Community of Stockton, AL

09/05/2026

A Banana Spider in Stockton has been working hard.
❤️country life—full of surprises and beauty.

09/04/2026

It’s that time of year in Stockton—Love is in the air. ❤️❤️❤️

Twice a year the Gulf Coast gets a visitor nobody invited. 🐞

Lovebugs, Plecia nearctica, swarm in May and again from late August into September, and they fly joined together, which is how they got the name. The adults live only a few days. They feed on nectar, they do not bite or sting, and the larvae actually do useful work breaking down decaying plant matter down in the grass thatch.

You have probably heard that a lab at the University of Florida created them and they escaped. That story is not true. The species was described by entomologist D. E. Hardy in 1940 from specimens collected in Galveston, Texas, and it spread east along the Gulf on its own, most likely following mowed highway right of ways full of exactly the decaying grass its larvae like best.

The practical advice has not changed in fifty years. Wash them off the same day, because the residue is acidic and will etch paint if it bakes in the sun. A wet dryer sheet, a bug sponge, and a little patience will get you through the next two weeks. ☀️

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

We have so many and such a variety of waterways in Baldwin County. The canal that created “Pleasure Island” reminds me of the canal they dug to build I65 through the Delta. Who remembers it?

Everybody who lives here crosses it. Almost nobody thinks about what it is. ⚓

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs 58.9 miles across Alabama, from mile 170 near Ono Island at the Florida line west to mile 111 near Petit Bois Island at the Mississippi line. It is a working commercial channel, not a scenic canal.

The route is a stitched-together thing. It uses Big Lagoon, Old River, Perdido Bay, Bay La Launch, Wolf Bay, Portage Creek, the Bon Secour River and Bon Secour Bay, plus about seven miles of dug land cuts to connect them. Those straight stretches through the pines that look unnatural are unnatural. Somebody dug them.

The Mobile Bay to Pensacola Bay section was authorized in 1930 and finished in the early to mid 1930s at nine feet deep and 100 feet wide. Wartime need got the whole waterway enlarged during the 1940s to the 12 feet by 125 feet it holds today.

Two things about the Alabama reach are worth knowing. There are no locks. The nearest are in Louisiana. And all three crossings are fixed bridges. Foley Beach Express at mile 158.7 with 73 feet of clearance, Highway 59 at Gulf Shores at mile 154.9 with 73 feet, and the Dauphin Island bridge at mile 127.8 with 83 feet, 93 in the center. Overhead cables run at 93. Bridges monitor VHF channel 13. 🚢

System wide, the GIWW moves somewhere around 110 million tons a year across roughly 285,000 vessel transits, which makes it the third busiest waterway in the country behind the Mississippi and the Ohio. Roughly 69 million tons of that is petroleum and products and about 23 million is chemicals.

Nobody publishes a figure for just the Alabama stretch, so anybody quoting you one is guessing.

What it means locally is that the same water carrying your pontoon boat on a Saturday is carrying a loaded tank barge on a Tuesday. Give the tows room, stay out of the channel when one is coming, and remember they cannot stop.

Ninety five years old and still the reason this is Pleasure Island.

09/03/2026

Applications for Alabama Cattlemen’s Foundation Scholarships are‼️NOW OPEN‼️Funded by the Cowboy vanity car tag and generous endowment families, these opportunities support a variety of postsecondary education stages—from incoming freshmen to doctoral candidates.🤠

Explore your options and apply today at www.BamaBeef.org/Scholarships

09/03/2026

This wonderful pup was found on Maytower Road, toward Jay Road—but he could have roamed far from home. Do you recognize him? If so, please call 251 404 5777 and help get him back to his family! (Please share post so others in our area will see it—thanks!)

09/03/2026

Our Gorgeous Tensaw River
(Photos by Martha Wood, 2026)
Martha Wood

09/02/2026

All are invited to participate—-newcomers welcome!

Wednesday Bible Study begins on September 9th at 6:00 pm.
This fall we will be studying the New Testament book of Philippians. This letter from the Apostle Paul
is often called “The Epistle of Joy,” be-
cause of such verses as 4:4 which says,
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I
say rejoice.” The Apostle Paul wrote Philippians from a Roman prison, yet he
mentioned joy or rejoicing 16 times in its 104 verses. True joy in Philippians is not based on easy or happy circumstances, but on a steady relationship with Jesus
Christ.

Come be a part of this fall’s
Wednesday Bible Study, and you may find true joy!

All Welcome!

08/31/2026

🎡 EXCITING NEWS…THE FAIR IS COMING TO TOWN! 🎡

The Baldwin County Fair is returning to Robertsdale September 22–26, 2026! 🐄🎠🎟️

Presented by the Baldwin County Cattle & Fair Association, this annual event is something we always look forward to welcoming to our city! Exhibits and other fair activities will be located inside the Robertsdale Coliseum and Arena, with plenty of fun happening throughout the fairgrounds.

📢 FACILITY NOTICE:
As preparations begin for this big event, the Robertsdale Coliseum and Arena will be closed for rentals and regular use through the end of September and will reopen in October.

For questions regarding the fair, exhibits, admission, schedules or other event information, please visit the Baldwin County Cattle & Fair Association online.

🎡 Baldwin County Fair
📅 September 22–26, 2026
📍 Robertsdale Fairgrounds
🚗 Free Parking

We are excited to welcome this longtime tradition back to Robertsdale and hope everyone comes out to enjoy the 75th Baldwin County Fair! ❤️