“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
Test
Your trip found you some beautiful sights. Love the water fall and the story of the princess. Thank you for taking is along. Have a great week. Hugs. Kris
Thank you Kris. Hope you have a great week as well!
Butch and Pam
Whew! A million mosquitos 🦟. Not a fun visitor but then God made everything. Your cloud pictures today brought about some thought provoking ideas. There will be some rain in every life. My guess is that you will be at the second performance and it will be more precious than the previous performance. Snail mail is appropriate for the mail service, I sent my nephew an envelope that cost me $70 dollars but took 15 days to get there. It sat in Denver for a week, then to Atlanta, to Chicago and Gastonia N.C, and finally to the eastern side of NC where it was finally delivered. Hope your mail service is better than mine. Have a God blessed week.
Thank you Alice. We have days that the mail fails to run, two Mondays of the past 3. They can’t get enough people to work maybe? Unheard of in years past. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
The sky shots are interesting. There has been a lot of rain and terrible storms this spring. Praying for the folks affected by tornadoes and high wind events. The snail is definitely a perfect representation of the USPS! However, in our area, a black hole would be more accurate as we’re lucky to receive any mail that involves a greeting card! Somehow, the postal service personnel thinks all greeting cards belong to them especially if money or gift cards are involved! It’s so sad and maddening! Love all the pictures. Enjoy the ballet! The grands are gorgeous! Clara❤️
Thank you Clara. Pam’s magazine subscriptions aren’t delivered at times, we figure someone else is enjoying reading them. It has been a rainy spring. Yes, it’s off to the ballet now. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Relish the thrilling moments at the ballet…to be shared and cherished a lifetime.
Great Sunday photos, especially the Church. Another great Mr. Wonderful tutorial on the surrounding falls, fields and skies of your surroundings. Have
a peaceful and relaxing Sabbath with some exercise to dissipate those dining out calories. Blessings +
Thank you Mary. I think the calories will require a few additional miles be added to the exercise trail to balance the scale. Today’s ballet performance is calling so exercise will be delayed until later. Have a peaceful week!
Butch and Pam
I always enjoy your pictures and explanations of the plants and foliage in your area.
The pictures of your granddaughters in their ballet outfits remind me of the fun times we went to my granddaughter’s dance recitals. She is an adult now, married and the mommy of our precious great grandson.
Thanks for sharing your everyday living with us.
Thank you Nancy. Good to hear from you. We finished our ballet season this afternoon but we expect to have more coming in the fall. We try not to miss anything they participate in but it can wear us out. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Hello Butch and Pam, the photo of the two ballerinas is stunning. Someone planned a really wonderful backdrop. Your other truly amazing photo was the view up into the heavens. I’ve never seen anything like it. Our road, Six and Twenty, is supposed to be a mile marker for when Cherokee Princess Issaqueena rode to warn her English love that the Indians were planning an attack. Your waterfall is really roaring with all the rain, and the statue is beautiful.
Thank you Roxanne. It seems you live on a road tied to legend and most of those are somehow stories of love. If you’ve had the rains as we have, your pond is likely overflowing. We hope you have a peaceful and blessed week!
Butch and Pam
The pictures are stunning! Thank you! The ballet must have been lovely!
God bless you!
Thank you Mrs. White. We did enjoy the girls and attended the final performance of the season this afternoon. We hope you enjoy a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
A lovely post, my guess you were at both Princess ballet performances Butch 😉.
Those falls are really flowing! As I write this we have thunder, lightning & rain pouring down as it has done all night & today so we may have some of those falls in our backyard soon!
blessings to you both Pam & Butch, Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer. You guessed correctly on the performances but we are finished with those events for the season. It was fun. We are still getting rain here, sounds like you are having a wet autumn. Don’t float away. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
I bet you went to BOTH nights of the ballerinas’ performances, am I right? They’ll make a ballet goer of you yet, Butch! They are beautiful. Love all the nature photos. Wow, the falls were rushing! We’ve had a lot of rain recently, too. The good news is less watering of the new grass and garden plantings!
Thank you Rita. So right, both performances but no more now until the fall season. It’s one of the wettest springs we can remember. Some things are needing a little sunshine but the grass is doing quite well. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Butch and Pam…what beautiful sights you have shared with us as usual.. Love the water fall and the story of the princess. We are up in beautiful Montana and there has been lots of rain. We have walked the Yellowstone River and camped in the wilderness but I am now ready to go home to sunny Florida. Have a great and Blessed week.
Thank you Kari. Montana is beautiful, been there many times and spent time around the Yellowstone River on a number of occasions. One of my favorite states. Have a safe trip and a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
I would be shocked if you only went to one night of the performances! They are so lovely in their costumes. And all the photos are splendid!
Thank you Jeanie. We made every performance but get a summer break from ballet. Of course we imagine there will be plenty of other things to attend. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Hello Friends, I chuckled about the snail. Snail Mail!
I am sure you will both be watching both ballet performances. What car, ing girls all dressed in their ballet dresses.
I enjoyed all the photos. But those falls are incredible! Wow!
We have arrived at our summer home. I am busy with EVERYTHING!
Enjoy your weekend, my friends.
Thank you Nancy. Hope all is well in PA. We watched both performances for certain but get a summer break, at least from ballet. Have a delightful week!
Butch and Pam
Of course you will attend both performances of those beautiful ballerinas and of course you should celebrate Memorial Day with another dinner lol. Beautiful pictures, all of them,and I especially love the gorgeous sky shots! I guess postal service is much the same everyone and here it will be non-existent as of Friday when Canada Post will go on strike. I certainly don’t deny their right to strike or anything but Canada Post is running a 3 billion dollar deficit. Interesting times. Have a very wonderful week you two!
Thank you Kim. Sounds like postal service is a troubled thing everywhere. And yes, we attended both ballet performances but have a break for the summer, at least from ballet. We hope you have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Such beautiful photos of the water! And I can’t get over how big your little princesses are getting! Time marches on. May the Lord continue to bless you and your family!