Troll Stroll

This path is part of the outdoor play area at Wilkerson Nature Preserve.  Following the path you can find and count the trolls.

Fun for two year olds.

Autumn textures

Namaste

This is our neighbor's lawn ornament.  Much better than a pink flamingo!

Harvest Moon

I've been trying to get a decent picture of the moon.  And on Thanksgiving night,  walking off a too big dinner, I saw this harvest moon.  

Hawk in the forest

This hawk is enjoying the fall sun.

leaves

Fall comes slowly here, not like the Northeast or Midwest in a blaze of glory, but one tree at a time.  First the yellow tulip poplars, then the red sweetgums.  Finally the oaks.

Daddy long legs

This guy really was a Daddy-Long-Legs.  His legs seemed to go forever.  He's not a spider, but a Harvestman.  (see here). Harmless and fun to watch.

Blaze of Glory

I know there's a song about a blaze of glory that isn't BonJovi or Kenny Rogers or Judas Priest.  I think I learned it in church camp.  This time of year I think of the phrase.  Someday I'll remember the song.

Happy Thanksgiving

This guy won't get eaten but he may be deflated. 
 Happy Thanksgiving.  

Autumn lake

It was a misty day turning to rain.  Perfect for fall photos.

Stroll in the woods

A quiet day at the nature preserve.

Durant lake

The lower lake at Durant park has been drained, and they're working on the dam.  I didn't realize just how shallow the lake really is.  It looks like when it's full you could wade across the lake and not get your knees wet.  I'll bet you'd sink up to your neck in mud though.  Here's what it looks like full...

High water

Falls lake is very high after our last week of rain.  

And now the sun!

After days of rain and gloom, the sun was shining brightly.  Of course we had to get out to celebrate.

Rain rain go away

It has been raining for 4 days.  Already, we've gotten about as much rain as we did with hurricane Florence, only spread out over 4 days instead of all at once.  I know California would love our rain in the midst of their fire season.  And I'd love to send it to them!

Watercolor with ducks

These ducks happily swam through the reflections.

watercolor

Fall has finally arrived. The trees were reflected in the upper lake at Durant Park.  A few turtles enjoyed the show.

EcoStudy

As we walked the trails at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation we could see evidence that real studies were going on.  Here is a green building used as classroom space.

A night camera poised to take pictures of wildlife that wanders by.

A camera box for watching bird nestlings.

And these strange contraptions.  There were several placed on the forest floor.  The note on them said they were part of a study.  I can't imagine what.  

Swift chimney

This chimney was built purposely for chimney swifts who migrate through Raleigh in the fall.  The Audubon society teamed up with the NC Museum of Natural Science to build the tower at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation. Read about it here.

Also on the property, viewing platforms for watching water birds in the pond.  The pond was very green this time of year.

Let it go

The milkweed is beginning to fly!

pollinators on the wing

I

I've seen very few honey bees in Raleigh so I was happy to see them buzzing in the garden at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation.  There were other pollinators out and about also.

Carpenter bees

And moths.

The carpenter bees are MUCH bigger than the little honey bees.

And they have their own houses.

Outdoor play

The outdoor play area at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation is the best I've found yet.  Most play areas just have some bamboo poles and a sandbox, but this one goes on and on, with a tunnel, a play kitchen area, an amphitheater and more.  

Abstracted Motion

There's a new mural downtown on Davies street.  It's called Abstracted Motion by Taylor White.  The cool thing is that Google Fiber has an ap that you can view the mural with to see it in 3D.  Here's a link to an explanation.

Little green snake

This little guy moved across the leaf litter into a tree.  He's a Rough Green Snake. (Here) We watched him climb up into a tree and then across to a vine.  It makes me wonder how many other creatures are in the forest that we never see.

Busy squirrels

They do like acorns.

Downy

This little downy woodpecker decided to try a metal pole instead of a wooden tree.  

He found the suet feeder at last. 

Fall is slipping in

Little by little the leaves are changing.  The sumacs are starting things off.

If Birds could talk

I think he might be complaining about the quality of  the seeds.

Flirting Turtles

We found this odd turtle behavior while walking around Lake Lynn.  The little slider turtle was swimming up to the bigger turtle and waving his little fingers in her face.  Turns out that's a form of turtle courtship.  She wasn't too interested.  

I posted a video of the action on youtube here.

Friend

The theme for November is "Friend".  These two friends came to visit one quiet afternoon.