Ken Roberts

Q. Can you tell me what could have made lumps on the trunk of a tree my wife and I found in the Smokies? The lumps range from baseball-size to basketball-size. It is her favorite tree and we hike to it a couple of times a year.

Great efforts have been made to curtail the introduction of exotic species into the wild. One reason is because some become too successful, threatening the well-being of native species.

We learn at the end of this volume that Mary Allen Jolley died, at the age of 95, just 16 days after she and her friend and volunteer editorial assistant, Jan Pruitt, delivered the manuscript to Joe Taylor at the Livingston Press. That is a shame. Ms. Jolley would have derived a good deal of satisfaction from the reception of her honest, unadorned memoir, titled "Accidental Activist: Changing the World One Small Step at a Time."

In 1985, I became an Alabama football season ticket holder. A lot has changed since then, on and off the field.

For a hundred bucks, I could have bought a couple of new Members Only jackets. Or I could have purchased a few cases of Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers and thrown a totally awesome party.

Color, which plays an important role in the lives of some plants and animals, frequently tells an environmental story and offers us opportunities to ponder the ecology and behavior of wildlife.

Over the past year, I have been on a speaking tour throughout the state ― especially leading up to the Nov. 5 general election. The reason for my visiting and speaking to civic organizations was to discuss the national presidential race and its evolvement, as well as how the race for the White House affects Alabamians.

Lesa Shaul is a professor of English at the University of West Alabama, but she grew up on Sand Mountain. Her book, "Midnight Cry," is a lively true crime study, thoroughly researched in public records and interviews. This book is untainted by the dust of academe or of any variety of literary theory.

Downtown Tuscaloosa will soon make its transformation into a festive holiday wonderland.

A Tuscaloosa holiday season tradition that stretches back more than 60 years will continue beginning Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.