Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  

The pumpkins were everywhere at the State Farmer's Market!

Zombie Gnome?

People around here like to decorate for every holiday.  Halloween seems to be a special favorite, second only to Christmas.  I can't decide if this garden gnome is cute or ghastly.  I guess that's the whole point...

Another orbweaver

I couldn't find the spider this time, she must have been hiding.  But her web was glittering in the sun.  Makes me believe in Charlotte's Web.

Fall is coming slowly

Fall is coming very gradually here.  There isn't a hard freeze to tell the trees to change, instead each one changes in its own time.  Here at Falls Lake, some are turning, and most are still green along the bank.

Old stump

This old stump sits at the tip of the peninsula into Falls Lake at Forest Ridge Park.

A new park in Raleigh!

We visited Forest Ridge Park about 2 weeks after it opened.  It's a beautiful multiuse park in North Raleigh.  There are hiking trails, a bike only trail and a huge playground and picnic area.  It sits on a peninsula jutting out into Falls Lake.

Purple Cow

I've never seen a purple cow, 

I never hope to see one.

But I can tell you anyhow, 

I'd rather see than be one.

And now, I've seen one, at the Farmer's market, along with a purple spotted cow and a pink bull!

Magnolia seeds

Believe it or not, growing up in California we lived on a street lined with Magnolias.  We used to use the red seeds like sidewalk chalk, writing, drawing and making hopscotch marks with them.  They were a pain though when you ran over them with your roller skates and came to an abrupt stop.

Yellow bellied slider

The Yellow Bellied Slider turtle is native to North Carolina.  You can tell the yellow bellied sliders by their yellow spot behind their ears.  Info here.

It is illegal to sell turtles in NC.   Many people get rid of their pet red eared sliders as soon as they get tired of them.  They take over from the native species of yellow bellied sliders.  

If you are a turtle fan and want one around there is a group that rescues hurt turtles that you can foster until they're better, and then they are released back to the wild.  That seems like a perfect solution.  

Marbled Orbweaver

This is the best picture I could come up with with for this charming spider.  He was brilliant green on his abdomen and orange bodied with white and black striped legs.  He's a marbled orbweaver, handing in his web in Durant Nature Park.  See more info here

The Two Towers

I got out of the car in the parking lot near the museum complex downtown Raleigh, and there they were.  Old and New, the Two Towers... One is the PNC building, and the other Christ Episcopal Church.

Rusted Roots

This sculpture, by Jeremy Stollings, glowed in the sun.  It sits outside of the Museum of History.  I like the idea of bottling the evil spirits and letting the sun destroy them in the daytime.  I wish it was that easy!

One more mushroom

This mushroom seems almost flowery.  

Orange Jewelweed

These were flowering beside the Reedy Creek greenway.  They were so bright that I thought it was some kind of berry.  Its other name is the touch-me-not-plant.  But I'm not sure why, supposedly it is a natural cure for poison ivy.  You can even buy lotions containing it's juice on Amazon.,,!

Sacred Seven

This is an art installment on the Reedy Creek Greenway near the North Carolina Museum of Art.  It is by Matthew Curran.  It is part of their "Art has no boundaries" series.  I have no clue what it signifies, although it is a little shocking to come upon it on a beautiful greenway.

Fungus

This fall has been fungus central.  These fungi look like shells to me.

Salsa time!

The tomatoes and peppers are all ready at the Farmer's Market.  It's time to make Salsa!

Goldfinch

I see these goldfinches every now and then, usually out of the corner of my eye, and I wonder if I really saw it.  This time it was posing for me.

Ruby Throat

We left our hummingbird feeder out for a long time before we got any visitors.  And then this little guy decided it belonged to him.  He sat in the tree and guarded it from any other hummers.  Late summer, he left and all the lady hummingbirds took over.

Chickadee-dee-dee

I know they're really common, but I still like the little Chickadee's call.  It's the one birdsong I can always recognize.

Not quite Big Sky country

Montana touts itself as Big Sky Country.  That is, of course because there's nothing to block the sky, no tall buildings, no trees.  Here in North Carolina, it's hard to find a place to see a panoramic sunrise.  The tall trees are everywhere.   

Summer Tanager

I think this is a female Summer Tanager.  She showed up, looked at the birdfeeder for a little while, and then flew away.  I have never seen one before or since.  Just this one quick visit.  I would have liked to see her bright red husband...

Spiny orb weaver

These guys have been building webs every night across our walkway.  Every morning I either see the web and duck, or get a facefull of web.  The spiders themselves look really creepy.  They scuttle around like a crab, and they have these spines on their big backs.  They're spiny orbweaver spiders...see here.  Supposedly they're related to Charlotte of E.B.White fame.

(by the way, did you know that Charlotte's Web is a type of medicinal cannabis plant?  The things you learn from Wikipedia...)

Coral or fungus?

Looking under a bush, my husband said, "Look, there's a piece of coral."  Hmmm, under a bush in the park?  Well it turned out to be a fungus.  I think it is a Cauliflower Mushroom.  Supposedly, they are edible, but I wouldn't try it.

American Beautyberry

I have been trying to get a good picture of these purple berry bushes for weeks.  They almost glow with their purple color.  The camera just won't pick up the same color as my eye.  This picture is OK, but still doesn't do justice to the vibrant color.  Their common name is American Beautyberry, and indeed they are! Here's a link to information.

Water garden

I read that there was a water garden at Fred Fletcher Park.  I had a picture in my head of pools of water with water lilies floating peacefully.  The garden brings storm water through a waterway that cleans the water through a series of pools before it joins the Pigeon House Branch, a poor forgotten little creek that runs through downtown Raleigh.

Red Bird

You're supposed to be able to see a cardinal in the red sections of this statue.  I think I can see it, and then I'm not sure.  Here's a link to the artist's page. 

Have a seat

Fred Fletcher Park is a beautifully kept up park.  It is the former home of the Methodist Orphanage from 1889-1981.  It has soccer fields, baseball diamond, football field, tennis courts and a water garden.  It's a peaceful place to walk on a weekday, even though it is very close to downtown.

Methodist Home for Children

When I hear the word Orphanage I think of Oliver Twist's work house.  But the Methodist Orphanage, today's Methodist home for children, was very different.  Hearing stories of people who grew up there they had nothing but gratitude for the kindness they were given.  Today the Methodist Home for Children is still active, although they work with inhome situations and sold their orphanage to the city.  It is now the Fred Fletcher park (Link).  The house above is the Garriss building, built as a dormitory around 1950.  The building below is the Borden building, built in 1900, first a home for the superintendent and later a dormitory.  The Borden building can be rented for weddings. dormitory

Grindstone

Keeping your nose to the grindstone doesn't seem like such a good idea when you actually see one.  Even worse would be to have this millstone around your neck.  This huge stone was used to grind meal at the Yates Mill.

Theme day: Sensual

This seems like a strange theme to me.  But sensual means using your senses.  All pictures use the sense of sight, so that leaves the other 4 senses.  To me, this picture of the joints of a log cabin at Yates Mill depicts the sense of touch.