Rusty gate

The garden is overgrown and the gate is rusty.  Makes me wonder if there is a story here.

 

Pickerel weed

Just because it has the word "weed" in it's name, doesn't mean it's not beautiful.  This Pickerel weed grows in wetlands.  (see here)

 

Sleeping plant

It's a Partridge Pea, also known as a sensitive plant or a sleeping plant.  I think it gets it's nickname because it folds it's leaves when touched and at night. (see here)

 

Name that tune...

The birds on the wires looked like a sheet of music.

 

Light in the forest

The sun shining through a break in the trees looked like a spotlight on a patch of forest.

 

Pheobe

This little pheobe waited patiently for me to get the right focus.

(See here)

 

Turning

It seems a bit early, but leaves are beginning to turn.

 

Wetland

This tiny bit of wetland is a sample of what could be lost by the Supreme Court's decision to unprotect the majority of wetlands in the US.  (see here for an explanation)  

 

Learning from Dad

A daddy goldfinch and juvenile checking out the dog fennel.  I think daddy was showing the young one how to find its own food.

 

Bee balm

True to its name, Spotted Beebalm was hosting many insects.

I think these were wasps not bees, but they were happy.

 

Theme day: Bottle

Hidden in the overgrowth in front of an old house, I found a bottle tree. It's a southern tradition, possibly brought from Africa by enslaved Africans.  Blue bottles are hung outside to trap evil spirits.  (see here for the history )

 

Horsemint

This cutie was blooming all over the prairie at Horseshoe Farm  Nature Preserve.  It's Spotted Bee Balm.  (see here).  Also called Horsemint. It looked like something Dr. Seuss would think up.

 

Belted Kingfisher

One way to get rid of graffiti is to encourage art.

This picture has the hashtag RaleighArts  and #callbeforeyoudraw.

Unfortunately it's painted on the side of a sewer vault and is a bit stinky.

Here's the real deal.  

 

Can you spot the bird?

There's a reason why sparrows are brown and stripy.

 

Cairn

A mossy rock by an old farm shed.

 

Roots

I wonder how long before this tree topples into the river.  

 

Lost history

I wonder what the story of these buildings is.

 

If walls could talk

There are several old buildings on this property.  They must be over 100 years old but I haven't been able to find out anything about their history.

 

Zoom

A group of bikers flew past us on the greenway.

 

Monarch waystation

Monarch butterflies are endangered, but not on the endangered species list, (go figure).  But more and more I'm seeing areas with native plants, especially milkweed.  Maybe even without government support we can save these creatures.