This blog is for my insights on life, the Bible, hiking adventures with my grandson and whatever is important to me
Author: Deb L Waters
I am an avid reader. I read mostly Amish fiction but also read other novels. I enjoy romance, mystery, and Christian devotionals. I enjoy hiking in the outdoors, especially in Greenways and State or National Parks. I love my grandson. He is my favorite subject, so I'll post about him and his antics.
To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find that include that number and post a link to your blog in my Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.This prompt will repeat each Monday with a new number. If you want to play along, please link your blog in comments below.
In lieu of numbers this week I am choosing a theme of Downtown Concert. The Downtown Concert was held in Centennial Center in Downtown Cramerton, North Carolina on Friday, March 28th.
The Opening Act for the concert was a singer named Trish England. Trish England is a Christian music artist who performs Southern Gospel, Christian Contemporary and Country music. She is originally from Austin, Texas and currently resides in Bessemer City, North Carolina. She has three (3) CD albums and releasing a single sometime this year all recorded under the Son Sound West Records.
I was really impressed by Trish’s performance. I had never heard of her before her performance in Cramerton, however, I soon realized she is an extremely talented artist who loves Jesus and loves to share her love of Jesus through her music to audiences everywhere. A few of the songs she performed were “Jesus in My Country”, “God Did It”, “Christian in the House”, “That’s God”, and “Behold the Beauty of the Lord”. My grandson, Coleman and I really enjoyed her performance and would recommend listening to her sing in concert, via Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music or which ever is your preference for listening to music online or streaming outlet.
The other day it was warm, but cloudy and windy. It was raining lightly when Coleman got off the school bus. We waited a half hour, the rain stopped, so we ventured down to Riverside Park and Greenway for him to play in the sand by the South Fork Catawba River.
These shots of the Sky(watch) were taken using an Altura 4 Star filter and an Altura CPL filter attachments. Occasionally, the sun tried to peek through the cloudy sky.
Camera:Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star filter attachments.
Location: Riverside Park and Greenway Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Warm. Take care of yourself and each other. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman and I went hiking after he got home from school today (Friday). We walked downtown to Goat Island Park and Greenway. There weren’t any kids in the playground when we arrived, so I made a decision for us to hike along the trail first and then come back to the playground when we were finished hiking.
We started out along the paved hiking trail and meandered over to the dirt disc golf trail which runs simi-parallel to the South Fork Catawba River. While walking adjacent to the river, Coleman pointed out that there was a man standing in the river. This is not a normal sight when we are hiking. Therefore, we proceeded to investigate what the man was doing wading in the South ForkCatawba River.
At first, I thought the man Wading in the river was fishing even though most fishermen/women fish from one of the fishing piers or from the riverbanks. When we were close we asked the man what he was doing. It turns out that one of the disc golf catchers is on the opposite side of the river from where one is to throw the disc. According to the man wading in the river, many people miss the other side when they throw the disc across the river. So, it turns out he was searching the river for any golf discs that may have landed in the river. He had been searching for approximately twenty (20) to thirty (30) minutes when we approached him. Besides wearing waders the man was tethered to the riverbank by a rope to insure he wouldn’t be carried downstream if for some unpredictable strong wind and current tried to whisk him away. So you see, he wasn’t fishing for fish, but instead for golf discs.
Today I decided to post a flower in memory of Cee’s Weekend FOTD. This past year with her declining health Cee combined Saturday/Sunday Flower of the Day into Weekend FOTD. These are three different processing images of my original Petunia Easy Wave Yellow photo image.
Original:
Original
One:
Polaroid2 with Bokeh1 Overlay using PicCollage Photo Editor
Two:
Magic Effects – Watercolor2 using PicCollage Photo Editor
Three:
Atomic Black & White Filter using Pixlr Photo Editing
Even though I only knew Cee for a relatively short time she had been an inspiration, an encourager, an amazing friend, and all around lovely person to call my friend. I will miss you Cee!
Yellow Rose of Friendship
I’ve been participating in Cee’s blogging challenges since 2022. Not long, but seems like she’s been my friend forever. I know she’s looking down upon us and her legacy and inspiration will live on forever and always.
Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) on a Red Zinnia Elegans (Zinnia elegans)
“Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men.”
I believe Cee knew we would cry, but also that she wouldn’t want us to wallow in weeping/mourning. I believe she would want us to remember her live and keep her legacy going on into eternity.
Viburnum macrocephalum aka “hydrangea viburnum,” Chinese snowball
“People touch our lives if only for a moment, And yet we’re not the same from that moment on, The time is not important, The moment is forever.”
Fern Bork
Cee touched my life as well as many others on and off of WordPress. She will live on through each and every one of us. She has impacted our/my lives with her wisdom, kindness, compassion, and her love.
Helianthus aka Sunflower
“Say not in grief ‘he she is no more’ but live in thankfulness that he she was.”
Hebrew proverb
Cee may have left her earthly home, but she is not really gone. She continues to live on in our hearts and minds. Let’s keep her legacy alive and continue on with love and kindness and respect for one another.
Gaillardia pulchella aka Indian Blanket
I know my emotions and tears have been overflowing this week after hearing the news regarding Cee. I will never regret knowing Cee & sharing in her photo challenges, sharing comments & soaking in her advice and knowledge. Even though we never met in person, I feel like I knew her (at least a part of her) and know that I loved her, her spirit, her courage, and her passion. May she continue to live on through all of us.
God Bless. Thinking & prayers for you, Chris & family. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
P.S. I’ve tried working on this ever since I read Becky’s guest post from Chris. I’ve cried, I’ve tried to write & I’ve cried some more. I wrote a little more & than I had Chris’ post on Cee’s blog & I cried some more and even as I complete this post. I will always remember Cee and how she touched my life.
God Bless. Please keep Chris in your thoughts & Prayers. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
When I first saw the theme was “It’s a Wild Life” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to post for this week. Reading about Cee’s passing sealed the idea for me. Hence, I settled on the Wildlife of Wildflowers displaying a variety of Wildflowers for Cee.
Wildlife of Wildflowers:
Cosmos sulphureus aka sulfur cosmos & yellow cosmosKudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)Calopogon barbatus aka Bearded Grass PinkZinnias Ranunculus flabellaris, aka Yellow Water CrowfootViola sororia aka common meadow violetRudbeckia hirta aka Florida Black-eyed SusanHelianthus angustifolius aka narrowleaf sunflower or swamp sunflower
I’m not usually out at early evening or night time. I have trouble seeing in the dark so Coleman and I are usually always back home before it turns dark. This past Friday, The Town of Cramerton was having a Concert in Centennial Center Park. The Concert did not start until six in the evening, which is still light due to the time change to Daylight Saving Time.
I wanted Coleman to experience the Concert in the park, so we went. We arrived early and found a suitable spot to lay our blanket and sit in the grassy area.
While waiting for the Concert to begin, I snapped shots of the area both with my camera and my iPhone. I shot all these using my iPhone’s fusion camera and captured the area in black and white. Other Special Events will take place the last Friday of each month through the end of Summer. I’ll think about us attending those events when the time comes nearer.
On Sunday, Coleman and I stopped by Goat Island Park and Greenway on the way back home. We were delighted to spot the Canada Geese enjoying themselves on the water of the South Fork Catawba River.
Now that Spring is here and days are approaching the warmer temperatures, we are seeing the Canada Geese more often than we had previously. Sometimes we see larger Gaggle of Canada Geese than we did on this particular day. Most often we see them entering and swimming in pairs. Therefore, seeing three swimming together was a fantastic moment to capture.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy the Spring Sunshine and have fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
I’ve chosen to post photos of Metal Artwork I captured when visiting my Aunt in Abilene, Texas in 2020. The following are my entries for this week’s One Word Sunday challenge.
“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
—Oswald Chambers
May You always be guided by knowledge of God’s Word. We may not always understand the path set before us, but we can always trust His plan is better than anything we can plan ourselves. May You have Strength to follow as He directs your steps.
Location: The Centennial Center; Town of Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. Have a wonderful week and enjoy nature. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
I have dug through my archives to see what I might be able to use for this week’s challenge. Hopefully those will work well for the Signs and Navigation Aids theme.
Navigating the Lines outside the Library:
Follow the lines with Coleman
Paying Attention to Trail Signs:
Go this way … You’re on Haigler LoopGreen Trail – Go Right; Yellow Trail – Proceed Left
Following the Road Arrows in Germany:
Turn Left — Watch Out for Oncoming Traffic Do I Ho Straight or Turn Left or Right? Be Careful of Pedestrians.From my Dad’s slides – 1979
Brian from Bushboys Worldis the host for the Last on the Card Challenge. The rules are simple, just post the last photo from SD card and/or the #lastphotofrom your phone. It doesn’t matter if it was taken on the 31st or not. It can be The Last Photo whenever it was taken. No editing. No explanations needed. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments. Use the tags The Last Photo and #LastOnTheCard.
Here’s my Last Photos for March.
From my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Coleman standing on the Porch Railing
From my Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Waiting for the movie to start … in Centennial Center, Downtown Cramerton
Celebrating Spring with Children’s sports through the C.B. Huss Recreation Center Complex. Spring is time for Baseball or in Coleman’s case T-Ball. Spring is time to Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Coleman’s T-Ball practices began on Saturday, March 8th.
Look closely & you might spot Coleman in the infield.
Coaches hitting balls for the players to practice fielding the ball.
Coleman waiting in the infield, T-ball approaching, and Coleman’s got the ball.
Coleman’s T-Ball Practice
Great job at practice, Coleman. Till next time, have a funtastic week.
On Sunday morning, Coleman and I visited a local church. We were surprised to see one particular parishioner in attendance. His name is Teddy and he is a dog. That’s right I said a dog. I know, you’re thinking what’s a dog doing in a church? I did think it was strange, never saw a dog in a church before. Teddy, the canine parishioner, appeared to be an emotional support dog accompanying the elder gentleman wherever he went. Anyone care toPull Up a Seatnext to Teddy? We sat behind Teddy during the church service.
While Coleman was playing in the backyard he was talking about our landlord’s birdbath and then I noticed the bench sitting within the same Junk Pile. Never know what one might find in a junk pile. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
We live in walking proximity to several access entrances to the South Fork Catawba River, so Coleman and I visit the River often. On this particular day, we accessed one of the back access points which, I believe, is seldom visited by the majority of visitors to Goat Island Park and Greenway.
Here are the Ripples and Reflections we enjoyed seeing on our visit to the South Fork Catawba River.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Capture the All around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Are you ticklish? Not anymore. I think I was when I was a child, but now if someone tries it doesn’t affect me.?
What colour are your eyes? My eyes and brown. Not sure which relative they came from because my dad had green eyes and my mom had blue eyes. Random roll of the DNA gene 🧬 pool.
Do you wear glasses/contact lenses? I do wear glasses. I have worn glasses since high school. I wear contacts for a short while before getting my cornea scratched and couldn’t handle them any longer.
Which is your favourite room in the house? Like my grandson, I prefer the outdoors. However, if I have to choose a room inside the house I would select my bedroom. Why? It is where I can have peace and tranquility. The place of quiet reflection where I am able to read or write or construct a blog post.
Gratitude:
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything.”
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Warm. Take care of yourself and each other. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge. Another week has passed and we’re almost through with one-quarter (1/4) of 2025. Hope you’re all doing well and will be joining in on the Which Way Challenge .
This week I have chosen a theme of Bridges. As you can see from my images the Bridges can be of a variety of types from Road Bridges to Swinging Bridges to Garden Bridges. Any type of Bridge will be suitable for this post.
Springtime in the Carolinas brings kayakers to the river for Funtime paddling in the water with rays of sunshine bringing warmth and tranquility to their lives.
Hey, Wait for me … I’m coming …
Okay, y’all who’s taking the lead?
Just let me finish maneuvering and I’ll by straight to follow y’all.
I’m ready now, shall we venture on?
Three kayakers in kayaks as seen from the banks of the South Fork Catawba River as Coleman and I were hiking the Disc Golf Trail parallel to the river. We watched the fellow in the red kayak maneuver his kayak away from the River bank and paddle to catch up with the other two kayakers to continue joining them on their adventure downstream.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy the Spring Sunshine and have fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Center Street in Downtown Cramerton is the central location hub for get togethers and dining. The image below is of one of the many eating establishments that people gather for some fine dining experiences.
We mostly prefer to eat at home and not waste our resources on eating out at restaurants. Therefore, I cannot personally substantiate or invalidate the claims of being a highly recommended restaurant. However, from everything I hear about the restaurant, the food is high quality and the service is exceptional.
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Images were taken this Spring. Have a lovely Spring day. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. Have a wonderful week and enjoy nature. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day! Tina with Travels and Trifles is this week’s host for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge. Tina has opted to choose a theme of Personal Favorites. She would like us to show what images are our ultimate favorites. I have several favourites, too many to include here. My top two (other than of Coleman) are shown first and foremost. They remind me of wonderful times of enjoyed at Andrew Jackson State Park in Lancaster, South Carolina.
God Bless. Have a wonderful week. Capture Nature’s Beauty. Enjoy the Outdoors. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Thank you Dan for continuing Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, can’t say it enough how much it is appreciated and challenging.
This week Dan has chosen the theme of Fun with Food and I have chosen to taken the Fun with Food Outdoors. My selections vary from cooking on open fires, to eating, and some cooking demonstrations. It’s all good and fun and what more fun can be had then by the fresh air and the smell of hot Food cooking over an outdoor fire-pit.
I enjoy camping and cooking on an open fire whenever feasible. Most of these are from years back when I practically lived in the campgrounds. The two photos from the President James K. Polk Historic Site were taken during a Presidents’ Day Celebration in 2014.
The images taken at Andrew Jackson State Park(AJSP) were taken either while camping in or at the Andrew Jackson Birthday Celebration in 2018-2019. I have spent quite a bit of time camping over the years and a lot of time spent in AJSP. I also whenever I am able volunteer at various events held at AJSP as a member of Friends of Andrew Jackson State Park (AJSP).
Volunteer Cookout Andrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCCooking Supper at Andrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCCooking Outside at Hocking Hills KOA Logan, Ohio Andrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCPresident James K. Polk State Historic Site Pineville, NCPresident James K. Polk State Historic Site Pineville, NCAndrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCAndrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCAndrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCAndrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCThe Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia, NCAndrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCAlona at Andrew Jackson State Park Lancaster, SCColeman snacking at Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, SCColeman having a picnic in Lake Wylie, SCColeman practicing clean-up at Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, SC
Hopefully one day in the future I’ll be able to take Coleman camping. He wants a tent and to go camping, I’m just not sure he would stay in the tent at night and not wander off.
This week Dale with the Cosmic Photo Challenge has asked us to share What’s Flowering in Our Areas… With Spring having arrived for many of us many plants and flowers are sprouting up and beginning to blossom showing their loving bright and vibrant colours.
God Bless. Have a wonderfully beautiful and blessed day. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Currently, we do not own any pets, however, Coleman and I see Pets while we are hiking along trails in various Parks and Greenways. Many visitors to Parks and Greenways bring their companions/Pets along with them. Some of the Greenways have Doggie Park sections for the Dogs to enjoy running around and playing with other dogs.
The following are some of the companion Pets we have encountered on our hiking adventures.
Goat Island Park and Greenway Goat Island Park and Greenway Doggie ParkGoat Island Park and Greenway Doggie Park Goat Island Park and Greenway Doggie ParkRiverside Park and Greenway Goat Island Park and GreenwayAnne Springs Close GreenwayGaston County Warlick Family YMCAThe Schiele Museum of Natural History TrailAnne Springs Close GreenwayAndrew Jackson State Park
Cameras: 1-9) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm and Canon EF-S75-300mm lens; 10) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max; 11) Apple iPhone XR
Locations: as stated with images.
God Bless. Thank you Janet for hosting One Word Sunday this week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
On Saturday Coleman and I went hiking along the Disc Golf Trail at Goat Island Park and Greenway trying to follow the trail in numerical order for the Disc Golf Course. While hiking along the pathway crossing back and forth from paved to dirt trails we came upon these benches. Who knows, maybe people need a bit of rest in between “holes”.
It is interesting sometimes what Coleman and I run across while hiking. Things like posts with no apparent rhyme or reason (even if there is one), a discarded trash can (all the Greenway Trash cans are large with a Goat on them & are accompanied by a recycling bin), or a board discarded and tossed into the river. I’ve been teaching Coleman to LEAVE NO TRACE, so he notices when things have been left behind and discarded without thought of keeping the environment safe and clean.
These are examples of what we found discarded and left behind this week.
Post with no sign or reason for being there (it probably had a sign at one time).
Discarded trash can, don’t know why someone would even bring one to the Greenway except for maybe fishing.
Discarded board tossed into the river. ( We need to keep our rivers safe from contamination.)