W is for Window (ABC Wednesday)

Windows can reflect a lot more than what's across the street!

Check out more perspectives on the letter W over at ABC Wednesday.

Clinging and Climbing

Vines seem to love Selma's old buildings! Instead of window washers, I guess we need a few good vine pullers. Meanwhile, I like the arches above the windows.

Buying Local

So I finally made it to the Farmers Market before the vendors sold out!

Hot and Thirsty

These knockout roses across the street from the library are hot and thirsty! Consistent temperatures of around 100 degrees are challenging flower and vegetable gardens to the max this summer, and hey, we are just now getting into summer!

Soaking Up Sunshine

We've got plenty of sunshine, and the magnolias are soaking it up!

The blossoms are especially lovely and long-lasting this summer.

Summer Delicacies

So I can't resist these summer fruits!

They are delicacies to my palate.

God bless the truck farmers!

Line to the Library

Lines of children head into the Selma-Dallas County Public Library Tuesday to meet McClellan's Critters, an annual summer event. Check out more library fun during a Sensational Selma Summer.

Chiefs

Selma Mayor George Evans and Fire Chief Mike Stokes talk at the recent grand opening of Phoenix Park. The "Welcome to Selma" fans came in handy on a hot day. (Notice the faux blue door in the background. It was featured in my June 9 post.)

Passing of Our National Treasure

It's a sad night in Selma, Alabama with the passing of our National Treasure, Kathryn Tucker Windham. She died today at age 93. The "Ghost Lady," as she was affectionately known, brought our town into the national spotlight for reasons other than Civil War and Civil Rights.

She weaved the stories of our ghosts and legends and folk remedies and religion and charmed the whole world. Beginning as a  pioneering female police reporter in Montgomery, her writing later graced the lifestyle pages of The Selma Times-Journal, and she freelanced and authored books about ghosts all across the South. Other books featured southern and Alabama Black Belt culture, including "Alabama: One Big Front Porch" and "Twice Blessed."

I could list her many honors and other accomplishments, but she probably would want to be remembered most as a storyteller. Years ago, at a social occasion for business women, someone who didn't know her asked, "And what do you do?"

"I tell stories," she replied succinctly.

And she told her stories magically. I first heard her at the Calico Fort festival in Fort Deposit, way back when I was a college student. The children who surrounded her on the ground were, well, spellbound! She eventually became famous at the National Storytelling Festival up in Tennessee and was mistress of ceremonies at the Alabama Tale-Tellin' Festival here every October. Oh, how we'll miss her!

But, we will also miss her neighborliness and humble, humorous and generous spirit. Within two days of my husband and I moving to Selma more than three decades ago, Kathryn, who lived across the street, welcomed us with a home-baked cake. Even after her fame spread far and wide and after she was well along in years, she sometimes volunteered at the Visitor Information Center, and there were many times that I saw her out picking up litter on residential streets. Then every New Year's Day, she invited everybody to her home for black-eyed peas and cornbread for good luck. She stayed mostly in the kitchen, cooking cornbread and stirring peas all day long. 

In the preface of "Twice Blessed," Kathryn reflects on her "greatest blessings" as being her "loving family and stimulating friends" and says that through her life, "happiness, like a cloud of applauding angels, has accompanied me and urged me on."

And I imagine that Heaven's angels are applauding her arrival tonight.  

(Photo is from June 3, 2008 at Kathryn Windham's 90th birthday party)

   

Wallflowers

 

Festive zinnias grow from an urn in Phoenix Park, while something else (lantana perhaps?) clutch a brick wall,

and I wonder how DID they sprout up there, and where are they getting water?

Skywatch Friday (Rear View)

There are some beautiful views of the sky, river and bridge from the rear of buildings along Water Avenue.

This one is on the western end of the avenue near Church Street.

See the skies via worldwide blogs over at Skywatch Friday.

Faux Door

A  blue, faux door lends decorative interest to Phoenix Park. Painted along the exterior of a bordering brick building, I wonder if anybody has tried to open it yet!

ABC Wednesday (U is for Under)

Under an umbrella and under a hat are the practical places to be beneath a glaring sun and temperatures in the upper 90s. Artist and architectural designer Karen Weir sits in Phoenix Park beneath an umbrella at the park's grand opening last week. Not only did she help with the park's design, she also made her unique necklace!

U might enjoy more U words over at Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday meme.

Flower Garden at the Mill House

Black-eyed susans bloom in profusion at the Kenan's Mill mill house. The miller once lived here, but it is now rented for meetings, receptions and reunions and owned by the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

Mortimer

Hey, I'm Mortimer and it's Monday!

Mortimer is a legend who rests halfway up the stairs at The Restaurant on Grumbles Alley. If you want more information, just Google him! 

Althea

Althea's late spring blossoms apparently love the extreme heat and humidity in our backyard. It's nice to have at least one shrub that doesn't have to drink water! 

Phoenix Park Opens

Welcome to Phoenix Park!

Its grand opening arrived Friday with colorful balloons, speakers, refreshments and the installation of locally manufactured patio furniture.

Originally the idea of George Needham, who drew plans for beautification of the lot once occupied by the Phoenix Building, a modified version designed and sponsored by individuals, businesses and the city of Selma gives people a place to relax and picnic on Water Avenue.  It also affords a better view across the street from the St. James Hotel. The patio furniture and umbrellas were donated by Plantation Patterns, a company located at Craig Industrial Park.

Skywatch Friday, Cobalt Blue

It's Skywatch time again, and Selma's skies are blue, so blue and even more blue with temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 

So we could use a few gray skies and rain, but I sure hate to complain about blue skies! 

More skies to gaze at over at the Skywatch Friday meme.

Roaming the Riverbank

The banks of the Alabama River teem with wildlife and not just alligators! Here we have several whitetail deer in a photo that was taken by Randy Smith.

Can you find all the deer?

June Theme Day (Under Construction)

"Under Construction" is the City Daily Photo Blogs theme for June 1, and here is yet another picture of construction along Water Avenue. Utilities are going underground and sidewalks are being renovated. Come see!

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