Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography
This blog is for my insights on life, the Bible, hiking adventures with my grandson and whatever is important to me
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.
Location: Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
For our time of reflection and remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001 Coleman and I paid a visit to Andrew Jackson State Park we we could have a time of relaxation, hiking 🥾, and just plain ole fun.
Mostly Coleman’s choices
for Pulling Up a Seat.
Coleman had some fun time at the Playground 🛝, then we walked around most of the lake (ignoring a trail closed sign for a short bit) and then proceeded back towards the Picnic tables 🧺 for a small snack. After his snack, it was back to the playground for him to burn off more energy and to enjoy himself in the Playground.
Fandango’s One Word Challenge – Seat
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Slides 1-6: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens. Slides 7-8: iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Location: Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens. f/5.6 • 1/200 • 135mm • ISO320
Location: Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #191
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: (2)Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens. (1, 3-9) iPhone 14 Pro Max Telephoto.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
On My Laptop:
On My Phone:
Share Your Desktop – September
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all.
Zinnias are subtropical and tropical upright annual flowering plants in the Asteraceae family which boast an abundance of daisy-like flowers. They are native to North and South America.
These and other Zinnias are grown in the Memorial Wildlife Garden contained within The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Farm is located to the left as you enter the Nature Trail area outside the Museum walls.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness – Trying Something Floral
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens and Altura Wide Angle Fish-Eye lens attachment.
Location: Memorial Wildlife Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts. Have a fantastic weekend. I appreciate y’all.
On Monday, Coleman and I ventured down to Andrew Jackson State Park for a relaxing afternoon of hiking around the lake and in the playground.
The following depicts Coleman’s version on how to approach and go down a slide.
Hugh’s Wordless Wednesday-Almost wordless
Photo Credit: ©️2023Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. Enjoy the show. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Standing Tall in the Garden
Peruvian zinnia is an annual, erect, wildflower in the Asteraceae family.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. Have a wonderful day. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters…All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all very much.
For this week’s challenge I decided to share our Walks in a different format than normal. Hope y’all enjoy.
Cee’s Which Way Challenge – Any type of Walk
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens with an Altura Wide Angle Fish-Eye attachment.
Location: Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Why do you blog?
I blog because I can. That’s a simplistic answer I know. In all honesty, I blog as an outlet for release of my thoughts and feelings. I used to right my thoughts down in a daily planner, needing a new planner every year, but then planners get packed away, misplaced or simply forgotten.
By writing my thoughts and feelings into my life and my surroundings it helps to analyze and take an accounting of my own actions. It is therapeutic for me just like my need to be out in nature hiking and photographing the landscape & the world around my very existence.
For the past 405 days I have consistently posted something on my blog. It might have been a short response to a daily prompt, an entry for a photo challenge, or a post about something meaningful to me. This is the longest streak I have ever had of consistently posting blog posts.
I enjoy posting a little bit about myself and my surroundings. I am enthusiastically enjoying participating in the many various writing prompts and photography challenges. What about you, why do you blog? Looking forward to reading what y’all post next.
Stay true to yourself. Share your stories, your photos, Share a small piece of your world. It only matters to you (or me) what each of us decide to post on our blogs. Blog as much or as little as you desire. It’s all up to you.
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Good Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
I normally try to take photos as we go hiking in our neighborhood, along the various trails and sometimes we hike more than one trail in a given day. As always my hiking buddy is my (recently turned 4) grandson, Coleman. He loves spending time outdoors especially when he gets to go hiking in the woods, along the creeks, rivers, and lakes.
On this particular day we rode the transit bus from near our home to the Avon Catawba Creeks Greenway. We hiked the Greenway seeing many amazing sights along the way. We hiked the entire 2.7 mile paved greenway. The Avon Catawba Creeks Greenway connects Lineberger Park to Ferguson Park. The Catawba Creek Greenway portion runs through wooded and open creek areas between several residential areas and junctions at the Avon Creek Greenway. Combined, the Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway is approximately 3 miles. We ventured over onto Robinwood Road from the Greenway and on down to the Gaston County Warlick Family YMCA to continue hiking some more after a bit of a rest and a snack while overlooking Robinwood Lake.
Lens-Artist Photo Challenge-Black & White and Monochrome
Leannes Monochrome Madness
Photo Credit: (c) 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time as we hiked along the Greenways to the Warlick YMCA. It was a pleasurable afternoon. We appreciate y’all and any thoughts you’d like to share.
WHATSOEVER IS LOVELY CHALLENGE-2023 WEEK 35
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters. All Rights Reserved
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens. f/5.6 • 1/200s • 150mm • ISO115-200
God Bless, Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
On this day Coleman and I hiked from Avon Catawba Creeks Greenway to the Warlick Family YMCA approximately a 2.5 mile hike. Coleman enjoys hiking with me, he also loves to test out the fitness equipment and Pull Up a Seat wherever he chooses. It is good to sit and rest occasionally along the trail.
Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2023-Week 35
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts and joining our adventures. I appreciate y’all.
From my iPhone 14 Pro Max:
Video:
Photo:
From my Canon EOS Rebel T3i:
Collage:
Last on the Card – August 2023
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Welcome Cee and thanks for taking on the Which Way Challenge. I appreciate you and am looking forward to all you have to bring to challenge us on our Which Way Challenge adventures.
I’ve held off posting a which way challenge knowing you were taking over. Most of my “roads” are trails Coleman and I hike. I hope you’ll enjoy coming along on our Which Way hiking adventures.
I know only the first photo has an actual road in it, however, Coleman and I mostly travel on dirt pathways. We walk most everywhere, sometimes riding the bus to get to a location where we plan to hike. Hopefully next time I’ll be able to be more in tune with the theme.
Cee’s Which Way Challenge – Any Type of Road
Photo Credit: (c) 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Sunday Stills-Hints Autumn
One Word Sunday-Orange
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters
Cameras: 1) iPhone 14 Pro Max; 2-4 Canon EOS Rebel T3i
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
I’m a little late for NPC #25, but I hope better late than not at all. This one was a challenge for me. I hope I’ve done it justice.
Nature Photo Challenge #25-Seedheads
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
The Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris deffinis) is a moth of the order Lepidoptera, family Sphingidae. It mimics a bumblebee in appearance. It is sometimes called a “Hummingbird Moth” due to its ability to dark quickly from flower to flower, and its ability to hover over nectar sources.
The Snowberry Clearwing is hovering from flower to flower, which are called Phlox Carolina ‘Gypsy Love’. The Phlox carolina ‘Gypsy Love’ have narrow, pointed foliage and pink flowers in early summer. The Carolina Phlox are native to the southeastern United States. They are an herbaceous perennial boasting broadly cylindrical clusters of lavender to pink or white flowers over a long season.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens with Altura Fisheye Lens attachment.
Location: Out Front of The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Location: Avon Catawba Creeks Greenway; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Forms in Nature
Photo Credit: 2023 Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Pull Up a Seat:
Coleman’s choices for Pulling Up a Seat in August differentiated from various Playground equipment to Picnic Table and Lounge chairs and even to Sand and Rocks. I never know where he’ll select to Pull Up a Seat. Where will you Pull Up a Seat this week?
Photo Credit: 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens and iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Location: Avon Catawba Creeks Greenway Trail; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Lens-Artists Challenge #262: Framing Your Photos
Photo Credit: 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i and iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: 2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Location: Lineberger Park; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2023 Week 32
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens with Altura Wide-Angle Fish-Eye Attachment. f/5.6 • 1/80 • 55mm • ISO160
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History & Planetarium; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
XingfuMama’s One to Three Processing Challenge: August 2023
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EFS 18-55mm lens with Altura Fisheye Wide Angle Lens Attachment
All Effects were created on Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
This is a rare occasion when Coleman has his mom running around and playing with him. She’s usually working all the time, seven days a week. She’s usually exhausted when she gets home from working and her only desire is to relax. Therefore, seeing her having fun outdoors with Coleman brings joy and sunshine 🌞 to my soul.
Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.
— Laura Ingalls Wilder
Leigha’s Sunny Sunday Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens. f/7.1 • 1/400 • 300mm • ISO1250
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Lines Shot on Canon:
One Word Sunday: Lines Pt 2
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all.
Taken Sunday afternoon, 6 August 2023, on way to car before the rainstorms began pouring down from the thunderous sky.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Simply Orange
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge-Close Up of Macro
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters…All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Photos 1-2 & 4-5 ~> iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens. f/5.6 • 1/250 • 205mm • ISO3200
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
From my iPhone 14 Pro Max:
From my Canon EOS Rebel T3i:
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: (c) Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
These are also known as Indian Potato, Man-of-the-Earth, Manroot, Morning Glory, Wild Potato Vine, Wild Sweet potato, Wild Sweet potato Vine.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens. f/7.1 • 1/400 • 300mm • ISO1000
Location: Warlick Family YMCA; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Leannes Monochrome Madness
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i and iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Dale of The Cosmic Photo Challenge prompt is Freestyle this week.
Since this is freestyle week I decided to let you visit with me on one of the hikes Coleman and I took this past week. This hike was a little bit different in that we had my daughter, Coleman’s mom, along with us. On Tuesday we needed to be out of the home for awhile because a pest control company was going to come in and spray per the Complex management.
Therefore, we decided to go hiking in one of Coleman’s favorite places. The place we chose was Anne Springs Close Greenway about twenty minutes or so from our residence. Mind you now my daughter is not fond of hiking at all. When we arrived, we should them my membership card and proceeded to park. We thought Trisha, my daughter, was just gonna sit and relax near the canteen while Coleman and I hiked. It didn’t exactly go like we had thought. You see, Trisha brought her dog along with on our adventure ( he had to be out of the home as well).
Chewbacca, Trisha’s dog, decided he wanted to hike with us, therefore she had to tag along. We walked down to the lake and proceeded along the trail, Lake Haigler Loop, around the lake.
Coleman loves to run along the trail. I prefer a slower pace since I normally take many photos along the trail of the various sites we see. Often we observe different angles around the lake, seeing flowers, butterflies, sometimes turtles, bees, and even dragonflies.
At other times we see amazing reflections in the water.
I love seeing various creatures feasting on the nectar of wildflowers her at the Greenway.
Further down the trail as we hike around the lake I notice what appears to be a shape of a triangle formed with the reflections in the lake.
As we keep going I slow down observing butterflies flittering to and fro. Naturally I stop to snap a photograph. Meanwhile, my daughter’s trying to convince me to stop taking pictures. Guess what? She didn’t convince me, not one single solitary moment.
Next on our hike we come across a dragonfly and several turtles along the edge of the lake.
By this time my daughter is tired and wants to get this hike over with. Naturally, Coleman and Chewbacca want to keep going. They’re enjoying the outdoors adventure. Hence, we keep chugging along.
After awhile we decide to pull up a seat and relax a bit before finishing our hike. But first there’s more to observe as we near the picnic tables along the backside of the lake.
Finally to a spot to snack relax near the water’s edge.
The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Freestyle
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2023-Week 29
Alive and Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i and iPhone 14 Pro Max
I hope you enjoyed trekking along with us on our hike around Lake Haigler. God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF75-300mm lens. f/7.1 • 1/400 • 300mm • ISO600
Location: Lake Haigler; Lake Haigler Loop; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers.
This species is found commonly in muddy substrates, or still bodies of waters such as ponds, lakes, streams, and creeks.
They are predators that prey on other insects such as mosquitoes. They catch their prey using their legs and use their fangs to bring prey into their mouth.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Location: Lake Haigler Loop; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts.
Lens-Artists Challenge #257: Simplicity Photography
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters …All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting the Donkeys with us. I appreciate y’all.
Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 