Author: Gracie Latrelle

Kate Cummings was a lady born in Edinburgh, Scotland but traveled with her family to the United States. Kate’s family settled and lived in the southern United States prior to the beginning of the American Civil War.

When the Civil War broke out, Kate’s mother and two sisters left for England while Kate, her father and brother stayed behind back in the South.

Against Kate’s family’s wishes, she signed up to become a nurse volunteer inside of a Confederate hospital located near where the Battle of Shiloh took place. Her brother enlisted as a soldier in the 21st Alabama Infantry.

Kate was inspired to join the cause of the Civil War by Reverend Benjamin M. Miller and Florence Nightingale who had called on all women to help aid the Confederacy.

Kate was a active nurse throughout the Civil War and she eventually became the head of the food and housekeeping departments in several Confederate hospitals inside the state of Georgia.

The Confederacy did not have an actual organized medical forces. This made nurses like Kate extremely crucial for the Confederacy’s survival.

Kate went on to write about her experiences during the war in her diary A Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army which was published in 1866. Kate stated “I could fill whole people with descriptions of the scenes I had”.

Kate played an important role for not only Georgia during the Civil War but for the entire Confederacy as well. She was also an active member in the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Unlike the movie’s name, Sweet Home Alabama was actually filmed right here in the state of Georgia. Here are some of the many movie scene locations that were filmed right here in the peach state!

Martha Berry’s Oak Hill Mansion at Berry College: The Carmicheal Plantation

Many scenes of the movie were filmed at Oak Hill.

The scene of the movie where Andrew and his mom are having breakfast in the dining room in the very front of the movie was filmed inside of Oak Hill.

The scene where Jake and Andrew meet for the first time was filmed at Oak Hill.

The scene where Melanie goes to tell Bobby Ray that she is sorry, and the press reporter catches her is filmed all at Oak Hill.

The scene of the movie where Melanie goes to tell her father Earl goodbye before heading back to New York while he is participating in a Civi War reenactment was filmed at the Georgia Internation Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia. The horse park even played an important part in the 1996 Olympics.

Starr’s Mill was the location of the scene where Jake is opening his business Deep South Glass. This is when Melanie realizes that Jake has made a name for himself without her. Starr’s Mill is a gristmill that was constructed in 1825 on Whitewater Creek. The mill was renamed to Starr’s Mill after Hilliard Starr. The mill later became a cotton gin and provided power to nearby Senoia, Georgia.

The small town of Crawfordville was the town that portrayed Melanie’s hometown of Pigeon Creek, Alabama. Several scenes of Sweet Home Alabama were filmed in town and some even feature the Taliaferro County Courthouse.

Did you know that one of the smallest birds located inside of the state of Georgia can actually remember you by your own voice?

Just like us humans, hummingbirds love to get to know a person before getting too close. When you are outside talking, the hummingbird will remember you by your voice and will come to say hello and even grab a quick bite to eat. To do this they may fly towards you or your head just wanting to say hello. They may be also asking for a quick nectar refill.

They will remember you, your voice and recognize you just by your face! While this occurs and they remember you, you might even get your feathered friends to use your finger as a perch for them to sit on during breaks from drinking and eating nectar. Some hummingbirds have even been known to follow some people inside of their homes and follow them inside from room to room.

This is all credited to hummingbirds having such a great memory which allows them to be capable of remembering so well. Hummingbirds are also credited to their great observation of their nearby environment and territory as they stay very alert of who is inside of their territory and what is in their territory!

Also, if you wear red bright colored clothing or you are sitting or standing next to a bright colorful object then a hummingbird may make a quick fly by next to you just to check it out and see if there is any food nearby!

Rice (fresh or pre-cooked)

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1/2 white onion (quartered)

1/4 green bell pepper (sliced)

2 cups of fresh broccoli florets (washed)

4 fresh green onions (chopped for garnish)

1 garlic clove (minced)

Begin the process by cooking your fresh or pre-cooked rice.

Once the rice is cooked, place it to the side. Rinse your broccoli florets in a kitchen strainer and place them to the side.

Slice your white onion in half. Place the other half of the onion into a storage container for later use. Quarter the onion into slices.

Rinse off your bell pepper under cool water then slice a quarter of the bell pepper. Place the rest of the bell pepper into storage for later use. Take the quarter of the bell pepper and slice it into slices. Place aside along with the onion and the broccoli.

Using a cheese grater, mince your fresh garlic clove. You can also use store bought minced garlic if you feel more comfortable using it.

Place all of the vegetables inside of a medium-sized skillet on medium heat and steam them for around 1 minute stirring constantly. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the vegetables and stir.

After about 2 minutes of cooking, add in your cooked rice that you cooked earlier and your minced garlic clove to the steamed vegetables inside of the skillet. Stir well and reduce the heat.

Place the veggie fried rice into a serving bowl or onto a plate and serve with fresh chopped green onions!

Hey y’all thank you so much for coming to my website. This is my first blog so I thought that it would only be right to share with you all who I am and what I do. My name is Gracie Latrelle. I am a wildlife photographer and videographer that resides in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

I am also a farmer. I have Nubian dairy goats that I milk every day, and I make fresh goat milk soap. I cannot wait to start blogging and sharing with you all my incredible adventures that I am so blessed to experience here in the mountains. I hope you all enjoy the website and the blog!