Spooky old house

This old house looked very spooky with the angels in front and Spanish moss all over the trees.  I thought it was situated in an old graveyard, but it just turns out to be owned by an eccentric lady who likes to collect things.

The angels reminded me of the weeping angels from Doctor Who.  (don't blink!)

It's really a beautiful old house set on a quiet street in Hatteras Village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Spanish moss on the old live oak trees made it even spookier.

Truth on a bumper sticker

I've always wondered about that.  Somebody had it in for us women.

Tiger swallowtail

Who says you have to be a Monarch butterfly to enjoy milkweed.  This Tiger swallowtail spent a lot of time fluttering around the milkweed patch.

Medicine Mama's

I pass this trailer often, and finally decided to investigate.

It's a traveling CBD store.  The website shows that they sell chocolates, gummies, lollipops, oils, honey, balm, soap, t-shirts, mugs and dog treats among other items.

North Carolina farmers are looking to hemp to replace tobacco as a cash crop.  Medicine Mama is doing her part.

Shower time

During a sudden hard downpour, this mourning dove decided to take a shower.

I looked out and thought she had a broken wing.  She kept lifting up her wings one at a time and stretching them out.

She was just enjoying a little clean up.

Eutrophication?

This pond was totally covered in green.  

These were little plants, so maybe not technically eutrophied.  (see here)

There were no water birds in sight.

But the dragonflies were everywhere.

Here we go 'round

Here's another tree turned into a children's song.  

The Mulberry!

And the song...here  or a more adult version, here.

Butterflies galore

It's hard to think that orange might be a camouflage color, but this Variegated Fritillary seems to make it work. (see here)

These Pearl Crescents weren't worried about being spotted.  They were busy gathering together for some unknown reason.  (see here)

So here's your quiz...Which butterfly is this?  

And this one?

Purple Martin apartments

These bird houses were very busy with Purple Martins flying in and out.

I think that each couple has their own home in the colony.

The birds swooped in, crawled into their home, and then zoomed back out.

Milkweed for Monarchs

The milkweed was growing well at the Prairie Ridge Eco station.  There were lots of butterflies, but it took us a long time to find the queen of all.

We finally found one monarch. I hope she lays some eggs on all the milkweed waiting for her.

Way down yonder in the Paw-Paw patch

Instead of importing bananas, why don't we grow Paw-paws?  They sound delicious.  See here.

It's a pretty little shady tree.

Who remembers the paw-paw song?

Here for the lyrics, here for the song (if you can stand it)

Gold

Every year I look across to the neighbor's yard, and there are little spots of yellow on their purple flowers.  

The goldfinches love to eat the flowers.  We've tried to lure them across the street to our feeder, but they just like the purple flowers.

There are 4 in this picture, but when I got too close and scared them out, at least 10 flew away.

Guardian of the steps

This little guy was waiting for us on the steps of the Municipal Rose Garden.

Ominous Clouds

These clouds looked like they were looming over the neighbor's house.

Floribunda

Happy Father's Day!  Why should Mom's get all the flowers?

Shady Walk

It was a hot day, and almost everyone was hibernating in the air conditioning.  Abbot's creek greenway was a welcome place for a shady walk.

Even the creek was moving slow.

Mountain bike fun

Green Hills Park has a mountain bike skills area.  It looks like a lot of fun.  And practicing here means they're not eroding the trails for everyone else.

Green Hills County Park

Raleigh is not known for it's hills, and it's definitely hard to find a place to see the big sky.  But here at Green Hills park you can see both.  Why?  Green Hills is the new name of Landfill Park.  Each of the hills is a completed landfill.  

Might be a good place to see the sunset.

Osprey

The osprey was diving for fish in Shelly Lake. 

Heronry

On a hot day,  this heron was panting and calling.  

From underneath we could see that she was sitting on her nest,with her partner next to her.

Another nest was in the next tree.  A little colony.

Ducklings

Watched over by their mom, these ducklings spent most of their time eating.

Forgotten

Two shoes sitting on a post in a deserted playground.  Someone went home without their shoes!

Red bugs

I found a cluster of these little critters on my creeping Jenny plant.  They look pretty cute, but...they are Leaf footed nymphs.  When fully developed they ravage gardens sucking the life out of vegetables.  Good thing a soap and water spray kills the nymphs easily.  See here