Blue and Gold

Our ginkgo tree is near peak now and really shines against a bright blue sky.

Ready, Set, Trick or Treat!

So what kind of candy do our trick-or-treaters get?
The kind I like!
That way, if we only have a few, the candy gets eaten...mostly by me!
Yum! I always did like trick or treating!

A Charming Haunt

While cemeteries aren't particularly haunting to me, I think Old Live Oak Cemetery would certainly qualify with its exquisite tombstones, tall, shadowy oaks and hanging Spanish Moss. Even the gate posts creak, and I doubt children would want to linger long.

Pumpkin Farmer Closeup

Here's a closeup of the Pumpkin Farmer who welcomes customers to the Southern Antiques store.
(Photo by Jacob Gresham with his little digital Olympus.)

Historic Coca-Cola Wall Ad

Here is part of the historic Coca-Cola Bottling Co. wall advertisement on Lauderdale Street. The sign above it is pretty much explanatory. I'lll post a photo of the other part later.

Crimson Tide Boulevard

Raggedy Ann and Andy welcomes folks to none other than Crimson Tide Boulevard, a gravel road near Selma. The "Crimson Tide," of course, is the name of the University of Alabama sports teams, and in the fall...that means football!

Southern Antiques and Collectibles

Got time to browse...for a while? This is one place to do it . Southern Antiques and Collectibles on Dallas Avenue is a haven for lovers of all things old and unusual. I even found a child's folding chalkboard, just like the one I had as a child! I once saw it on Antiques Road Show and was amazed it was now worth something like $200! As you walk to the door, check out the cute pumpkin farmer waiting to welcome you!

Ginkgo Gold

It was a misty, gray day in central Alabama, but my ginkgo tree helped brighten the backyard. Leaves that have already turned yellow are starting to fall, but there are still many green ones yet to change color.

Kenan's Mill Bluegrass Festival

Come smell the cornbread cookin'
at the Kenan's Mill Bluegrass Festival
November 3. The old mill near town
will be grinding cornmeal once
that day, and visitors can listen to a
bluegrass band, take a wagon ride,
cross the swinging bridge over the creek or...
eat cornbread along with other food fare.
This photo shows the official T-shirt for the festival.

Autumn Comes Softly

Autumn comes softly to central Alabama and pretty much stays that way! Occasionally, there's a vivid tree here or there, and evergreen pines tend to dominate landscapes. I was lucky to catch this pair of colorful leaves in my backyard. The ginkgo leaf on the left is turning color early, and with lots of rain expected Tuesday, the tree might be bare by Wednesday! I hope not, but almost every year, as soon as my prize autumn tree turns gold, the leaves just drop. So I took pictures today.

Riverfront Photo Winner

This is a picture of a picture, but here is the winning photo in the adult division of the riverfront photo contest sponsored by Arts Revive. The photographs were displayed on Riverfront Market Day. This view of the Alabama River is taken on a foggy morning from Songs of Selma Park. The Edmund Pettus Bridge can be seen in the background.

Big Game Tonight

There's a big Tiger fight in Louisiana tonight when the underdog Auburn University Tigers battle the Louisiana State Tigers in college football. The game could have been bigger had Kentucky not handed then No. 1 LSU its first defeat last week. Tonight could be its second defeat.

This Auburn flag was photographed at Riverfront Market Day. Selma is an Auburn bastion, partly because it's the hometown of legendary Auburn Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan, who coached opposite Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant back when I was in school. College football is much, much bigger than pro football in these parts.

Update: LSU beat Auburn 30-24 at the end of the game on a gutsy touchdown pass.
Congratulations to the Bengal Tigers!

Bewitching Outfits

These bewitching outfits for children were among merchandise at last weekend's Riverfront Market Day. Would your children or grandchildren like wearing ghosties and goblins and friendly black cats on their clothes? While schools here now have fall festivals instead of Halloween carnivals, the day is still celebrated in Selma with a children's parade to the Performing Arts Center where they compete for prizes in a costume contest.

Antique Mercedes

We move from yesterday's no-frills farm truck to a stylish antique Mercedes convertible. This trendy car was also on display at Riverfront Market Day. Through the windshield, you can see the petting zoo in the background.

A Real Work Truck

Now this is what I call a farm truck! The old, no-frills International pickup trucks were true work vehicles...with vinyl seats, rubber floormats, 4-speed in the floor and no air conditioning. For early models, the buyer had to special order the heater. If trucks were still made like this, moms and dads wouldn't want to use them for the "family car," and city drivers would boycott these models. Teenage boys would return to sports cars for dating, and prices would probably still be cheap. Then, farmers wouldn't have to pay way too much for a truck! Three decades ago and before, work trucks cost about half the price of a new car. Now, there are no more work trucks. They're all fancy with fabric or leather interiors, CD players and power everything, and they cost twice the price of most cars.
This industrial-green beauty was on display last weekend at the Riverfront Market Day Antique Car Show.

Haunted History Tours

Beware! The "ghosts" of Selma and Cahawba are everywhere, busily readying their haunts for this weekend's Haunted History Tours. On Friday night, the ghost town of Cahawba will host four treks for the very, very brave into its very (un)consciousness, and the Central Alabama Paranormal Investigators will conduct on-site tests. Ghosts from the past will appear at Cahawba on Saturday as well, and Old Live Oak Cemetery comes alive with famous inhabitants on Saturday evening. Then, that night, get ready for a tour of Sturdivant Hall and find out about the spirit that lives within...it's a story fit for a Stephen King novel...a banker, an "evil" regime, a former flooded prison, an escape, a "murder," or so the locals say. It is rumored that John Parkman just might show himself and finally tell his side of the story!

Pet the Llama

An adult gently guides the hand of a young child to pet a llama at Riverfront Market Day. The llama was part of the petting zoo. Yes, I know! I just posted petting zoo photos from last week's fair, but I didn't have a picture of a llama!

Spiderman in Town...and Tagged!

Spiderman was spotted at Riverfront Market Day, and he was toted by a little girl dressed in pink!

In other Selma, Ala. Daily Photo news, this blogger has been TAGGED by Steve of New Orleans Daily Photo Blog. I get to list eight random things about myself that you might not know. So here goes:

1. Have twins and am a twin
2. Fan of “Dancing with the Stars” and have taken ballet, tap, ballroom, folk and square dancing lessons
3. Blessed with a wonderful mother who had a most gracious spirit
4. Most exciting assignment: President Reagan’s speech to the Alabama Legislature back in the 1980s
5. Enjoy talking to senior citizens who tell things the way they see them and are past trying to be diplomatic
6. Graduate of Auburn University…I predict a big college football cat fight on Saturday at LSU in Baton Rouge. Auburn will win.
7. My wedding anniversary is this week, and I am confident my husband won’t forget it.
8. I have lived long enough to experience hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, baseball-size hail and a Spring Break blizzard in central Alabama. I hope to never experience an earthquake!

Now, I am tagging eight other City Daily Photo Bloggers. If you have already been tagged, just skip this.

J. Andrew Lockhart at Van Buren Daily Photo
Chris at Nashville Daily Photo
Bill at Delta Daily Photo
David at Greensboro, N.C., Daily Photo
Z at Based in Villigen
Slinger at Twin Cities Daily Photo
Lewis at Selma (N.C.) Daily Photo
Susan at Maple Ridge Daily Photo

These are the rules.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs

Fabulous Shades

Even young children like Oldies music! The Fabulous Shades were among several music groups featured at Saturday's Riverfront Market Day in downtown Selma. The weather was perfect for the event: blue skies, low humidity, high around 80. Look for more Market Day pictures this week.

Riverfront Market Day crafts

Selma's annual Riverfront Market Day is Saturday, and here's a photo from one of the autumn decorations booths a few years ago. The festival is held on historic Water Avenue, an antebellum riverfront district, and features arts and crafts, food and music.

Caught!

This garden spider clinches a grasshopper that she caught in her web outside my kitchen window. I recently posted another garden spider that built a web outside the front door. I think this one chose the window, because insects are attracted to the light in our kitchen at night. Her web covers the entire exterior of the window. We just tell everybody that this is our "virtual" Halloween decoration! Anyway, we have enjoyed watching her patch and expand her web, although devouring other bugs is not especially appealing. (I took this photo through the kitchen window.)

Colorful Quilts - 200th Post

These colorful quilts were on display at the Central Alabama Fair last week, and I see that some of them won ribbons. I am fortunate to have several handmade quilts of my own, made by quilters on both sides of our family.
I just noticed that this is Selma, Ala., Daily Photo's 200th post, so what better way to celebrate the occasion than with handcrafted heirlooms from quilters in the area!

Midway Madness

The ears are perked, but the eyes convey aggravation. This farm friend at the petting zoo had a sideline view of the Midway at the Central Alabama Fair last week. I don't think it was appreciated!

Sewing up Ribbons

Some folks are who nimble with a needle and thimble won ribbons for their embroidery at the Central Alabama Fair. These pieces remind me of pillowcases and guest towels that my grandmother decorated with her handiwork.

Fair photography winners

Here are a couple of pictures in the animal division of the Central Alabama Fair's photography competition. Looks like this little calf photo got a blue ribbon!

Moo at the Zoo

"Pet me! Pet me!" is what this cute calf seems to be thinking at the Central Alabama Fair Petting Zoo. Farmers from Plantersville to Orrville brought animals for this favorite fair exhibit. In addition to this calf were rabbits, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, a horse and a donkey. The event continues at Lions Fair Park in Selma through Saturday.

Goldenrold

Bees love goldenrod and so do I! I did a little digital editing to darken the background and bring out the gold. This rich blossom that once was Alabama's state flower is almost in full bloom along roadsides, banks and in fields.

Dallas County Seal

The Dallas County seal at its station above a courthouse door

King Mausoleum

Here is the mausoleum of U.S. Vice President and Selma founder William Rufus King. I took this photo while choosing a monument for the October Theme Day, so this one came in second. King never actually served as vice president, at least not in the U.S. He was in the Caribbean trying to recover from an illness and took the oath of office there. He died only a short time after becoming VP in 1853. He also served as a U.S. senator, minister to France and president pro tempore of the Senate.

October Theme Day - Cemeteries/Tombstones

This angelic monument is perhaps the most ornate and exquisite of the many memorials in Selma's Old Live Oak Cemetery. It is located within a fenced family plot where other unique tombstones reside. The cemetery, with its live oak trees, Spanish Moss, azaleas and dogwoods, is more than a burial ground. It is also a flowering garden and outdoor museum. Later this month, it will be the scene of a haunted history tour. Yes, ghosts who live here will rise again to tell their tales.

Don't forget to visit other tombstones and cemeteries around the City Daily Photo Blog world! I can hear them summoning you now... better get going!
St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Anderson (SC), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), MalaysiaEvry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Grenoble, France - Zurich, Switzerland - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Naples (FL), USAToronto (ON), Canada - Sequim (WA), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - -