Category: 2026 Monday Portrait

2026 Monday Portrait #11 —30 March

Anas platyrhynchos domesticus

Birds of the Week CLX

The Anas platyrhynchos domesticus, also known as the domestic duck. The ones pictured here are Indian Runner Ducks or referred to as Runner Duck.

The duck to the right,
the white and fawn duck
is the Indian Runner Duck.

The Indian Runner Ducks are unique in that they stand upright similar to penguins with a long slender body. Unlike the majority of ducks which waddle when they walk, the Indian Runner Ducks run. Runners have a straight-backed gait and move with a quick, running pace.

Don’t let the Indian name fool you, they actually originated from Southeast Asia. The Indian Runner Ducks were brought over from the Indonesian islands of Lombok, Java, and Bali to Europe and the Americas in the 19th century.

The Indian Runner Ducks ability to run and forage. Historically, they were herded into rice paddies to forage snails, slugs, and insects using them as natural pest controls. Having the runner Ducks in the rice paddies provided farmers with additional income and the Ducks provided natural manure beneficial to the rice crops, reducing the need for fertilizer.

Indian Runner Ducks

The Indian Runner Ducks may be known as fast runners, however, they were not fast enough to stop Coleman from catching them. They are also known to be prolific egg layers, producing white, hen-sized eggs. The females are able to produce approximately 150 to possibly over 300 eggs per year. (Too bad these don’t fly over the fence between our yards. If they did I wouldn’t need to buy so many eggs.)

Monday Portrait-2026.03.30

Birds of the Week CLX

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Neighbours Backyard; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 Monday Portrait #10 —09 March

Rhode Island Red

Bird of the Week CLVIII

Our neighbours have several breeds of chickens in their backyard. They don’t always stay in his yard, sometimes they come a visiting. He has two or three Rhode Island Reds like this one and they tend to fly short distances until they are able to “jump” over the wire fence. When they do they are more than likely going to be caught by Coleman.

Our Neighbours Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Red is a popular, hardy American chicken breed (a friend in Texas as some as well). They are known to be excellent producers of large brown eggs (approximately 6-7 eggs per week). Even though most individual chicken owners raise them for their eggs, they are also an excellent source of high-quality meat. It is said that the Rhode Island Red Roosters could be aggressive and not ideal for small children or neighbours. (I think our neighbours Rhode Island Reds must be hens, since hens are more friendly and they haven’t pecked Coleman yet.)

Monday Portrait-2026.3.09

Bird of the Week CLVIII

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Telephoto

Location: Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Keep your eyes open for interesting photography opportunities. They maybe lurking about in the least likely places. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 Monday Portrait #9 —02 March

Preston Collins

& Shark Attack

On Saturday, we went to the Carolina Speedway to watch the Monster Truck Wars, America’s Wildest Monster Truck Show. Coleman didn’t know he was going until we arrived at the dirt track that he was going to be able to see the Monster trucks live and in person instead of on the television. (He loves Monster trucks and Dinosaurs, so this was a big win for him.)

Preston Collins
(Shark Attack Driver)
and Coleman

After the show Coleman was able to meet a couple of the Monster Truck drivers; including Preston Collins, the driver for Shark Attack. Preston Collins, 24 years old, is a monster truck driver out of Liberty City, Texas. He has driven several monster trucks which include:

His Monster Truck driving career began in January of 2023. He currently co-drives Shark Attack with  Kayley Engstrom. They share full duties of driving Shark Attack regular version. Shark Attack is a custom Shark monster truck owned by Michael Harper.

Now that you’ve seen Preston Collins and Coleman and found out a little bit about him, let’s show you some of his actions while driving Shark Attack.

Shark Attack driven
by Preston Collins
Monster Truck Wars
Gastonia, North Carolina
February 28, 2026

You may have noticed all the smoke coming out of Shark Attack, he was allowed to show off his freestyle skills before the final face-off. Shark Attack was loosing momentum and engine power. By the end of his run his engine blew and he was not able to continue to compete in the final round of the competition. (Coleman thoroughly enjoyed watching all the monster trucks, but was enthralled with Shark Attacks actions, jumps, and spin-wheeling.)

Monday Portrait-2026.03.02

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.

Location: Carolina Speedway; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Enjoy the thrill. Get Outdoors and have some adventures. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 Monday Portrait #4 —26 January

Winter Visitor

“In the heart of winter, the cardinal warms the soul.”

Northern Cardinal

“In the heart of winter, the cardinal warms the soul.”

Monday Portrait

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Backyard; Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.