I've passed this cotton field several times this year on Alabama Hwy 84 near Gosport and the Alabama River. Where is that, you say? Its a few miles east of Grove Hill and not all that far from Monroeville, Alabama. This is more or less due north of the Alabama/Florida state line between Pensacola and Mobile.
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The Alabama River makes a large meander in this area so that it creates a virtual loop around the highway (and all the cotton fields). This area is now completely flooded due to the historic rains that fell in December 2015.
99% of the cotton grown in the USA's South is Gossypium hirsutum L. or "Upland Cotton."
Cotton Boll
The cotton blooms then produces a seed pod which is very sharp. The protective case around the cotton is referred to as a cotton boll. The cotton boll, was the bane of early settlers who grew the plant as it was so sharp that it would lacerate anyone who tried to pick it. Today machines do all the work.
Under natural conditions the cotton boll would help disperse cotton seeds when it popped open revealing the fully staple fiber that surrounds the seeds (that we know simply as cotton).
I like this mural in Monroeville, Alabama. In the image above I removed the power lines over the building and the mural kind of looks like a real scene. Below, with power lines it is a little more obvious that it is painted on the side of a building.
Georgia Cotton
This cotton field looks a bit healthier in southern Georgia where there was more spring and summer rain.
These plants were about 3-4 feet tall (1 m).
I picked a few bolls of cotton to extract the seeds and grow my own plants in the spring.
Camphor Weed
(Heterotheca subaxillaris)
Heterotheca subaxillaris - Camphorweed, Camphor Weed, False Goldenaster. Synonym: Chrysopsis scabra. Some authorities consider Heterotheca subaxillaris to be weedy and/or invasive. Apparently this is with good reason, as the plant is quite variable, even to the point that some plant ecologists have considered it to be several separate species rather than a single species with multiple varieties.
The different varieties have a great deal of tolerance to different conditions, allow it to thrive and force out other plants when conditions are difficult. Those that take the position of multiple species (Heterotheca latifolia, Heterotheca psammophila, and Heterotheca subaxillaris) also typically indicate that this H. subaxillaris has a native range limited to the Southeast.
It looks similar to other Heterotheca and Chrysopsis species, but if you handle the plant, especially broken leaves, you'll be able to identify it by the distinct camphor-like aroma.
This stand of Camphor Weed was nearly 7 feet tall (2+ m), dwarfing the cotton plants in the background. Camphor Weed does some amazing things to reproduce with such success. It is a composite with both yellow disk and yellow ray flowers. It produces two different seed types. One type, produced by the disk flowers, can germinate immediately when the conditions are right. The seed produced by the ray flowers requires a period of dormancy, and must undergo a period of high temperatures before germinating, and thus usually germinate in the fall. Both kinds of seeds can be wind-dispersed, and are frequently found along southern roadways and railroads.
Pecans
I found this beautiful pean tree orchard along one of my treks through the South this fall. The pecans were just ripening when I took these photos. Most of the pecan trees found in the South of the USA are the species Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch. Carya illinoinensis is a species of hickory native to Mexico and the south-central and southeastern regions of the USA.
The name "Pecan" is a from of an Algonquian word meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack.
The trees grow to 130 feet tall (40 m) with a trunk up to 7 feet in diameter (2 m).
As seen in the image above, the fruit like all other members of the hickory genus, is not truly a nut, but is technically a drupe, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk. The husks are produced from the exocarp tissue of the flower, while the part known as the nut develops from the endocarp and contains the seed.
Georgia Bulldog's House
in Eldorado, Georgia
I've happened along this house several times this year in Eldorado, Georgia. It is obviously home to a big Georgia Bulldog's fan.
Check out more photos of the house on Facebook at
I particularly like the dog house which is not pictured in close up here.
Below, the doghouse is in the middle of this shot, black roof. I didn't want to trespass to get a good shot so you'll have to look at the photos on facebook for a close up.
Take Exit 55 (Eldorado Road) from I-75 north or south and head east to the Magnolia Plantation. The Bulldog's House is adjacent to the Magnolia Plantation. I found that you can get the best, cheapest, and tackiest post cards in Southern Georgia at the Magnolia Plantation. They also have clean restrooms and cheap gasoline. . .and every kind of pecan treat (sweets) you can imagine.
Cheap Gas
So why is gas so cheap across Alabama and Mississippi
but expensive, still, in Florida?
Taxes.
Gas was already down to 1.50-1.66 gallon
around Hattiesburg, Mississippi at New Years
before the latest drop in crude prices. . .
and you could get a bucket of Creole Fried Chicken
with your savings at this station in
Collins, Mississippi.
We've Read:
There is plenty of scientific research linking red wine to health benefits, but no similar studies in grape juice. There may be some synergy between resveratrol and something else present in wine and not in grape juice (read on).
The myriad benefits of statins (or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) are revealed daily in the scientific literature.
Do you think the Chinese know what Grinder is?
The dating and social networking app is designed for gay men, with two million regular visitors every day. It has tried to court other demographics, but those efforts have fizzled.
