#gfpacificbee – Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography

Sunday Stills 2026 August 23 — Wallowing Pig

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.

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.

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.

Turn, turn, turn …

Round and round goes the Pig …

And keep wallowing till it’s completely cooled down …

Maybe I’ll just take one more spin wallowing in the pool before I get out and mingle.

Click on each image to enlarge.

Terri’s Sunday Stills-Animal of the Month (Sorry, it’s not insects/bugs).

Monday Portrait

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Telephoto

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.

2026 Share Your World: 17 (on 23) August

Here are this week’s questions:

1. What was your favourite TV show as a kid?

My favourite TV show as a kid, that was a long time ago to remember one specific show. My brother and I used to watch the “Star Trek” television show. I can remember watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday evening. Growing up us kids didn’t get much opportunity to select shows to watch, that was mostly decided my our mom.

2. Do you have a favourite ‘tipple’? (alcoholic drink, or something when you are out for a meal etc)

I mostly drink unsweetened tea whether I’m home or out to dinner (which isn’t too often).

3. Is there a movie you can watch again and again and still enjoy?

There are a few movies I watch over and over again. The shows I mostly watch many times are mainly my Christmas favourites, like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “White Christmas”, and currently rewatch the “Christmas in Evergreen” Christmas movies. I occasionally rewatch the “Back to the Future”, “Die Hard”, “Airbud”, and “E.T.”

4. Did you have a favourite toy as a child? Or perhaps one you wanted and never got?

This is the only toy I still have from my childhood. It is a Vintage Red and white monkey with a rubber face a yellow banana that was molded directly into its vinyl hand. I know I played with Barbie’s, but played more games like marbles, tag, and sports with my brother and our neighbours.

Gratitude:

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

— Charles Dickens

Share Your World-2026.08.17

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

Silent Sunday: 2026 August 23rd

Click on images to enlarge.

Silent Sunday-2026.08.23

Cameras: Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Location: Lake Wylie, South Carolina, USA

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

Cell Pic Sunday: 2026 August Twenty-Three

Morning Visitor

Click on image to enlarge.

John’s Cell Pic Sunday-2026.08.23

Camera: Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Location: Backyard; Lake Wylie, South Carolina, USA

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

Evening Primrose: Nature’s Delicate Night Blooms

*Oenothera cespitosa,*
*aka Tufted Evening-Primrose*
*or Fragrant Evening-Primrose*

Click on Image to enlarge.

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

Terri’s The #Flower Hour

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Plus

Location: Off I-15/Hwy 50; Emery, Utah, USA

God Bless. Stay Strong, Spread Cheer, Love, and Happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Indoor Steps, Stairs, and/or Escalators. [08.21.2026]

Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge (previously hosted by Cee Neuner). Last week we explored Outdoor Steps or Stairs. This week we are looking at Indoor Steps, Stairs, and/or Escalators. Anytime you walk into a multiple story building you might have a choice to use the stairs, an escalator, or an elevator. We are only looking at showcasing Steps, Stairs, and/or Escalators for this week’s Which Way Challenge.

Here are my entries …

*Staircase inside the Martinique Hotel NYC*

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.

Cath’s Which Way… {Government Cottage}

Suzette’s For Deb’s CWWC 2026 Outdoor Steps/Stairs

Brian’s Some steps to negotiate

Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Steps And Stairs

Marina’s Steps

Rich’s Step This Way

PR’s Staring at stairs

Deb’s Which Way Challenge-CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Outdoor Steps or Stairs. [08.14.2026]

God Bless. Happy Adventures. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Next Week: Cee’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)-Your Choice

Skywatch Friday/Weekend Sky — 21 August 2026

Pink Sky

Red Sky

in the Morning …

“The sky blushes in shades of pink, as if the universe itself is in love with the world.”

“In the presence of a pink sky, time seems to stand still, allowing us to savor the beauty that surrounds us.” – Unknown

Sailors Take Warning … Stormy Weather is Approaching.

“In the canvas of the sky, the pink hues speak a language known only to the heart—a language of awe, gratitude, and boundless wonder.” – Unknown

Skywatch Friday

Hammad’s Weekend Sky

Weekend Sky

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Unity Community; Gastonia North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Enjoy your weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 FOWC — An Delectable Breakfast

*French Toast*
*topped with* Raspberries

Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC)- Breakfast

Cameras: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

God Bless. May you have a Delightful day filled with Love, Friendship, and Joy. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Ragtag Daily Prompt (#RDP): Thursday 2026.08.20

Cones, Cones, Cones

Today’s Prompt for the Ragtag Daily Prompt is Cone. Cones, Cones, Cones, let me see how many ways and types of cones I might be able to find. We have orange street cones, Pinecones, maybe ice cream cones; some on the ground, and some in a hand. Cones on roads, some on trails, and even on signs. Coleman likes to bring Pinecones home (but his mom not). What kind of cones do you like?

Here are my Cones for you to enjoy …

Cones, Cones, Cones
Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP)

Click on images to enlarge.

Ragtag Daily Prompt:Thursday-Cone

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

Monochrome Madness — 2026.08.20

Grist Mill

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.

Click on images to enlarge.

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness-2026.08.20_Free Week

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Grist Mill; Nature Trail; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

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

One-Liner Wednesday: 2026 August 19

“The Only Safe Place For a Sheep
Is By The Side Of His Shepherd.
Because The Devil Does Not Fear Sheep.
He Only Fears The Shepherd”
A. W. Toner

One-Liner Wednesday-2026.08.19

#1LinerWeds

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max via Zen Color App

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

Bored & Experimenting Kinda Day

Today was a little boring with nobody around home but me, myself, and I. I started exploring photos I’d taken several years ago and played around experimenting in a couple of editing apps to see how various effects would impact a particular photo of a place that is very relaxing to me.

Here are the different effects used during this experimentation …

*Original Photo*
*excerpt from a*
*live iPhone video*

*Transform into*
*rich oil masterpiece*
*Via Google Photo Editor*

XingfuMama’s One-to-Three Photo Processing Challenge-August 2026

Camera: Apple iPhone XR

Location: By the Lake; Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Spread love, peace, joy, and happiness. Have a wonderful rest of your week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 August 19

*Elk Exhibit*
*The Schiele Museum*
*of Natural History*

Wordless Wednesday-2026.08.19

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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.

2026 CFFC: 3 W’s of Reading

What, Where,

and When

We Read

Dan with No Facilities, the host of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge has started a new series of themes for the Fun Foto Challenge dealing with Where/What/When we do different things. The first week in this new series features Where/What/When We Read.

Here are my selections for this week’s CFFC …

*Quiet Reading on*
*the Balcony of a*
*Cruise Ship*

Click on images to enlarge.

Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge-Where/What/When We Read

God Bless. Have a lovely week. Enjoy a walk/hike if possible. Keep Cool. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Monday Portrait – 2026 August Seventeenth

Close Encounter

with a Black Llama

As we rode the Safari Wagon at the Lazy 5 Ranch many of the animals which reside on the property roam freely and tend to follow the Wagons as they bring visitors along the dirt road. It seems like all the animals know that the Safari Wagons have feed buckets aboard for the guests to feed them.

This Black Llama sure made its presence known to us (my family). The Black Llama was trying every possible means to get my daughter’s attention to be able to be handed feed from her feed bucket.

*This is me trying to*
*get your attention …*

The Llama was first domesticated by the Indians of Peru around 4,000 years ago. The Llama is known for its surefooted travels in high mountain areas. It’s docile by nature, but can also be stubborn. When upset, a Llama may spit a foul smelling liquid.

*Maybe if I*
*turn this way*
*you’ll notice me …*

Let me assure you that at The Lazy 5 Ranch if they want feed, they are more than likely to receive it. Llamas are used as pack animals and can carry loads up to 130 pounds for up to 10-20 miles a day over rugged slopes in high altitudes, but they are not ridden. When weary or overloaded Llamas just lie down and refuse to move. The Llama is often referred to as the “South American Camel.” Its long, coarse wool is used in the weaving of textiles.

*Finally,*
*that’s exactly*
*what I wanted.*

Llamas are herbivores with a three-chambered stomach for digesting fibrous plants. They primarily graze on grasses and plants. Llamas are also very social animals, preferring to live in herds, and are known for being quite gentle and intelligent. You might hear their soft humming, which they use to communicate a range of emotions – from contentment to concern – they also have unique warning calls, like a high-pitched alarm, if they sense danger.

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-2026.08.17

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

Location; Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA

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

Macro Monday – 2026 August 17th

Coleus scutellarioides

Click on image to enlarge.

Macro Monday (MM)

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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.

One Word Sunday (OWS): 2026 August 16th — Sport (of Baseball)

Gotta Love Baseball (TBall)

Click on images to enlarge.

Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Sport (2026.08.16)

Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: T-Ball Field; C.B. Huss Recreation Complex; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Outdoor Steps or Stairs. [08.14.2026]

Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge (previously hosted by Cee Neuner). This week we are exploring Outdoor Steps or Stairs. You may not ordinarily think about photographing Outdoor Steps or Stairs, I usually do. So many places Coleman and I hike have Outdoor Steps or Stairs along trails which we climb to get to our intended destination before completing our journey.

These are some of the Outdoor Steps or Stairs we have climbed … at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.

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.

Marina’s Vasquez Rocks

Suzette’s Dirt Paths For Deb’s CWWC Which Way Challenge

Marianne’s Any Which Way Along a Dirt Path, Trail, or Dirt Road

Dawn’s Which Way: Yellow Hiking Trail in SNP

Cath’s Which Way… {Through the Woods}

Marilyn’s Dusty Trails To You

Deb’s Which Way Challenge-CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Outdoor Steps or Stairs. [08.14.2026]

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: The Farm and Nature Trail; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Happy Adventures. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Next Week we will be moving from Outside/Outdoor to Inside/Indoors for a theme of: CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Indoor Steps and/or Stairs [08.21.2026]

Thursday Doors: 2026.08.13 — At The Schiele Farm

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.

Click on images to enlarge.

Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.08.06

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.

The #Flower Hour #43— 2026 August 11 — From my Yard

Oh How They Fade & Wither

Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” KJV

***Terri’s The #Flower Hour***
**Cee’s Flower of the Day**

“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:” I Peter 1:24 KJV

Click on images to enlarge.

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #43-Your Choice

Also posting in remembrance of …

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

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.

Sunday Stills 2026 August 10:

*Sunday Stills*
*Monthly Color Challenge*

Good Day everyone! This week Terri with Second Wind Leisure Perspectives has given us the prompt of #Yellow Hues for the Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge . She is featuring the Ochre and Saffron yellows, but is allowing any shades of #Yellow.

Let’s take a look at what #Yellow’s I have found …

First, here are some water reflections with #Yellow …

*Yellow Water Reflections*
*in Lake Crandall*
*Anne Springs Close Greenway*

And a few tress with yellow leaves reflected in Lake Haigler at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

*Yellow Tree Reflections*
*in Lake Haigler*

Moving right along in nature we spot a solitary yellow tree and a few yellow Bromeliad Guzmania.

*Golden Larch*
*Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden*

Yellow Bromeliad Guzmania
William H. Williamson III
Orchid Conservatory
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
Belmont, North Carolina

Now we’ll take a last look at yellow with images of yellow vehicles …

At last, but not least, Coleman wearing a yellow shirt …

Coleman in 2022 at
Anne Springs Close Greenway

Click on images to enlarge.

God Bless. Admire the beautiful Flowers. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

Silent Sunday: 2026 August 9th

Striking Desert Plants

*The Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens),*
*the tall plant to the right of the rock,*
*is a striking desert plant native*
*to the Southwestern United States*.
*This is located near Ocotillo Wells*
*and Borrego Springs, California.*

Click on image to enlarge.

Silent Sunday-2026.08.09

Location:Between Ocotillo Wells and Borrego Springs, California, USA

God Bless. Take time to enjoy the flowers. Get Outdoors and commune with nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Which Way Challenge (CWWC): Any Which Way Along a Dirt Pathway, Trail, and/or Dirt Road [08.07.2026]

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.

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.

Cath’s Which Way… {Watch Your Step}

Suzette’s Pathways For Deb’s Any Which Way CWWC Your Choice Wk-2

Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)

Next week’s theme: Next: CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Outdoor Steps or Stairs. [08.14.2026]

Cameras: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Location: Warlick Family YMCA; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have an adventurous weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Ragtag Daily Prompt (#RDP): Wednesday 2026.08.06 — A Hummock or Two

According to Google, a Hummock is a small, low rounded hill, knoll, or a raised mound of earth. Today, I am sharing two different types of Hummock’s from my archives.

The first is a Burial Mound located at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Many stone age peoples around the world buried their dead in mounds of earth or stone. This single-chambered tomb replicates mounds from the British Isles roughly 5,000 years ago. The interior chamber measures just over 7 ft. long and could fit either one individual or the cremated remains of an entire family or clan. It took over 16,000 pounds of earth to build this mound by hand.

The second is a small hill my ancestors was gathered and sat upon enjoying the afternoon and each other’s company.

A **Hummock**
*where my ancestors chose*
*to relax and visit*
*with one another*.

Click on images to enlarge.

Ragtag Daily Prompt:Wednesday-Hummock

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

Thursday Doors in Monochrome-2026.08.06

The Dilapidation of

The Springs Block

Signs of Better Days

Gone By … So Sad 😢

The Springs Block was built by Colonel Leroy Springs in 1905. It was constructed with red stretcher and common bond brick. It has been home to many of Lancaster’s prominent businesses over the years. Sadly, in 1936, a fire destroyed its southern end, including the Hotel Royale and Lancaster Mercantile.

In August of 1984, the Springs Block was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It underwent restoration in 1986 as part of Lancaster’s Main Street Revitalization program.

*The Historic Springs Block*
*Lancaster, South Carolina*

For many decades the Springs Block was a thriving business district within Lancaster’s downtown neighborhood. The businesses were bustling with people who were excited to come visit, shop, and mingle in the vibrant, community-focused atmosphere. People would come to a then lively downtown hub to do their errands, meet neighbours, and find everything from groceries to clothing to household goods. Shopkeepers once knew their count name and tailored their unique selections to meet the personal needs of their customers.

The Historic Springs Block
Lancaster, South Carolina
Thursday Doors
Monochrome Madness

It saddens me to see the once vital and thriving downtown community in such a dilapidated state of destruction. These are recent photos of Lancaster’s Historic Springs Block in downtown Lancaster, South Carolina. My daughter and I once roamed the streets of downtown Lancaster’s Springs Block, shopping, having a bite to eat, meeting friends, and watching parades (or in her case in them) and all in all having a grand ‘ole time.

Click on images to enlarge.

Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.08.06

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness-2026.08.06

Location: The Springs Block; Downtown Lancaster; Lancaster, South 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.

One-Liner Wednesday: 2026 August 05

*The Things We Love*
*Tell Us Who We Are*
*— Thomas Aquinas*

One-Liner Wednesday-2026.08.05

#1LinerWeds

Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Location: Warlick Family YMCA; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

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

Monday Window – 2026 August 03

Kitty by a Window –
2 – AI creation by PR

Reminiscing of

Childhood Windows

Sometime when I open Google Photos it displays memories that it thinks I would be interested in seeing. That was the case this past weekend when it wanted me to see the black and white image shown in the second photograph.

In seeing this photo it reminded me of my parents anniversary, they would have been married for seventy-five (75) years on Friday if they’d still been alive. They were married forty-five (45) years when my dad passed in 1996. My mom is also gone now and only memories remain alive.

*Original image*
*uploaded to files via*
*Wolverine Digital Converter*

This is the first house I can remember living in even though it wasn’t the first house my family called home. We moved into this house about 1961. The front window you see would have been the window in my parent’s bedroom. The bedrooms were all on the right side of the house. Mine was in the middle between their’s and my brother’s bedroom.

I lived in this house during my entire childhood elementary school days (Kindergarten through Sixth Grade). It holds so many memories, to many to share. When we walked past the windows behind my mom and dad we’d enter the living room. To me in was a large area we gathered to watch programs on our black and white console television. The kitchen and dining rooms were to the left of the entrance with a door in between that led to the garage. We always sat at the dining table as a family for our meals.

Even the windows of an ordinary house can bring fond memories of happy times of love, laughter, and togetherness.

Monday Window-2026.08.03

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

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge/Monday Portrait — A BROWN Nilgai

*Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge -Brown*
*by Sue W & Gerry C*

We had a really fantastic time the other week when the family visited the Lazy 5 Ranch. With over 700 exotic animals there were plenty to capture. I in no way captured them all with my camera (not that I didn’t try), but there were too many to adequately capture while riding on the guided Wagon Safari ride.

With this week’s Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge colour theme being Brown, I decided I would combine it with the Monday Portrait challenge and show y’all one of the many Brown exotic animals which reside at the Lazy 5 Ranch. Which exotic animal is featured here today? … The exotic animals featured in this post are Nilgai.

Nilgai
Monday Portrait
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Brown

The Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), also called Blueback, is the largest antelope in its native land of India. The name Nilgai comes from the Hindustani word nil, which means blue referring to the slate blue (blue-gray coloration of the adult male Nilgai and the Persian word gaw, which means cow. The females and juveniles are orange to a tawny Brown in their coloration. These shown here are female Nilgai.

It is a large horse-like antelope with sloping back which is found in grasslands and scrublands. Nilgai are herbivores that primarily eat grass, but also browse on leaves and fruits.

They are known for their shy nature and keen senses. Hindus regard the Nilgai as a close relative of the sacred cow. In an era of endangered species, an animal that is protected by religious is considered lucky.

Nilgai cows and calves tend to live in small herds while males live alone except during rut (their mating season). All males have short smooth horns and occasionally females grow horns. Females commonly give birth to two (2) offspring. When being chased a Nilgai can run up to twenty-nine (29) miles per hour (mph).

Click on images to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-2026.08.03

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Brown

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

Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville , North Carolina, USA

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

Macro Monday – 2026 August 03

Swamp Water

Buffalo

The Swamp Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is also referred to as Asian Water Buffalo. It is the second largest member of the bovid family. It has great strength and high fat milk content which has led to its domestication throughout the world. These buffalo spend most of the day submerged, sometimes up to their nostrils, in the water of rivers or swamps. Did you know there is a reason for this? It serves two (2) major purposes.

) These Buffalo do NOT possess adequate sweat glands to keep themselves cool through sweat evaporation along, so remaining submersible allows them to regulate their temperature in the hot , humid Southeast Asia climate.
) The water protects the buffalo from all manners of biting insects that also inhabit the jungle. Their hooves developed as widely splayed in order to prevent them from sinking into the thick mud of swamps and river bottoms.

Water Buffalo eat grass, herbs shrubs, tree bark and other available greens. They are exclusively herbivores. At the Lazy 5 Ranch, as well as similar facilities, the Swamp Water Buffalos are fed free-choice, low-protein, high-fiber forage. They also rely heavily on coastal Bermuda grass, orchard grass, or Timothy hay. They provide freshly cut pasture grasses, sorghum, or maize fodder to simulate natural grazing. One other thing they do to guarantee they receive complete nutrition, the supplement the roughage with scientifically formulated pellets from exotic animal feed manufacturers like Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition or Zeigler Feed Manufacturing.

The visitors to the Ranch who desire to feed their swamp exotic animals during their tour are given buckets of compressed fiber pellets. The Swamp Buffalos love treats and will come up to the Wagons during a Safari tour to beg for handouts from the “treat” buckets. That is exactly what this particular Swamp Water Buffalo is doing, begging my daughter for treats from the feed bucket near her.

Click on image to enlarge.

Macro Monday (MM)

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

Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville, 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.

Silent Sunday: 2026 August 2nd

Hi there. Got Anything for me?

Click on image to enlarge.

Silent Sunday-2026.08.02

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

Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Take time to enjoy the flowers. Get Outdoors and commune with nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Hey Y’all, Wait Up … I’m Coming

Red Sindhi

Coleman and I found the Wagon Ride at the Lazy 5 Ranch to be very interesting and I’d say educational. Coleman enjoyed seeing the many different types of exotic animals including the Red Sindhi cow which followed the Wagon for quite a ways as if it wanted to have an exciting adventure as well.

Red Sindhi belong to the heat-tolerant Bos indicus (Zebu) lineage. It is a specialized dairy breed originating from Pakistan.

The Red Sindhi yield substantial volumes of milk (averaging 4.5%-5% fat) even under extreme heat and stress (like we’ve been experiencing) and low quality forage. At the Ranch they are well fed and maintained.

The Red Sindhi are compact, smaller and rounder in comparison to the Red Brahma. The hump is well developed in bulls, but much smaller in cows.

Its colouring is a Deep Red, ranging from yellowish-brown to dark brown; males are typically darker than females especially on the head, feet, and tail.

These images were all taken while looking out the back of the Wagon; noticing the Red Sindhi and other animals following behind and eventually alongside the Wagon. They really were delighted when the Wagon stopped off and on during the Safari ride. They knew whenever the Wagon stopped they could get feed from the Lazy 5 Ranch guests.

Click on each image to enlarge.

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.08.01

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

Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; 15100 Mooresville Road; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA

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

Thursday Trios: (Oops on Saturday) 2026.08.01

Here Little Piggies

While traveling on the wagon Ride around the Lazy 5 Ranch we spotted Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs in groups of three. Imagine that, how nice of them to group themselves as trios for my photographic adventures.

The Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) at the Lazy 5 Ranch were originally from the jungles of China and Vietnam. They were introduced into the United States as pets around 1985. Their backbone is bent like a saddle, which causes the abdomen to nearly drag on the ground. It is due to this effect why they received the pot-bellied name. At birth piglets normally weigh approximately one (1) pound (lb). They grow to a height of 10-12 inches (in) and a weight of about 125 pounds (lbs).

Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pigs
Thursday Trios

Pot-Bellied Pigs are intelligent and can be taught to do simple tricks and to walk around on a leash. However, at the Lazy 5 Ranch they are free to roam around the pastures, pathways and around the many, many other exotic animals at the ranch. At the Ranch they are not taught any tricks, they do enjoy the feed. While on the Wagon ride you are allowed to feed the animals roaming about, some even approach alongside the Wagon begging for handouts (they know the visitors have feed buckets which they’ll gladly make disappear).

Click on each image to enlarge.

Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.08.01

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

Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville, 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.

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Pink Sky

Red Sky

in the Morning …

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Grist Mill

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Coleus scutellarioides

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Signs of Better Days

Gone By … So Sad 😢

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Swamp Water

Buffalo

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Hi there. Got Anything for me?

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Red Sindhi

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Here Little Piggies

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