Theme day: Smile!

The Theme Day for June is "Smile."  This guy wasn't quite smiling, but his mouth is big enough.

 

Meadow

The meadow at Wilkerson Nature Preserve is springing to life.   These lovelies are Oxeye daisies, considered invasive but sweet.  (see here)

This one is a Helmet flower (see here)

 

Deer me

She was not curious about us, and barely even stopped her eating to check us out.  

 

The Oven Bird

He matches the leaf litter that he's digging in.  He's an Oven Bird, the subject of one of Robert Frost's most depressing poems. (see here)

 

Woodland village

The sign led us from the children's play area to a little village.

A creepy arch led us farther in.

Passing by strange huts

Winding through the trees.

Maybe it's the woodland wiccan village...?

 

One more time

One more magnolia picture.  And why not?

 

What does it say?

This billboard, on a trail at the NC Museum of Art is titled: Breathing with the Sun, by Brandon Sadler.

Is this really Chinese or an artistic design?  What is it saying?

 

Untitled

It looks like a rock, but it's a sculpture by Ledelle Moe, a South African artist.  His work takes on human forms in interesting ways.

 

Is it hungry?

The coneflowers are just beginning to unfurl.  At this point they look like man-eaters.

 

Which is the sculpture?

The object in the foreground is a sculpture called "No Fuss."  In the background is an enormous crane in a nearby construction site.  The large cranes are popping up everywhere in Raleigh.  

 

Big Bee

This bee was so big he had trouble hanging onto the blue vetch flowers.  The vetch is not native to North America, but it has become common in wild areas.

 

Sad History

The land that now hosts the North Carolina Museum of Art has a long, sad history.  It was Camp Magnum, a training ground for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.  During WW1 it was Camp Polk, a tank training ground. From the 20's to the 60's it was a state prison farm.  From the 60's to the 90's it was a juvenile detention center.  The smokestack is the only remnant of the prison camp era.

 

Damsel

This little damsel fly fluttered by looking like a butterfly.  She landed long enough for a portrait.

 

Whirlygig

This immense Whirlygig sits in the sculpture park at the NC Museum of Art.  It is a creation of Vollis Simpson, (see here)   At age 60 Mr Simpson started creating these sculptures and erecting them on his farm outside of Wilson, NC.  The city of Wilson now has a whirlygig park and a festival every year.

 

Cloud Chamber

It looks like a hobbit house, but it's an art installation at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Cloud chamber for the trees and sky is a camera obscura.  You enter the little door, close it and sitting in the dark you can see the trees and sky outside projected on the floor. It is newly opened after a long rebuilding process.  (see here) 

 

Magnolia time

The magnolias have finally started their bloom.

 

A perfect day

A perfect day for a walk in the woods.

 

Drip dry

He may look strange, but this cormorant was just drying his wings off in the sun.  

 

Sandpiper

What is a shore bird doing in Raleigh?  We found this spotted sandpiper bobbing his tail and happily feeding on the spillway from a small dam. (see here) 

 

Pareidolia

Do you see a face?  A crooked mouth and two lichen eyes...

 

Nature takes over

Part of a wall and a chimney are all that is left of an old homestead.  The forest returns.

 

Skink

This little skink was hiding out on a tree trunk.  He looked a little snake-like at first.

 

Control

This one wheel controls the spillway to the entire lake.  Pretty important for a rusty old thing.

 

Ignore the neighbors

They may share the same pond, but cormorants and turtles don't have to like each other.

 

At the edge

A few scenes from the water's edge

 

Weed?

What makes something a weed?

This is some sort of Toadflax, NC State extension calls it a weed (see here).  But the bees like it, and I do too.  

 

Hobomok?

I think this might be a Hobomok skipper.  Named for the chief of the Wampanoag tribe. (see here)  Or not.  There are hundreds of different kinds of skippers.

 

Carolina Spicebush

The flowers on the Carolina spicebush look like they're made from paper.  But they're real.  It's a native plant (See here)

 

Take a walk

A good place to walk on a sunny day.

 

Feed me

Thistles are beautiful in their own way.  But they always remind me of the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors.

 

ABC's?

 These vines spelled out the letter "A".  

This vine wrote the letter "e".  

What are they trying to tell us?

 

Who lives here?

We came across a little fairy village while walking in the woods.  It's more than a little creepy to me.