

 will be filled with music during the annual StreetFest on May 18. 

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra performs a free evening concert at 6 p.m.,

 while other musicians will entertain throughout the day. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Cinnamon Rolls

Now I wish some of these cinnamon rolls had come home with me

 from WoodBurn's Bakery at the Battle of Selma! This year was the first

 for the Spring Hill, Fla., bakery at the Selma event. Bread loaves,

 rolls, cookies and hot entrees are made and cooked on site. 

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

Summerfield Methodist Church

The historic Summerfield Methodist Church was built in 1845 after its predecessor,

 Childers Chapel, burned nearby in 1842. The church is part of the

 Summerfield Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 The community is a short drive north of Selma. 

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs 
and Inspired Sunday

Fashions of the 1860s

If you lived 150 years ago, getting dressed was not so simple,

 especially not for women.

These students and hundreds more learned about life during the 1860s

 at the Battle of Selma School Days tours. The three fashions shown

 are a lady's ensemble for going out (with hat), a ball gown and a work dress

 (with bonnet). Not shown is the black mourning dress which became

 more and more common as the long American Civil War wore on. 

Linking to Weekly Top Shot and City Daily Photo Blogs

You Can Have Your Lemonade, and Take Home the Eiffel Tower!

Little John's is back at the Battle of Selma this year

 offering homemade lemonade and root beer in the Eiffel Tower!

But I'm sorry to say that after the first day of school tours,

 there weren't many towers left.  However, the usual blue

 and brown bottles are back as well as a few new fish-shaped ones.

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

Rurality, Ranch Gate

Dallas County is a very rural county in the heart of Alabama's Black Belt region.

 Main crops include timber, catfish and cattle, and this is the gate to the

 Circle H Cattle Farm.

Linking to Rurality and City Daily Photo Blogs

Outhouse

O is for OUTHOUSE.

Its' ABC Wednesday, and the letter of the week is O, so here is one

 of the outhouses restrooms near  Confederate Headquarters 

at the Battle of Selma living history tour area. I am not sure

 if this conceals more modern conveniences or not, but the sponsors 

work very hard to keep everything as authentic as possible!

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Living History Lessons

This is Battle of Selma Week when living history tours and a re-enactment

 of the April 1865 American Civil War battle here take place in Riverside Park. 

Students from North-Central Alabama to Northwest Florida arrive for tours

 this Thursday and Friday to learn about 1860's music and games (pictured),

 clothing, medical care, blacksmithing, cannons, tent living and cooking,

 plus visit the sutleries and sample old-fashioned lemonade and root beer.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Bearded Iris

We've had enough cold weather this spring for my bearded iris

 to bloom for the first time in years!

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows and City  Daily Photo Blogs

Marion Junction Presbyterian Church

I've been meaning to take a picture of the 

Marion Junction Presbyterian Church

 for years, and finally I did!

Linking to Weekly Top Shot and City Daily Photo Blogs

Pick a Basket

Temps were in the 80s a few days ago when this picture of summer hanging baskets

 was taken. But despite almost record-breaking cold this morning, it really IS time

 to hang some flowers! The flowing, pink bouganvillea sure is tempting me!

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

 

Friday Fences, Vaughan-Smitherman Museum

We're looking up from the sidewalk, through the fence 

and beneath the trees at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. 

Built in 1847, this building has housed schools, hospitals,

 the courthouse and now a museum.

Linking to Friday Fences and City Daily Photo Blogs

Valley Creek View

Here's the covered-bridge view of Valley Creek when crossing

 from Valley Creek Park into Riverside Park. Hundreds of school children,

 battle participants and spectators will cross this bridge

 during Battle of Selma Weekend April 25-28. 

Linking to Rurality and City Daily Photo Blogs

Bringing in the Bedding Plants

It's "N" Week at ABC Wednesday, and the plant NURSERIES in Alabama

 are rapidly bringing in the bedding plants. 

I was downtown at Holley's Farm and Garden Center this week

 when a Bonnie Plant Farm truck delivered flats of flowers and vegetable plants.

 Above, I chose a few pink impatiens for my shade-loving hanging baskets,

 but I would have loved to bring home some vinca, daisies, petunias

 and begonia. Below, a Bonnie Plant Farm employee stocks the outdoor shelves.

Now, I would be remiss not to mention that Dallas County is home to Wright's 

and Bearden's, both excellent NURSERIES too, and we will be heading 

to Plantersville for tomato plants.

Gotta love homegrown tomatoes!

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs 

The Snowball Tree

We have snowballs in April!

This snowball tree graces the rear courtyard at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum.

 I've seen quite a few of these small trees around town,

 and they are just magnificent!

The structure in the background was built with part of the facade

 from the old Hotel Albert, which was located where the City Hall complex 

now stands. Designed after the Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy,

 the hotel was built before and after the Civil War.

 It was demolished in 1969, a loss that spurred Selmians to try harder

 to preserve their historic structures.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Spring Walk

A spring walk down Selma Avenue is a gardener-wannabe's delight!

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

Where the Pink Dogwood Blooms

My camera has been waiting, waiting and waiting for this pink dogwood tree

 to bloom in the Church Street United Methodist Church courtyard.

Finally, last week the first buds opened, but it still wasn't quite at peak.

 Good enough!

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

Revival

There's a revival going on in Old Live Oak Cemetery this week!

An angel points the way to Heaven, while azaleas and dogwoods fill the "pews,"

and a cool breeze lifts the spirit of the Spanish Moss!

Linking to Weekly Top Shot and City Daily Photo Blogs

Winding Wysteria

Purple wysteria winds its way around the brick post and gate

 at the Riverside Park entrance. 

The park is adjacent to Valley Creek Park (commonly called Bloch Park)

 and will soon be the site of the Battle of Selma school tours and re-enactment.

Linking to Friday Fences and City Daily Photo Blogs

Road Through the Black Belt

Heading west from Selma, U.S. Highway 80 is a mostly four-lane road

 that traverses Alabama's Black Belt region. The area is named for the color

 of much of its soil, heavy clays suitable for pastures, ponds and clover,

 although it once grew a lot of cotton. 

Linking to Rurality and City Daily Photo Blogs

M is for Movies

M is for MOVIE popcorn, MOVIE candy and MOVIE posters such

 as this display in the lobby of the Selma Walton Theatre.

Celebrating the letter M over at ABC Wednesday 

 and linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

The Back Side of Spring

Can it be that we are on the back side of spring already?

With freezing temperatures just a couple of weeks ago and a high near 90

 expected today, it sure seems that way! Like the back side of this bumblebee,

 spring has turned on us, and we are heading straight into summer.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

The Lady Banks Roses

These Lady Banks roses began blooming in March,

 but they are usually at peak in early April.

However, due to some late frosts, some may not reach

 full bloom for a few more days. These roses are located 

in the municipal complex next to City Hall. 

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows and City Daily Photo Blogs

Looking for a Home

This black-and-white beauty is looking for a home!

She's been living at the Central Alabama Animal Shelter

 in Selma for a long time, and while she enjoys a big playroom,

 a loving family to call her own is on her bucket list!

Linking to Camera Critters and City Daily Photo Blogs

The Resurrection Cross

The sky was mostly cloudy the day after Easter, but flowers on the cross

 in front of Church Street United Methodist Church were still vibrant with color.

 I like the way the newly leafed tree posed in the background too!

Linking to Weekly Top Shot and City Daily Photo Blogs

Friday Fences, The Cemetery Gate

Loved ones used to be buried in places like this...upon a tree-shaded hill

 behind an ornate gate and with monuments inscribed with scripture.

Linking to Friday Fences and City Daily Photo Blogs

Prairie Buttercups

Prairie buttercups covered this field along U.S. Highway 80 West

on Easter Sunday. In the distance, you can see the faint lavender color

 of redbud trees and the early spring hues of other trees along the skyline. 

What a beautiful morning!

Linking to Rurality and City Daily Photo Blogs

The Lady at Rest

We're blogging the letter "L" today over at ABC Wednesday, and I was LUCKY

 to be LED to this LADY at rest by another photography enthusiast last week. 

While most of my monument photos are taken in Old Live Oak Cemetery

 in Selma, we LOOKED around and found this one in a rural graveyard.

 It memorializes a young wife who died at the age of 26 in 1860.

 How LOVED she must have been!

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Romancing the Town

Azalea blossoms, nestled among magnolia and Spanish Moss, 

have no trouble romancing the town in early April.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

April Theme Day, Pedestrians' Crossing

It's April Theme Day over at the City Daily Photo Blogs, and we're sharing photos

 of pedestrian crossings. The sidewalks on the Edmund Pettus Bridge fit the theme 

perfectly, and last October, I was photographing Riverfront Market Day 

when these Boy Scouts from Prattville made the trek across the bridge.

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

and April Theme Day