Enter at your own risk

This handsome gentleman was standing guard outside a taco and tequila bar.  I thought he was enough incentive to stay out, until I saw his companions.

They were lurking farther in by the door.  I had to watch for a while to see if they moved.  They were just scary mannequins.

Success!

Success can look different to different people.  I teach an ESL class to newly arrived refugees.  This is the first time this student ever wrote an alphabet and his name in any language.  It was humbling to watch the care he took to form every letter.

Crossroads country store

This old country store sits at a busy crossroads in rural Johnston county, NC.  I imagine it might have been a community hub in its prime.

Lake side

Mr. Heron, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, and even a few turtles were out enjoying the weather.

Dogwood fall

The dogwoods have their berries ready to feed the birds this winter.

Sassafras

Sassafras is used to flavor root beer.  I didn't know it was an understory tree here in North Carolina.  The leaves look like dinosaur footprints to me.

Orbweaver

This spider reminded me of a Navajo rug pattern.   I think she's a spotted orbweaver (here)

Dusted skipper

The little skippers were flitting around the last flowers in the butterfly garden.

Color change magic

We saw this little anole, looked away, and a few minutes later...

She had changed her color.  

Black-eyed Susan

This might be a black-eyed Susan, except the leaves don't look the same as the ones I've seen before.  I think any yellow daisy flower with a black center is automatically called a black-eyed Susan.

Girl Power!

Doyenne inspiration is an all girl robotics competition held last weekend.  I have been working with the Johnston county female robotics team. The girls learned a lot about programming, building (and rebuilding) robots and most of all teamwork.  Our team was on the second place alliance, losing the last match by one point! Some of the teams had as many as 20 girls, we did ours with 6.  Small but mighty!

Our robot

Birds, birds, birds!

The birds were flocking together

Bluebirds

Catbird and goldfinch

Busy little Carolina Wren.

Fungi

It has been very dry this fall, even so the fungi are hanging on.

Nuthatch

A nuthatch contortionist at the feeder.

Fly away

This plant is getting ready to let its seeds fly!

In need of resurrection

The Resurrection fern is an epiphyte, it lives on bare rock, and gets it's moisture from the air and rain.  Unfortunately it hasn't rained in weeks.  The ferns are in dire need of resurrection...

Forest Floor

Sometimes looking down is a nice a view as looking up.

Blue boneset

With a name like Boneset, you would think that it would be good for broken legs.  I don't know if that's true, but it's a pretty flower.  See here.

Lights in the night

A lighted walkway at the NC Museum of Art.  Even the night lights are artistic.

Not a butterfly

The last sewer vault along the Ironwood trail is definitely not a butterfly.  It is interesting though.  Somehow it reminds me of a Picasso, with the faces.  

Do you think the artist is trying to tell us something?

More butterflies

These are common butterflies painted on the sewer vaults along the Ironwood trail.

Butterflies

Someone has taken the time to make something beautiful instead of ugly.  They painted pictures of common butterflies on the large sewer vaults along the Ironwood trail.

Greenway

There is a large network of greenways through Raleigh.  Shady trees, creekside and of course sewer vaults.  The greenways are built on the sewer access roads.  It means we have lovely trails, but sometimes we get the odors too.  The Ironwood trail out of Shelly Lake is lovely, but has a distinct odor.

Election day

Raleigh holds city elections today,  Mayor and City Council seats.  The fight seems to be between pro-development and pro-preservation.  In a growing city, the question is how we are going to grow.

Meredith College

Johnson Hall, Meredith College

Meredith College is a small liberal arts women's college in Raleigh. (here)  

It has a strong tradition of service to the community.  I run into Meredith students volunteering at the food pantry, mentoring programs and refugee support groups.  And it has a beautiful little campus in the heart of Raleigh.

Benches

On a hot day, a bench is very welcome.

Shady benches are most welcome.

Every garden needs a bench.

Fallen tree

This fallen tree reminded me of an Ansel Adams photograph.   Black and white?

Or color?  Which is better?

Just a sparrow

There are so many kinds of sparrows, and they all look similar unless you look closely.  When you do look you'll see they're lovely.  This one is a little Chipping Sparrow.

Old 98

Old highway 98 trail.

The old highway is still there in places.  Falls lake cut it off the highway when the Dam was built in 1981.

The old double yellow line is still visible.

Just another rock?

I had to look closely in the gravel for this little guy.  I saw him jump, and then lost him when he sat still, pretending to be a rock.