Bellingrath Gardens.............

Entrance to Bellingrath Gardens

While we were at Orange Beach, AL, we decided to go to Mobile to the Bellingrath Gardens, well, actually it is located at Theodore, AL. It is 65 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds.

Walter Duncan Bellingrath arrived in Mobile in 1903 to bottle Coca-Cola for a sales region stretching out a hundred miles. He married his secretary, Bessie Morse, in 1906 and five years later bought her a spacious home in one of Mobile's most elegant neighborhoods. She loved flowers and antiques and her home has a showplace.

Her husband later bought the property that was to become Bellingrath. They planted truckloads of camellia, azaleas and after a European trip seeing the beautiful gardens, they returned home, to continue creating a showplace. Bessie was known to buy flowers, antiques and other things from people who were going through hard times at a price high above their value.

They had wells drilled but because it had high sulphur content, they installed garden fountains and even made a lake named Mirror Lake. The estate was opened to the public in 1935.

The North side of the home (I think)

Mary Jo and Betty

One of the Staghorn Ferns in the Conservatory

South view of the home

The home was constructed of salvaged brick from an 1852 home in Mobile. Three guest's suites, three dining room, large kitchen and butler's pantry, six full baths, three half baths, drawing room, pantries for crystal, silver, china are just some of the rooms.

One of the many fountain and reflecting pools

A beautiful bed of flowering Kale

Flowering Cabbage

Primulas

One variety of Camellia

One of the lawn areas and drive ways

One of the most beautiful views of the mediterranean influenced style home.

Another beautiful picture of the fountain and pool.

These were just a few of the pictures taken.....There is a chapel, a Boehm Porcelain Gallery, a Chinese Garden, a humongous rose garden, etc. This was a winter visit and I'm sure in the spring and summer it is a beauty to behold. It was pretty even in the winter with the bulbs, and winter flower beds doing their part...........

Another posting, we'll go on the riverboat ride on the Fowl River which is an estuary...........

Chickens, Chickens and More Chickens.........

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In a town in south, it is not uncommon to see chickens running all over town. Actually, they are not chickens, but Burmese Game Fowl brought to a settlement north of town for a project which was unsuccessful and evidently they were just turned loose in the woods. They made their way down to the nearest town. They can fly across parking lots and up into high trees. They have been around for a long, long time and believe you me they have not been slack in multiplying!
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People stop their vehicles to let the chickens cross the busy streets, sometime a whole family, the mama and several little chicks. They don't necessarily obey the traffic lights.

One Sunday as we were walking to a restaurant for lunch, we saw a mama and five or six little ones coming across the street. She got to the curb with a 3 or 4 of them. As usual with children, some of them lollygaged behind. She began to cheep----cheep, calling to them and they hurried on over and hopped up on the curb and she carried her little flock on down the street.

Half the town loves them........and half the town hates them. The ones that love them say they are a tourist attraction and help promote the town. They even have a festival to honor them which is this coming weekend. It's advertised far and wide and the ' Festival' draws quite a crowd. You can enter the 'crowing' contest, shop at the craft booths, eat all kinds of ethnic foods and look to your heart's content.

The ones that hate them do so because they are free range, going wherever they please, scratching in the flower beds and leaving droppings that are not pleasant!

By the way, there is a city ordinance against firing a firearm in the city limits in case you are thinking of having chicken and dumplings.............