These Canna Lily seed pods are on an Indian Shot plant which is overgrown since the landscaper hasn’t decided to trim it yet. Looking at these you might think they were dead. However, that is not the case with these Canna Lily seed pods.
This is perfectly normal for Canna Lily seed pods in late summer and early Autumn (late summer, almost Autumn here). These seed pods are maturing and drying out, which means the seeds inside are ready to be dispersed. It is a natural part of their life cycle.
Coleman by “The Passage” Sculpture Warlick Family YMCA Gastonia, North Carolina
“The Passage” was created by artist Andrew K. Crawford, is a truly thoughtful sculpture. The stacked boats are intended to symbolize the journey itself. Each boat represents a different stage or experience we encounter. The figure at the very top is usually interpreted as looking towards the future, reflecting on the path taken and the continuous process of growth and transformation. It embodies the spirit of community and personal development.
Whenever Coleman and I visit The Schiele Museum of Natural History we almost always walk along The Nature Trail (we only miss it if we arrive too late and it’s already closed).
Coleman Style
at The Schiele Museum
of Natural History
Whenever Coleman and I visit The Schiele Museum of Natural History we almost always walk along The Nature Trail (we only miss it if we arrive too late and it’s already closed).
Walking around the Nature Trail, there are strategically placed benches for one to Pull Up a Seat and rest a spell if desired or needed. On this adventure Coleman pushed his sister, Sophia, along the dirt trail. While walking he came across a bench where he stopped and Pulled Up a Seat keeping the stroller with his sister by his side.
Here’s my contributions of Coleman Pulling Up a Seat …
XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat Coleman Style at The Schiele Museum of Natural History
Being a cool early evening on Tuesday, Coleman and I spent some time
outside in the backyard. I relaxed while he played with his bat and balls. Take a look at some of his antics and expressions as you see trios of balls (not all are t-balls).
Thursday Trios Coleman’s Antics & Expressions Playing Ball in the Backyard
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a Walk/Hike. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Today was slightly cooler than it has been all summer, giving us the perfect opportunity to photograph the surrounding foliage.
Dale, the host of theCosmic Photo Challenge, has challenged us to post a few images of foliage for this week’s challenge. Today was actually slightly cooler than it has been all summer, therefore, Coleman and I spent a couple of weeks in the backyard. While he was running around and playing I snapped a few pictures of the foliage surrounding us. I changed it up after a few minutes and shot in black and white.
Here are some of the Foliage I captured …
In Colour …
#CosPhoChal Cosmic Photo Challenge Foliage in Colour
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Be observant of all creatures large and small that call our Earth home. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
For the first time since moving to our current neighbourhood (back in March), I heard the Caw Caw sound of our first visitor in a long while. I happened to have been sitting on the porch with my granddaughter waiting for Coleman to arrive on the school bus. When I heard the cawing I stood up to see where it was perched. It was being watchful (scoping out the surroundings) atop a weathered sun-bleached utility pole.
What did I see when I looked up? The gleaming black feathers of an AmericanCrow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). American Crows are quite common here and throughout North Carolina. They can be seen from our coastal areas and on into our mountains. They are incredibly adaptable, thriving in urban areas, farmlands, forests, as well as in our coastal regions.
Let’s take a look at some interesting fun facts about the American Crow.
They are Master Problem Solvers: They can solve puzzles and use tools to get food for example, they can bend a wire to hook something out of a tube.
They have Excellent Memory: Crows are known for remembering faces, especially those who have been kind or unkind to them. They pass information about “dangerous” humans through their flock.
They have Complex Communication: They have a wide range of calls, more than just a simple “caw.” It is believed that they have different call for danger, for finding food, or even to distinguish individual crows within their group.
They are Social Creatures: Crows live in tight-knit family units. Their young often stay with their parents for several years. While they remain with their parents they help to raise their younger siblings (much like in a human family).
They have “Crow Funerals”: Who would have ever guessed? Whenever a crow dies, other crows often gather around it, sometimes ever for extended periods of time. This maybe a way for them to learn about potential dangers within their environment and it gives them an opportunity to mourn.
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a pleasant and peaceful weekend. May it be filled with love, happiness, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Tymco SM74C is a popular model for municipal and contractor street sweepings. It is known for its regenerative air system which uses a high-velocity air blast to dislodge debris and then vacuums it into the hopper, making it very efficient at keeping our curbs and streets clean without the need for water unlike other sweeper type models.
Azaleas differ from other Rhododendrons by only having five (5) stamens per flower instead of the typical ten (10) or more on other Rhododendrons. They are popular ornamental plants, known for their showy blooms in a wide variety of colours.
Their colours range from vibrant pink to white, purple, and red. I normally see the pink and red varieties in the gardens around town. They are always available to be seen in the Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Whenever Coleman and I visit The Schiele Museum of Natural History we almost always visit The Farm (we only miss it if we arrive too late and it’s already closed). Walking around the Farm we visit the animals (the goats, the sheep, and Mike & Lucky, aka the cows) and admire the Flowers (at least I do anyway). Coleman likes to climb on the red tractor and other interesting things. What other things would interest a rambunctious little boy? An old wagon with a hay bale, of course. Yep, that’s right, he climbed up on the wagon and made himself at home by #PullingUpaSeat on a Hay Bale.
Here’s my contributions of Coleman Pulling Up a Seat on a Wagon’s Haystack …
#PullUpaSeat Coleman Style on a Haystack at The Schiele Museum of Natural History
Brian from Bushboys Worldhosts a monthly challenge called Last On the Card. His rules are simple to follow if you’re interested in participating.
Here are The rules: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 30th 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
Here are my contributions …
From my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max:
Lagerstroemia indica, aka Crepe-myrtle Gastonia, North Carolina
From my Canon EOS T7 (2000D):
Angora Goats Walk-thru Petting Area Lazy 5 Ranch Mooresville, North Carolina
Goats don’t like the heat any more than humans do. We arrived at The Farm just after 3 in the afternoon. It was still in the high 80’s and even the Goats didn’t feel up to playing around or greeting their visitors.
Trying to Stay Cool
Normally, on a nice day the would come to the fence and greet us. Not today they said, “The humid midday air completely drained our energy.”
Nubian Goat
Ah, this spot in the shade feels just right, maybe a nice nap is exactly what we need.
Boer Goat
Maybe it’ll be cooler tomorrow, we can dream can’t we?
Embrace the adventure with CWWC 2026: Any Which Way – Your Choice! Whether you’re exploring nature trails, navigating indoor staircases, or venturing onto paved paths, there’s a route for everyone. Sign up now and discover your unique Which Way!
Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge (previously hosted by Cee Neuner). This week our theme is CWWC (2026): Any Which Way —Your Choice. Your Which Ways can be Outdoors, Indoors, Paved or Unpaved, Dirt Trails or any natural surface. Your Choice is exactly that, Whichever Way you choose. As always Signs are always welcome.
My choices for this week’s Which Way Challengeare naturalized surfaces on The Schiele Museum’s Nature Trail.
Here are my entries …
CWWC Cee’s Which Way Challenge Deb’s Which Way Challenge
Click on images to enlarge.
Thank you to those who have participated and supported the Which Ways Challenge. I appreciate y’all sharing your Which Ways with us.
For an idea of other’s Which Ways from this past week’s challenge, be sure to click on the following links below.
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Terri has recently started a new theme for the Sunday Stills challenge called Animal of the Month. This month she is challenging us to share images of insects. Insects include a wide variety of animal species. Common examples of Insects are Bees, ants, wasps; Beetles, ladybugs, fireflies; Butterflies and Moths; True Bugs (Cicadas and aphids); as well as Dragonflies and Damselflies.
In this second Sunday Stills Animal of the Month post I am beginning with the European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) located in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
The Beehives The Farm The Schiele Museum
North Carolina’s European honey bees are a highly social insect species native to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The Schiele’s Honeybees
They are the world’s primary pollinator for agriculture. The Honey Bees at The Schiele Museum’s Farm pollinate the wide variety of plants and flowers grown in the Garden.
European honey bees
The European honey bee was first introduced to the Americas by European colonists in March of 1622. The English colonists shipped the first hives to Jamestown, Virginia.
Foraging to the Colony
The Schiele Museum of Natural History has four live apiaries located on The Farm. [The Farm is an outdoor exhibit showcasing Piedmont agricultural history alongside live farm animals.]
Returning to the Hive
Visitors to The Schiele Museum’s Farm are capable of safely look into an observation hive during the Annual Bug Day. During this special day visitors can watch honey bees crawl across honeycomb structures through an indoor -facing window housing a working observation hive.
The museum integrates their apiaries into seasonal student programming, including specialized “Buzz about bees” summer camps and hands-on pollination lab experiments.
European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Enough about Honey Bees, shall we take a look at a gallery of other insects/bugs?
Trigonopeltastes delta, aka delta flower scarabEastern Boxelder bugEremnophila aureonotata, aka gold-marked thread-waisted waspMonarch butterflies Common Blue Mud DauberAcanthocephala declivis, aka the giant leaf-footed bugBrood XIX cicadaPapilio glaucus, aka the eastern tiger swallowtailSunday Stills Animal of the Month
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Telephoto; Gallery various cameras.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA ; Gallery various locations.
God Bless. Enjoy your week. Have a wonderful good and safe week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Terri has recently started a new theme for the Sunday Stills challenge called Animal of the Month. I’m not sure if my animal fits this week’s animal of the month theme or not since I write mine in advance, but hopefully it’ll be alright.
See the Pig Eyeing the Pool
With our extreme heat wave we’ve been experiencing, I found it fascinating that even the Pigs in The Farm area at The Schiele Museum of Natural History thought it was too hot.
Pig slowly approaching pool
Coleman and I stood watching this Pig for a while enjoying its antics and Wallowing.
Pig’s by the pool. What’s he gonna do?
With it being so hot and humid what else should the Pig do but get in the pool and cool off.
Pig is in the pool.
Turn, turn, turn …
Round and round goes the Pig …
Pig says it’s time to wallow.
And keep wallowing till it’s completely cooled down …
Turn, turn, turn
Maybe I’ll just take one more spin wallowing in the pool before I get out and mingle.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy your week. Have a wonderful good and safe week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This is a free week for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness. I decided to show you images of a Grist Mill in black and white monochrome tones this week. This Grist Mill can be seen along the Nature Trail at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
The Grist Mill Nature Trail The Schiele Museum of Natural History Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy nature. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman looking over a Native American Exhibit in the Henry Hall of the American Indian at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
It has been extremely hot and humid in our area causing havoc on gardens and flowers to wither and fade away. Currently, There are not many left in bloom. However, I did manage to find a few.
These are from The Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History…
A Pair of Yellow Zinnias …
Zinnias
A Look at a Couple of Rhododendron indicum, aka Azalea indica L. …
Pink Azalea
Rhododendron indicum, aka Southern Indian azalea, has showy, vibrant funnel-shaped red, scarlet, or pink flowers that bloom in mid to late spring and occasionally again in the fall. ]These are both from the same Rhododendron (Azalea) Shrub.]
Rhododendron indicum, aka Satsuki azalea or Southern Indian azalea.
Now before we leave let’s take a look at an array of Sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) …
Sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) The #Flower Hour Cee’s Flower of the Day Bren’s Floral Friday
That’s all I have for y’all today. Till next time, have a fabulously fun and productive weekend filled with love, laughter, and happiness.
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Visiting the Schiele Museum of Natural History on Duke Energy’s free Tuesday gave Coleman and I an opportunity to visit The Farm. It was extremely hot and humid so we didn’t stay too long outside before roaming around inside the museum. Below are a few doors we noticed while walking around the Farm.
Door in the Cow Section (Look closely & you might see them) Doors in the Historic CabinDoors in the Sheep areaDoor? It lifts up like a door. Doors in the Sheep areaDoors in the Historic CabinDoors in the Sheep areaDoors in the Historic CabinColeman checks out the “Cow” DoorDoors in the Historic CabinDan’s Thursday Doors
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a funtastic rest of your week and weekend ahead. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with w. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Last week I said I would share where we went via the transit system and what we saw along the trails. To visit last week’s post as Coleman and I traveled on the transit network for our Which Way click here.
Now to let you know where we traveled to on the Gastonia Transit system (aka the bus) to go hiking. Our destination to the Warlick Family YMCA here in Gastonia for a bit of hiking and communing with nature. Here are a few images showing the trails we hiked and what we saw along the way.
CWWC Cee’s Which Way Challenge Deb’s Which Way Challenge
Click on each image to enlarge.
Thank you to those who have participated and supported the Which Ways Challenge. I appreciate y’all sharing your Which Ways with us.
For an idea of other’s Which Ways from this past week’s challenge, be sure to click on the following links below.
Back in 2024 the City of Gastonia ran buses to help people get around the city. Unfortunately, (at least for us) Gastonia discontinued the bus service. Now it is much harder to get around the city unless we are able to borrow my daughter’s car which isn’t too often.
Coleman and I used to travel on the city buses several times a week to go hiking at various locations around the city. Today, I decided on our free week (your choice) to share one of our adventures traveling by city transit and on foot.
The Road where we waited for the busDowntown GastoniaWaiting on the bus to go home Downtown Gastonia as seen from the busGazing at the YMCA building View from the YMCA Bus stop Pulling into the YMCAView from the front bus window Coleman waiting for the busA paved trail in Lineberger Park CWWC Cee’s Which Way Challenge #Your Choice Week 2
** Next week I’ll share where we went via the transit system and what we saw along the trails.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Thank you to those who have participated and supported the Which Ways Challenge. I appreciate y’all sharing your Which Ways with us.
For an idea of other’s Which Ways from this past week’s challenge, be sure to click on the following links below.
Brian from Bushboys Worldhosts a monthly challenge called Last On the Card. His rules are simple to follow if you’re interested in participating.
Here are The rules: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 30th 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
Here are my contributions …
From my Canon EOS T7 (2000D):
Gastonia burgei, skeleton of an herbivorous ankylosaurian dinosaur at The Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia, NC
The Cave Bear is an extinct species which lived in Europe and Asia approximately 27,000 years ago. It is an early relative to many bears living in North America. Cave Bears are a type of ursine bear.
The Ursine group includes the brown, grizzly, Kodiak, polar, and black bears. All these bears originally lived in Europe and Asia before traveling across a land bridge during the Pliocene time period.
Ursus spelaeus The Cave Bear
A Cave Bear’s weight possibly ranged from 880 to 2,200 pounds. The largest of these would be comparable in size to today’s polar bears.
The Cave Bear skeleton in The Schiele Museum of Natural History comes quite a distance from the Ural Mountains in Russia. If you ever get the opportunity to visit The Schiele Museum come and say hello to The Cave Bear … don’t worry he won’t bite you.
As the months pass by it seems like there’s another plant deciding to bloom sharing its exquisitely alluring beauty for all to see and admire.
Hosta ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ (aka the Plantain Lily)
This variegated foliage plant, I had thought was just an ornamental landscaping element (to me) surprisingly blossomed recently. Coleman said to me, “Take a picture.” So I complied with his request and am sharing a couple with y’all.
Plantain Lilies
The Hosta ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ also referred to as Plantain Lily is a fast growing perennial with variegated foliage and is highly aromatic with its summer blooms. It forms a lush, open mound of heart-shaped, apple-green leaves highlighted by creamy-yellow margins.
It has large trumpet-shaped flowers that range in colour from near-white to pale lilac. The sweet fragrance is said to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, however, I have not seen evidence of that on this plant.
First stage of Blooming Plantain Lily
It is planted next to a hydrangea bush and almost covering it completely as if hidden from view until it began to increase in growth and its blossoms became evident in the summer breeze.
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
God Bless. Take time to Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Smell the amazing fragrance of flowers. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Dan from No Facilitieshosts the Fun Foto Challenge at and this week he is asking for our The Crayola Box of 8 – Blue . I have gone into my recent and archive files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme. I will also be sharing Blue Along Trails as part of Friday’s CWWC post (Stay tuned to more Blue and feel free to share your blue with Cee’s Which Way Challenge as well as Dan’s CFFC challenge this week.
Here are my entries …
Robinwood Lake Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCCommelina communis, aka Asiatic dayflowerBlue Leisure Suit My dad and Pawpaw Great Falls, South Carolina
The Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium Gastonia, NCColeman on Trail Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCAmerican Airlines Flying through the Blue Skies Blue American Agave Plant Abilene, TXBlue Mask 2020 Abilene, TxColeman playing in sand Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCEarly Explorers The Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia. NCColeman sliding at Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCRobinwood Lake Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCLake Crandall AnneSprings Close Greenway Fort Mill, SCThe Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium Gastonia, NCColeman Trekker Loop Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, SCColeman on Trail Warlick YMCA Gastonia, NCBlue Glove made into a Balloon The Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia. NCCee’s Fun Foto Challenge Dan’s CFFC -Blue
God Bless. Enjoy your week. May it be filled with love, joy, laughter, and lots of fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Mexican Fire Bush (Hamelia patens) is grown as an annual in Gastonia, North Carolina. It is a vibrant, fast-growing tropical shrub known for its fiery orange-red tubular flowers. It is highly prized for attracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. It typically grows 2 to 4 feettall in a single season. Sinc North Carolina winters are too cold for it to remain evergreen, the plant will experience dieback, but it serves as an exceptional summer filler for local gardens.
The gardens at The Schiele Museum of Natural History are supported and maintained by the Master Gardener Group of Gaston County. This is not your traditional private garden club, but instead it is an organization that is a specialized volunteer network extension of theNC State Extension Master Gardener Program. The certified Extension Master Gardener Volunteers manage and improve the specialized flora spaces at The Schiele Museum which include The Farm and Along the entrance and nature trail. The Garden in the Farm at The Schiele Museum showcases Piedmont-native agricultural crops and plant varieties.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter Attachment.
Location: Entrance Gardens; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Help those in need. Spread Love and Kindness all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Sometimes when Coleman and I are out and about hiking or visiting a museum like The Schiele Museum of Natural History I will try to capture objects, like doors, the majority of people wouldn’t ordinarily think to capture with their cameras. These I’m sharing today are ones more obscure than others you might expect to see.
Wait just a minute, I’ve got something to show you in the car. Wonder how many children use the Little Library Door?Sometimes used, sometimes not. Outbuilding door & a “Little Library”Looking in through one door and out through anotherSide Exit not Used by mostObscure or Not Doors at The Schiele Museum of Natural History
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. May your week by filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.