summertime rolls --- in more ways than one

It's been a July full of travels and busyness which has made the month fly by and that's okay seeing as we're in the thick of the dog days. My A/C runs non-stop, the power bill is too high and being outside during the day is not recommended for "sensitive" groups such as myself -- referring to my asthma here and not my keen life-long ability to get my feelings hurt quickly. Yeah, I'm ready for fall to get here. We all are in the deep South.

The month started out with an excellent fireworks show on Red Mountain that I saw from the News parking deck with some friends and co-workers. I worked that night and wasn't really in the photographing spirit, but Jeff Roberts at the News got some good snaps.

The next week Clare and I went to Joe Wheeler State Park in north Alabama and caught some bream and me a decent-sized bass. Wheeler Lake is beautiful -- 87 miles long and full of huge fish. The last night I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. fishing, I saw an Alligator Gar that was at least four feet long -- literally took my breath away, but sadly not my hook -- until next time, suckahs!

On our way back to Birmingham, we stopped at the randomly miraculous tourist attraction known as Ave Maria Grotto. The only way to describe it is if the Rev. Howard Finster was a European-born Catholic. The pictures do the place better justice.

The weekend of the 18th Mom and Dad drove down from Brevard for a short stay and we three headed South at the break-o-dawn to Brown family reunion in Clarke County, Alabama. I met some new baby cousins and saw all my aunts but one. Many funny stories were told and enough food was brought and smoked at on-site at the church to feed a few hundred. Afterward we made the short trek to Monroeville, the city that served as inspiration for the small southern town setting in Harper Lee's masterpiece.

And speaking of more road trips and more Harpers, Lindsay and I drove to Atlanta this past Sunday to meet Tim and Angela's new baby girl who's all of 7 weeks. They are getting their own special post to be written soon and starring the famous and brilliant three-year-old phenom known as Audrey Rose.