Blue Skies and Redbud at the Park

It's only early March, but redbud blooms against a blue sky

 over the Valley Grande city park this week. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday 

The Hole That was Once a Row

We are back at Old Cahawba Archaeological Park at the site of the town's

 first "row" built in 1822. A row was a predecessor to the shopping center,

 and the big hole behind the sign was once the basement of a building

 that housed eight stores and offices. 

Built by the Crocheron brothers, merchants from Staten Island, N.Y.,

 the row was similar to those in New York City. But before the brothers

 built this "mall," they built Alabama's first statehouse in the center of town.

 This building later became known as "the Old Brick Store."

 Store owners from Cahawba purchased their merchandise from New York

 and traveled to market via the Alabama River to Mobile,

 then by steamship to Cuba and north to New York. 

The Crocheron Columns (all that is left of the brothers' house)

 can be seen in the background along with a more modern river house. 

Linking to Signs, Signs

Black and White in Color

The black iron grillwork on the library balcony works perfectly

 for March Theme Day, Black and White in Color. Selma is endowed 

with beautiful wrought iron, especially its fences around historic homes.  

City Daily Photo sponsors a new photography theme on the first of each month.  

Linking to City Daily Photo March Theme Day

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Fresh and Local

The Good Ole' Days are here again with markets buying local

 so that we can eat fresh!

While we plant a few vegetables around the yard each spring,

 we don't have room for great big, fresh-out-of-the-ground  greens

 like these. The Orrville Farmers' Market has them though! 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Old Cahawba Collage

Visitors aren't just visitors at Old Cahawba. 

They're explorers!

The archaeological park located at the confluence of the Cahaba and Alabama 

rivers was best known as Alabama's first state capital (1819-1826),

 but in the 16th Century, it served as an Indian village. Then, in the 1800s,

 Cahawba became a wealthy town with some 3,000 residents.

 During the War Between the States, a federal prison housed Union soldiers,

 and after the war, emancipated slaves took refuge there. 

Now a ghost town, St. Luke's Episcopal Church (recently moved back

 to Old Cahawba) greets guests as they enter the park.

  At right above stand brick pillars that are all that remain of the Crocheron home

 and store that overlooked the rivers. Below at right sits the Perine

 artesian well which furnished air conditioning to the Perine mansion.  

Linking to Mosaic Monday

The Designers Behind the Exhibits

Thursday's grand opening of the Selma Interpretive Center's second

 and third-floor exhibits included the hospitality of exhibit designers

 John Wood and Linda Byers.

 As employees of the National Park Service's regional office in Atlanta,

 the pair designed, built and installed the new exhibits

 depicting the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March

 and the Courageous Eight activists. 

"We wanted to recognize not only the Courageous Eight

 but other individuals as well," Byers said.

 Woods built the background for the second-floor exhibit (shown in photo),

 and Byers designed the Courageous Eight banners that hang

 in the third-floor meeting room. 

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An Alabama Natural Wonder

Here is where the Cahaba flows into the Alabama River, ending its long journey

 from near Springville, winding its way into environmental science

 as an Alabama Natural Wonder.

The free-flowing waterway is considered the most biologically diverse

 in America and is home to 125 species of fish and rare plants

 such as the Cahaba lily.

The two rivers' banks once supported a Mississippian Indian village

 followed later by Alabama's first state capital. Today, it's a ghost town

 known as the Old Cahawba Archaeological Park. 

Linking to Signs, Signs   

GONE too Soon

Addie, aged 6 months and 5 days

John, aged 4 months and 5 days

Maggie, aged 7 days

GONE too soon!

The  GRAVE markers in Old Live Oak Cemetery tell the heartbreaks

 of yesteryear. They were the children of John and Julia A. Moran. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the letter is G

On the Walls at Charlie's Place

The decor at Charlie's Place is as good as the food!

Housed in The Harmony Club on Water Avenue, the exposed interior brick

 displays old signs form current and former businesses, historic photos

 and documents plus a splash of colorful art by local artist Julian Helms. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

The Welcome Barrel

Proprieter Judy McKinney planted daffodils, pansies, cabbages and strawberries

 in a barrel to welcome folks to the Orrville Farmers' Market.

 The business sells seeds and plants, produce and gifts.

 Her future plans include a kitchen/cannery for classes in canning,

 breadmaking, soapmaking and more. 

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows