Must be a Party!

A line of balloons along a fence in the Old Town neighborhood recently caught my eye. I'm "guessing" that someone was having a party!

Valley Creek Up & Over

Valley Creek spilled up and over its banks this weekend after a three-day marathon of rainfall.

The yellow tape between the posts will hopefully keep people from trying to drive through the water that crept into Bloch Park, waterlogging part of the playground (not shown).

Looking In (Camera Critters)

What's inside the house seemed to intrigue this little chipmunk, and no wonder!

In the photo at left, you can barely see the chipmunk peering over the brick by a blue shoe. Thanks to Elaine Stewart for emailing this cute photos!

This is Camera Critters Sunday, so add your photo
or check out
the rest of God's
amazing creatures HERE.

Raindrops on Irises

March showers bring March flowers such as this raindrop-laden yellow iris. Selma has been saturated the past couple of days with up to nine (9) inches of rain, so say the weather reports. My backyard has soaked in 6.3 inches, and more is expected through today. Watch out! Rivers and creeks are rising!

This lovely flower photo was taken by Christine Weerts.

Top of the Kiln (Skywatch Friday)

There's a 19th Century brick charcoal kiln at Kenan's Mill, and if you step inside and look straight up, you can see the sky through the trees.

Thanks to the Pilgrimage hosts at the mill who suggested this idea for a photo.

Today is Skywatch Friday, so click on over to www.skyley.blogspot.com.

Cast Iron Art

After an iron pour, scratch block molds (top photo) are placed on gravel to cool.

Below, you see several etched blocks as they appeared before the liquid iron was poured inside the squares. The chemically treated sand was etched by nail or dremel tool.

The iron pour was held by Alabama Art Casting, a nonprofit arts education group, at The Foundry during Selma's recent Historic Pilgrimage. The group is based at Tannehill Historic Ironworks Park and will have its next demonstration, Sparks at Dark, at Tannehill, May 25.

The art blocks can be used as shelf art, garden sculptures, trivets and even house numbers.

Vaughan-Smitherman Courtyard

These azaleas in the courtyard of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum were in full bloom at last weekend's Selma Pilgrimage.

I hope to snap more spring flowers today before storms move in tomorrow and stay through the weekend! How fortunate Selma was to have had a perfect-weather weekend to showcase its homes and gardens!

Bearing a Blossom (2nd Anniversary!)

Today marks the second anniversary of the Selma, Ala., Daily Photo, and I just had to share this lovely wreath bearer in Old Live Oak Cemetery.

The red camellia caught my eye and could not have been placed in her hand for long since it hadn't wilted at all. Whoever handed her the camellia, along with strands of Spanish Moss, made my day as well as an enchanting subject for this blog.

The tombstone beneath the statue's feet memorializes a young wife who died at age 27 in 1886.

Thank you to the City Daily Photo Blog owners and to all who have visited and commented on the photographs posted here. Special thanks go to others who have shared their own pictures for posts, especially closeups of wildlife and photos of events that I could not attend.

Come back and visit as we begin the third year. I appreciate you all! (y'all!)

God bless you!

The Foundry Iron Pour

Can you say "HOT!"

The Foundry iron pour was a crowd pleaser at Saturday's Pilgrimage as Alabama Art Casting melted scrap iron in a mobile furnace and recycled it into cast-iron art. The art was etched by purchasers of these scratch block molds.

The molds took about 45 minutes to cool and harden.

More Pilgrimage photos can be found
at Selma NOW.

Read more about Pilgrimage
in The Selma Times-Journal.

Be sure and visit the Selma, Ala. Daily Photo tomorrow, March 23,
for its 2nd Anniversary!

"Ghost" of Elodie Todd Dawson

The "ghosts" of famous Selmians returned to life Friday evening to tell their stories in Part 1 of the Old Live Oak Cemetery Ghost Tour.

Here, the "ghost" of Elodie Todd Dawson tells how her family was divided between North and South during the Civil War and how she spearheaded efforts to erect the cemetery's Confederate Monument after it was over. Mrs. Dawson was the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, making her President Abraham Lincoln's sister-in-law.

To see the fine monument that her husband placed in her memory, click HERE.
Other Friday night ghosts included black educator R.B. Hudson, Alabama's first female State Representative, suffragette Harriet Wilkins, a Confederate soldier and more.

More "ghosts" will rise tonight at 6 p.m. for Part 2 of the Selma Pilgrimage cemetery tour. Pilgrimage celebrates Selma's heritage from its founding in 1820 to present-day history.

More Pilgrimage 2009 pictures can be seen at Selma NOW.

Night Before Pilgrimage (Skywatch Friday)

It's Skywatch Friday, and on the night before Pilgrimage, all was quiet at Sturdivant Hall where the sun set with a slight orange glow. The gates were locked but by 9 a.m., they will be wide open to welcome guests to the 34th annual Historic Selma Pilgrimage.

Come on down! It's a three-day event!

Check out the other Skywatch photos at www.skyley.blogspot.com.

Dogwoods in Old Town

Ah, Spring!

Walk or ride through Old Town, and take in clouds of dogwood blossoms to recover from last weekend's soaking rains!

The weather folks are forecasting perfect weather for the Selma Pilgrimage this weekend...with highs in the low 70s and plenty of sunshine.

I have posted a new blog focusing just on Selma events since I seem to feature so many of them here, and of course, the Pilgrimage this weekend is the first post. Check it out at Selma Now.

Pilgrimage Antique Show

The Pilgrimage Antique Show & Sale has a new location this year at Southern Antiques on Dallas Avenue. Here's one of many displays in several rooms. I like how the china shows up so well against the red background, and the china cabinet is quite a keeper!

Vendors this year include Shannon Linden, The Silver lady, from Atlanta. An entire room will be devoted to her silver displays. The show and sale begin at 9 a.m. Friday, March 20 and continues through Sunday.

View the slideshow from the 2008 Pilgrimage.

The "Caring" Butterfly

The pretty blue butterfly in front of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum is called the "Caring" butterfly, because this building once served as a hospital.

Its hospital exhibits depict the mid-20th Century when it served as the Vaughan Memorial Hospital. Prior to those days, it was a mid-19th Century school "for orphans and children of indigent Masons," and later a Confederate hospital, Freedmen's hospital, county courthouse and military school.

The building houses many other exhibits, including a replica of the late Mayor Joe T. Smitherman's office and much of his memorabilia, Confederate-era items, railroad history and military uniforms.

This weekend, the museum will again serve as headquarters for the Selma Historic Pilgrimage. Stop here first for tickets and a tour.

(The butterfly was painted by artist Sally Jordan and sponsored by Vaughan Regional Medical Center.)
To see more photos of this butterfly, visit The Butterfly Project.

Greening Up

Everything is greening up, even the dogwood blooms that open green and soon turn white. These blooms branch out from a web of Spanish Moss.

Thanks to warm temperatures and recent wet weather, spring is a little earlier this year.

Robin Redbreast (Camera Critters)

Robin Redbreast has arrived and is likely busy building a nest.

Guest photographer Elaine Stewart snapped his picture on a recent early spring day in her yard. I think he may be chirping a few words to his mate.

To see more cute Camera Critters, click HERE.

Arts Revive Spring Show

Bold, bright colors seem to be the trend this year in many entries of the Arts Revive Spring Art Show. The show opened Friday night at The Harmony Club on Water Avenue and exhibits more than 100 works of art by 39 Alabama artists, 18 from Selma.

Categories are oil and acrylic, mixed media, folk art, photography, enhanced photography, sculpture, watercolor and drawing.

The show, which is free to the public, is open tonight (Saturday) from 7-10 p.m. and during Pilgrimage next weekend from 11 a.m. til 4 p.m. March 20-22.

We Can Fly! (Skywatch Friday)

Sometimes photography enthusiasts just get lucky!

I was lucky the day I captured this copter whirring right above the windshield of our truck along U.S. Highway 80 west of Selma.The deep blue sky, just a bit saturated, seems to accentuate the glory of flying . It was a beautiful day, and the camera even caught the reflection of the highway right of way.

Happy Skywatch out there. Catch more skies at www.skyley.blogspot.com.

Mabry-Jones House

If you remember U.S. Civil War history, then the naval battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac might come to mind. Capt. Catesby ap Roger Jones, commander of the Merrimac (C.S.S. Virginia), lived in this circa 1850 Greek Revival home, and its doors will be open to the public during Selma's Pilgrimage March 20-22.

Jones, who later served as commander of Selma's Naval Ordnance Works, commanded the first Confederate ironclad against the Union ironclad after Admiral Franklin Buchanan was wounded. The first-of-its-kind battle between ironclads at Hampton Road, Va, ended in a draw.

Recently renovated, this house tour will feature much more intriguing history, many antiques, art and portraits. It is still owned by the Jones family, including the fifth Catesby ap Roger Jones.

We've Got Color

A ride through Old Live Oak Cemetery and other spots around Selma reveals a touch of spring color!

Azaleas are awakening amid their cloaks of Spanish Moss, and I notice dogwoods unfurling their buds.

Hurray for Spring!

And to think these shrubs were covered with snow just over a week ago!

Tannehill Comes to Selma

Alabama Art Casting, headquartered at Tannehill State Ironworks Park near Birmingham, will host an arts education event and pour iron for keepsakes during Pilgrimage Weekend March 20-22.

Visitors can come to The Foundry, an 1860's structure, and for $20,etch their own scratch block mold for a unique gift or memento. Using a nail or dremel, sculptors can carve whatever they wish into the chemically bonded sand. Some people like to carve their house numbers, others their handprints or flowers, insects and most popular...a team mascot. Scouts typically etch their troop numbers. The iron plaques can be used as trivets, garden sculptures, shelf art, door stops and more.

There's an historic connection between Tannehill and Selma. The Tannehill Ironworks once shipped its raw iron to Selma where the Naval Foundry manufactured cannons, other weapons and iron-clad ships during the War Between the States. Wilson's Raiders of the Union Army burned most of Tannehill and much of Selma in the spring of 1865.

Today, the "Tannehill iron" used by the sculptors is scrap iron that is re-melted in a batch furnace and recycled into new uses, among them: cast-iron art blocks like the one above.

Alabama Art Casting is a nonprofit organization, and half the proceeds from this event will be donated toward preservation of The Foundry.

Bridge Jubilee '09

Hundreds of people joined in the Bridge Crossing Jubilee march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday. This view is from Broad Street looking toward the bridge.

The event commemorates the "Bloody Sunday" March in 1965 and the subsequent Selma-to-Montgomery March for voting rights.

The Jubilee has been cited as one of Alabama's Top 10 Events and this year's speakers included U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder. To read more about this year's Jubilee, click HERE.

Thanks to Christine Weerts for sending the photo!

Johnny Cash (Camera Critters)

Here's Johnny Cash, the Dog in Black!

The black Labrador Retriever mix was among the high quality "items" auctioned at last weekend's PAWS Ball and Auction benefit for the Central Alabama Animal Shelter.

With all the animals lovers attending, I'm sure he found a good home.

To see animals from all over, check out Camera Critters.

Walking through the Woods

So where do you go when you follow a cat on a walk through the woods on a warm, sunny morning?

Down the hill, across the fence, through a briar patch, beneath some vines, over a log...and then only the cat knows where from there!

Wind & Fire (Skywatch)

Skies were clear with smoke near Brantley School Friday afternoon after a grass fire got out of control near the road. If you look through the smoke, you can see two firefighters at work.

A bit of a breeze may have caused the fire, which was located well off the road when I first drove by it, to quickly spread to here only about 15 minutes later.

There are plenty more skies to view today. Head on over to www.skyley.blogspot.com

Flower Thaw

Daffodils that have bloomed since January bowed their heads Sunday in surrender to a slushy cover of snow. When temperatures rose, they shed tears of joy!

Snow Ornaments

Sunday's snow turned birds and feeders into frosted ornaments. This little feathered friend looks like he might be deciding which is colder, the snow on the feeder or the snow on the ground.

(Photograph by Elaine Stewart)

After the Ball

(RIGHT) Petey (AKA Jeff Tomlinson) thanks Selma for its support of the Central Alabama Animal Shelter. The Shelter held its second annual PAWS Ball and Auction last weekend, and Tomlinson was among those who adopted a Shelter dog in 2008 when more than 200 animals were placed.

(LEFT) One of the most popular auction items was a University of Alabama football signed by Coach Nick Saban. Alumni Buddy Perkins, left, donated the football that raised nearly $500. Auctioneer Bob Green, right, holds the football that he bought.

Supporters enjoyed food, drinks and the music of The Lower Society of Upper Water Avenue band.
(Photographs by Christine Weerts)

Snow Angels, ETC

After a weekend of stormy weather, God smiled on Selma and vicinity with a brief treat to snow!

Amounts varied from a dusting in Old Live Oak Cemetery, where this angel points to the Creator, to two inches at my house and perhaps a little more further north.

In the picture at left, cardinals come out to enjoy the feast at their feeder, and below, fluffy snowflakes combine to form "cotton bolls" on the shrubbery.

(Photographs by Christine Weerts,
Elaine Stewart and Janet Gresham)

Be sure and check out the Selma Snow Slideshow at the top of the sidebar or visit the photos at my album.

March Theme Day (Glass)

March Theme Day is here, and my choice for a photo was crystal clear!

This crystal chandelier is reflected in a mirror at Sturdivant Hall Museum.

Follow this link for more photographs of glass!
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

(Selma got snow today for the second time in two years! That is quite rare, so on the sidebar, I have posted a Selma Snow Slideshow. Thanks to Christine Weerts for snapping the church steeple and Old Live Oak Cemetery snow photos. The rest were taken in my neighborhood several miles north of Selma. We received a couple of inches on the ground and about one-half inch more on the hoods of vehicles. The snow, however, was gone by noon.)