TALLADEGA SCENIC HIGHWAY ON MT. CHEAHA ~ ALABAMA ~ photo taken by Dianna Stover
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Monday, November 16, 2009

PIC OF THE WEEK - WAY DOWN SOUTH IN THE LAND OF COTTON

Saturday was a beautiful day for riding! Clear skies and warm temps (low 70's... again!) so Harley and I decided to head south this time for our road therapy. Instead of the woodsy, twisty terrain of the Talladega National Forest that we usually enjoy to the north, we experienced a more relaxing ride as we encountered the rolling hills and open pastures that grace our southern Alabama farmland.

WAY DOWN SOUTH IN THE LAND OF COTTON
We stopped to take a picture of this cotton field on Hwy. 29 in Pike County. It's amazing at how much this looks like snow!

Here's our future bath towels! LOL!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Lady R

14 comments:

Willy D said...

Does look like snow at first glance. When do they harvest cotton? I would’ve figured it was done by this late in the year.

Crazy Horse said...

I remember when I first moved here to NC about 14 years ago. There were still a few cotton fields. Most of those fields have been replanted with subdivisions and macmansions.
The texile industry used to dominate the Carolinas. Now its all gone. Huge plants shuttered and closed, all weedy and deserted. The little towns that grew up around them, looking like ghost towns. Stores boarded up, once neat little downtowns nearly abandoned.
Chinese cotton? Chinese everything. Glad to see theire's still a few cotton fields on this side of the ocean.

redbone said...

hi there. i live in rome, ga. when i was young, oh so long ago, it wasn't 5 miles to go see a field of cotton. nowadays, i couldn't tell you where the nearest field of cotton was.

be safe in your riding.

Lady R (Di) said...

Willy D... Harvest time is now and has been for a few weeks. But we've been getting so much rain here, that the farmers can't get their machinery in the fields to harvest. Some may lose money cause the crop is ready and they can't get to it. :(

TCHFS... Welcome! When I see the cotton fields, I always think of Scarlet O'Hara and Tara. It reminds me of the old south.

I like riding through the old abandoned towns, so my imagination can go wild with the history that took place there.

Redbone... we have several scattered around near us. It's kind of interesting to see the changes in the fields. While we ride the same roads, we can watch the progress of farming throughout the different seasons.

Bucky said...

Its nice that you had a great ride. It wa a great day to ride. I was able to get in ride of my own this past weekend. I put in about 225 miles and still spent half the day visiting realtives...

irondad said...

Have you ever asked someone how they were and had them reply,

"Fair to middlin'"?

That expression is a cotton grading term.

Just thought there might be somebody out there who would like to know that!

"Joker" said...

It almost looks like snow. Or, a marshmallow field lol!

I've never actually seen one; it's beautiful. Hope to one day. I echo the sentiments of the anti-China crowd. Less trophy houses and more cotton fields. Buy American!

Lady R (Di) said...

Bucky... I'm glad to her you got the buttery babe running! One of these days we need to ride to Iowa. Serious road trip!!

Irondad... I hear that quite often. Didn't realize what it derived from, but makes sense now. Thanks for the tidbit. Never too old to learn something.

Joker... "marshmallow fields"?? I'd be in serious trouble. I love marshmallows!! (maybe with a little hot chocolate on the side)
These cotton fields are very pretty when they get full like this. I usually pick a couple stems with some full bowls on them and put them in a vase during the fall. So southern!! LOL!

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Is that my tighty whities I see out there in that field?

Lady R (Di) said...

Mr. M... In it's rarest form, I'd say! LOL!

Kathleen Jennette said...

Once again, you have the most beautiful country to ride! I love the cotton fields!! I expect Sally Field to be coming out of them soon! :)

Webster World said...

Snow hey! I picked one or two off a plant years back. A pickly plant. Must have been a real bitch to do that all day. It is pretty. I loved the rides back then and seeing it.

Lady R (Di) said...

KT Did... Thank you! I've learned to appreciate the south and it's beauty after I started riding around in it on my bike.

Webster... For as soft as cotton is... it's a PAIN getting if off the stalk. KT Did mentioned Sally Field,("Places In The Heart") walking out of the cotton field. She played a widowed cotton farmer during the depression trying to make her living with her cotton crop. Her and the workers would pick cotton till there hands were bloody.

Someone told me the other day the farmers will spray something on the cotton now that make the bowls just fall away and crumble, allowing the cotton to be plucked clean and without injury. Nice progress!! (Plus, they do it all with machines now.)

Shelby said...

WOW! Gorgeous pics! Love 'em! New follower to your blog!
--Shelby
www.luvgirl43.blogspot.com
www.youreyesinmylife.blogspot.com