Saturday, December 31, 2022

Picture of the year


Happy New Year!
This month's theme is "picture of the year."
I don't know if it's my best picture of 2022, but I really like the blue sky and blue bird together.  (also, I finally got the bird in sharp focus for once!)

 

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Monday, December 26, 2022

Frozen


The cold front that swept the country during Christmas got to Raleigh as well.  Most of Shelly Lake froze.  The sea gulls had to stand on the ice.  




 

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Alien?


You can almost believe in alien spacecraft looking up at this sky.





 

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Yellow belly


We could hear him long before we spotted him.  A yellow bellied sap sucker.  You can see the slight yellow tinge on his chest.



 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Elves, trolls or fairies?


It's really just an outdoor play area for kids.  But who knows if the villagers come out at night?



 

Friday, December 16, 2022

A little green amongst the brown


Tucked in the brown leaf litter are small plants.
Crippled cranefly orchid,


Adam and Eve orchid,


and Little Brown Jug.



 

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Star


Who knew there were so many different kinds of moss.  (see here)
I think this is a star moss, atrichum.  



 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Turkey tail?


This lovely little fungus is a Turkey Tail mushroom.  Supposedly it looks like the tail of a wild turkey.



 

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Red belly


No, she doesn't seem to have a red belly, but that's who she is, a red bellied woodpecker.



 

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Patience



This little female downey woodpecker patiently waited her turn at the feeder.  Her little claws gripped the metal pole.

 

Her mate took his time at the feeder.


Friday, December 9, 2022

Old house


This little house sits on the Stagville plantation.  
Who lived here, and what stories could these walls tell?


 

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Two old friends


I've posted these two before, but I just enjoy these two old trees telling jokes to each other.



 

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

The Japanese Maples explode


The Japanese Maples have exploded with color.


Even the ground beneath them is bright.


Amazing color for the end of fall.



 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Friday, December 2, 2022

Still colorful


It may be snowing somewhere else, but here fall is still holding on.



 

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Fingerprints from the past


These bricks were made by enslaved workers for a chimney.  You can see a roundish impression in the clay...a fingerprint from one of the workers.