a day in florence, alabama - part i

Ah, Florence. Il Duomo, Santa Croce with it's tomb of Michelangleo... oh, wait. Not that Florence, that's a little far for a day trip. I'm talking about Florence, Alabama. Florence sits along the banks of the Tennessee River, downstream from Huntsville, in northwestern Alabama.


The bluffs on the south side of the river that Muscle Shoals is built on. Muscle Shoals is named after the river mussels that the Native Americans would harvest from the shallows, the shoals in the river.


A pair of Mallard ducks, Anas platyrhynchos, riding the waves from river traffic.


Wild blackberries, Rubus fruticosus, growing among the rocks lining the banks along the river. They've adapted to a dwarfed form, entwined among the rocks so they can survive the yearly floods which scour the banks. There were a few ripe berries the birds hadn't eaten yet, which were very tasty. Also incidentially, cultivated blackberries are the State Fruit of Alabama.