Hart House

This house was originally one of the slave quarters on the Stagville plantation.  After emancipation the Hart family, a formerly enslaved family, sharecropped here until 1957.  They lived in and renovated the house.

 

Fall holds on

Fall might start slow in North Carolina, but it lasts a long time.

 

Horton Grove

These three buildings were home to enslaved workers on the Stagville plantation.  Each building housed 4 families with as many as 26 people in all.  The buildings were occupied until the 1970's as many of those enslaved on the plantation continued to live there and work as sharecroppers.  (see here)

 

Bennehan Cemetery

This cemetery is a short walk from the house on the Stagville plantation.  It is very small and was reserved for the family only.  Enslaved workers were buried elsewhere.

 

The great barn

This barn is BIG.  It was built by enslaved workers for the Stagville plantation in 1860.  It was one of the largest agricultural buildings in the South.  

It takes a lot of tobacco to fill a barn this size.

 

Stagville Plantation

The Stagville plantation is an historical site in Durham, NC.  It was the home of the Bennehan/Cameron family.  This house, the Bennehan house was built between 1787 and 1799.  It was the home of the family until 1847 when they built a much larger, grander mansion nearby.

The Cameron family was one of the richest slaveholders in the South.  By 1860 Paul Cameron owned 30,000 acres in North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama, and enslaved 1000 people.

The historical site sheds light on the lives of the enslaved workers on the plantation.

 

Lonely

This cormorant seemed to be contemplating his lonely life.

(or looking for fish)

 

King of the pond

Dr. Zeus said that Yertle the Turtle was the king of the pond, but in this lake, heron is king.  

Mr. Heron surveys his kingdom.

 

Ruddy Duck

This little Ruddy Duck was diving in the lake with her friends.  They must have just arrived in Raleigh. (see here)

 

Turtle nap

Turtles make great subjects.  They don't move around much until they plop into the water.

 

Old cabin

This cabin has been preserved near the Yates Mill.  

Here's a picture from the Library of Congress from 1938.  (see here)  Is it the same building?

 

Turtles

It was a chilly day, so the turtles weren't exactly basking in the sun.  

 

Sidewalk art

The sidewalks in part of downtown are decorated for walkers.

A hopscotch game.

A view of the Raleigh skyline.

It's part of the "Sip and Stroll" zone.  A large area in which you can buy alcoholic drinks to go and stroll through the area.

But don't leave the zone!

 

Clouds in the pond

Sky reflected in the pond.

And here's the sky above.

 

Yates mill again

Another view of the Yate's Mill from across the millpond.

 

Beaver chew

The beavers must have worked hard on this tree.

But they left the tree in place.  A lot of work for nothing.

Ducks in a row

These mallards were huddled against the wind.  

 

Kingfisher

We could hear his laughing call for a long time before we saw him. This male kingfisher just wanted everyone to know he was there.

 

Millstone

The idiom: to have a millstone around your neck, means to have a responsibility that is hard to escape from.  And here is a millstone.  You would not go far carrying this one.

 

Mill Pond

The mill pond at Yate's Mill is not a small puddle.

 

Yates Mill

Yate's Mill is the only operable grist mill in Wake County.   It began operation in 1756 and continued until the 1950's.    (see here)  It doesn't operate often, but once or twice a year they grind corn at the mill.

 

Mushroom again

Nature arranges her decorations better than anyone else could.

 

Hidden Rocks

The signs on the trail called these "hidden rocks".  I don't think they're very hidden, they are pretty easy to find.

 

Not eggs

Round little mushrooms looked like eggs.

 

Autumn

An old oak tree hangs over the path.

 

Visitors to the Persimmon tree

Squashed persimmons littered the ground, and the birds were busy in the tree.  This juvenile yellow bellied sapsucker was joined by his family.

Daddy sapsucker watched carefully.