Faith, Folklore, and Friends

An old house that had lived its life long ago and so was very quiet and wise and a little mysterious.  Also a little austere, but very kind. ~L.M.Montgomery,  Emily's Quest

I didn't crop the buildings out of the picture to try to show just how huge this place is.  Due to lack of rainfall this year, the falls were not too impressive. However, Noccalula's story was quite compelling.  That's her, about to leap into the chasm because of love. You can read more about the legend here . Noccalula Falls is located in Gadsden,  Alabama.  The beautifully landscaped park has hiking, a playground, and camping.

We had left Lake Guntersville State Park and were on our  way to Buck's Pocket State Park when we saw a small sign  that said, "High Falls". It was at the junction of County Road  394 and 149, off AL Highway 227 (between Grove Oak and  Geraldine).  We decided to check it out. This is how Town Creek looks before it reaches the falls.  Very peaceful with lots of families with little ones cooling off on a hot day . Here the water is going over the falls.  It has been very dry here this year, and the falls were not exactly roaring.  Obviously, this isn't me.  Even if I had the nerve to jump off, don't think I would be able to climb the rope back to the top.  It was great fun watching, though. You can read about the history of High Falls  here.  Sure glad we were paying attention and noticed the sign.  We had to travel on some little roads, some of them gravel, but it was worth the trip.

. . . so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none beside me.  I am the LORD, and there is no other. ~Isaiah 45:6

The music world lost a legend yesterday with the passing of Dr. Ralph Stanley.  He has been one of my favorite people for years.  He lived a long, productive life, but it is still sad that he is gone forever.  I am  reposting the blog I wrote on his birthday on February 25, 2016. Dr. Ralph Stanley turns 89 years old today.  He started singing and picking banjo professionally in 1946 with his brother, Carter, and the Clinch Mountain Boys.  After Carter's death in 1966, his fans urged him to continue his music with the Clinch Mountain boys, and he decided to give it a try. I'm so glad he did. He has been pickin' and singin' for more than sixty years now. In the year 2000, Dr. Ralph's music was featured in the movie, O Brother, Where art Thou , which introduced his music to millions that had not heard it before.  In 2002, he won a Grammy for his song, O Death .  In 2006, he received the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress and National Metal of A

Buck's Pocket State Park is part of three counties, DeKalb, Jackson, and Marshall , in Northeast Alabama. Located in the Appalachian foothills, it has fantastic rock formations.  It is a very small park, with no restaurants or other amenities, but it is a place where you can fill your eyes and hearts with Alabama's natural beauty.  Not today.  Thanks, anyway. Buck's Pocket has an interesting history  for such a small, isolated place.

Lake Guntersville State Park , which overlooks a 69,000 acre lake, is a cool place to visit on a hot day.  The park has a lodge, restaurant, cabins, a golf course, and lots of wildlife. The lodge has a restaurant with a patio next to the lake. It was catfish buffet the day we were there.  

The calendar says it is the first day of summer. I know some of you might want to argue with that, since it has felt like summer for a while now. Here is a little something to cool you off.