Fall sneaks in

Little by little autumn is coming.

The dogwoods are turning red.

A few maples are turning brilliant.

Achooo

Appropriately named, the Sneezeweed is in bloom. (here)

And the Yellow Crownbeard (here)

This field will make you sneeze just looking at it!

A bit Early!

Costco is in the Christmas spirit already!  The decorations are up, and there are several aisles of toys.

What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving???

Lookout tree

The tallest tree in the area is a perch used by many different birds.  Some mornings a mockingbird is singing it's heart out.  Some mornings it's a woodpecker yodeling.  This morning it was a red shouldered hawk calling out.  

And flowers of course

Of course the reason for going to the arboretum is to look at the flowers.

This one has an unfortunate name - variegated toad lily.

The butterflies loved the verbena

The passion flower was glowing purple.

This lovely vine smelled exactly like moth balls.

Japanese Crepe Myrtle

The bark of this Japanese Crepe Myrtle looks like a painting to me.

This tree is one of the oldest in the United States.  It was grown from seeds collected from Japan in the 1950's

Shady

Peeking through the shady arbor to the gazebo at the JC Raulston Arboretum.

Great day for butterflies

On a hot afternoon at the arboretum, the butterflies were busy.  This Gulf Fritillary was tasting a verbena.

Its wings look even better from the back.

This variegated fritillary ws a little torn up.

The black swallowtail kept landing on the hot metal fence.  

Blue Tree

This is not a sculpture, it is definitely a painted tree. It sits in the JC Raulston Arboretum.   I don't know how it came to be, but perhaps a favorite tree died and was memorialized in blue.

Air Bee and Bee

This "Air Bee and Bee" is built for cavity dwelling bees.  They don't live in colonies like honey bees, they live individually in little tunnels.

This bee apartment gives them lots of choices about where they want to live.

Can you keep a secret?

These two fawns visited the backyard.  They seemed to be telling secrets to each other.  Mom was across the yard, but keeping a close eye.

Did Katy?

A beautiful little insect visited our trash can.  He looked like a Katydid with no wings.

I think he's a Common Conehead Katydid nymph. (here)
I learned that you can tell a Katydid from a Grasshopper by the length of the antennae.  If they are wispy and long it's a Katydid.  
This guy definitely fits that description.

Two Spires

 

Edenton Street UMC

(here)

St. Paul AME church

(here)

Two churches, one block apart in downtown Raleigh share an intertwined history.  Edenton Street UMC began in 1811.  St. Paul AME began as the slave membership of Edenton, and became their own congregation in 1848. In 1865 they severed their ties and St. Paul became an AME church. 

Hiding out

Mr. Heron was hanging out beside the lake.  

Shadows

Shadows on the North Carolina museum of History.

Good Night Moon

Friday the Thirteenth was a full moon, being called a "Micromoon" because it was farthest from the Earth in its orbit (apogee).  We got a quick look at it between clouds, and then it faded away.  Here is the video.

Full again

The lake looks so peaceful it's hard to believe that it has been a mudpit for the last year while the dam was being repaired. Only just now the water level is back.  Where did all the turtles go?  Who knows, but they're back already.

Fungus season

The late summer humidity brings up the fungi.

There are endless different varieties.

I think this innocent looking one is the Death Angel.

Persimmon

We saw this fruiting tree in the nature park.  It is indeed native to North Carolina, a Common Persimmon. (here)  It's got a few common names; Possomwood and Jove's Fruit are my favorite.

More late summer flowers

Partridge Pea

(here)

Spurred Butterfly Pea

 (here)

First fall leaf

This sweetgum leaf is the first hint of fall.

She also changed the world

Several Native American representatives participated in the kick off event celebrating the 19th amendment (ratified August 18, 1920), although Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924 and were not able to vote in all states until 1957.

She Changed the World

The kickoff event beginning the yearlong marking of the ratification of the 19th amendment was celebrated Saturday at the NC state Capitol. 

The right to vote was amended into the US constitution in 1920.  However North Carolina didn't ratify the amendment until 1971. It wasn't quite the last state, Mississippi didn't ratify until 1984 

Hummer

She didn't have a red throat, but I'm pretty sure she's a Ruby Throated hummingbird.

She was very curious about us, and hovered and watched for quite a while.

Good day for Woodpeckers

A female Hairy woodpecker was bobbing up a pine tree.

A much larger Red Bellied Woodpecker joined in.