Shady Lane

In the good old hot summertime, Selma has a lot of shady lanes. Huge oak trees and a few others shield sidewalks and homes from much of the sun's rays.

(A "cold front" moved through yesterday, and we have cooled off to temperatures well below 100 and lower humidity. It's cool outside right now!)

Fountains, Municipal Complex

The municipal fountain gives a splash of coolness beneath the shade trees between City Hall and the library.
Any sense of cool is welcome these days when temperatures continue to top out toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bridge to Freedom

One of our fellow City Daily Photo Bloggers is missing in Tehran, Iran. "A" last posted a blog on June 17. So, members of the worldwide CDPB community are hosting a special "Blog Day" today to help spread the images and stories from Iran.

The Selma, Ala., contribution is a photograph of the Edmund Pettus Bridge across the Alabama River. In 1965, the bridge became an icon for voting rights in the USA. While some of the issues in Iran are vastly different, the recent protesters carried signs that asked, "Where is my vote?"


Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Update (6-29-2009), the CDPB community received word that the Tehran blogger, "A" has been released from detainment and is at home now.

Buying Local

Randy Chandler has been selling
his Chilton County peaches in Selma for 10 years. In addition to buying a basket of delectable peaches, you can place orders for his wife'’s wonderful peach preserves by asking ahead. Peaches, beans, tomatoes (green and red) peppers (all varieties)
melons, cucumbers and more are available fresh from the garden at the open air Farmers' Market at Bloch Park on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

(Note: Chilton County peaches are world famous! If you are traveling I-65 through Alabama and notice a peach water tower, then you know you're in Chilton County.) Selmians are lucky to have huge, sweet peaches just a neighboring county away!

Thanks to Christine Weerts for contributing this photo!

Air Rescue (Skywatch Friday)

Skies were fair with puffy cotton clouds the day I noticed an Air Rescue helicopter lift off from the helipad behind Vaughan Regional Medical Center. I see someone else was watching as the copter headed toward a medical center in Birmingham.

To see more Skywatch photos from skies everywhere, click HERE.

Riverfront Park Master Plan

Selma has broken ground for a riverfront park. Kudzu, trees, bushes and weeds have been cleared along the Alabama River so that the first phase can begin. To see a better view of the plans, check out the City of Selma website HERE.

A river walk will be among the first sections built. Later, plans call for an amphitheatre, floating boat dock, interactive fountain, playground, carousel, concessions, aquarium and pavilion. Check out the flyer HERE.

Dallas Academy Staircase

What modern school building has a staircase like this? None, I bet.

The beautiful banisters at the old Dallas Academy, once a Selma school, still look like new. The building is now owned by the City of Selma and used by various agencies such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Ceramics Arts program. Upstairs is where some of the workshops were held for the City of Selma Art Camp. The camp resumes for another week in mid-July.

EMS Honorees

Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel who had attained at least 10 years service were honored during opening ceremonies of the Alabama Sports Festival last weekend.

The Selma EMS group included Robert Skelton, Jeff Simmers and Wayne Stewart, all employees of CARE Ambulance.

The ceremonies were held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center and featured a parade of athletes and Olympic flame as athletes from all over the state opened the 27th annual state games.

Thanks to Elaine Stewart for contributing this photo.

Fountains, The Horseheads at the St. James

The heat index in Selma is forecast at 110 F today, so what better way to attempt a cooldown than to post a black and white photo of the horsehead fountain on Water Avenue!
(Click the photo for a larger and even cooler view.)

Babies in the Begonia

I'm not the only one who appreciated a hanging basket of angelwing begonia for Mother's Day. A Mama bird did too!

Three days ago, her babies hatched, and on Father's Day, I was finally able to capture the wide-open beak of one of her little ones.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads!

Ceramic Faces

Ceramic faces made by art students decorate a wall at the City of Selma Ceramics Center.

Skywatch Friday (Lilies of Lafayette Park)

Yellow daylilies stand tall in the flower beds by the St. James Hotel and Bridge Tender's House in Lafayette Park. This week has been mostly sunny and very hot, and it's not quite officially summer.

See more sky pictures at Skywatch Friday.

Unstoppable

When it came to Art Camp last week, this young man was (as his T-shirt shows) simply UNSTOPPABLE!

He's working with a loom, and I am betting that the guys were as good or perhaps (better?) than some of the gals at this craft.

Art Camp was sponsored by the City of Selma and held at the old Dallas Academy, home of the ceramics center. The next session will be in mid-July.

Weavers at Work

Last week's City of Selma Art Camp included a weaving class, and I fell in love with this royal blue and white design. It's a creation of one of the campers who I believe is on his or her way to becoming an excellent weaver.

Alabama Weaver Nancy Kenfield of Selma provided the looms and other equipment and taught the children about her craft. By the time I arrived last Wednesday, most of the young craftsmen were able to enter the studio and set up their work without assistance. Very inspiring!

Check out her website HERE.

Historic Building for Sale

The former Riverfront Market Place on Water Avenue is up for sale. I happened by the place next to Lafayette Park just as the For Sale banner was hung.

This building once housed a unique antique mall, and long ago (late 19th Century), its second floor housed the New York Life Insurance office of General Joseph E. Johnston. Johnston was one of five Confederate generals who lived in Selma after the War Between the States, and he also served as president of the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad. When a reporter from the Cincinnati (Ohio) Commercial newspaper came to town to write a post-war report, he noted that Johnston was "a quiet, easygoing old merchant."

Fishing

Hot summer days often bring fishermen to the banks of the Alabama River. A couple of them try their luck over by a sandbar.

Taking Down the Doors

The carved wooden doors came down from First Baptist Church, Lauderdale Street; last week and were replaced with temporary ones. The doors will be refurbished and re-stained before being re-hung.

3-D Butterflies

Colorful 3-D butterflies were among the crafts made by children at Open House Art last week.

The two-hour arts and crafts workshop was held at the Selma-Dallas County Public Library and brought lots of children of all ages. The next Open House Art will be July 6 from 10 a.m. til noon.

To see more photos of this event, check out Selma NOW.

Skywatch Friday, Hay Crop

Fair weather smiled upon the farmers this week, giving them time to mow, rake and bale hay.

This year appears to be a good one, agriculturally speaking, and Dallas County may well be headed for a bumper crop. I'm sure the cattle will be pleased come next winter.

Check out more skies, both fair and foul, from around the world HERE. Or better yet, join in the fun.

Recycling with The Tin Man

Young artists at the City of Selma Art Camp this week are learning how to recycle scraps of anything and everything with Charlie "The Tin Man" Lucas.

They're making 3D sculptures of imaginary creatures from old jeans, tickets, wire, buttons, yarn, paint, string, beads, clothespins, plastic, spools and styrofoam.

The camp is under way at the city ceramics center in the old Dallas Academy. Some 50 children are enrolled, and more can take part in the second Art Camp July 13-17.

View from Carter's Corner

It's midday downtown, and here's a view across Broad Street from the Carter Drug corner. The building you see in the background (from left of the tree and to the right of the tree) is the Selma-Dallas County Public Library. Yes, it's a big building! The entrance is behind the tree, and to the left is adult fiction and a large section of large-print books as well as audio books, videos, DVDs and the main desk. Upstairs, you find nonfiction, reference, the computer lab and genealogy. Sections on the right house meeting rooms and offices downstairs and children's and youth books upstairs, along with a big room used for puppet shows and other special events. Today's schedule includes an acrylic painting workshop for adults and teens, Open House Art and a Kirigami Class for ages 8 and up.

I almost forgot! Just inside the entrance to the right is Selma's Visitor Information Center.

(Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you can get a better view of the butterfly sculptures on the street corners.)

Learning to Fly

It's time to fly for this baby redbird!

Guest photographer Christine Weerts noticed the young cardinal sitting in one of her pine trees while its parents hovered nearby, no doubt protecting him from a cat under the tree. She was able to convince the cat to leave so that "Junior" could finish his flying lesson.

Friday Evening Downtown

Here's a view of downtown from in front of City Hall on a Friday evening. Click on the picture for a larger view, and you can see the Rexall sign on the right and the sunlit Pettus Bridge in the background.

Fog 'n Flowers

My Mother's Day begonia is thriving in all the tropical weather we've been having. This morning, we awoke to fog, so I blurred the background for better contrast.

Fruit of Summer

I wondered when the watermelon trucks would appear! This one was parked in the shade on Minter Avenue, and when the fruit reaches the color of the bright red truck, then it's ripe enough to eat!

Skywatch Friday (Skies of Blue)

"I see skies of blue..... clouds of white

Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights

And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world."

This verse in Louis Armstrong's heartwarming song, "What a Wonderful World" certainly describes June in Selma. Most days, the skies are blue, the clouds are white, and the temperature is in the comfortable 80s. Add green trees and these magnificent white crape myrtle against white buildings and black ironwork, and we have summer in the Deep South!

The building above is the Selma-Dallas County Public Library, one of the most popular places in town during the summer.

To see more skies, check out www.skyley.blogspot.com

Library Petting Zoo

Passersby at the library yesterday might have wondered what all the commotion was about. Hundreds of children turned out to talk to the animals at the petting zoo on the front lawn.

Cows, donkeys, goats, rabbits, pigs and even a porcupine greeted their guests beneath a sprawling shade tree. (I haven't heard how many children petted the porcupine!)

Sunny Summer Flower

This sunny, summer flower is one of many growing behind Dallas Academy, and I know they aren't common here.

Any gardeners know what these are called? I saw some in Texas many years ago, so I imagine they are drought tolerant.

Live Logo

Why buy expensive shirts with embroidered lizard logos when you can catch your own decoration? This is one Selma youngster who still knows how to enjoy summer outdoors!

Thanks to guest photographer Jacque Johnson for sending the picture for today's post!

June Theme Day (Feet)

Theme Day time again, and FEET are in the spotlight!

I caught one of my cats playing with a lizard one day and hurried out to aid the escape, but the lizard made a gallant effort on his own. At left the cat's paw takes a break from its swats, and the lizard makes a getaway by climbing onto a stick.

Click on the photo for a larger version, and you can see how hard the lizard's feet are working at survival.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants