Around Alabama

10 Dothan Landmark Park Bluegrass Festival. Live music all day. Bring your instrument for jam sessions; there will also be instrument demos, food trucks, kids’ activities, historical interpretations, antique tractors wagon rides and arts and crafts vendors. Bring lawn chairs and 10 by 10 tents. Admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors and military, $4 for kids and free for park members and children 2 and under. Gates open at 9 a.m., and music starts at noon. LandmarkParkDothan.com

SEPTEMBER

16-17 Fort Payne Boom Days Heritage Celebration. Event celebrates the city’s unique beginnings nearly 130 years ago. The Fort Payne Depot Museum will display historical artifacts and clothing, and a miniature railroad system will be set up in the original office of the Coal and Iron Company. Live music from Billy Dean and Joe Nichols on Saturday night at 201 Fifth St. NE. Boomdays.com 17 Hanceville Superhero Fire presented by Cook Ministries, Hanceville Civic Center, 902 Commercial St. 4 to 6 p.m. Community event features agencies dedicated to preventing domestic violence, human trafficking and suicide and includes representatives of recovery centers. Free food and admission and guest speaker. cook-ministries.com 22 Elba The Blackwood Quartet in concert at Elba High School, 371 Tiger Drive. Sponsored by the Coffee County Arts Alliance. The legendary gospel quartet features Mark Blackwood, son of Cecil Blackwood of the original Blackwood Brothers Quartet. Tickets are $35. CoffeeCountyArtsAlliance.com 24 Titus 21st annual Titus Bluegrass Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Titus Community Center, 5879 Titus Road. Admission is $10; bring a lawn chair and enjoy a day of live music, barbecue and arts and crafts vendors. 334-300-4057.

24 Red Bay Founder’s Fest, Bay Tree Park. 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Live music begins at 9 a.m.; there will be a fried pie contest as well as quilt, coloring and photography contests, arts and crafts and an antique vehicle show. The Red Bay Museum will be open for tours, and the Weatherford Library will host a book sale. Free. CityOfRedBay.org 23-25 Springville Homestead Hollow Festival, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn about early Alabama history and pioneer living with live demonstrations about wood carving, blacksmithing, wood stove cooking, tours of original cabins and more. Plenty of children’s activities and food vendors on site. HomesteadHollow.com 28 Cullman Annual Oktoberfest German dinner, 4 to 7 p.m. at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church’s Family Life Center, 217 Second Ave. SE. Enjoy bratwurst and German-style kraut with meat by Brickyard Meats, German potato salad, green beans, applesauce, bread and dessert for $15. No children’s meal’s this Keep an eye out for osprey and other marine wildlife during a tour year. Event is drive-through only; follow signs of Magnolia River and Weeks Bay, one of several excursions during at the church. All proceeds go toward the Altar the Alabama Coastal Birdfest. Society’s church projects. 256-347-3471. PHOTO BY PAULA LECHER, 2021 ALABAMA LIVING PHOTO CONTEST ENTRANT 28-Oct. 1 Spanish Fort 18th annual Alabama Coastal BirdFest. Attendees will take trips into the Mobile Delta, the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary, historic Fort Morgan and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, among other locations, to experience the prime birdwatching opportunities on the Gulf Coast. A familyfriendly Bird and Conservation Expo will be held at the 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center on Saturday. SouthAlabamaLandTrust.org

3Arab SugarFest 2022, Arab City Park. Morning begins with Sugar Rush 5K run, which leads into the marketplace arts and crafts juried vendors show. Food trucks on site all day. Cornhole tournament, Miss SugarFest Pageant, Sweetie Pie kids’ area and more. Classic car cruise-in and live music on stage begins at 4 p.m. Night ends with fireworks show. ArabCity.org or see the event’s page on Facebook.

4-5 Cullman Smith Lake Park Sweet Tater Festival. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday (Labor Day). Live entertainment, food vendors, arts and crafts vendors and of course sweet taters both days. Car show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. Admission $5 per person, and armband allows for entry both days. Search for Smith Lake Park or Cullman County Parks on Facebook.

9-10 Clanton Market Days on the Farm presents Fall on the Farm from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cornelius Farms, 1981 Hopewell Drive. Vintage and vintage-inspired architectural salvage and repurposed finds, home décor, handmade jewelry and clothing, live music and food trucks. $2 parking. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.

9-10 Jasper 2022 Foothills Festival, entertainment district of downtown Jasper. 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 10:30 pm. Saturday. Live music begins at 5 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday; headliner is the Drive-By Truckers at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Free. FoothillsJasper.com

OCTOBER

Call or verify events before you make plans to attend. Due to the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, some events may change or be canceled after press time.

1Calera Pumpkin Junction at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, 1919 Ninth St., 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A variety of free family-friendly activities, games and seasonal crafts, as well as food trucks and sweets vendors on the grounds. The Shelby & Southern Narrow Gauge Steam Railroad will give rides before and after. Event will continue on weekends through October. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.

8Eclectic 29th annual Alabama Cotton Festival, along Main Street, First Avenue and in the pecan orchard. More than 150 food and craft vendors, dog show, classic car show, art and photo contest and a free kids’ zone featuring inflatables, carnival games, face painting, the “chicken run” and more. TownOfEclectic.com

To place an event, e-mail events@alabamaliving.coop. or visit www.alabamaliving.coop. You can also mail to Events Calendar, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124; Each submission must include a contact name and phone number. Deadline is two months prior to issue date. We regret that we cannot publish every event due to space limitations.

Raising a kitten

PART ONE: Giving attention

Iwrite about dogs all the time; it is time for the cats. There are about 32 million households in the U.S. with at least one cat. Judging by the popularity of cat videos on the internet, many of us are obsessed with cats. It is said that 15% of internet content is cat related. One YouTube cat celebrity has up to 130 million followers.

But did you know that people gather in large groups to watch cat videos? There have been cat video watching festivals in San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis. If you don’t believe me, check out catfestmn.com. According to an Indiana University Media School researcher, watching cat videos can boost energy and positive emotions.

If you are presently not a cat owner, imagine what a real cat can do to your life. A kitten we rescued (a full-grown cat now) is curled up on my lap as I type, making typing very difficult as my one hand is on her tummy, but when I look at her laying on me, snoozing, my heart melts and I can’t bear to move her.

May to October is kitten season, and it is possible that many readers have acquired a kitten (or two). Having kittens is one of the great joys in life. Though they require less time than dogs, cats still need a good bit of attention. If you are thinking about getting a cat, please, please, do not buy; rescue or adopt! The universe will thank you, and happiness and joy will rain down on you! There is absolutely no shortage of them; in fact, bags full of them are found frequently on the country roads. Also, purebred cats may come with a host of problems.

Coming home: In the beginning, we need to spend a lot of time with them. As they come to their new home, they will probably be very nervous. Settle them in a small place and offer some food. Rub their head and back like a mama cat would groom them. Kitties (and cats) like a safe hiding place. You can turn a good size cardboard box and cut an opening on one side and have several of these available in strategic places.

It is best to socialize kittens before they are 12 weeks old, but that is not a written-in-stone rule.

Food and water: We recommend that cats eat only wet food. We see cases of renal failure in older cats, and it is thought that this is because cats may not take in enough water if they are exclusively on dry food. Scientists believe that due to the unique structure of their tongue, they cannot lap up enough water. So, wet food is the way to go! You can even add a touch of water to their wet food. High water intake could also reduce chances of bladder problems and crystal in the urine.

Generally, vets are opposed to giving milk to cats. I suggest trying goat milk or maybe even cow’s milk. Of course, stop giving milk if they tend to get soft stool. My cats never had any problem with milk (I know, as I clean the litter boxes). You could give it a try (talk to your vet). Once their growth is complete, do your best to adjust food intake to keep them skinny. Overweight cats are highly likely to get diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Also, they have a hard time cleaning themselves.

I don’t recommend water fountains anymore. I bought many over the years but keeping it clean and flowing is challenging. I just give them their liquid with their food. While choosing food and water bowls, consider going with glass, porcelain or stainless steel. Some cats are allergic to plastic. Search for small serving or dessert bowls. They are very inexpensive.

Litter boxes: It is recommended to have one more litter box than you do cats; in other words, if you have 2 cats, you should have 3 litter boxes. I have a mix of covered and open litter boxes. All of them are large. I avoid any scented and clumping litters. I tried Dr. Else’s 99% dust free cat litter. I am not sure if it is much better than Frisco. I tried many other types of cat litter like yesterday’s news, wheat, pine etc. But I settled on Frisco unscented.

I am comfortable putting gloves on and picking up the clumps (all clay-based litter clumps) and cleaning all the boxes into one larger plastic bag and disposing of the bag. I feel that the scoopers are messy. See what works for you. In my experience, boy cats tend to be fussier about using litter boxes. And litter additives are generally not effective. Do your best to clean them every day or two. Try out several kinds of litter to see what works for you.

We’ll have more on raising kittens in the next column.

Goutam Mukherjee, DVM, MS, Ph.D. (Dr. G) has been a veterinarian for more than 30 years. He owns High Falls Holistic Veterinary Care near Geraldine, Alabama. To suggest topics for future discussions, email him at contact@alabamaliving.coop

Fighting back against invasive plants

Our yards and gardens can be sanctuaries for a wide array of interesting and important organisms that help support our natural world. Unfortunately, these spaces can also harbor harmful and seemingly indomitable invading organisms that wreak havoc on natural systems.

Thankfully, though, we can defend the natural world from these intruders from the vantage point of our own yards and gardens.

Invasive species are defined as non-native organisms (plants, animals, insects, fungus, bacteria and the like) that, when introduced into a new ecosystem, can soon overwhelm native species. This throws the ecosystem out of balance and that imbalance can forever change a landscape, lead to the extinction of native species and even threaten our own economic and physical health and well-being.

All of us probably have some invasive plant species in our yards (English ivy, Chinese privet and wisteria, Elaegnus, popcorn trees, nandina and Bradford pears, for examples). And if you’re like me, removing them can seem a daunting task.

To tackle this job, I’ve looked for help through various state, regional and national conservation and land management organizations. In the process I found a great a homeowner’s guide (https://bug-

woodcloud.org/mura/gist/assets/File/ HomeownersGuide-InvasiveSpecies2.

pdf) published by the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and I discovered Kyle Lybarger, founder of the Native Habitat Project (visit nativehabitatproject.com).

Lybarger is a forester and conservation consultant based in Hartselle, Ala., who turned his passion for native habitats and plants into a campaign to restore native ecosystems in Alabama. He’s also a conservation “influencer” whose social media posts (especially his TikTok posts) have become go-to sources of information for landowners of all ilks.

When I contacted him to ask if we as gardeners and homeowners can really make a difference in the battle against invasives, he replied with an unequivocal “Absolutely!”

According to Lybarger, one big way we can help is by removing invasive species and planting more natives. And he said we can have an impact whether our “land” consists of “a few pots on your balcony or thousands of acres.”

To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, Lybarger suggests starting small. “Find the worst spot and focus on removing invasives from that location,” he said. Once those are conquered, you can widen the effort to other areas.

In addition to removing invasives, Lybarger says it’s important to plant native species, which benefit wildlife and the local ecosystem. “What we plant in our yard determines what grows in the wild around our yards,” he explains.

To get started with native plants, Lybarger suggests dedicating a small garden area to convert to native species and adding to it each year. Replacing invasive plants with natives is also a good step.

We can also help by not buying invasive species, many of which are still readily available at garden centers. And there’s nothing wrong — and a lot right — with asking garden center managers to stop carrying invasive plants and start stocking more natives.

It’s also important to get to know our plants — the good guys and the bad ones. Lybarger suggests using the INaturalist app or website for this purpose. He also suggests joining the Native Habitat Managers Facebook group to get more advice and ideas.

These are of course only a few ways we can wage the battle against invasive species, but each battle is a step closer to winning the war, which is a win for everyone.

Katie Jackson is a freelance writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama. Contact her at katielamarjackson@gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER TIPS

• Re-seed and repair lawns. • Continue harvesting gardens and clean out dead garden material. • Get a soil test to prepare ground for next year’s garden. • Start buying spring-blooming bulbs. • Look for sales on summer gardening tools and equipment. • Plant cool-season vegetables and flowers. • Prepare bird feeders and baths for the fall migration.