tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43949647590746733132024-03-13T04:16:23.923-05:00Planet BamaThomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.comBlogger387125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-49428231166417758352022-06-20T18:41:00.004-05:002022-06-20T18:41:40.672-05:00Tough but Important Summer Reading: The Last Slave Ship<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/cvr9781982136048/the-last-slave-ship-9781982136048_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="530" height="800" src="https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/cvr9781982136048/the-last-slave-ship-9781982136048_hr.jpg" width="530" /></a></div>I've followed journalist Ben Raines' search for the Clotilda for several years and thought I knew most of what there was to know about the adduction and smuggling of 110 Africans across the Atlantic and into Mobile Bay in 1860. I didn't. <p></p><p>Raines, who in 2018 located the wreck of the Clotilda, sunk in the river mud upriver from Mobile 160 years earlier, takes us back on that long-ago ocean voyage, describing it at a level of detail I didn't imagine possible. The book confronts you with the careless cruelty and inhumanity of the enterprise, the entire civilization. The book also describes the international geopolitical landscape of slavery in a way that helped me better understand the forces that would shortly thereafter thrust the U.S. into the Civil War. </p><p>But maybe the book's most important work is how it shortens the time and emotional distance between the present day and the reality of slavery. Something about the tangible wreck, the still extant community, founded by the liberated Clotida survivors, their preservation of African traditions, the witness and descendants who knew them and wrote about them, even photographed and filmed them. To know their names and hear their transcribed stories of abduction, slavery, and the construction of new lives post-Civil War. </p><p>I read it on a visit to the Alabama coast. Looking up from the pages, I could see the ship traffic heading in and out of Mobile Bay. The heart of darkness is not that so far away in time and place. </p><p> </p><p> </p>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-72981032611383555222022-02-22T21:54:00.003-06:002022-02-22T21:54:36.553-06:00Alabama News Center: Extending the Appalachian Trail into Alabama a natural, say advocates and state conservation officials - Alabama NewsCenter<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7pVJHtZ3kww3Dop3AaU4IzkR6wATTVqDcQw5W_ImF13aJPkjZwS12iRzLHQYjURs53612JOJdZnUU9Fvbq-4LVhA5X_J-gHm1UOSDa0vr3Xpz02TFHVlvJe-r7GSghtVKTJdtIRuOv_vSt_OX1KfSGugRl1ruwrGGDplbnNAp0XHahveuUg8d7Q-b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7pVJHtZ3kww3Dop3AaU4IzkR6wATTVqDcQw5W_ImF13aJPkjZwS12iRzLHQYjURs53612JOJdZnUU9Fvbq-4LVhA5X_J-gHm1UOSDa0vr3Xpz02TFHVlvJe-r7GSghtVKTJdtIRuOv_vSt_OX1KfSGugRl1ruwrGGDplbnNAp0XHahveuUg8d7Q-b" width="320" /></a></div>Back in 2008, as a Birmingham News reporter, I wrote about an early floating of this proposal:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://alabamanewscenter.com/2022/02/22/extending-the-appalachian-trail-into-alabama-a-natural-say-advocates-and-state-conservation-officials/?fbclid=IwAR2n-3dK9l_ktqt4NWy2DZESODfhE_gga9H7LIR7noSHDVSa8oGZ_aDT2RI">Extending the Appalachian Trail into Alabama a natural, say advocates and state conservation officials - Alabama NewsCenter</a><div><br /></div><div>I'm glad to see it's finally out there as a goal. It's a no-brainer. The Appalachian Mountains begin in Alabama.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzJNNs-AdxtDKMM72MBTz-El3jlNP3oE7eA-51B1BJyHbRoetODC0JXzRdCig40iwoYzW07pb-EoajZoG_sjAXmighr7iVi7qfgwMeuhvd9eEVSzW2xTsRi9Y0oE_iBYZw5IjvqT0j0fI7AFCLHnfPpglsbybKGFe20F0FuIaawukm5NSnRZGSAqjb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzJNNs-AdxtDKMM72MBTz-El3jlNP3oE7eA-51B1BJyHbRoetODC0JXzRdCig40iwoYzW07pb-EoajZoG_sjAXmighr7iVi7qfgwMeuhvd9eEVSzW2xTsRi9Y0oE_iBYZw5IjvqT0j0fI7AFCLHnfPpglsbybKGFe20F0FuIaawukm5NSnRZGSAqjb" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-27739100403104012012021-11-18T07:20:00.001-06:002021-11-18T07:20:26.310-06:00Floating Docks and Cabins in a Watery World Bartram Canoe Trail <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.al.com/resizer/NN_hSmoBLE_Nk5UhmD89gG_DPEo=/800x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/IZGLLIYR6BFS3NUZLJ4HHRYTSQ.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="800" height="453" src="https://www.al.com/resizer/NN_hSmoBLE_Nk5UhmD89gG_DPEo=/800x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/IZGLLIYR6BFS3NUZLJ4HHRYTSQ.JPG" width="800" /></a></div><br />Al.com's Lawrence Specker recounts a recent visit to one of cabins on the <a href="https://www.al.com/life/2021/11/paddling-away-from-it-all-a-night-on-alabamas-bartram-canoe-trail.html">Bartram Canoe Trail down in the Mobile Tensaw Delta. </a><p></p><p>I set out with the family once on an attempted overnight trip to the Jug Lake platform. It was spring. The scenery was beautiful, but the water was too high. We shouldn't have been out there, especially with elementary-age kids. We got stranded and had to be rescued. I'm dying to go back and complete such an adventure. But not sure if I'll ever convince my wife to accompany me. </p><p>Check out the story and accompanying pictures.</p>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-7954680246721057262021-11-18T07:06:00.002-06:002021-11-18T07:06:53.432-06:00Unique and Beautiful, Ours to Protect<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFE_diagisRessQI59UVtbOFITRJ3g1wGGBj1LxP0f-RDJ0bKPmrlVXlyc0fNDpZng1mUDXjwBCdiWBxvmKQNYE0hXW5qUdou4wjQdI0A8BtUO6ZC1l8v5dX4MuBMAKiGD-ApAfRQMOnk/s700/6F3B6297-4043-44ED-99DA-CDBCDBF88AEB_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFE_diagisRessQI59UVtbOFITRJ3g1wGGBj1LxP0f-RDJ0bKPmrlVXlyc0fNDpZng1mUDXjwBCdiWBxvmKQNYE0hXW5qUdou4wjQdI0A8BtUO6ZC1l8v5dX4MuBMAKiGD-ApAfRQMOnk/s400/6F3B6297-4043-44ED-99DA-CDBCDBF88AEB_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercress Darter of Jefferson County, Alabama</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<div><br /></div><div><a href="Emily Godsey (the property owner who donated the easement, holding her daughter, Daphne) and Elizabeth Sims (Land Conservation Director, Freshwater Land Trust). Standing: Rusha Smith (Executive Director, Freshwater Land Trust) and Charles Scribner (Executive Director, Black Warrior Riverkeeper).">The Black Warrior River Keeper and Freshwater Land Trust have just announced the creation of a new 26.2 acre conservation easement</a> in the Powderly neighborhood of Birmingham along spring-fed creeks that are home to the beautiful and tiny little fish, the Watercress Darter. The Watercress Darter, an endangered species, is found in Jefferson County, Alabama and nowhere else in the world.</div><div>It amazes me that, in spite of all the mining and industry, forest cutting, home building, earth-moving that our county has seen over two centuries, that this little wonder survived. </div><div><br /></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-46915922836153580012020-12-14T18:55:00.001-06:002020-12-14T18:55:09.483-06:00Second Edition of Five-Star Trails: Birmingham Now in Stores and Online<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s13518.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/five_star_trails_birmingham_2e_9781634043076_FC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="518" height="400" src="https://s13518.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/five_star_trails_birmingham_2e_9781634043076_FC.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An updated version of my hiking guide to Birmingham and central Alabama is now on the shelves of local bookstores, outfitters, and at <a href="https://www.alabamagoods.com/" target="_blank">Alabama Goods</a>. Also online. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was a good year to re-hike old favorites and discover new ones. Birmingham keeps making progress as a trail town. Since my first edition, the Rotary Trail section of the Jones Valley Trail was completed, an extension added, and plans are underway to push farther east. Vulcan Park was connected to Vulcan Trail and the <a href="https://freshwaterlandtrust.org/kiwanis-vulcan-trail/">Vulcan Trail extended to Green Springs</a>, thanks to the Kiwanis Club. Fultondale and Gardendale, working with the <a href="https://freshwaterlandtrust.org/">Freshwater Land Trust</a>, now have <a href="https://www.wbrc.com/2019/04/29/new-stretch-rail-trail-gardendale/">a great rail-trail connecting the cities</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://redmountainpark.org/">Red Mountain Park</a> has added miles of trail and connected to Midfield and western neighborhoods of Birmingham via the High Ore Line elevated rail-trail </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And the <a href="https://alabamaliving.coop/articles/rallying-around-the-flagg/">Pinhoti Trail at Flagg Mountain</a> near Sylacauga is now preserved routed through the restored CCC-built fire tower (tower still a work in progress) and cabins atop the Southernmost Appalachian mountain. Visit legendary thru-hiker the Nimblewill Nomad, aka Sunny Eberhart, in the caretaker's before or after heading down to beautiful Weogufka Creek. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Trails. </div><p></p>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-49769940669098621182020-12-01T12:10:00.004-06:002020-12-01T12:10:41.007-06:00Opinion Piece by Ben Raines: This American wilderness is being destroyed in silent massacre - Los Angeles Times<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/10c70f2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6577x4386+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F98%2F2d%2F3ad64f8341689771d4beb1c162b5%2Fla-oe-raines-alabama-biodiversity-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/10c70f2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6577x4386+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F98%2F2d%2F3ad64f8341689771d4beb1c162b5%2Fla-oe-raines-alabama-biodiversity-4.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitcher Plants are found in the Splinter Hill Bog, a Nature Conservancy preserve right off Interstate 65.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Environmental journalist Ben Raines writes in the LA Times about development and lack of environmental regulation in Alabama and the toll it is taking on Alabama, which mile for mile, is the most biodiverse state in the United States:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-29/mobile-river-biodiversity-extinctions-alabama">This American wilderness is being destroyed in silent massacre - Los Angeles Times</a>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-5853326981538509852020-08-19T09:15:00.002-05:002020-08-19T09:15:52.974-05:00Brenda's Barbecue Pit in Montgomery has been smoking since 1942 - al.com<a href="https://www.al.com/life/2020/08/this-alabama-barbecue-joint-has-been-smoking-since-1942.html"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.al.com/life/2020/08/this-alabama-barbecue-joint-has-been-smoking-since-1942.html"></a><a href="https://www.al.com/resizer/zIomxoJsQZwYW7gRV5U8-X54SYs=/1280x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/K23HLPSFUFCV7FY4GOV2TRGGHE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="424" src="https://www.al.com/resizer/zIomxoJsQZwYW7gRV5U8-X54SYs=/1280x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/K23HLPSFUFCV7FY4GOV2TRGGHE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>This Alabama barbecue joint has been smoking since 1942 - al.com<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/brendasbarbequepit/?rf=111764205526447">Website and directions</a></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-55903117288558379242020-07-14T07:04:00.003-05:002020-07-14T09:13:26.620-05:00Alabama-built rocket set to power NASA mission to Mars this summer - Yellowhammer News | Yellowhammer News<br /><br />
<a href="https://yellowhammernews.com/alabama-built-rocket-set-to-power-nasa-mission-to-mars-this-summer/"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://yellowhammernews.com/alabama-built-rocket-set-to-power-nasa-mission-to-mars-this-summer/"></a><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia23985-1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1041" src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia23985-1041.jpg" /></a></div><div><a href="https://yellowhammernews.com/alabama-built-rocket-set-to-power-nasa-mission-to-mars-this-summer/"><br /></a></div><font face="inherit">Alabama-built rocket set to power NASA mission to Mars this summer - Yellowhammer News | Yellowhammer News</font><div><font face="inherit"><br /></font></div><div><font face="inherit">If all goes well, a Decatur-built Atlas V Rocket will carry NASA's Perseverance rover into space on a mission to Mars later this month.</font></div><div><font face="inherit"> </font></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 16px;"><font face="inherit">NASA and United Launch Alliance are now targeting Thurs., July 30, at 7:50 a.m. ET, with a two-hour window, for launch of the Mars 2020 mission.</font></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 16px;"><font face="inherit"><br /></font></span></div><div><font face="inherit"><span style="background-color: white;">The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover's </span><a href="https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration-line: none;">astrobiology</a><span style="background-color: white;"> mission will search for signs of ancient microbial life. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). </span></font></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><font face="inherit"><br /></font></span></div><div><font face="inherit">For more on the United Launch Alliance facility in Decatur where the Atlas V and other rockets are built visit Amazing Alabama: <a href="https://amazingalabama.com/profiles/united-launch-alliance/">https://amazingalabama.com/profiles/united-launch-alliance/</a></font></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-7073529751296942732020-06-22T08:48:00.000-05:002020-06-22T08:48:13.385-05:00The Walls of the Church Couldn’t Keep the Trump Era Out - The New York Times<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj4h0vzPBkntYO1flV1tEd2RuJac7y_Rh2DAa690LVpmAn2XtBEZ1sarUb-Nw1c0ywvDgRMuucnArKt_rZvD81V2YifiLoNCSjyyuHVq2vE9r0vPnk7LJfTSRLGox3YwaojwLKaynjQD5eVO3Kg12RspyGY7RIT0gYffm6XNR6JV9OSrf0CvtFaaxJYNy_ItWXKr7erwhUvQhVtkAUc0pTQmr40NwMdIPhm8QHV_QclWx2kwotnbkLWsj8OXGc9ILuI-SiSW_s7hm50a72YhoHYFaaKSu9GkZxordFpHvUXG6JzvYU=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj4h0vzPBkntYO1flV1tEd2RuJac7y_Rh2DAa690LVpmAn2XtBEZ1sarUb-Nw1c0ywvDgRMuucnArKt_rZvD81V2YifiLoNCSjyyuHVq2vE9r0vPnk7LJfTSRLGox3YwaojwLKaynjQD5eVO3Kg12RspyGY7RIT0gYffm6XNR6JV9OSrf0CvtFaaxJYNy_ItWXKr7erwhUvQhVtkAUc0pTQmr40NwMdIPhm8QHV_QclWx2kwotnbkLWsj8OXGc9ILuI-SiSW_s7hm50a72YhoHYFaaKSu9GkZxordFpHvUXG6JzvYU=w625-h416" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A good read about a difficulty a lot of churches are facing in an age of polarization.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="color: #0000ee; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: underline;">The Walls of the Church Couldn’t Keep the Trump Era Out - The New York Times</span></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-25459918811724452502020-05-28T06:12:00.003-05:002020-12-08T17:35:35.354-06:00Returning, and Awakening, to the Beauty of Rural Alabama - The New York Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/28/travel/28travel-alabama-9/merlin_172756401_989ce4de-6360-4ba8-b17e-cad7d0188c52-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/28/travel/28travel-alabama-9/merlin_172756401_989ce4de-6360-4ba8-b17e-cad7d0188c52-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Great pictures of the Alabama landscape. Hope ex-pat photographer <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><font>Scott Baker will stick around:</font></span><span face="nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span></span><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/travel/coronavirus-alabama-overlooked-beauty.html?searchResultPosition=1">Returning, and Awakening, to the Beauty of Rural Alabama - The New York Times</a></div>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-2092339264725577652020-02-24T14:41:00.000-06:002020-02-24T14:41:11.534-06:00National Geographic feature on Mobile's Mardi Gras CelebrationIn Alabama, we know Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, and this year, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/02/mobile-alabama-home-america-oldest-mardi-gras-celebration/">National Geographic has a nice feature</a> on Mobile's pageantry with that publication's great photography.<br />
<br />
Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-28030635279117629242020-02-24T11:12:00.001-06:002020-02-24T11:12:18.973-06:00Freshwater Land Trust working to connect Rotary Trail to Avondale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpkaiP_oH60lhrMdW-4zKwHh_-OMW44e3ibA9A3LQsTTfftu020rTZtwyRlgM3dH815WJZl_g8R91EI93eZWA0MQuOQvVTTbmUHLHZ9kyq3FebxWciI_gRZ4WMHr0ciEdeXHV6YSZA-4/s1600/Rotary-LinearTrail-scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpkaiP_oH60lhrMdW-4zKwHh_-OMW44e3ibA9A3LQsTTfftu020rTZtwyRlgM3dH815WJZl_g8R91EI93eZWA0MQuOQvVTTbmUHLHZ9kyq3FebxWciI_gRZ4WMHr0ciEdeXHV6YSZA-4/s640/Rotary-LinearTrail-scaled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
Earlier this month, The Freshwater Land Trust launched a push to extend a pedestrian and bicycle greenway to Avondale from its current terminus near Sloss Furnaces.<br />
<a href="http://freshwaterlandtrust.org/announcing-jones-valley-trail/" target="_blank">The new project</a> will take up where the Rotary Trail on First Avenue South ended. Freshwater is raising money for the project and is working with the City of Birmingham on the design and construction documents. They hope to have the project started by the end of 2020 and completed for the opening of the World Games in 2021.<br />
This trail extension is part of the <a href="http://freshwaterlandtrust.org/about-red-rock-trail-system/" target="_blank">Red Rock Trail System</a>, a 750-mile network of existing and envisioned trails throughout Jefferson County. This new extension would complete the connection from Railroad Park and downtown to the thriving Avondale commercial and residential neighborhood.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-28274406617727200972020-02-21T13:03:00.002-06:002020-02-21T13:03:14.536-06:00Wildlife Calls made in Heflin, Alabama<a href="https://woodhavencustomcalls.com/" target="_blank">Woodhaven Custom Calls</a> is headquartered in lovely Cleburne County, Alabama.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYhZ37dY9-9aEN0p_8m06jML-e3aWj9PdSzoH2u9Z80sx75KGBZzcaTACB_fyE2VPEeeS-xuY0Uwr_cDkMvX8-BPp1PIBvuIjhO7NHeF8SWRQ3KmB-KI80u3M1VPIbZbYC0YiE8IBrMA/s1600/woodhaven+custom+calls.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYhZ37dY9-9aEN0p_8m06jML-e3aWj9PdSzoH2u9Z80sx75KGBZzcaTACB_fyE2VPEeeS-xuY0Uwr_cDkMvX8-BPp1PIBvuIjhO7NHeF8SWRQ3KmB-KI80u3M1VPIbZbYC0YiE8IBrMA/s640/woodhaven+custom+calls.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Turkey, deer, owl, crow, or hawk. They got you covered.</div>
Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-88302094820169570262019-11-22T08:14:00.001-06:002020-02-24T08:22:23.761-06:00Tuxedo Junctions and other famous places - al.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Q1yUaNvRJpxxKwX57le17jvoAOcQ_FASUlCF975y6e5vu8ePMw4SkNUUYUlHpxdwSqS6C24Os9yFbr2CZfRLBX9q5GhyphenhyphenIyNe0oAFNWHSsFgguFkzoUcoldEoyL-7sRftFtcYGpB97c/s1600/Tuxedo+Junction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="387" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Q1yUaNvRJpxxKwX57le17jvoAOcQ_FASUlCF975y6e5vu8ePMw4SkNUUYUlHpxdwSqS6C24Os9yFbr2CZfRLBX9q5GhyphenhyphenIyNe0oAFNWHSsFgguFkzoUcoldEoyL-7sRftFtcYGpB97c/s320/Tuxedo+Junction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Read this Wayne Flynt piece on the contributions of Alabamians to jazz and blues music<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.al.com/opinion/2019/11/tuxedo-junctions-and-other-famous-places.html">Tuxedo Junction and other famous places - al.com</a><br />
<br />
Nov 21, 6:46 AM<br />
<br />
By Wayne Flynt | Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Auburn University<br />
<br />
<br />
When I began teaching a course in Alabama history at Auburn University, I had no idea that I stood in the gigantic shadow of Newman White and Ruby Pickens Tartt. Although White was a North Carolina native with a Harvard University doctorate, his first teaching job in 1915 was at Auburn......Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-39148894034396147782019-05-24T19:17:00.000-05:002020-02-22T08:55:40.653-06:00The Clotilda<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.al.com/resizer/QmK4TYFQ5ZtPzHonr7yEdfjSkao=/700x0/smart/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-advancelocal.s3.amazonaws.com/public/IDBRJ7WCTVD53MD244CRLXSM7Y.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="700" src="https://www.al.com/resizer/QmK4TYFQ5ZtPzHonr7yEdfjSkao=/700x0/smart/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-advancelocal.s3.amazonaws.com/public/IDBRJ7WCTVD53MD244CRLXSM7Y.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">According to Al.com, there are no known images of the Clotilda, but it was very similar in size and rigging to the slave ship Amistad, which is shown above in an oil painting.<a href="https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html">https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After a hopeful find in 2018 followed by disappointment, the true sunken ruins of the Clotilda were positively identified in 2019. The ship, which brought the last known shipment of slaves imported from Africa to America, slipped up Mobile Bay on the eve of the Civil War<br />
Reporter Ben Raines chased the story and brought it to national attention which drew the resources needed to complete the quest.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-found-in-alabama/">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-found-in-alabama/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html">https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html</a>Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-64394426014280995652018-01-02T15:49:00.003-06:002018-01-02T15:49:52.431-06:00The best restaurant in every county in Alabama | AL.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://image.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/best-restaurant-in-every-county-in-alabama-title-slidejpg-1e9cb8a4d30d97f6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/best-restaurant-in-every-county-in-alabama-title-slidejpg-1e9cb8a4d30d97f6.jpg" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
This one is a keeper. For those of us who like to explore Alabama, it's often tough to know where to eat in unfamiliar territory. I've used the Alabama Tourism Office's 100 Dishes publication and <a href="https://alabama.travel/experience-alabama/food">website</a>, which is helpful, as is their <a href="https://alabama.travel/100-dishes-app">100 Dishes app.</a><br />
<br />
<br />
But now, here's something else to add to your arsenal.<br />
<br />
<br />
Al.com has just put together a list of <a href="http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/the_best_restaurant_in_every_c.html#incart_m-rpt-2">The best restaurant in every county in Alabama | AL.com</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Sure, they had to leave a lot of great places off. But a list like this can narrow the choices when you're hungry.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-14781980153697237682018-01-02T14:49:00.002-06:002018-01-02T14:49:38.725-06:00Alabama “mudpuppy” to receive federal protection | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmOgZTZAJH0M0k64jB8xR4wqxUxkIVhpZ86NOl9sM2WQ-RIiQ5jWyqwJ8ThHaxyMy9GebZQE30h4wV-oConw6IlvA1ESsjNJiPqkO_Cq7kjo9T-XN2KxjDY4cYk3Qu4eT7mGo_sgh-Ls/s1600/black-warrior-waterdog-eol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="650" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmOgZTZAJH0M0k64jB8xR4wqxUxkIVhpZ86NOl9sM2WQ-RIiQ5jWyqwJ8ThHaxyMy9GebZQE30h4wV-oConw6IlvA1ESsjNJiPqkO_Cq7kjo9T-XN2KxjDY4cYk3Qu4eT7mGo_sgh-Ls/s320/black-warrior-waterdog-eol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Black Warrior Waterdog (or Alabama Mudpuppy) is found only in Alabama and nowhere else in the world.<br />
<br />
The large, aquatic, nocturnal salamander permanently retains a larval form and external gills throughout its life. It can grow to 9 1/2 inches in length.<br />
And this unique creature needs protection.<br />
<br />
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has now listed the salamander as an endangered species, meaning it is in danger of extinction. <a href="https://blackwarriorriver.org/black-warrior-waterdog-gains-federal-protection/" target="_blank">The Black Warrior Riverkeeper is helping champion its protection.</a><br />
<br />
Low and declining population numbers Due to loss and fragmentation of its habitat and poor water quality in the Black Warrior River Basin, mudpuppy populations are low and declining.<br />
<br />
The salamander's highly permeable skin and external gills make it particularly sensitive to declines in water quality and oxygen concentration.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2018/01/alabama-mudpuppy-to-receive-federal-protection/">Alabama “mudpuppy” to receive federal protection | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service</a><br />
<br />
FWS lists several steps you can take to help save the Waterdog<br />
<br />
Individuals can do a number of things to help protect this species, including:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Conserving water to allow more water to remain in streams.</li>
<li>Using pesticides responsibly (especially around streams and lakes) to prevent runoff.</li>
<li>Controlling soil erosion by planting trees and plants to avoid runoff of sediments into freshwater areas.</li>
<li>Help your family find ways to reduce the amount of chemicals that you pour down the drain in your home or use on your lawn or garden.</li>
<li>Support conservation efforts that protect these unique animals and the habitats they live in.</li>
<li>Learn more about how the destruction of habitat leads to loss of endangered and threatened species and our nation’s plant and animal diversity. Discuss with others what you have learned.</li>
<li>Support local and state initiatives for watershed and water quality protection and improvement.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<a href="https://www.fws.gov/daphne/section7/bmp.html" target="_blank">Learn more about best management practices for keeping sediments out of streams.</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blackwarriorriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BlackWarriorWaterdog-1024x556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="173" src="https://blackwarriorriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BlackWarriorWaterdog-1024x556.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Warrior waterdog. Photo by Black Warrior Riverkeeper Advisory Council member Mark Bailey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-11163883427769669362017-10-18T14:15:00.001-05:002017-10-18T14:15:28.502-05:00The greatest outdoor adventure you can have in each Alabama county | AL.com<img src="http://image.al.com/home/bama-media/width960/img/outdoors_impact/photo/alabama-outdoor-adventures-703ad1bb4cda6831.jpg" /><br /><br />
<br /><br />
My old friend and colleague Joe Songer at al.com has put together a list of outdoor adventures in each of Alabama's 67 counties.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.al.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/06/the_greatest_outdoor_adventure.html#incart_m-rpt-2">The greatest outdoor adventure you can have in each Alabama county | AL.com</a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
With the temperatures dropping and the outdoors beckoning, it's nice to be reminded of all the great opportunities available in a short distance of home.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-70076504303552080432017-05-15T14:27:00.000-05:002020-02-24T13:19:20.237-06:00Glorious Day at the Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKJJNMFbk8CiHiKHVyLrkOlZRfD_hjuRgoJzIhEXjDa7OgNAll8sAL67c9Zd_bIoqQwxs2jqode3Y5va9-I_ERl6SMLYpGUJA0x-1nTeHJRmUxqpHkEMO6JR0ZTLtcpTYlH2NHG7vry4/s1600/lily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKJJNMFbk8CiHiKHVyLrkOlZRfD_hjuRgoJzIhEXjDa7OgNAll8sAL67c9Zd_bIoqQwxs2jqode3Y5va9-I_ERl6SMLYpGUJA0x-1nTeHJRmUxqpHkEMO6JR0ZTLtcpTYlH2NHG7vry4/s320/lily.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
A great way to spend Mother's Day is to visit the Cahaba lilies in the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge near West Blockton, Alabama. Helpfully, the lilies bloom between Mother's Day and Father's Day.
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="500px" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://sway.com/s/lewPUq531NEU6H44/embed" style="border: none; max-height: 100vh; max-width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="760px"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge, Co Rd 24, West Blocton, AL 35184, USA33.0892941 -87.06236227.5672595999999963 -128.3709562 58.611328599999993 -45.753768199999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-89045089194274742292015-12-09T22:21:00.003-06:002015-12-09T22:24:14.297-06:00After the rains at Little River Falls<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspencer/albums/72157662234981295" title="Little River Falls"><img alt="Little River Falls" height="480" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/755/23616930706_e21459e259_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
This past weekend, I ventured with my son James and Boy Scout Troop 97 to Little River Canyon National Preserve and saw a great show.<br />
<br />
Thanks to heavy rains the previous week, Little River was running at full force, and the conditions drew kayakers from Alabama and surrounding states. The most intrepid of them plunged over the Falls, a 45-foot drop. <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskqTpaAP" target="_blank">My Flickr album</a> includes video of this amazing sight.<br />
<br />
More information on Little River National Preserve is included in my book, Five Star Trails: Birmingham and on the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/liri/index.htm">Preserve's U.S. Park Service website.</a><br />
<br />
If you go, you must stop at the Canyon welcome center on Alabama 35 atop Lookout Mountain, just east of Fort Payne. The center, built by Jacksonville State University, serves as headquarters for the National Park Service staff and offers information and interpretation of the Canyon, which is one of the deepest gorges East of the Mississippi River and is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the East.<br />
<br />
There is an easily accessible view of the Falls right off Alabama 35 and a hiking trail from that parking lot to a smaller set of falls downstream, Martha's Falls.<br />
<br />
You can also get spectacular views by driving the twisty road the follows the Canyon rim. Other hiking opportunities along the way.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-84232825319005255232015-11-12T21:33:00.001-06:002015-11-12T21:33:11.747-06:00First steps in the Appalachians<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspencer/albums/72157660362987778" title="Pinhoti on Flagg Mountain"><img alt="Pinhoti on Flagg Mountain" height="355" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/779/22495352869_652a3f7fca_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
<br />
Sunday I had the pleasure of hiking the first stretch of the Pinhoti Trail, Alabama's connection to the Appalachian Trail. It starts on Flagg Mountain, the southernmost mountain in the Appalachian chain that rises 1,000 feet above prevailing terrain. This wooded corridor is preserved by the state's <a href="http://www.outdooralabama.com/forever-wild-land-trust">Forever Wild</a> program, and it's a fabulous trail that descends into a wooded valley, cupped by low mountains. At the base of the valley is lovely Weogufka Creek. There's a trail shelter by the creek. I almost hate to spread the word because this spot isn't widely known and part of me wants to keep it to myself.<br />
Another Flagg Mountain hike, featuring the abandoned CCC-built stone fire tower atop Flagg Mountain is included in my book, <a href="https://www.menasharidge.com/product.php?productid=17137" target="_blank">Five Star Trails: Birmingham.</a> There is additional information about that hike at the <a href="http://hikealabama.org/joomla/index.php/trails-and-maps/weogufka-state-forest-flagg-mountain" target="_blank">Alabama Hiking Trails Society website.</a><br />
<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25036318/Pinhoti%20Trail%20-%20Flagg%20Moutain.pdf" target="_blank">The map of this Pinhoti stretch can be found here.</a> And you can find additional information, instructions, and directions on the hike at the <a href="http://www.pinhotitrailalliance.org/al-pocket-guides..html" target="_blank">Pinhoti Trail Alliance website.</a><br />
There are more <a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/thomaspencer/DH8A18" target="_blank">pictures here.</a><br />
One thing I'll mention. The trail from the Flagg Mountain trailhead to County Road 56 is 5.3 miles. The section from the trailhead to the creek (about 2.5 miles in) and beyond is very well-marked. However, when you reach a clearcut area, you might find it difficult to stay on the trail. I got off it and had to bushwack. If I had to do it over, I'd just go out and back. The best scenery is in that first 2.5 miles.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-87538947906412558182015-10-20T14:12:00.000-05:002015-10-20T14:12:38.609-05:00Fire at Big Tree in the Sipsey Wilderness<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspencer/18888654916/in/album-72157654653754096/" title="Untitled"><img alt="Untitled" height="318" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/303/18888654916_0b65135b94_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<br />
The Forest Service has a closed trails in the Sipsey Wilderness because of a wildfire.<br />
For the latest information, <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/alabama/home/?cid=fseprd476243" target="_blank">check here.</a> Forest Service officials have not, as of yet, determined the cause of the blaze.<br />
Ominously, they are calling this "The Big Tree Fire." The closed trails are in the vicinity of East Bee Branch Canyon and the "Big Tree," which is reputed to be the tallest tree in Alabama. This is a holy cathedral of Alabama wilderness.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspencer/21021479803/in/album-72157654653754096/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled"><img alt="Untitled" height="426" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5764/21021479803_cfb201ca42_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Big Tree, Summer 2014 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As of Monday, Oct. 19, 258 acres had burned. Check the Forest Service link above for updates and trail closures. The Sipsey River Trail (209) and the trail through the canyon (204) are closed for now.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-33218907578523161802015-09-21T21:38:00.001-05:002015-09-21T21:38:51.679-05:00Sunset from Birmingham's Ruffner Mountain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ4s7SJ38DJBo99l3TFrkHANXCVnFrIkFLeezl98l0NDyUwDjvnBLWZon2t19TdOibncqPSI_BfonH3-lO8f68IkPg_N5uJjyYOzuFBVKGrQs7zMREGdyVBYgO_nVpGrKpYAw3Z6-RqU/s1600/DSC_0002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQ4s7SJ38DJBo99l3TFrkHANXCVnFrIkFLeezl98l0NDyUwDjvnBLWZon2t19TdOibncqPSI_BfonH3-lO8f68IkPg_N5uJjyYOzuFBVKGrQs7zMREGdyVBYgO_nVpGrKpYAw3Z6-RqU/s640/DSC_0002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thanks to those of you who came out to the Ruffner Mountain Wine and Cheese Sunset Hike this past Friday. We were a tad late for the sunset, but it was beautiful to watch the afterglow fade into night perched there above the city. For the record, it was not my fault that we did not have cups to drink the wine. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But it was another lesson in the importance of bringing your own water bottle every time you hike. Thanks to the Ruffner staff for hosting us. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Planning a family-friendly Sunday afternoon hike on Oct. 18. Be thinking about it. More details coming soon. Ruffner is a great spot.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7cPXPrPI31A0L3DP0gC-3poT4D9fgH9K_V6QapA-yCVwfA5rBi3P0Au6U_rvpXJE51vHnLZPZVL0DC1G-UtquY2a9fwE9NEFg5iD1QR1CqoZRzf4ev84jz3-vc0IJhI6k5-OzKhdEqQ/s1600/DSC_0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7cPXPrPI31A0L3DP0gC-3poT4D9fgH9K_V6QapA-yCVwfA5rBi3P0Au6U_rvpXJE51vHnLZPZVL0DC1G-UtquY2a9fwE9NEFg5iD1QR1CqoZRzf4ev84jz3-vc0IJhI6k5-OzKhdEqQ/s640/DSC_0003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-80563625852817126062015-09-21T21:12:00.001-05:002015-09-21T22:08:56.440-05:00Atticus unveiled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://binaryapi.ap.org/b2327317626e4ea89dcc79ede2ddf662/460x.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://binaryapi.ap.org/b2327317626e4ea89dcc79ede2ddf662/460x.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
I just finished <i>Go Set a Watchman, </i>Harper Lee's new, old book (in the interest of full disclosure, I listened to the audiobook).<br />
<br />
It's really a puzzling work. I had <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/27/sweet-home-alabama">read Adam Gopnik's piece about the book in The New Yorker</a>. It includes the following observation: "The story related is simple, and suspiciously self-referential—it’s difficult to credit that a first novel would so blithely assume so much familiarity with a cast of characters never before encountered."<br />
<br />
I'd have to agree.<br />
<br />
Another great accompaniment to the new book is a piece Jay Reeves wrote about Harper Lee's newspaper editor father: <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7274ad0152e44ac5a37ac0e7e56551b9/writings-harper-lees-dad-reveal-atticus-finchs-conflict">Writings of Harper Lee's dad reveal Atticus Finch's conflict</a>.<br />
<br />
There's something disturbing and yet liberating about this new take on a the revered fictional hero and the man that inspired his creation.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4394964759074673313.post-28904577122753594012015-09-15T09:00:00.001-05:002015-09-15T09:02:03.717-05:00Ruffner Mountain Wine and Cheese Sunset Hike<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspencer/18916037371/in/album-72157654308608548/" title="Untitled"><img alt="Untitled" height="267" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/504/18916037371_ae24e0f777_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
I have been going to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center and Preserve since I was in elementary school. And since I've been back in Birmingham as an adult, I've always wanted to go on one of Ruffner's Wine and Cheese sunset hikes. I'm finally getting to go this Friday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m.<br />
Those of you who've been to Ruffner know it offers one of the best views of Jones Valley and the city. That view would be especially beautiful at sunset, but you'd normally be back at your car by then because you don't want to be in the woods in the dark with the gates closed.<br />
But once a month in the fall, Ruffner takes a group out, provides wine and cheese, holds a little socializing, and guides them back by lantern. If you can make it this Friday, <a href="https://rmnp.z2systems.com/np/clients/rmnp/event.jsp?event=10655&">register with Ruffner</a>. They need a head count, and they do ask for a $20 donation to support the park and cover the costs.<br />
I'll actually be leading the hike, and speaking briefly, and <a href="https://www.menasharidge.com/product.php?productid=17137">selling books</a> to anyone who needs one.<br />
Hope you can join us.Thomas Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10591314627094160503noreply@blogger.com0