Time to look ~ my column from Sunday's paper

The sky this winter has been remarkable. Yes, there have been days when the clouds were ash grey, but on other days the color at sunset took my breath away. Maybe it has always been this way, and I didn’t take the time to look.

A few weeks ago, my truck was in the shop for front-end repairs, and I had to drop Jilda off at work. Bradford Health Services sits about a half mile off of Arkadelphia Road in Warrior.  When I went back later that evening to fetch her, the sinking sun was like a half-open eye on the horizon. I pulled to the edge of their drive and watched the colors change. For those few minutes, the sky was a kaleidoscope.

I pulled my camera from the bag and snapped several pictures. Later that evening I posted the shots on my social media pages and my blog. My timeline lit up with comments and shares.

Earlier this week when the weather warmed, I had a chance to haul a load of plastic to the recycle place.  I’d been collecting empty milk jugs, yogurt cups, and straws for months. There are no recycling places here in Walker County, so I headed to Birmingham Recycling and Recovery on 41 Street South. 


Ten garbage bags of plastic as full as ticks filled the bed of my truck. While driving, I kept my eyes on the bags in my rearview mirror. That last thing I needed was for one of the bags to take flight and scatter plastic all across the Interstate.  Dodging traffic to collect plastic was not my idea of a fun afternoon. On the drive, I stopped several times to check the bags to make sure none took flight.

At one stop, I leaned against my truck for a moment waiting for traffic to clear. Some of the vehicles were going so fast the slipstream of air rocked my truck. 

While standing there, I looked at the median. There was a bouquet of yellow dandelion flowers stretching as far as I could see. Some of them had already gone to seed and were waiting to ride the wind. That scene was a gift, and it would have been easy to miss had I not stopped to look.

Thankfully I made it to the recycle yard with all the bags.

The recycling place is enormous now. They do metal, plastic, cardboard and other recyclables. Pulling to the curb, I tossed the bags in the bin and headed for home.

 The recycling lot is located in the industrial section of the city near the train tracks. After pulling out, I turned on 1st Ave and headed toward the city center.

 A stoplight ahead turned from green to yellow, so I slowed to a stop. Glancing out my window, I noticed a wall looking back at me. Cranking down my window, I snapped a few pics while I waited for the light to change. A street artist had painted a pair of eyes that watched traffic.

I love that art can make even a dismal place more hopeful. I’m thankful that I “saw” it.

And this morning when I walked, I saw this.