Camera: Canon EOS 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens with Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Patterson Pond; Crandall Bowles Children’s Farm; Greenway Stables and Farm Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy Nature. Take a hike/walk amongst God’s beautiful creatures. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Lake Norman; Ramsey Creek Park; Cornelius, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Take a Walk/Hike. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Lake Norman; Ramsey Creek Park; Cornelius, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Safe Travels for those travelling. Have a funtastic weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Terri, host of Sunday Stills has challenged us to show our #Leaf colours. In our area are #Leaves have slowing been displaying their Autumnal colour schemes. Sunday we had a beautiful Sun Shiny day with a high in the low 70’s°, unlike the past couple of days with highs only in the upper 40’s° and freeze warnings.
With a rare warm sunny day Coleman and I meandered down to Goat Island Park and Greenway for a hike along the River Link Greenway to check out the amazingly gorgeous Autumn colours vibrantly painted throughout the trail.
Here are a selection of images from our hike #Leaf Peeping through the Greenway …
Hope y’all enjoy the video clip of our #Leaf Peeping through the Greenway.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a hike/walk. Enjoy communing with nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Camera: Canon EOS 2000Dwith Canon EF-S55-250mm lens
Settings: f/7.1 • 1/200s • 89mm • ISO100
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a wonderful week. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day! As I right this this evening it is trying to rain, we’ve seen the dark clouds rolling in, heard the thunder banging like drums overhead, but yet to see the rain. I am thankful for the lovely sunshine we enjoyed today.
It was such a beautiful day and we hadn’t been out and about for the past week with all our on again off again thunderstorms; therefore, it was an excellent day to wander down to the river for a bit of hiking and Coleman playtime in the sandy river banks. Coleman is fascinated by the rippling effects of the water when he throws wood into the river.
I decided to capture his water ripples in black and white thereby linking this post to Jez’s Water Water Everywhere, Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Repeat and Monochrome Monday.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a hike/walk out in Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Let’s start off today by admiring our Sunday Afternoon Weekend Sky …
It was wonderful to enjoy an amazing afternoon with beautiful Skies after so many rainy days and with more rain expected.
Now on to capturing Coleman’s many antics and expressions as he meanders here and there through Goat Island Park and Greenway.
Coleman’s Meandering in Goat Island Park and Greenway
There is more to share of our adventurous Sunny Sunday afternoon, however, I’ll wait for Friday’s Which Way Challenge to share them. This Friday I am allowing y’all to choose your own Which Ways you’d like to share with us.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a funtastic week. Get Outdoors and enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
We have been having so many days of extreme heat and humidity that what rain we have had has not been enough to sustain or elevate the water levels of our lakes, rivers, or spillways.
Coleman on his way to the Spillway
Do you think that the low water levels would hinder Coleman from enjoying splashing around in the Spillway? Definitely not.
Coleman is almost to the Spillway
Normally the water levels would be so high you’d be able to see the water from where Coleman is located. The water is usually all the way across the Spillway and flowing down stream.
Coleman deciding whether we are crossing the Swinging Bridge before he enters the water.
This is the Greenway’s Swinging Bridge, the main access to the other side of the Spillway.
Coleman is almost across the Swinging Bridge
The view of the Swinging Bridge from the top of the stairs. Normally the plant growth is not high enough to intertwine with siding along the Swinging Bridge.
Coleman begins splashing back and forth with his feet.
As you look at the pictures below you’ll be able to see and understand the extreme drought we are experiencing. The extremely low water levels caused by insufficient rainfall is disappointing to see. Ordinarily the water would rise above Coleman’s knees and you would not be seeing all the dirt, red clay, and mud which you can observe here.
Anne Springs Close Greenway Spillway with Coleman
Even though the water levels were extremely low it did not prevent Coleman from having a Splashing Good Time running back and forth, to and fro, as well as up and down the length of the Spillway.
Location: Greenway Spillway; Lake Haigler Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Cool. 😎 Take Care. Get Outdoors whenever possible. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman’s special day adventures began with a short hike through the🌲trees 🌲…
Coleman’s 6th Birthday Adventure
Next up on his special day adventures were a little bit of splash Funtime in the Greenway’s Spillway … but first he needed to cross the swinging bridge …
Greenway’s Swinging Bridge
Now to see his Splashtime Funtime …
Coleman’s Funtime 💦 Splashing 💦 in the Spillway
The water level of the Greenway’s Spillway was really super low, however, that did not prevent Coleman from cooling off and having a Splashing good time on his Special Day Adventure.
Location: Lake Haigler Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a funtastic weekend. Get Outdoors and Enjoy some Adventures. 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. Have a funtastic weekend and week ahead. Get Outdoors. Stay Cool. Stay Strong. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Last week we visited The Village at Stowe which comprises The Farmhouse Garden Center, Dog Park, Ponds (Big & Little), and also Trailhead access. After visiting The Farmhouse and The Trailhead Store we ventured out to the trails surrounding the Big Pond and Dog Park areas. We hiked the whole surrounding area of the Big Pond which estimated at only .35 miles, but with all our twists and turns and side jaunts it seemed much longer. After a short rest in one of the many seating selections outside The Trailhead Store, we continued hiking on the Carolina Thread Trail which if we had completed the entire trail would have been over 2.5 additional miles. [More on our Carolina Thread Trail (CTT) hike later].
This images depict the Big Pond from just about every angle as we hiked around it.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL filter attachments.
Location: The Big Pond; The Village at Stowe; Daniel Stowe Conservancy; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a great rest of your week. Take a walk. Admire the beauty in nature all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Canada Geese are quite often spotted on the banks or in the waters of the South Fork Catawba River. These are just a few of the trio shots, mostly I captured the large number (about a dozen or more) of CanadaGeese along the river’s banks.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a fabulous week. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Be sure to check out Friday’s Which Way Challenge. This week’s theme will be (CWWC): Any Type of Road, Path, Step, Bridge, or Sign. Looking forward to seeing the Which Ways y’all share with everyone.
Water reflections are the most common reflections we see on our adventures. Perhaps, due to being close to the Catawba River or possibly within a short drive of any number of lakes. It doesn’t really matter, I love gazing over the water no matter where we are to see the reflections of the surrounding landscape reflecting over the water.
Goat Island Park & Greenway Goat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayGoat Island Park & GreenwayRiverside Park and GreenwayRiverside Park and GreenwayRiverside Park and GreenwayRiverside Park and GreenwayRiverside Park and Greenway Riverside Park and Greenway Crowders Mountain State Park Anne Springs Close GreenwayAnne Springs Close GreenwayPiedmont Medical Center TrailPiedmont Medical Center TrailAndrew Jackson State Park Andrew Jackson State ParkAndrew Jackson State ParkAndrew Jackson State ParkAndrew Jackson State ParkBy the Water
Click on photos to enlarge for enhanced viewing.
Judy’s suggestions for how 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 Judy’sNumbers 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.
The Anas Platyrhynchos also known as Mallards are one of several varieties of duck species, which include both resident and migratory birds. The Mallard is the most abundant duck in North America, often found in a variety of habitats. Even though apparently abundant, we have not seen many of the Mallards in or around the Catawba River.
The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a widespread dabbling duck with a long body and high tail. The Mallard is easily identified by the male’s iridescent green head, white neck collar, and black tail curl. Females and juveniles have mottled brown bodies and dull orange bills. Both sexes have iridescent blue wing speculums. Mallards breed in fresh marshes surrounding lakes, ponds, beaver ponds, impoundments, open swamps, and such like areas, however, they do have a propensity to avoid nesting in brackish marshes.
Mallard ducks in the South Fork Catawba River
Coleman and I went hiking on the South Fork River Trail, a part of the Carolina Thread Trail, in Goat Island Park and Greenway on Saturday watching a partial day without rainfall (it rained again after we were safely home). While hiking the trail, Coleman and I were looking for the Turtles that often sun themselves on logs in the South Fork Catawba River. What were spotted prior to the Turtles were a pair of Mallards standing on a log checking out the River area. [This was the first time we’ve seen the Mallards in this region of the South Fork Catawba River.]
As we continued our hike we did encounter a lone Turtle sunning on a log which dove quickly into the river. But alas, we ventured on down the trail to find more Mallards on logs and in the river. It was fascinating to see and watch them especially since we had not previously seen the Mallards in this section of the Catawba River before.
Mallards feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. They almost never dive. They can be very tame ducks especially in city ponds, and often group together with other Mallards and other species of dabbling ducks.
Mallards are able to live in almost any wetland habitat, natural or artificial. Look for them on lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers, and coastal habitats, as well as nearby city and suburban parks and residential backyards.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV filter attachment.
Settings: f/6.3 • 1/320 • 250mm • ISO800-2000
Location: South Fork Catawba River; South Fork River Trail; River Link Greenway; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get outdoors and enjoy nature’s beauty and natural wildlife. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Thank you Dan for keeping Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge alive, challenging, and inspiring. This week Dan is continuing with the Transportation theme. This week’s theme focus is on Bridges and Ferries.
I have so many photos of Bridges and Railroad Trestle Bridges that I could fill multiple posts with multiple images of Bridges. Instead of doing that, I have decided to make my entry selections of Bridges and Ferriesfrom what I have within my archive files.
First off, I am selecting Bridges and a Ferry from our trip to San Francisco a long, long time ago (back in 1979). I do not exactly remember if this trip was strictly a family trip or one taken with my church youth group. I do remember that our church group visited and performed a Christian musical at a few churches up in the San Francisco and San Jose area some year.
On this trip we took the Harbor Emperor Ferry sightseeing around the San Francisco Bay Area viewing the Bridges, the infamous Alcatraz Island, and simply experiencing a wonderful time together as a family.
San Francisco Bridges & Ferry:
Next and lastly, I am travelling further back in time to the 1960’s. My family moved back to San Diego in 1958 shortly before I turned two (2) years old. During the 1960’s the only way to travel from San Diego to Coronado was by Ferry. The Ferries transported passengers and vehicles to and from San Diego and Coronado. They were they only source of transportation to visit the Hotel del Coronado, the Coronado Beach, the military installations including the Naval Amphibious Base (NAB), and the Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island.
The Construction of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge began between 1967-1969. The Bridge was dedicated on August 2, 1969, with Governor Ronald Reagan providing the dedication address.
I remember travelling on the San Diego Ferries crossing over to Coronado to walk along the Beach with a group of friends. I remember riding the San Diego Ferry with my parents (my dad driving our car onto the Ferry). I remember riding the San Diego Ferry during its last days of operation in 1969 after the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge was completed. [Side Note: I have a certificate and poster verifying I rode the ferry on its last day somewhere in storage.]
Ferry service began once again in April of 1986. The current Ferry service is operated by Flagship Cruises & Events. They currently have two ferries in use, the Silvergate and Cabrillo.
Be sure to check out this week’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC): Any Which Way with Shadows coming up on Friday (posting just after midnight Early Friday morning).
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Cameras: 1-3) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max ( 2-3 edited in Pixlr); 4-5) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens (unedited)
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy the Sunshine ☀️. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: View from the C.C. Dawson Bridge (aka Lakewood Road bridge); Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Happy Palm Sunday! May the spirit of this day fill your heart. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
My last outing was on Friday after I picked Coleman up from the school bus stop. After stopping at home to allow him to change into shorts, gather drinks and snacks we proceeded to hike downtown to Goat Island Park and Greenway for a relaxing afternoon of hiking and fun.
What we saw when we first approached Goat Island were the Canada Geese out soaking up the warm sunshine.
Canada Geese
Continuing on our way we gaze over the South Fork Catawba River from the bridge as we cross over into the Greenway.
South Fork Catawba River
Next up, we saw a bicyclist riding along in front of us on the paved Greenway trail.
Cyclist riding the Trail
Hiking along we saw Sasquatch and more Canada Geese.
SasquatchCanada GooseCanada Goose
Isn’t it amazing the variety of interesting things we see on our various outings we take when we venture outside. The interesting “thing” we saw next was not in our normal per view of subjects seen on any of our adventures previously.
A man tethered to a landline in the middle of the South Fork Catawba River.
We spoke with the man in the River as curiosity plagued us to know what he was doing standing in the middle of the River. He informed us he was searching for golf discs that might of missed their target and landed in the river instead of the disc golf catcher.
Venturing on, Coleman and I spotted trash discarded by the trail (someone didn’t adhere to the Leave No Trace rule).
Trash by trailside
Before continuing on our hike, Coleman decided to throw sticks in the river. He likes to see the splashes that occur when he throws objects into the water.
Splish Splash
And coming back around to the beginning of the trail, we see some newly grown mushrooms and a couple of disc golf catchers.
Mushrooms & Disc Golf Catchers
As we are at the end of our adventure and what was Seen on our Last Outing, you might like to venture over to Leya’s blog to see what she saw on her last outing. Thank you Leya for hosting this week’s challenge. Click here to check out Leya’s 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.
Brian from bushboy.blogis the host for the #LastontheCard challenge. His rules are simple to follow. As per Brian, Your last photo doesn’t have to be on the very last day of the month if you didn’t take any photos on that day. Maybe it was earlier in the month when the last photo was taken.
Brian’s rules are simple: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 31st or whenever your last photo was taken. 2. No editing – who cares if it is out of focus, not framed as you would like or the subject matter didn’t cooperate. 3. You don’t have to have any explanations, just the photo will do 4. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments 5. Use the tags The Last Photo and #LastOnTheCard
Regardless of where you spend your time at Andrew Jackson State Park you are bound to see a vast selection of geometric shapes and patterns. They could be lines, circles, rectangles, triangles, or columns.
You may see them near the parking lot, at the Meeting House, in the Museum in the building with the office, in and around the school house or within the playground or by the lake. Geometric designs are all over the Park, just be observant and you’ll notice the wide array of different types of geometrics.
For more information about Andrew Jackson State Park and the events and activities it has to offer click here.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & Star filter attachment.
Location:South Fork Catawba River; Riverside 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.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & Star filter attachments.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Relax by the River. Be inspired to be You. Nature’s Beauty is amazing. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Relax by the River. Be inspired to be You. Nature’s Beauty is amazing. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman was playing with his small soccer ball on the bank of the South Fork Catawba River. He tried making a blockade to keep it from sliding into the water, but alas it failed. His soccer ball with its geometric shapes rolled down into the river.
These depict the travel of his soccer ball floating down the South Fork Catawba River, lost to him forever. Bye, bye soccer ball. Click on each image ( if desired) for larger enhanced viewing.
When Coleman and I visited the Greenway on New Year’s Afternoon we actually Pulled Up a Seaton a bench on the other side of the Pier. Couldn’t resist taking a picture of this one with the resident Muscovy Duck sitting nearby.
This Muscovy Duck was friendly with no qualms about approaching Coleman. ( Those pics are for a future post). It would come really super close to Coleman. When we first arrived Coleman sat down with his construction trucks and dinosaurs near his favourite tree. The Muscovy Duck seemed to think that tree was its spot. It appeared to be saying “Why are you in my area?” It walked all around Coleman and decided he was friendly enough, so he would share the area.
It wasn’t until some people came to the river with a dog that the duck switched locations to the area pictured above.
Location: At the South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Talk a Walk. Pull Up a Seat and Relax in Nature. Enjoy the Views. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 