First leaf of fall

It seems too early for leaves to turn.  And this was the only one I saw.  But summer is on it's way out, and here's the proof.  The first leaf of fall.

North Hills

North Hills mall seems more like a small city for shoppers.  There are small shops on several blocks of streets along with large stores like Target and JC Penney.  Also there are lots of restaurants and of course three different Starbucks.

Fawn

This guy and his mom were feeding right beside the Abbot Creek Greenway.  They weren't concerned by bikers, walkers and dogs going by.  He did stop and watch us while we were watching him.  

Ghost Forest

I've been reading about the "ghost forests" developing along the Carolina coast.  As the sea level rises, areas that used to be freshwater are turning salty, killing the forest and leaving dead trees.  This area along the Abbot Creek greenway is a wetland where a forest used to be.  I think the housing development nearby changed the way water drains and created a wetland.

Guarantee

This sign is painted on the front of  Arrow Barbering in Cameron Village shopping area.  According to one of the reviews, they do deliver on their promise.  

First Baptist

The First Baptist Church of Raleigh sits at the corner of Salisbury and Edenton streets downtown.  It was organized in 1812 and is one of the oldest churches in Raleigh.  The building was completed in 1859.

Flowers by Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss could have imagined these odd daisies.  

Benches no one ever uses

I see benches all over town that no one would ever sit on.  It looks like something out of a Southern Living magazine.  Sometime people even change the pillows to match the season.  But no one ever takes a seat...

Street Knight

This brave knight guards the stairs to the second floor of the Cameron Village library. He is the creation of Joseph Carnevale.

93%

Raleigh was in 93% of the eclipse yesterday.  We opted to skip the cardboard glasses and a long drive into South Carolina to see  a total eclipse.  Instead we looked through a pin hole at home.  My daughter sent me this picture, through a colander.  

The leaves acted like a pin hole also, making little suns all over the deck and on the sidewalk.

The pinhole itself was a little bit hard to photograph.  

But there was no way to actually get a picture of the sun without a good filter.

Morning Dew

The sun comes up on the morning dew, or was it rain from last night?  Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's just humidity condensing or a real rain.

Humidity

The humidity in the mornings has been extreme (above 90%).  If it were any more humid we'd be swimming in the morning instead of walking.

  The mushrooms are coming up in the lawns and gardens.  

Beautiful eggplant

Eggplant is such a beautiful plant in the garden.  Too bad I can't get anyone in my family to eat it, so I don't grow it.  This one was in the garden at Historic Oak View County Park.  

Goats

These goats have a pretty good life.  They're permanent residents of the Historic Oak View County park.  They have their own barn with nameplates at their stalls.  They get regularly fed by all the kids who come to see them.  

I thought goats could eat anything, but a sign in the barn says to be careful not to feed them Magnolia leaves because it makes them sick.  Tin cans-yes, Magnolia leaves-no...???

Nothing runs like a Deere

Even when it doesn't run...

I didn't realize that John Deere was a major wagon manufacturer but it makes sense.  Here's a link.

This wagon was used to haul cotton from the Oak View farm.  

Historic Pecan orchard

 

The pecan orchard at the Oak View farm was planted in the 1920's You can see how amazingly large some of the trees are.  During Hurricane Fran in 1996, many of the trees were lost.  Some were replanted, and you can see the small new tree in the front.  Maybe in another 80 years it will be as huge as it's brothers.

Water tower

This water tower sits in the farm yard of the main house at the Historic Oak View County Park.  The house was built in 1855, but, they didn't put in  indoor plumbing until the 1940's.  I think this tower can't be too historic.  

Dragonfly

I gained a new respect for dragonflies when visiting in Minnesota this summer.  Up there, they reach the size of birds.  Here in North Carolina they aren't quite that size, but they're still amazing.  

Turns out he's a Common Whitetail.  He doesn't seem to common to me.

Steam Punk

This is a detail of the side of a cotton gin at the Historic Oak View County Park.  Looks like something from a steam punk design.

Dogtrot

I first learned the word dogtrot in Harper Lee's book, Go Set A Watchman.  She describes Scout's uncle's house as a dogtrot.  It's a Southern style pre air conditioning.  The house was built with a center breezeway that was open.  See here.  

This house was a tenant farmer's house at Oak View farm.  On either side of the main breezeway there is a room with a fireplace (probably for heat in the winter.)  There is a porch in front and back. 

Crazy Robot?

No, although it looks like a robot gone bad from a Felix the Cat cartoon, it's a cotton gin at Oak View Historic Farm.  A gin like this was used to clean the cotton for this farm and also neighboring farms that brought their cotton to be ginned there.

Chicken and the Egg

Each of these chickens lays a different colored egg.  The visitor center at the Oak View farm displays the latest produce from the farm, and the day we visited they had this pretty brown egg, from a "Silver Laced Wyndotta" hen.  That's her in the black with white spots.

Carolina Barn

As my husband pointed out, this barn could only be built in the South.  An Iowa or Minnesota barn would never have such a flat roof pitch on the sides.  The first snowfall would crush anything below the too flat roof.  Which would be too bad, here is a treasure in the barn, an old Ford tractor.

The barn is part of the Historic Oak View County Park.

Old style air conditioning

As I asked yesterday, were the "good old days" so good?  This is how you cooled off pre-air conditioning.  We visited the Oak View Farm on a day when the temperature reached 91 degrees.  The porch looked enticing, but not exactly cool.

Good Old Days???

Who says the good old days were so good.  This is a typical kitchen building from a pre civil war southern farm.  The heat from the open fire was so intense, and the danger of lighting the whole place on fire was so real, that the kitchen was a separate building near the house.  This one was the first building constructed on the Oak View Farm.  The family lived in the building until the big house was built.  An indoor kitchen was added onto the main house in th 1940's.  

Historic farm

We recently visited Historic Oak View county park.  It is a ninteenth century historic farm, complete with original house, out buildings and a pecan orchard.  Here is a link to the park information.  I was in awe of the giant beech tree out in front of the farm house.

This portion is the original house,  the rest was added on in the 1940's when an indoor kitchen and bathroom was added.  

Tree root

Even the tree roots are interesting at the JC Raulston Arboretum.  This one was on the path, and I think it was worn away by many people walking on it. 

Mystery solved...sort of.

Last winter I was wondering why everyone was trimming their crepe myrtles by chopping them straight off.  It looked strange, and I couldn't see why.  I have now found out more about it.  

The practice has been called Crepe Murder (see here).  According to the NC cooperative Extension, people mistakenly think it makes them bloom more.  Instead it ruins the shape of the tree. It turns them into lollypop bushes.  Maybe some people like that.

Morning visitor

On a morning walk, I met up with this deer friend.  He didn't seem to care that my dog and I were standing right in front of him.  He was too busy eating the neighbor's plants.

Weather vane

This weather vane sits on top of the round building housing the Pullen Park Carousel.  It's so beautiful, but my guess is most people don't notice it.  

Theme day: Young at Heart

The theme this month is "Young at Heart".  Who is younger than a child!  These two were playing in the dress up and dance play area at Marbles Children's museum.  There aren't two of the set, instead there is a mirror on the side wall that makes it look like you're seeing double.