Simple + Southern Sunday No. 548

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.””
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV

Skies like this have been a bit rare for us over the last couple of weeks. It has been rainy and overcast quite a few days in late April and early May. I saw a report that a few locations across Alabama already had record rainfall amounts for the month of May and we are only at mid-month. Wish we could save a little for July and August!

We’ve seen the falls completely dry and shared that sometime last year. There was no shortage of water last week however, as Noccalula was living up to being known as a waterfall!

The statue of Princess Noccalula is a reminder of the folk tale and legend of the broken hearted maiden who leaped off the edge and into the rushing waters of the gorge below. It is said her father, chief of the tribe, chose a husband for her, but she was in love with another. The fabled leap occurred on her wedding day. As I view her, I see a young girl who is having second thoughts about jumping. My version of what possibly happened does not make for an interesting folk story!

Elvis never cried in this chapel, but it has been used for weddings and other events. The chapel stands very close to the rushing water just above the falls drop off, but is up grade enough that there is no danger of flooding. Pam was able to capture a photo on Wednesday with no people around, which is unusual as the park gets a lot of visitors.

While up on the rocks, I noticed a large tulip tree (tulip magnolia) growing from the gorge below. I was able to get above and look directly down on a few blooms. This tree of the magnolia family is one of the fastest growing trees in our region and offers very pretty blooms in April and May!
 

This princess tree is loaded with egg shaped capsules or seed pods. Two months ago it would have been covered with lavender blooms. I failed to get a photo of one in bloom this year, although I saw several. They are not native and considered invasive in places, but I understand the tree is very versatile for woodworking. The princess tree and Princess Noccalula reminded us of other area princesses who will capture our attention this weekend…

…at ballet performances Saturday night (last night) and this afternoon. Is it possible PJ and I will attend both performances? You’re only allowed one guess!

Oxeye daisies grace some of our roadsides and pasture edges these days. I find them in large groups or clusters, but sometimes it is good to give all of our attention to only one individual!

I mentioned that we’ve had a lot of cloudy days recently. This was such a day for the most part, but I looked straight above me to discover a hole giving me the neatest monocular view. My own personal telescope looking right up into the heavens!

I am keeping an eye on the wheat fields. I do believe there is a hint of gold. Maybe a few sunny days will come our way this week and change will come even faster. We shall see.

I found a different route for my exercise walks and began noticing this “leggy” looking plant all along a part of the trail. I told Pam the leaves of a plant I was seeing reminded me of lettuce. I decided to investigate and found it was a wild radish. It is a wildflower or weed found across the country and is toxic to humans and pets. Tiny yellow flowers were everywhere.

The wild radish may not be very popular and is toxic, but all is not bad. It has some traditional uses in producing a yellow dye for textiles and paint!

Whether a late Mother’s Day treat or an early celebration in honor of Memorial Day, food is a necessary item. We decided to have a special evening between these two occasions, which seemed like a great reason (or excuse) to dine at a favorite restaurant. Pam and I were like-minded as we both had chicken scaloppine with capers over creamy polenta. (This was really for Mother’s Day so we must eat again for Memorial Day!) 

An afternoon visit to Weiss Lake is interesting in every season. Sunlight briefly streamed through a break in the clouds and added wonderful color to everything growing along the bank. In particular, the blooms of a southern Catalpa tree can be seen extending from large heart-shaped leaves. The Catalpa sphinx moth feeds exclusively on this plant with the large leaves being perfect habitat for the caterpillars. Long bean pods will form, hence cigar tree has become a common name!

Flowering dogwoods are common in our woods and landscapes, but their blooms are gone now. This however, is also a dogwood. Growing near the Catalpa trees along the waters edge, swamp dogwood is in bloom in mid-May!

Another lakeside resident we spotted “greening up” and producing cones was the bald cypress. A conifer, but one that loses its hair (needles) in the winter, so the name “bald”. It is native to our area and does well in wet places.
 

This scene had no unusual plants or animals that I wished to describe, but it was a pleasant and peaceful spot along the bank. At a glance you feel like you are looking upward into the sky with its thin white clouds and trees nearby…but it is all a reflection as we are looking down into the water!

I don’t think Pam was happy about my little friend finding a spot in the blog post. Completely alone in the middle of a large rock, it reminded me of today’s postal service! 

Our visit to the lake kept us until almost dark. We weren’t the only visitors, a million mosquitos arrived ahead of us!

Have a peaceful week!!!!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Linking with:
 Pieced Pastimes,  Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
 Life and Linda