Angel/bird

 At first I though this was an angel, but then determined it is a bird, holding a book? 

One way or the other, it is on top of the Montgomery city court building on Madison Avenue.

Art Review

 

R.R.

 

The Capitol Building in Montgomery

 

In 'Nam

 Sitting on the Armed Forces Vietnam Network jeep in Quang Tri. I spent half my year working for Army Newspapers, the other half anchoring TV news. My 10:00pm News was monitored by the North

 

Vietnamese, since we were the closest station to the DMZ, about 10 miles inside South Vietnam.

I celebrated my 20th birthday there.

Crime Scene

 It used to be the Montgomery Greyhound Station, now it's The Freedom Rides Museum, where police looked the other way as racists attacked the freedom riders arriving to desegregate bus facilities.

Archives Building with Capital Building Reflection 2022

 

Sunlit Alabama Capitol Building Door

 

Long-Closed Church

 This church is part of the Searcy mental hospital for black patients that the state operated for a century. It closed on Halloween 2012. 

(More photos HERE)

Night Light

 

The Lunar Eclipse Begins

 

Winter

 

Art Appreciation During Covid

 

Off To Work

 

Flags

 When I arrived at work at the Alabama Capitol Building this morning about 7:30 it was a crisp very clear day, with winds blowing the flags on top of the building and sunshine illuminating them too.

Here's a distant shot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 But look at them closeup!

 They're ripped and torn!

Not a way to treat The U.S. Flag!

Street Photo

 

Stair Stare

 

Bird's Eye View

 

Amen

 

The Gov & The Mascots

 It was "Colors Day" at the capitol today....mascots from most of the state's schools gathered to promote the college football season. 

 

*My Photo in Show

      Happy to report that one of the three of the photos I submitted for this year's (56th Annual!) Montgomery Art Guild Regions Bank Art Show was accepted!

     Last year the photo below was accepted...AND won 1st place. 

 We'll see how this year's shot does in the competition😎. HERE is information about the exhibit! (Update: turns out TWO of mine made it in, but I wasn't notified about the second photo in time to turn it in, and the first one did not win any awards!) Here is the one that was accepted, too late:)

(Opening reception/awards ceremony Tuesday, October 4, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)

Event Starts	Fri. Sep 24, 2021 05:30 PM
Event Ends	Wed. Oct 20, 2021 04:30 PM
Event Details	The exhibit is open from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Event Address	Regions Bank Lobby, 2nd Floor Mezzanine, RSA Tower Montgomery 201 Monroe Street Montgomery, AL 36104 USA

 (*Note: through a computer/operator error, I was originally informed that all three of the photos I submitted had been accepted. Virtually every person who entered received the same message. Oops. 

Corrections came the next morning. Still, better one in than none. 😃

Nailed, Sandled Feet

 

First 2022 Blooms

      One of my oldest Night Blooming Cereus plants bloomed last night. Despite the fact that it is a plant right outside my door, I had failed to see it till just a day before! Here it is:

The blooms open late at night, and die with the morning sunlight. A light rain was falling last night.

Memorial Day, Some "Foreign" Deaths in Montgomery

 These photos are posted this Memorial Day to honor the men from Britain and France who died during WWII flight training in Montgomery, as the first photo details.

 

Just as with the hundreds of thousands of Americans who died in that war, these men were mostly young, and were grieved by their families and friends. We remember all of them this Memorial Day. Some died on the same day, a possible indication of an airplane crash with multiple people killed.

 

HERE is the website for Oakwood Cemetery, where the military graves are located (right next to those of Hank Williams and family).

 

On the Oakwood website, you'll find information about a huge effort to clearly identify the names and dates of birth and death for the 36,000 other people buried there. Yes, they are seeking volunteers.

Clouds, Caught

 

Alabama Police Memorial on Capitol Grounds

 

Keeping Sunlight Out

 At the long-closed Alabama Searcy Mental Hospital.

Beautiful Dual Canterleavered Stairs

 These beautiful staircases at the main entrance to the Alabama Capitol building in Montgomery are an excellent example of cantilevered stairs, stairs with no seeming support beneath them.

Horace King used his bridge-building experience in designing and building the double sets of stairs connecting the three stories of the 1851 Alabama Capitol.

 

 

(P.S. It's my new workplace---I'm a part-time docent, giving tours of the building a few days a week.) 

 

NOTE: Today, May 28th, is the anniversary of Horace King's death in 1885.

More Stair photos: