Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Some say the ginkgo tree is a living fossil, that it hasn't changed at all in over 200 million years.  It lives longer than most trees, and is so tough that it is planted as street trees all over the world because it will survive the traffic and fumes that would kill other trees. It has a distinctive leaf, one that you will never forget after you  learn what it is.  There is not another leaf like it, not one in the  whole wide world. Ginkgo Biloba, an extract made from the leaves, is sold in health food stores.  It is alleged to improve memory and have other health benefits.  Ginkgo has been studied as treatment for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but there has been no scientific evidence that it works. I can't prove how old it is or if it really has health benefits.  However, I do know this: many years ago, someone had the foresight to plant a ginkgo tree on the campus of the University of North Alabama, on a s...

Today is the first day of classes for the fall semester at the University of North Alabama. This is the Floyd Science building that will soon be replaced by the new science building under construction on Pine Street. I have spent many days of my life in the room on the top floor right. This may be the last semester we are here.  Plans are that the new science building will be ready by the beginning of the spring semester in January, or soon thereafter. It has been a long time coming, and I guess we can wait a little longer. 

I may be just a little biased, but I think the University of North Alabama has the most beautiful campus anywhere.  Anywhere. And that is especially true in the fall.             I spend much of my time in the lab room just right of the stairs on the top floor.  I see this tree every time I come and go.  It is just as pretty in the spring as I watch it go from bare to buds to beautiful.           When I went to college here, the walkway below was a congested street.   Most of these photos were taken between Floyd Science Building and the Collier Library, a regular trek for me.  There is much more of the campus that is not shown here.