Theme day: Earth

The theme day for April is Earth...What's more earthy than new growth from the dirt?

 

Carolina "snowstorm"

Yes, we do get snow.  But these are flower petals from a tulip magnolia.  

 

Foggy day

Everything looks mysterious on a foggy morning.

 

Home sweet home

The red bellied woodpecker family has moved into their new home.

 

Azalea time!

The azalea buds are about ready to pop open.

 

Great horned owl

 

He sat absolutely still, high up in a loblolly pine looking like an extension of the tree trunk.

Sidewalk art

Neighborhood sidewalk art.  I especially like the blue moon man.

 

Yellow fire

The forsythia is blooming like fire.

 

Waiting for the Dogwoods

The dogwoods have had buds for months.  They're finally beginning to open.   Spring is on the way!

 

Camellia season

The camellias are finally blooming.  

The kids have been playing with pockets full of large buds for a while.  Now the neighbor's camellia has started blooming...only above the level of a child's reach.

 

Not a snowflake

On a misty day, the dusty miller looked like a snowflake.

The Lambs ears were crusted with jewels.

 

Tree Toes

Beech tree roots look like long toes digging into the ground.

 

Taking a break

Even squirrels need a sunny naptime.

 

Exploring

There's no way to keep them out of the water.

 

Baby Blue eyes ?

I think these tiny little flowers are Baby Blue Eyes.  The problem is that the range of these wildflowers is California and Oregon...How did they get to North Carolina?

See here

 

Spring Azure

This little butterfly was brilliant blue as it flew.  When it landed it almost disappeared in the leaves.  

Since it's spring and the color was blue, it's a Spring Azure (see here)

 

Welcome to the garden

This lovely scarecrow meets visitors at the community garden at Alliance Medical Mission.  The garden was started to combat food insecurity in the community.  

 

Home builders

The sound of a tap tap tap came from the trees.  On one tree a red bellied woodpecker fixed his hole.

A brown headed nuthatch worked on another tree.

 

Peaceful lake

The cormorants were enjoying the view from their customary stumps.

 

Snack time

The turkey vulture was busy having a nice squirrel snack when we walked by.

He flew up to a nearby rooftop to wait for us to pass by.

 

Not so gold finch

This little guy came visiting.  I think he's an immature goldfinch just turning yellow.

 

Family outing

Another way to enjoy the forest park.

 

Ghosts in the forest

The beech trees hold on to their leaves all winter.  They rustle in the breeze and look like ghost trees.

 

Fallen giant

This enormous old oak tree sits in a forest of much smaller trees.  I wonder how old it was, and what kind of history it must have seen.

 

 

End of the road

Falls lake was especially high.  The trails along the lake were submerged.  The rest were very muddy.

 

Old homestead

We have walked this trail many times.  But this time I looked into the forest and saw some rocks that didn't look natural.

We tromped over and saw that it is an old chimney.  We traced the line of foundation stones around a very small cabin.  

Who lived here?  Definitely a long time ago, the tree growing in the middle of the cabin is fairly big.

 

Foggy lake

After days of rain, the fog set in.

 

Log rolling gulls

I don't think they meant to do it, but every time the log they stood on rolled, the gulls did a little dance.

 

Look close

In a field of grass,  looking at just one.

 

Through the eyes of a child

I handed my phone to my 4 year old granddaughter and grabbed my camera and we went for a walk.  She and I both took pictures of what we saw.  

She had a different perspective on things.  Even me.

 

Taking a walk

Mr. Heron was just strolling around the lake.