Scenic North Alabama--Again

I used to try to do a post for this topic every now and then (some were a bit tongue-in-cheek with not-so-attractive shots from around this area), but I have not really done so in quite a while, with the exception of the autumn colors I recently posted. Here are a few more photos of another of the autumn colors commonly seen in this part of the country during October.

(as usual, click to enlarge photos and links appear in a different color from the regular text)

Cotton fields near Hazel Green, Alabama.

 Most of the fields around Huntsville have already been picked and baled, many of the bales already transported to cotton gins for processing. I was lucky to catch these unpicked fields on the way up to Fayetteville, Tennessee this morning.

This was taken in the parking lot of the gas station across the road from this cotton field. Sorry for the lack of clarity. I lose a bit when I zoom in with my cell phone camera. [I really need a good DSLR camera--oh, well--Have iPhone, Will photograph] As a spinner, I really would like to run over and pick a few bolls and take them home to spin. I generally do not pick field cotton because I have no idea about how long all the chemical residue lasts that is sprayed on the fields to defoliate the plants before picking. I do have a limited source for what I suppose you could term "organic" cotton  because the grower does not apply any herbicides, pesticides, or defoliants to her crop. She usually grows a small patch for school children to pick during the October Farm Days that they host. I got a whole Target bag full last year when I volunteered at the event. I was unable to volunteer this year due to family obligations.

I love the intense blue of the sky in this photo. You can see a little of the colors of the trees in the background. Had I been paying attention to the entire frame, I might have been able to compose a really nice photo with the autumn colors, the blue sky, and the white cotton, but I was mostly focused on the cotton. This is the same field as the one in the smaller photo above, made from the gas station.

I liked this shot of the farm structures in the background. I should have done some cropping before I added this photo, but I did part of the draft from my iPhone and didn't realize there was that much grassy foreground.

Scenic North Alabama

Finally getting some colors down our way. This is a tree down the street that is looking good.

And a shot of the hills to the east.

Scenic North Alabama

I haven't posted anything on this topic in quite some time. We went on a hike to the Madison County Nature Trail on Green Mountain today as part of our Fourth of July activities.

(click photo to enlarge if necessary

Interior of covered bridge over lake.

Scenic North Alabama: Old Farm Building in Morgan County

Scenic North Alabama: Water Garden

The water garden is one of my favorite places at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

Scenic North Alabama: Butterfly House

We went to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens on my birthday (July 2). I had not been there in several years and was amazed at the beautiful new butterfly house they have built. The old one was a rather temporary affair that has now been refurbished and turned into a lovely bonsai exhibit. My favorite areas used to be the Japanese water garden and the wildflower trail. I have to add the butterfly house to my list of favorites. Here are some photos of the pool and waterfall.

Of course, the batteries in my camera died right after we arrived, so I made almost all the photos for the day with my cell phone.





There were lots of turtles enjoying the fine atmosphere. This was made from the overlook above the waterfall.






This is a view of the terraced waterfall from turtle level. You can see those two guys on the log enjoying themselves.






You can walk under the waterfall. I couldn't resist trying to get a photo from underneath.

Scenic North Alabama: Moon Over Bellefonte

Scenic North Alabama: Wilson Dam at Florence, Alabama, May 4, 2010

Construction on Wilson Dam began in 1918 and was completed in 1927. The Wilson Dam actually predates the TVA, but was later placed under the authority of the TVA. The dam is 137 feet (42 m) high and stretches 4,541 feet (1,384 m) across the Tennessee River.



Dam from the south side at Rockpile Recreation Area after the recent heavy rains and flooding









Great Blue Heron flying; there were many of them fishing at the dam





North side of dam from city park near Mariott Hotel






Bluff at Rockpile Recreation Area, Wilson Dam





One of the caves formed in the limestone bluff; the heavy rains have created wet weather streams and waterfalls




Rainbow in mist at second cave in bluff






Yet another rainbow and cave opening




Yes, this photo was in a previous post, but I liked it and decided to use it again.





Largest of the waterfalls










Same shot with Paul to show scale

Scenic North Alabama: Guntersville Dam near Guntersville, Alabama

Guntersville Dam, North; spillways, locks, and fishing area (before the recent heavy rains)



















The same view after the rains; more than half the upper walkway is under water (photo on left) and all of the lower walkway(photo on right) where we often fish is submerged





Spillways open; south side of dam after recent flooding
























Submerged guard rail on south side of dam with herons












Guntersville Reservoir above the dam





Part of Lake Guntersville with waterfowl; recreation area near Guntersville city limits


Sun on the lake below the dam

Scenic North Alabama: Old House near Stevenson, AL

We passed this interesting old house on the road to the Bellefonte Nuclear plant near Stevenson, Alabama. You can see the tops of the Bellefonte cooling towers in the background. Click on the photo for a better view of the towers.



This house reminds me somewhat of the house in McEwen, Tennessee that my father lived in during part of his childhood. The family had moved to Humphreys County from Benton County around 1915 when my father was about nine years old. I do not know if the house was already built on the property when my grandparents bought it. Although there was a small amount of acreage for farming (five acres), my grandfather supported his wife and eight children as a railroad telegraph operator and later station master at the depot in McEwen. I have dim memories of my grandmother talking about milking, churning butter, tending chickens, and being engaged in various activities related to vegetable gardening, so there must have been enough farming going on to provide at least some of the family's food.

The truncated pyramid shape of the roof is similar to that of my grandparents' house, but their roof was higher and the chimney came right out of the center of the roof where the point of the pyramid would have been. The house had a functional second story that provided sleeping space, but I was never allowed to go upstairs. Unlike this one, their house was elevated a good four feet off the ground in front and even higher in back because of the slope of the ground. It had a veranda that ran along the front and the east side. The well that supplied the family with water was located right outside the kitchen door in an enclosed back porch. Because of this and the door on the west side of the kitchen that opened to nowhere but a drop of about five or six feet to the ground and offered a view of the outhouse a number of yards down the back side of the hill, I have often wondered about stages of construction of the house. Unfortunately, by the time I had questions to ask about the house, there was no one left to answer them.

My grandfather died in 1958. My grandmother continued to live in the house until the mid-1970's when she could no longer take care of herself and had to be moved to a nursing home where she died in 1976. The house was sold in the 1980's and the new owner razed the structure. I have no photographs of the old house. Maybe that's why I liked this one.

Scenic North Alabama: Wheeler Dam

What a nice day. We decide to head west on US Hwy 72 and see where we end up. Eventually, we find ourselves at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Wheeler Dam near Rogersville, Alabama. Here are some photos. Click on them for enlargements.


TVA was created in 1933 to improve navigation, control flooding, provide electricity through the generation of hydroelectric power, and improve economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region that was one of the most economically depressed in the country. A total of 50 dams have been built along the Tennessee River and its tributaries from Knoxville to the Ohio River. Construction on Wheeler Dam began in 1933 and it was completed in 1936. The dam impounds the Wheeler Lake of 67,070 acres and its tailwaters feed into Wilson Lake. The Wheeler Reservoir above the dam stretches 74 miles east to Guntersville Dam. Fifteen miles downstream from Wheeler Dam is Wilson Dam at Florence and Muscle Shoals. Wheeler Dam is named for Civil War general Joseph "Joe" Wheeler, who later became a U.S. Congressman.



South end of the dam from the overlook parking lot





Sign at south end of dam





About to drive across the dam





Entrance to one of the locks at the north end of the dam






Another view of the locks looking south




Sign showing the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dam system on the Tennessee River (Wheeler Dam is in the lower left portion). Unfortunately, the sign has been embellished with graffiti.

Scenic North Alabama - Ditto Landing

Mist on the water at Ditto Landing (made with my cell phone from the car last summer)

Scenic North Alabama: The Huntsville Tornado, 1/21/ 2010

Viewed from Governor's Drive as it moved east behind First Baptist Church, the photo was made by the daughter of one of my husband's co-workers as she drove home from work.

Song without Words 8/25/09