Brief Blog Break

Photohunters: Public

I went to a public park to vote for candidates in a local election this week.

The races for public office included Mayor, City Council, and School Board.

The place where I vote is in my neighborhood and includes a public community center (that's the part I vote in), public swimming pool, park and greenway trails.

It is more pleasant doing my public duty on a pretty day when I can walk to the public park to vote but I still managed to take a few shots in spite of the rain.

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Nature Notes: early October

I love the way the grass plumes wave in the wind.

The mourning dove was preening after her bath on my deck.

At first I thought the tree had red leaves until I realized it was the vine that was red. My guess is the vine is Virginia Creeper.

The pokeberries are popular with birds. They are toxic to mammals but the small seeds inside the berry with the toxin remain intact in the birds digestive system and are eliminated whole.

The geese are almost hidden by the dried flowers on the sandbar.

I don't know what kind of tree that is below but it certainly is flamboyant this time of year.

We've had a mix of pretty days and rain over the past week.

The rufous-sided towhee below was rummaging in my front yard.

The American Robin was hopping in and out of my front yard bird bath.

Two American robins and a female cardinal were enjoying my deck baths.

The American robin looks so different when its feathers are all puffed out.

The male house finch below was heading to the bath.

Below is a female and male house finch. The female is rather dour in her beige colors.

I'm amused by how the squirrel's tail is often the only thing I see of it in the trees.

Not sure what the rabbit hopes to find in the gutter downspout.

The female cardinal looks like she's puckering up for a kiss.

The cardinal has soaked most of the water from the small bath into her feathers.

The individual trees that have changed colors stand out amidst the green ones still in summer frocks.

I like the way the dried yarrow looks this time of year.

I'll end with a lone leaf saturated by rain today.

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Todays Flowers: September and October

The first two shots were taken in September of some of the last of the bumble bees I've seen feeding on the fairy asters in my backyard.

It's already getting cool enough that I think it will be spring before I start seeing the bees again. Even these I shot in September were sluggish because I think they were having trouble getting their wings warm enough for flight.

The rest of the shots were taken this week when I was out and about.

The name Summer Classics is somewhat misleading because that store sells fireplace equipment and other items in addition to summer patio furniture and plants.

It seems that their name would make people unlikely to go there except in the warmer months. The flowers under the sign are a mix of roses in the middle and impatiens on the sides.

The orange flowers above are lantana.

The flowers directly above and below are impatiens.

I'm not sure what the next flowers are.

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Photohunters: Waiting

Children eagerly waiting for the NC State Fair to begin have less than a week to go before it starts.

These photographs were taken at the NC State Fairgrounds a few weeks ago when Bill and I went to the Greek Festival which was held in the Expo Building.

Although the fair wasn't taking place then, there was still a certain amount of waiting to be directed to our parking spot because in addition to the Flea market and Greek Festival, there were many other events there that day.

The flyball Club tournament, antique gun and military collector show, NC State Championship horse show, original coin and currency show, Central NC Pagan Pride day, and the NC State CALS Alumni and Friends Tailgate Party were also going on that day.

I was surprised how busy it was and in preparing this post I looked up what events were going on.

Inside the building where the Greek Festival was taking place there was a certain amount of waiting in line for the food.

It was fun to be entertained by the dancers and musicians while waiting in line.

I always photograph the Dorton Arena when I'm at the Fairgrounds.

The Dorton Arena features a steel cable supported saddle shaped roof in tension, held up by parabolic concrete arches in compression (wikipedia source).

The architect was Matthew Nowicki and he died in a plane crash before the construction phase.

William H. Dietrick, a local architect supervised the completion of the arena using Nowicki's design.

The fairgrounds include 344 acres and hosts events year round.

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