COTTON MILL

Our last stop in Alabama!!! As we were leaving our friends and headed up to Atlanta, they took us to this old cotton mill. The waterfalls were beautiful & it was neat to think that was a place they actually made cotton.

We were told that the rocks where H is standing are normally underwater, but because of the drought, the river is running very low. Many of the small towns in Alabama & Georgia were home to textile mills which have recently closed down when the jobs went overseas. It's been very tough on the small-town economies, but there are some promising developments for new automobile factories in the area.

It was still VERY cold for us! I imagine that the water level is usually up near the water wheel (in the background above) so the cotton mill can take advantage of the power of the river.

So pretty & serene! I wish I had a river in my backyard.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: 1 more Atlanta post & we're moving on!

PINE MOUNTAIN

On Saturday, we took a little road trip and drove over to Callaway Gardens in Georgia for lunch. It was nice to get into the foothills and see more beautiful fall foliage.

Here I am with Kenny and the people who put all that hard work into preserving and restoring the plantation.

And of course we trade photographers to get my husband in the picture and Kenny will pose for the cameraman now.

No more blue skies, only gray overcast skies more typical of the chilly fall weather.

A panorama from our view at the overlook. My fabulous new Photoshop Elements 6.0 software will take a series of pictures and automatically merge and match them to create an instant wide angle view.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: This weekend was great for relaxing, catching up and starting to decorate.

MISC ALABAMA

I'm going to attempt to round-up everything else Alabama in a post, so it's going to be very picture heavy! I loved way this old roof looked so weathered and worn compared to the fluffy soft clouds in the crisp blue sky.



Another fabulous tree that had lost of its leaves. Jerry assumed me they weren't dead, but I still thought they were pretty creepy.

The brown area in the middle, with all the tree stumps, is usually a small tank filled with water. Alabama & Georgia are going through one of the worst droughts in 100 years, so the tank has been empty for a while.

This tree once stood at the edge of the water, but now there is nothing for the deer or turkey or duck that once enjoyed the lake.

More on my fascination with chimneys- this once was especially intriguing. It was attached to another tenant house near the main house. However, sometime in the last few decades it burned to the ground. The tenant of the main house reported that it was struck by lightening and burned in the middle of a pouring rain storm.

It was just wild to me that the wood house was completely gone, but here still stood this fabulous monument to the death of that piece of history.

What a fabulous picture of the chimney among the cotton fields.

Here's what the red barn looks like from the cotton fields.

Here's a little self-portrait of me being freezing from the chilling wind, while taking some fun photos of the tenant house.

The main house had so many fabulous details and fun things around it too. This weather vane was neat to capture and watch as the wind blew.

And of course Kenny! Who accompanied us everywhere on our trips and walks through the woods or strolls in the cotton fields.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I think I'm done with the plantation pictures form Alabama and can move on to our field trips!

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER

On our way back from Pine Mountain, we stopped at the West Point Dam on the Chattahoochee River, which is generally the border between Alabama and Georgia. Yes, we sang that silly Alan Jackson song a few times ;)

You can tell by the water stains where the level of the river usually is when a drought isn't making life difficult for those in South. Only the far left gate is open to allow water to flow in the river. You can see a few wishful fisherman on the left casting their line into the river.

Jerry was astounded that the river was so low. He has never seen these rocks exposed before, but I'm sure the birds enjoyed a nice safe place to rest. Check out that red Alabama clay that Garth Brooks song so poetically sang about (though I think that is technically the Georgia side of the river).

Check us out having some fun. I actually think he was trying to stick his cold nose on me to show me how cold he was. I'm sure in retaliation for me sticking my cold hands on his face.

This is how happy we looked before we decided to hike up to the top of the dam to check out the lake. There is actually a road that you can drive on that goes right over the top of the dam.

More fun panoramas- including West Point Lake (above) and the Chattahoochee River (below)

Random fact- if you have heard of the brand West Point Stevens (they make towels and sheets and other cotton products), then West Point (Georgia) is the town where they started. They would use all the nearby cotton to make textiles & the rivers would provide energy for the cotton mills.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I made it running, to the gym & grocery store this morning before work!

THE Old Place, PART 2

I couldn't resist sharing a few more shots since I was so impressed and amazed by the Old Place. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather last Friday as we took long walks about the tall trees, played around at the tenant house, checked out the cemetery and explored the Old Place.

I just loved the chimneys! They could have been just plain, tall, straight chimneys, but no! They had to be a little bit extra fancy with their pattern near the top. How fun are those little windows too! You must have them there so you can enjoy the beautiful trees changing color.

My dear husband was so patient and wonderful as he took in all this history. He happily listened to story upon story of the rich history of the plantation. I think all this time in the country, especially the deep South country, was a bit of a culture shock for my city-boy. He was awesome though, and that's why I love him!

Can you tell I'm a bit obsessed with the bricks on the chimney? Oh and the trees too! I loved the trees. They don't change color like that there in Houston. :(

This is actually the right side of the house, with the front porch on the left and the big back porch on the right. Although the exterior is in great shape after lots of hard work, the work on interior has just begun.

During our visit, a contractor came who was going to help them finish out the inside. Although they had done much of the plumbing and electrical work themselves, they were just getting to a point where some major re-modeling decisions had to be made before they could proceed any further with the work. Plus, since they are only in Alabama about half the time and the entire summer on the plantation is dedicated just to mowing the property and keeping it clear, they really needed some full-time help to get the project finished.

Hopefully, we will return in a few years to this front porch and spend nights rocking on it, watching the sunset.

I'm just totally blown away with all the work they have done. How much love somebody could have for a building and their own history is astounding to me. It's just an extraordinary quality that you don't often see in people anymore. I'm so excited we were able to share in such a piece of history & I can't wait to come back when they are done.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Because of all their hard work, their children and grandchildren will be able to know their history and enjoy the legacy left to them.

THE Old Place, PART 1

Welcome to The Old Place, as it is affectionately known. It's amazing for me to see because I have been to Alabama twice before- in April of 1999 with my family when I was in college and on a work trip in April of 2004. They have been pouring their blood, sweat and tears into rebuilding and restoring this old house for almost 10 years. It was a house very similar to the house that once stood here, but was torn down when the family needed wood & wanted to move their main house closer to the main road (sometime during the depression I think).

We visited the Old Place on Friday after Thanksgiving, and I was loving the brilliant blue skies for taking some fun photos. This particular house was located on some other family property a few dozen miles away. The house, made with wood pegs- not nails, was completely disassembled, piece by piece and transported to its current location.

Basically the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle to re-assemble the tens of thousands of pieces of lumber and to re-lay as many bricks as possible. Many things are new about the house, such as the windows and siding and columns, that couldn't be saved, but there interior skeletal frame of the house is almost 200 years old.

The house sits in a beautiful clearing, surrounded on all sides by the trees. Adelle could find the old worn down paths from the original location of the main house to the smoke house and all the other tiny supporting buildings that once stood in close proximity.

I loved the intricate patterns in this chimney- the perfect zig-zag against the blue sky and a mix of old and new mortar.

I can't even begin to fathom the thousands of backbreaking hours spent cutting, painting and hanging up all the hardi-plank on all sides of the house to ensure it is protected for decades to come.

Just walking around this place gives you such a sense of history. Who else walked on this boards and cooked meals in this fireplace? What did they talk about when the sat on the front porch or did they worry about the weather and droughts just as much as we still do?

The house itself is really quite beautiful- with wonderful dormers and symmetric fireplaces on each side of the house.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: There are still people who adopt our history, who will protect it and keep it up and pass it along to future generations.

ABANDONED HOME

Don't miss the first installment of the Tenant House story here.

I was a bit fascinated by the Tenant house and wanted to take a closer look at this marvelous structure. The house was literally like a book- with each and every detail telling the story of the building's history.

I was especially enamored with the weathered, aging wood that was slowly losing the battle against the elements. The intricate patterns of the wood grain and the mesmerizing shades of browns, blacks and grays.

Inside the Tenant house, I felt like I was at once both stepping back a few decades and at the same time trespassing into the former occupant's life. The inside boards were in remarkably good condition (one reason they are trying to save the building) and the contents of the rooms tell a fascinating story.

Mixed with garbage and abandoned pieces of simple furniture, the rooms made me wonder who exactly lived here in this room and what was their life like. I tried to imagine them using this dresser or why those drawers were missing.

I was told that the last occupants had attempted to set off fireworks inside the chimney, and they had caused so much damage to the brickwork that it must be totally torn down and rebuilt.

The house was literally made out of solid wood, which was something that is quite a novelty to me. Most modern buildings I roam around are put on a concrete foundation, with cement walls or some sort of dry wall. The floor is made of wood in this house, and in all but a few places where the ground below can be seen, it is in excellent condition.

The house also holds more boards to be restored and put into the "Old Place".

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I really, really needed this day to relax, catch up and snuggle with my hubby.