The Small Parts Matter

The Larkin Fork

The Larkin Fork

The Larkin Fork is one of two major tributaries that form the Paint Rock River.  The other one is the Estillfork, which you can find about 5 miles South of our farm.

On its banks we have found a myriad of flowers, fresh water clams, endangered snails, crawfish and a variety of “critters” that seem to be unique to the Paint Rock Valley.

Our friends at The Nature Conservancy have done extensive work on identifying the life that seems to be unique to this part of Alabama. They were also instrumental in preserving the “Walls of Jericho”. You can read about their work or contact us for more information.

The water that flows by our farm actually makes it to the Roy B. Whitaker Preserve.

Why You Should Request a One Lane Bridge

Why you want a one-lane Bridge.

County Road 27 parallels State highway 65 for 4.5 miles, intersecting it at the North and South ends. The North end bridge that crosses the Larkin Fork on our farm is only one-lane wide. Its load limit was 3 tons. It used to be 13 tons, but the county inspected it and rather than fix it, they just lowered the rating.

Eventually, the cracks in the foundation precipitated a repair.

A New Bridge on County Road 27

County Road 27 Bridge Repair

County Road 27 Bridge Repair

We want to compliment Dan Hastings and his crew for the great job they did in repairing the bridge.
They paid attention to what was in place and worked to minimize disrupting the life of the Larkin Fork.  The fish I see swimming about don’t seem to have noticed all the work that went on.

Now, if only we could get the county to paint stripes on the road so that it wasn’t so dangerous at night.

Our hope is that some “federal money” doesn’t inspire a new bridge, because the govies would insist on a two-lane, side-lane buffered monstrosity that would denigrate the beauty of the place and add no real value to life here.

John Langlois

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