Bridge over River Neuse

A suspension bridge over the Neuse river.  It's part of the greenway system, so only pedestrians, bikes and leashed dogs get to use it.

Fences unlimited

I thought the idea of a fence was to limit your access to someplace.  But this looks like an unlimited fence...?

Sycamore

I've been seeing these very tall barkless trees along the river.  I thought they were dead snags, I've never seen trees without bark that were still alive.  But they are American Sycamores.  They have bark at first, and then as they grow the bark peels off.  They are the tallest trees in the forest along the riverbank with round seed balls that look like Christmas decorations.

Yet another good morning

When it's not raining, we get some amazing sunrises.  This one was taken before a rainy day.  

Sunny day stroll

A nice sunny day for a stroll on the greenway.

Bamboo

This truck had a claw like the ones in the game where you try to pick up a toy.  It was picking up bamboo.  

You can see bamboo all along the Neuse River edge.  It's not native and definitely invasive.

The park even had an event to use up some of the bamboo they removed.

Rainy spring

We've had a lot of rainy weather lately.  It hasn't stopped the first early flowers from coming out.

Foggy day

Woke up to a foggy day.  Everything was still.

The birds were singing, but they stayed in the trees.

The road disappeared into the fog.

Two Geese

When do you ever see just two geese.  These two were all by themselves, looking very peaceful.

Birds, birds, birds

The feeders at Wilkerson Nature Preserve were full of visitors.  The Pine Warbler liked the suet feeder.  So did the Blue Bird.

The Downy Woodpecker stayed with the seed feeder.

And the Cardinals picked up seeds from the ground.

In honor of...

For Black History Month, GoRaleigh buses are displaying this notice between route notices.  How fitting.

Yay Spring!

A few trees have decided that it must be spring.  The weather isn't super warm, but they're starting early.

cloudy sun

We haven't seen a lot of sun lately.   Sometimes she peeks through the clouds.

Old dam

Before there was a Falls Lake, there was a mill pond.  This sloose gate and grist mill are what are left of the old mill.  It's location is now under Falls Lake.

Happy Valentine's Day

Why is Mistletoe a symbol of Christmas and not Valentine's day?  I would think there'd be more kissing going on Valentine's than Christmas...?

I found this growing on a tree above where the high school kids wait for the bus in the morning.  Hmmm...

Mardi Gras lights?

They might be left over Christmas lights, but I'm going with Mardi Gras lights.

Old swimming hole?

Walking along the Neuse River, we found these ropes on the tree.  It looks like a great swimming hole in the picture.  Unfortunately the water below the ropes was about 4 inches deep, and the branch the ropes were tied to was way to skinny to hold weight.  Hmmm...

Another good morning

It looks like a sunset, but it really was a sunrise.  I was amazed by the swoopy contrails in the sky.  The pilot must have changed his mind about where he wanted to go.

Sweet gum

Sweet gum seeds are pretty ornate.  I think they look like Christmas tree ornaments.  They say that they are hard enough to pierce a car tire.  I don't think so, but I know that they hurt when you step on them barefoot.

Great Blue

This great blue heron was hanging out at Shelly Lake.  He flew across the lake and landed in front of me.

Headless basketball player

Kind of creepy, this headless basketball player modeled the latest in sportswear at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Mockingbird

This guy was staking a claim to a berry bush on the Neuse River Greenway.  Mocking birds are very territorial!

Morning Hawk

This hawk was calling out in the morning.  He could be heard for blocks.

Morning Contrails

Raleigh must be in the flight path of a lot of airlines.  We see contrails in the sky all the time.  These were glowing in the early dawn.

Falls Lake Dam

Falls Lake Dam is run by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Their flag flies outside the visitor's center. The dam was completed in 1981 and serves as flood control and water supply for Raleigh. 

Bottom Feeders

I know that shrimp and lobsters are bottom feeders, but I don't want to be reminded of that when I'm eating them...I'm not sure that this new seafood restaurant is going to do well.

Super moon

So, I missed the blood moon (lunar eclipse) and the blue moon (second moon in a month) but it's still a super moon!

I found my Thrill

Raleigh has the greatest street names.  I've been trying for months to get a picture of this one.  It's on a busy, fast street, on a curve.  But I finally captured my white whale. 

Theme Day: Tired

The Kale lasted in the garden till the January deep freeze.  To me it just looks tired.  And that is the theme of the day!