Jimmy Buffett at Gulf Shores (photo from CMT)
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At Lulu's! Proceeds from the sale of this shirt will help fund scholarship programs at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of Southern Mississippi
Pine Apple
in the Heart of the Black Belt
My friends recently purchased a farm with a quaint historic cottage in Pine Apple, Alabama.
Pine Apple is the home of the Annual Front Porch Tour where the tourists are invited to “sit a spell and visit” in Old-Fashioned Southern Style. I can’t think of a more beautiful place for a Front Porch Tour, and Sharon is already thinking about hors d’ ouevre to serve on her new front porch next spring. (But many of us think they should just open a restaurant, I would certainly drive to Pine Apple to eat at Bateman’s Bistro and I think the Tyrannosaurus Rex would be the perfect mascot!)
The Bateman kitchen
http://www.pineapplealabama.com/frontporch.htm
I was treated to a weekend at the farm and we mixed a little shopping and touring with the cleaning and moving on our ‘to do’ list.
We dutifully watered the beans,
Bateman Beans
although they had already grown over an inch in one week in the rich black soil. The Black Belt is a fertile crescent along the Alabama River, and the region grows a variety of imaginative folk artists in addition to the celebrated cotton crop. In the nearby town of Camden Sharon and I stumbled out of a hardware/hunting store and into a unique gallery, Black Belt Treasures, a non-profit showcase for local artisans, including the renowned Gees Bend Quilters.
Black Belt Treasures
http://blackbelttreasures.com/
The region has become the heart of hunting in Alabama, and there are many farms for lease and camps for rent in Wilcox County. Hunter Appreciation Day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Pine Apple and the parade starts at the Moore Academy School.
Sophie enjoys the fire
The Alabama Black Belt Nature and Heritage Trail guide boasts Pine Apple is home to some unique ‘funerary’ decorations, and Sharon and I set out every evening to find them, but failed.
A 'lost symbol' in Pine Apple??
http://www.wilcoxareachamber.org/tourism.htm
I am looking forward to returning to Pine Apple to continue the quest! I’ll take a longer book and bigger bottle of wine.
Lynne's room
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I will admit I was a little hurt when the hummingbird I rescued and raised did not stick around for the winter like Squeak (my mother-in-law owned an autographed copy of “The Story of Squeak”).
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird by the Neitzels
He stopped by for visits that summer and sat on the clothesline while I worked in the garden, but he left in the fall and never returned. He did, however, change my fascination with hummers into a lifelong love story.
So I was delighted when the Neitzels invited me over to see their way-stations for migrating hummingbirds. They had, Janice boasted, over a hundred birds buzzing their deck in the evening.
Steve and Janice Neitzel are renowned locally for their avian photographs, some of which they generously donate to the Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Dept fundraisers, in addition to other worthy causes. And they have shared some with me for the new Fort Morgan website.
Painted Bunting by the Neitzels
And they did come… I watched in awe as Janice & her brother fed Harriet, the heron, and the little hummers buzzed the feeders on the back deck and front porch.
Harriet the heron
- Neitzel’s feeder
I attempted to film the hummingbirds swarming around Janice as she held the feeder, but discovered too late I had selected the wrong setting on the camera. That is one sure way to tell the difference between a professional and a rank amateur!
- Recent photo by the Neitzels
The evening on the deck was a treat and I look forward to the bird banding at the Fort this weekend. But I’ll leave the photography to the pros!
You can visit Steve Neitzel’s beautiful website at:
Nana Lynne and the boys
Once upon a time Lynne moved to her little house in Alabama and started painting and cleaning. She wanted to repair the damage and neglect from the renters and borrowers. She painted over the scuffs in the bedrooms and washed the grime from the sofas and bedspreads, but she dreamed of new furniture and bright bedding.
Asher, Clark and Sophie go crabbing
One day the Mattox family called to say they were coming for a visit and Lynne was delighted. She had never had young children come to visit so she was a little worried about hazards under the sinks, fragile knickknacks, and dangers on the deck.
Jennifer and Asher at the Marina
But the boys arrived and the fun began.
There were squeals and screams, runaway crabs, and much laughter and dancing.
There was an accident and some spills, but the sofa was old and the carpet was worn, and no one cared. Everyone was happy.
Clark's first fish
The visit was too short, and the house was too quiet when the boys left.
For many days Sophie sadly searched the bedroom for Clark and Asher.
And Nana Lynne had an epiphany…. forget new furniture, keep the old and enjoy the children!
Please come back soon.
Leah Bateman helps print Clark's fish
Leah's own flounder print
Happy Easter!
Gardening on the Gulf Coast is challenging. The forecasters are always wrong about the rain (we’re still suffering from a 4-year drought), the soil is sand, the bugs are bad, the wind is fierce, and the rabbits are fearless.
I have two confused Roma tomato plants swinging from the railing in my new Topsy Turvy planters, a slew of herbs on the deck, a few plants in an old wheelbarrow, and a small raised garden at the foot of the steps.
Yesterday, as I walked with Sophie back from the beach, I saw a large bunny eyeing the wheelbarrow and I started shouting threats from the driveway.
She watched us for a moment as we approached, then made two short hops over to the steps and nipped off the top 8 inches of the clematis.
ACK! 
(I have nursed that little plant since I bought it on sale in December, covering it for every freeze advisory. I wanted a flowering vine across from the jasmine Melinda brought from New Orleans. )
She hopped calmly into the scrub oak with my flower hanging from her mouth like a trophy cigar.
I immediately sprinkled more cayenne pepper on the poor stump and on every other plant that looked to be in harm’s way.
But when I went out to inspect my garden this morning, I decided it was probably wasted energy. These are LA bunnies and they probably like their salad spicy, so the pepper just will be appreciated.
But who knows….. maybe it was the Easter Bunny! 
Mullet Toss
Mullet drying on the line
Gyotaku, the Japanese style of fish printing, is the perfect art form for an old biology teacher.
I made my first print 25 years ago after reading an article about preserving your child’s first catch in ink. I think that old print on construction paper is still hanging in Tom’s room.
Many years later I was invited to join my friends on the ‘ Escape Artists’ weekend at Lee’s Ford Marina on Lake Cumberland. They are artists, I am not….
Lees Ford prints
I was invited because we once owned a little houseboat at Lee’s Ford and they thought I could captain the pontoon while they sketched and painted. But I had to register as an artist of some description, so I revived my old talent and actually produced some credible prints.
Since that time I will occasionally drag out the paints and pins when I am inspired by a fishing trip at LeBus pond or a really sturdy cardboard box (essential for fish printing because they need to be discarded after a couple days. CPAP boxes from ResMed are especially inspirational!)
I had a couple boxes, but no fish. I have asked at the markets, but whole fish of printable size are difficult to find.
So I settled on a couple mullet (sold frozen to use as cut bait) and had a little fun this weekend. The only mullet I’ve had personal experience with were being tossed at the Flora -Bama across the state line! So…
I think flounder would make wonderful subjects so I’m on the lookout for surf fishermen over spring break!
bass printed in 2007
bluegill printed in 2007
closeup of bass print
Update
In response to the questions…. yes, I have printed fish on tee shirts.
So, if you win the Mullet Toss in your division and want a trophy shirt, I can do that. Please be sure to refridgerate the fish as soon as possible, or you will have a VERY fragrant shirt!
A timely correction
A Gordon Bradt original?
I have been told, by a reliable source, that the sculpture on the beach in Surfside I described as ‘whimsical’ is most likely a kinetic sculpture by Gordon Bradt of Kinetico Studios!
A Kinetico clock
Judging by the footprints in the sand, it has been quite popular with our Spring Breakers this week.
The top spins one way (armed with copper post caps) and the bottom turns in the opposite direction, always at about the same speed regardless of the wind. It is intriguing and, I still maintain, whimsical!
How fabulous to have an artist-in-residence (occasionally) who would take the time to create a public sculpture designed to make us stop for a moment and smile!
I encourage you to visit his website and watch the video of his extraordinary clocks.
