Theme day: Transparent

 

Theme day for July is "Transparent".  It gives me an excuse to post yet another picture of a dragonfly.  Hard to find anything more transparent than this.

Creatures

This little guy was part of a big wall of crocheted sea creatures at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

It was part of the Fault Lines: Art and the Environment exhibit.

 

Invasive

It looked like bubbles on the ground, but it's an artwork called Invasives, by Jean Shin.  Recycled Mountain Dew bottles make up the green carpet.

 

Plastics

This net, hanging from the ceiling in the North Carolina Museum of Art, was filled with trash.

The installation is called: The Midden by Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim.

It consists all of the plastic trash that the two sisters brought into their home in 4 years.  I wonder if my plastic pile would be bigger than that?

 

Upcycle

This installation is mesmerizing and beautiful...

and made from used plastic coffee cup lids.

It's called Remember me Katrina, by Susie Ganch,  depicting the swirling storm that was hurricane Katrina

The lids were still stained with coffee.

 

Grand Chandelier

Walking around the latest exhibit at the NC Museum of Art, I thought they had a magnificent chandelier.  Until I looked closely.

It's an installation called: Luz de Plastico   by American artist, Willie Cole.   It is created out of thousands of single use water bottles.

It's part of an exhibit called Fault lines: Art and the Environment.  (see here).

 

Most common

I read somewhere lately that the Tiger Swallowtail is the most common butterfly in North America.  I don't know about that, but it is one of the most noticeable.

 

Preying or praying?

I know that the Praying Mantis is named for the way it's front feet are bent into a praying posture.  But they're great in a garden for preying on other less benign insects.  I was glad to see him in the garden.

(see here)

 

Great Crested Flycatcher

A Great Crested Flycatcher has been visiting the backyard lately.

It's been going in and out of our nesting box.  

Unfortunately, something climbed up an unclimbable pole and opened up the sides of the nesting box.  While fixing it, we found 4 little brown striped eggs.  (see here)  Hopefully the parents will come back and take care of them.

 

Growing up

Developers are building tall residential/commercial buildings in North Hills.  It might relieve the lack of housing in Raleigh, but I think it's going to be too upscale for most.

 

Care for a selfie?

Found in a little niche in an upscale shopping area.

You can step in, and take a selfie with starry night.

 

Magnolias at last

Each magnolia flower only last a few days, but the season lasts for months.  The trees let their blooms open one by one.

 

Pollinator garden

The pollinator garden at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation has a small pond with water flowers,

Purple cone flowers

and Black-eyed Susans.

All ready for the butterflies.  There were a few bees, but no butterflies.

 

Paw-paw

The paw paw is the largest edible fruit native to North America. (see here) You can't find the fruit in the store, and I've never seen Paw-paw jelly.   I wonder if the fruit is all that tasty?  The tree is very nice though.

 

Green

The pond at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation is already green with duckweed.  There's a sign saying don't feed the geese, but I've never seen any water birds anywhere on the pond.

 

Palmetto

It's a little jarring to see a palm leaf peeking up out of the North Carolina greenery, but the Dwarf Palmetto is a native.  (see here) 

 

Wild

The wild raspberries have started to ripen.

 

Milkweed

There is a movement to plant butterfly friendly native plants.  I see butterfly milkweed blooming everywhere.  So far lots of bees but no butterflies.

 

Prairie sky

It's hard to connect North Carolina with prairie.  But the piedmont area of central North Carolina used to be covered in tall grass prairie.  (see here) You can find it now only in small pockets.

 

Purple

The Purple Martins are back at Prairie Ridge EcoStation.

They fly so fast in and out with bugs that it's hard to catch a good shot.

 

Come for tea...

I have been teaching an English class for mostly Afghan refugees.  After class one of the women invited the teachers to her apartment for tea.  "Tea" was a full Afghan meal, everything homemade and everything delicious.  Two hours later she brought out the tea.  

 

Old Homestead

The sign on the trail calls this the "Old Homestead".  I don't know how old or who were the homesteaders, but all that's left is this piece of wall and part of a chimney.  

I think if people disappeared off the Earth, it wouldn't take too long for nature to reassert her dominance.

 

Life imitates Art?

Sometimes flowers actually do look like a child's drawing.

 

Videri

Videri Chocolate Factory is in an old building on the edge of downtown Raleigh.  Very sweet! 

I thought the name came from the owner's name, or something Italian.

Until I looked at the BBQ place across the street.  

Esse Quam Videri is on the front window.  Turns out it's the state motto of North Carolina:  to be rather than to seem.

I'm not sure how that relates to either BBQ or chocolate...

 

Jewelwing

They fly like butterflies and perch like dragonflies.  They fold their wings which shows them to be Damselflies.

These are Ebony Jewelwings (see here)

 

Sunbathing

This little Carolina wren was just sitting on a post in the sun fluffing himself up and breathing.

 

garden flower

This looks very exotic, but it's just a carrot that bolted.  We planted them a year ago, and they're finally coming into flower.

 

Hiding out

Does he think we can't see him?

 

Brookhaven Nature Park

This sweet little nature park sits in the middle of a rather nice neighborhood. 

 It was probably an area that was not able to be developed when the neighborhood was built in the 1960's.  It's hilly and has gullies that fill with water when it rains. 

But it makes a nice little forest park to wander in.

It shows me what all of Raleigh must have looked like before development.

 

Two headed Turtle?

It looked like a two headed turtle.  But it was only a very reflective pond.