I am sure many Birmingham readers of my blog have wondered WHEN I was going to pull Vulcan out of the bag. I was waiting until after the 4th of July. You see Vulcan, the Roman god of iron and forge, has guarded Birmingham for over 100 years. He is the world's largest cast iron statue. For many, many years Vulcan held a torch in his hand. It glowed green except when there was a traffic fatality and then it glowed red. That's been replaced now with a spear. Vulcan Park is a great place to visit and see the panorama of the city of Birmingham, and on the other side the suburb of Homewood. For as long as I can remember, Red Mountain ( as in iron ore) is where the most spectacular fireworks display has taken place each year. They shoot into the sky all around Vulcan. The fireworks can be seen from vantage points all over the city. This year I enjoyed it from a golf course near my home. My grandson sat in my lap saying, "Cool, awesome as each one burst into the sky." I thought about my tripod and camera and then decided to just enjoy the evening with family and friends. We had a cool breeze, believe it or not, and ooohed and aaahed till the very end.
Thanks to my friend Mary who sent me this. Sorry it's a day late for the 4th but I love to listen to this anytime. France Sings for the USA!
12 comments:
Good ol' Vulcan. I didn't realize the torch had been replaced.
We used to always look for it when traveling through B'ham to our grandparents' house. Whether you could see it depended on how much smog/smoke was in the air that day!
D,
There's more smog these days, believe me.
Great picture of Vulcan today. Sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy the fireworks. Have a happy weekend.
You know, I never noticed that when I drove through Birmingham, and will have to keep my out next time. Very cool.
So there's Vulcan! I have visited him on occasion.
I couldn't figure out how to mail you my peach ice cream, so I added the recipe to my comments section.
Enjoy!
Tks for dropping in on RuT, Virginia. I'm intrigued by your comment about "a European Feel" to yr photography.....What's that? All moody B&Ws? What is "Europe" even?
I've enjoyed seeing this selection..I'll look forward to more.
Hey, Virginia!
A couple of things:
1-I'm originally from Youngstown, OH. As you might know, steel mills were the main industry there until the '70s when they started closing down. I remember seeing the glow in the night sky from the fires in the mills.
2-Thanks for the grammar site! I started working on one, too. I'll let you know when it's done. I'm going to comment on the one you sent me.
Nice photo, Virginia. And it sounds like your fireworks viewing was just right.
Portland Oregon Daily Photo
It's good that the industral part of your town is hounored in such a great way..
glad you all had a nice 4th. i remember seeing the red on vulcan and praying for somebody's loss at that moment.
Take a close look at the 3 cuties on the horse on the last comment. They would be 3 of my precious grandchildren!
Wow that's a mighty fine iron man!!
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