Did you know there are more than 7,500 types of apples in the world? Here in the U.S., we produce about 100 varieties. We’re reaching the end of apple season in the South, but there’s still time to pair a weekend fall getaway with a nice ramble through a self-pick orchard. (Or a nice ramble through said orchard’s store, where no extra work is required.)
GEORGIA’S ROAD TRIP WONDERS
It is so annoying that the world’s largest peach isn’t here in Georgia where it belongs.
Instead, it’s just north, on the side of I-85 in Gaffney, South Carolina. (In fact, it’s known as the “Gaffney Peachoid,” a term I do not like at all.) No shade to our South Carolinian neighbors! They take great care of it.
Not to worry, we have our own excellent roadside attractions in Georgia, including … The Giant Peanut.
- Also known as “The Smiling Peanut,” the 13-foot statue has been a Georgia staple since it debuted in 1976.
- It was commissioned by the Indiana Democratic Party as part of President Jimmy Carter’s campaign.
- Ironically, the peanut is even more “Georgia” than the peach, given it’s Georgia’s true marquee crop.
🥜 READ MORE: More fun roadside attractions that aren’t giant foodstuffs
MAKE WAY FOR THE WINTER BIRDS
By now, most of the South’s seasonal feathered friends are in their winter homes.
While we won’t see ruby-throated hummingbirds, wood thrushes, swallows, buntings, orioles, and warblers until spring, we do get to welcome some new winter birds.
Keep an eye out for returning favorites like:
- Yellow-rumped warbler
- Ruby-crowned kinglet
- White-throated sparrow
- Cedar waxwing (also considered North America’s most elegant bird, according to the AJC’s Charles Seabrook)
- Oh, and don’t forget the Dark-eyed junco, also called … a snowbird! While the term popularly refers to people who fly South for the winter, the Dark-eyed Junco did it first.
🐦 READ MORE: What to know about our winter guests
SIPS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH
👨🏼🍼 Overland Park, KS: A man who has cuddled more than 550 NICU babies over the years at Overland Park Regional Medical Center was awarded the hospital’s 2026 Frist Humanitarian Award. Terry Berggren says giving the newborns much-needed warmth and human contact is an “honor” that “never gets old.” More from People
🚁 Hyde County, NC: Paramedics are exploring the benefits of electric aviation to reach rural or out-of-the-way communities faster. Hyde County’s emergency medical services chief recently launched a trial with an electric aviation company to improve response time, and the results have promising. More from Grist
📖 Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama is launching a program to provide support for elementary students struggling to read in some of the state’s most rural areas. Project LIFT, or Literacy Improvement through Focused Tutoring, builds on literacy tools already championed by other state organizations. More from AL.com
🐼 Atlanta, GA: This weekend, panda lovers and Atlanta leaders welcomed the city’s newest residents, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang. Zoo Atlanta’s chief executive kicked off intense negotiations with China to get new pandas after the zoo’s previous residents returned to their home country in 2024, and his efforts paid off. More from the AJC
TELL U.S. SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space, too. SweetTea@ajc.com.
SOUTHERN WISDOM
We always try to judge everything that we do (in Sugarland) on whether it would be fun, and if the answer is yes, then we go do it
After forming Sugarland in Douglas, Georgia, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush became country royalty. Their philosophy on making new music can be applied to pretty much any creative or personal mission. More from their conversation with the AJC here
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