K is for Kenan's Mill Painting

Alabama Plein Air artists painted scenes at KENAN'S MILL 

during the Selma Historic Pilgrimage this past weekend,

 and here is a beauty by Jack Kidd. 

Many plein air paintings sold at the Selma Art Guild's

 Wet Paint Sale Saturday, but some are still available 

this Friday and Saturday from 12-4.

Kenan's Mill is an 1860's gristmill that stayed in business more than a century,

 producing stone-ground grits and cornmeal. The mill is open to the public

 during Selma's Historic Pilgrimage in March and for the Kenan's Mill Festival

 in early November.

 The Kenan's Mill park can be rented for special occasions.

 It includes the mill, mill house, covered stage, swinging bridge

 across Valley Creek, brick charcoal kiln and barn area with restrooms. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is "K"

and City Daily Photo Blogs    

The Perfect Perch

We're posting the letter V over at ABC Wednesday, and this might

 be a weather VANE atop Dallas Academy, or it might be 

the perfect VENUE  for a pigeon perch!

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Once UPON a Time

Once UPON a time, there was a pretty little red-haired girl with curls

 and a pink bow and purple face paint!

 She was enjoying her day at StreetFest!

Linking to ABC Wednesday (the letter U) and City Daily Photo Blogs

Enchanted Street

It's "raining" Spanish moss on this Selma street!

Really, you have to watch for falling Spanish moss along the sidewalk,

 but that's just part of what makes Old Town so ENCHANTING.

Linking to ABC Wednesday where E is the Letter of Week

and City Daily Photo Blogs

C is for Civil Rights Freedom Wall

As spring arrives along with Civil Rights celebrations, many tourists

 will visit Brown Chapel AME Church where The Civil Rights Freedom Wall

 stands out front, along with a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is "C" 

 and City Daily Photo Blogs

Zenith for a Raptor

This red-tailed hawk soared, dived, then circled our yard before perching

 upon the ZENITH of the tallest pine tree next door. Good thing I had

 a ZOOM lens handy! I hope he wasn't trying to ZAP our cats 

who were enjoying the first sunny day in days!

By the way, we're photographing the Letter Z this week over at ABC Wednesday.

 

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

Y is for New YEAR

On the second day of the new YEAR, ABC Wednesday celebrates Y,

 the second to the last letter of the alphabet. 

So, I'm sharing one of the most dramatic sunsets from 2012

 to carry us over into 2013, because frankly,

 it's been raining here all this YEAR!  

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blog

A Quantity of Quarts

It's "Q Week" at ABC Wednesday, and a QUANTITY of canned QUARTS 

of jams and jellies and preserves might just make you hungry!

 These colorful jars of goodness were for sale at the Kenan's Mill Festival

 by Mrs. Rushton's Cottage Kitchen.

Linking to ABC Wednesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

M is for Market Day

We're posting the letter "M" this week, just in time for Market Day!

The annual Riverfront Market Day festival is Saturday on Water Avenue.

 There will be food, arts, crafts, music, a scavenger hunt and children's activities.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

L is for Lobster Fest

It's ABC Wednesday, and L is for LOBSTER FEST!

Better hurry up and call that number if you want

 to get your name and lobster in the pot!

Linking to ABC Wednesday

K is for Karlyn

Did you KNOW that Dallas County once had several thousand farmers, 

that fear of the boll weevil prompted the hiring of our first county extension agent

 or that numerous black-owned businesses once lined Selma's Lapsley Street?

Duke University graduate student KARLYN Forner shared her research

 of Selma's socio-economic and political highlights from 1910-1920 at Tuesday's

 quarterly meeting of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

 She's researching the 20th Century history of our town for her dissertation

 and previously shared the decade from 1900-1910.

 Now, we're looking forward to the next decade!

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is K!

Focus on the Flag

ABC Wednesday is celebrating the letter "F" this week,

 so we'll FOCUS on the FLAG and the FREEDOMS for which it stands. 

This flag hangs from the Bridgetender's Cottage in Lafayette Park

 and is especially beautiful with the bridge in the background. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday, D is for DOG

Let me tell you about my DOG!

Well no, she isn't really MY dog, but she is best friends with my dog,

 and when it thunders many, many miles away, she is pretty much MY dog! 

We call her Weather Dog, because she's better than radar.

If she barges through our kitchen door, we KNOW a storm is coming, 

even if the sky is blue. So, here she is in her spot on our floor. 

She won't budge until the storm is over, and that is well worth her 

advance warning so I can turn off and unplug this computer before lightning strikes! 

By the way, it's ABC Wednesday, and the letter is D!

Read, Rest, Relax

It's ABC Wednesday, and C if for Courtyard.

Summer is a good time to head out to the courtyard at the

 Selma-Dallas County Public Library. You can read, rest and relax

 in the shade, hear the drip, drip, drip of the fountain

 and perhaps the song of a bird.

Linking with ABC Wednesday

Bottle Trees and Bargains

Bottle trees have made a comeback down here in the American South,

 and whether they keep the haints at bay or not, they sure make a colorful addition

 to yards and patios. This one, along with tons of other things,

 was found at Junebugg's Flea Market and Antique Mall. Love that place!

Posted at ABC Wednesday for "The Letter B"

A is for Alabama and Auburn

It's ABC Wednesday, and we start all over with "A." Around here,

 "A" is easy to find on everything from shirts to mugs, key rings to jackets,

 even rugs! Of course, they represent our state's two most famous universities,

 Alabama and Auburn. Soon, the college crowd will be back on campus, 

and I'll just bet some of them will be decorating their dorms and apartments

 with Custom Carpets by K.D. 

Posted at ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday, Z is for Zinnias

The ABC Wednesday meme has reached the end of the alphabet,

 and since ABCs are short on Zzzzzzzzzzs, how lucky I am to have zinnias in my yard! 

These little "paperwhite" miniatures are really showy once they

 FINALLY start spreading, and with the drought, that took awhile this summer! 

They only survived because I've spent more than I care to admit on water bills,

 but rain three days in a row has truly made all the difference!

Posted at ABC Wednesday

Patriotic Series, Y is for Y'all Come!

It's ABC Wednesday as well as the Fourth of July, and as we say here in the South,

"Y'all come!"

 Our annual family spread included pork roast, pork ribs, barbecue chicken

 and homegrown peas, okra, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini

 and green beans. The key lime pies came from Mark's Mart.

 Happy Independence Day!

 (Note: We're eating it all now before there's a tax passed for overeating!)  

Posted at ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday, O is for Old Live Oak Cemetery

ABC Wednesday is featuring the letter "O," and oh my, once again I see an opportunity

 to post a photo of Old Live Oak Cemetery!

We call it Old Live Oak, because there is also a New Live Oak Cemetery.

 The old cemetery is home to numerous outstanding monuments and billowing sheets

 of Spanish Moss. It is just optimum for snapping pictures, too!

Posted at ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday, M is for MOVIES

It's M Week, and we're going back to the MOVIES in Selma at the Walton Theatre,

 now re-opened in the Striplin Performing Arts Centre.

 No, "Blue Sky" isn't playing now, but it was filmed in Selma. 

But yes, "The Hunger Games"was the feature film this past weekend.

 It's no telling how many Selmians have mentioned how thankful they are

 that they can watch a brand-new movie right here 

and not have to drive to Prattville or Montgomery!

Posted at ABC Wednesday