A Painted Window (Weekend Reflections)

A Painted Window at Carter Drug. Co. reflects the library across Broad Street.

 

A LEAF
by Aileen Fisher

If I were a leaf
(but I wouldn't be)
I'd have to be tied
to a tree, tree, tree.
I couldn't walk off
(or skip or run)
and my nose would get burned
by the sun, sun, sun.
In summer I'd roast,
(in winter I'd freeze)
and all through October
I'd sneeze, sneeze, sneeze.

 

You can ponder more reflections over at the Weekend Reflections Meme here.

Pumpkin Fairy

Five-year-old Kelbi Woods of Selma dressed as a fairy and carried an electric pumpkin at the PALS (Police Athletic League of Selma) Halloween party this week.  Tonight, perhaps she'll join hundreds of  other children for trick-or-treating a day early. 

Photo courtesy of Christine Weerts

Skywatch Friday, Bright and Spooky!

So who is brave enough to open this gate and find his way to the treats that will be waiting amid spooky Spanish Moss, spiders and cobwebs? Well, it doesn't look so frightful with an azure sky overhead, but come Saturday night, you better watch out for things that go bump in the night!

More skies and possible spooks  await you over at Skywatch Friday!

Changing!

Autumn is finally arriving, and we can actually see the changes! Our area also received  some relief from the drought when thunderstorms

moved through yesterday.  Now, we might even have a little frost by Saturday. 

Decorating Pumpkins

Students from Clark Elementary had fun decorating little pumpkins 

at The Pumpkin Patch last week! 

Popping Up!

Friendly scarecrows are popping up all over town!

Kenan's Mill Festival Coming Up!

The ninth annual Kenan's Mill Fall Festival & Bluegrass Event is less than two weeks away! Gates open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, and live music begins at 11. There will be an Alabama clay workshop, hayrides, tours of the gristmill, cornmeal and grits for sale, children's games and lots of food.

Cost is just $5 per vehicle.

Great Pumpkins!

From ground level, these gourds look like Great Pumpkins! These are among the "crop" at St. Paul's Episcopal Pumpkin Patch.

The Segway Way

Selma police recently acquired a few Segway patrol vehicles.

This officer patrols his way down Water Avenue during the recent Riverfront Market Day.

Skywatch Friday, From the Pumpkin Patch

The sky was bright blue this morning for St. Paul's Episcopal's Pumpkin Patch fest in the courtyard. Here's a view of the decorated Carter Gate at the entrance. The annual fest brings children from all over the city and county to pick out a pumpkin and participate in art projects. 

See more skies over at Skywatch Friday!

The Weavers of Selma Exhibit

Ten works by the Weavers of Selma are on exhibition the Birmingham Museum of Art. This portrait, which was painted by Clara Weaver Parrish, is at Selma's Sturdivant Hall, but other paintings and sculptures by the Weavers can be seen at the Birmingham museum's American Gallery through October 31. Clara Parrish studied art in New York and later worked for Tiffany & Co., where she designed stained-glass windows. Her sister, Rose Pettus Weaver, became a sculptor and carved wood in the Beaux-Arts style, including a staircase at her home. A great niece, Rosalind Tarver Lipscomb of Huntsville, is also an accomplished painter.    

Watery Wednesday, Keepers of the Fountain

If it's Wednesday, it's water that we blog about over at the Watery Wednesday Blog Meme, and I recently found a fountain that I didn't know existed. A few good lions keep this fountain in a subdivision near the Alabama River.

Delectable Desserts

Selma's Old Town Association met at the home of one of its members recently,

and take a peek at the buffet of delectable desserts!

Which one do you like best?

Thanks to guest photographer Jacque Johnson for sharing the photo!

Wisteria Mirrors

These mirrors made with wisteria vines drew a lot of attention at Riverfront Market Day. Bits of mirrored glass are used in the shape of flowers to give a really interesting look to these decorative wall plaques. 

Thanks to guest photographer Jacque Johnson for the photo.

Vintage Gray

Vintage Gray, a band that performs vintage 60s and 70s songs, entertains last weekend at  Selma's Riverfront Market Day. The Songs of Selma Park is at the Market Day entrance on Water Avenue and adjacent to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Photo by guest photographer Jacque Johnson

Big Game Today

Show your spirit! There's a big, big game today between Auburn and Arkansas. 

Auburn is ranked No. 7 and Arkansas No. 12.

Powerwash

It's cleanup in Selma with outdoor projects on almost every street. Over at Sturdivant Hall, the gift shop (formerly the detached kitchen/cook's quarters) gets powerwashed. The shop is located directly behind the city-owned antebellum house museum on Mabry Street. 

Strummin'

A guitar player added his own musical flavor to Riverfront Market Day  as he strummed a tune on Water Avenue  last weekend.

Sharing (Wordless Wednesday)

See more pictures that need no explanation at Wordless Wednesday.

Tutus

Ballet anyone?

Ballerina tutus are a popular item for little girls these days, and I spotted these for sale at Selma's Riverfront Market Day last weekend.

The Montgomery Ballet is coming to Selma in November,and 41 local ballet students will be featured in some of the numbers with the professional dancers. How exciting for our young ballerinas! 

Posted for My World Tuesday. 

Great Glass!

So, it was with great difficulty that I resisted buying this multi-colored creation of Great-Glass!

Great-Glass is a collection of fused glass that's molded and fired into platters,bowls, pendants and tree ornaments.

Mimi Boston and Robin Jackson of Birmingham displayed their wares at Saturday's Riverfront Market Day. 

A New Historic Marker Unveiled

A new historic marker was unveiled Saturday during Riverfront Market Day.

The marker summarizes Selma's part in both Confederate and Civil Rights history.

Above are Mayor George Evans and Downtown Association Director Shebra Kidd. 
(Click on the photos for a larger, more legible view.)

Homecoming Weekend

It's homecoming time in Selma this weekend.

Morgan Academy's homecoming court was presented at halftime during the Morgan vs. Hooper football game.

Other local schools celebrating homecoming last night were Meadowview Christian and Dallas County High.

Today, Selma celebrates its homecoming event with the unveiling of a new historic marker at Riverfront Market Day.

Tonight, the second round of the Alabama Tale-Tellin' Festival will be held at Pickard Auditorium,

and on Sunday afternoon, several churches and museums are on tour. 

Riverfront Market Day Pottery

If you like pottery, then you'll enjoy the handmade wares at Riverfront Market Day this Saturday. Ham's Pottery will again be among the vendors, and to see a complete vendor list, click HERE.  Market Day on Water Avenue features two music stages, a variety of food and lots of vendors with arts and crafts. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.

Cozy Dawg Customer

Wednesday was Kids' Day at the Central Alabama Fair, and this little girl is tasting what is probably her very first Cozy Dawg.

Cozy Dawgs (a special-recipe corndog) are sold by the Selma Civitan Club every year at the fair. 

Music at the Fair

Music by The Grasshopper Stringband added a bit of bluegrass to the Central Alabama Fair Monday night. The new group is already making a name for itself in the Black Belt region and is also scheduled to play at the Kenan's Mill Festival in November.

Photograph by guest photographer Jacque Johnson

Bringing in the Boat

The city marina was busy last Friday as people took advantage of the warm weather and smooth river conditions. 

Speedboats and fishing boats headed into and out

of the Alabama River all day. 

How High's the Water, Mama?

 To borrow a line from Johnny Cash's song: "How high's the water, Mama?"

"58 feet and risin'!"

The high-water mark for Selma's historic 1961 flood now has an official marker at Valley Creek Park (commonly known as Bloch Park). While the park floods during times of extended heavy rain, it's still hard to believe the the Alabama River and a nearby creek overflowed to this extent!  The flood was caused by low-pressure systems from the Gulf of Mexico that brought up to 18 inches of rain over Central Alabama.

Welcome to Fall!

Fall decorations are finally going up around town. After an unusually hot and dry September, we're feeling cool north breezes now, and we may even see 40-degree (F) nights this week!

I found this autumn wreath on the door of the Mabry-Jones House, an 1850's Greek Revival in Old Town. 

Beware of Gators!

Beware of gators!

Not only have alligators taken up residence along the Alabama River, but Gators from Florida are streaming into our state today by car, truck, bus and van. I saw vehicles on U.S. Highway 80  yesterday, and they were flying Florida Gator pennants and likely headed for Tuscaloosa. The No. 7 Florida Gators college football team plays the No. 1 University of Alabama Crimson Tide in a Southeastern Conference matchup tonight at 7 pm CST.

Photograph courtesy of guest photographer Randy Smith (who's been observing and taking pictures of alligators on the river since he got his first boat in the 1970s).  

(Skywatch Friday) Whites Bluff

A blue sky, white bluffs and calm water combine to create a great day for cruising the Alabama River.

Whites Bluff is located about 25 miles downriver from Selma. 

Photograph by Christine Weerts

More Skywatch photos are HERE.http://www.skyley.blogspot.com/