On the Cover Working Cows Dairy By David Haynes It was a hot south Alabama morning, 10 a.m. and already over 90º F, when Rinske de Jong poured a cup of cold, creamy milk from a gallon jug with a smiling cow on the label.   There in the office of Working Cows Dairy in Slocomb – Alabama’s first certified organic dairy – I had my first taste of real milk. Just as Jan de Jong predicted: “It’s like drinking ice cream.”  …read more
CSS Alabama By John Brightman Brock Confederate Navy Capt. Rafael Semmes watched in amazement aboard the CSS Alabama off the coast of France on June 19,1864. Cannon fire from his famed warship literally bounced off the USS Kearsarge, a Union ship with hidden iron chains protecting its sides. The Alabama’s powder and projectiles were nearly useless, even though Semmes ordered 150 rounds thundering toward the Union ship. Nothing seemed to work.  …read more	Join the Hunt August may be known best in Alabama for hot humid weather and ice-cold watermelons. However, for most hunters, August marks the beginning of “hunting season.” By that, I mean this is usually when hunters from around the state begin planning and buying supplies for the fall seasons. You’ll begin to hear conversations in the barber shops about deer hunting prospects, new hunting clubs forming, needing a new ATV and so on. “I can’t wait for cooler weather” is a line we’ll hear often. …read more
Alabama Gardens It was a risky venture, and one that could have been disastrous, but I am pleased (and relieved) to report my backyard experiment has thus far been successful – “wildly” successful. This venture is an attempt to turn a portion of our yard into a wildflower meadow. It seemed risky because lawns are safe and acceptable; a wild meadow is a bit out of the residential box. …read more	Destinations The Franklin County Watermelon Festival drew 35,000 people last year What’s red and green and juicy all over? The answer to this riddle is as tasty as it is easy: watermelon. This sweet, summertime staple is chilled, sliced (sometimes even salted!) and served at backyard barbecues, family reunions and church picnics all over Alabama. But in the northwestern corner of our state in Russellville, the seat of Franklin County, …read more
Discovering Alabama What kind of snake grows to be the longest of Alabama snakes? The correct answer to this question is a surprise to many people, including the lady who telephoned me recently. She had just left her backyard vegetable garden after encountering what she described as a “humongous reptile lying tail-to-head from the last row of sweet corn all the way over to the third row of purple hull peas.” …read more