Bugfest 2017

The Museum of Natural Sciences held "Bugfest" a few weeks ago.  They offered bug treats to eat and other exciting activities.  This sand sculpture was still in front of the museum a week later.  I guess if it took so much work to make, you're going to leave it up as long as you can.

Dung beetle

There are statues of the animals all over the Zoo.  Chimpanzees, Rhinos, Bears, most of them are life sized.  I'm really hoping these dung beetles are not however.  They stood as tall as my 3 year old grand daughter.  

Surprise frog

I took this picture of the water plant at the North Carolina Zoo, and didn't notice the little green frog until I got it onto the computer.  I never would have seen it if I hadn't blown up the picture.
I think he's a Green Treefrog, even though he's not on a tree.

Red elephant

I've heard of pink elephants and white elephants, and I've seen gray elephants, but not red ones.  The elephants at the North Carolina Zoo cover themselves in the Carolina red clay and they look red.  It's startling to see.

Hidden rocks and Resurrection Ferns

These are the " hidden rocks" of the hidden rocks trail at Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve.  There is one set of rocks they ask you not to climb on to preserve the Resurrection Ferns.  These ferns are pretty cool, they can lose up to 97% of their water during a drought, and then come back to life when they get wet.  More info here.

And more fungus

These fungi look like coral to me.

Threads of Africa

Weavings of Africa was an all day celebration of the reopening of the North Carolina Museum of Art's African Art gallery.  They had music, above is Dialli Cissokho and Kaira Ba.  There was a place where kids could make African drums, with members of the Shabu family teaching them how to play them.  

  

Little orange mushroom

These little guys are easy to miss.  They look like little bits of orange peel left on the trail.  As you can see from from the second picture, they really are small.

Happy first day of Fall!

A few leaves are turning, but most everything is still green.

boat ramp

You can tell this boat ramp hasn't been used in a while, you'd have to fight your way through the cattails to get to the water.  It goes into the mill pond at Yates Mill. 

After a rain, the mushrooms are thriving.

Wildflower

I can't find much information on this flower.  They've just started blooming in September. 

Never give up

I'm always amazed at the life force in trees.  This tulip poplar must have fallen years ago.  the original trunk on the ground has pretty much disintegrated.  But it sent up four shoots that turned into trees in their own right, out of the trunk of the fallen tree.  

Creek side

A sunlit creek along the greenway.  

Three on a tree

First there was one Turkey Vulture on the tree, then two, and then three on the tree.  Makes you wonder who they were looking at.

S is for snake

Not a copper head I'm happy to say.  This Northern Water Snake was sleeping on a rock by Abbot's creek.  

My Paris Agreement

After the US left the Paris Agreement, I knew we needed to do something.  And yesterday, we got our solar panels installed.  The installation went really fast. It's still not generating, we have to wait for inspections and a meter connection, but we're on our way to a lower footprint.  Now I need my Tesla 3...

Great Egret

The Great Egret is hard to see in the picture, but his reflection in the water is easier to see.  He was hiding out on the edge of the mill pond at Yates mill.

Great Blue

This Great Blue Heron stood and watched people walk by on the boardwalk across the mill pond at Yates Mill.  

Diamonds in the holly hedge

Recently we had a gentle misty day.  The spider webs on the holly hedge were loaded up with water drops.  It looked like the whole hedge was hung with diamonds.

Rosepink

This rosepink was blooming in a marshy area that was filled with white hibiscus a month ago.    See here.

Mourning dove

I know these birds are almost as common as pigeons, but I still love them.  I especially like their quiet calls in the morning.  They also have a strange sounding squeak when they fly away.

Maybe zebra?

I'm not sure what this animal is supposed to be, but he makes me happy every time I drive by.  He seems so carefree.  

He sits at on a busy street at the entrance to a small stripmall parking lot.  The stripes make me think he's a zebra, although the shape could be anything.  

Cloudless Sulphur

This butterfly was flitting around the front yard in the morning.  I had to stalk him to get this picture.  I looked him up and he is a "Cloudless Sulphur" butterfly.  They appear in the late summer and fall here in North Carolina.  They're called the "wrong way" butterflies because they fly north in the fall.  See here for more info.

The three graces (new school)

This portrayal of the Three Graces caught my eye at the NC Art Museum.  The work is by Michalene Thomas.  I think it was the rhinestones that made it so eye catching.  Here's a link.

Stop and smell the flowers

This guy has been standing out by the neighbor's mailbox so long that the flowers have grown up around him.  It looks like he just stopped to take a sniff.

Yates Mill

Yates Mill is an historic mill south of downtown Raleigh.  It has been restored and is now a Wake County park.  The mill still works, and every 3rd weekend of the month they actually grind corn in period dress.  see here.

Yet another fountain

Why does North Hills have so many fountains?  Probably because it is soo darn hot, and the fountains make you forget about that.

Fountain on a hot day

Looking at a fountain on a hot day is very soothing.  It doesn't seem so hot if you can see water splashing.  It's hard to keep little kids from climbing in though.  We saw a few little ones in wet cloths as we walked through North Hills.

Theme day: photographing the photographer

This is a mirrored tree trunk in the JC Raulston Arboretum. It was interesting finding all the angles.