#MakingMemories – Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography

Macro Monday Portrait: 2026 November 09

Seahorses

Seahorses are truly captivating creatures. They vary in size from the tiny pygmy seahorse, which can be as small as 0.5 inches (1.3 cm), to larger species like the Big-belly seahorse, which can reach up to 14 inches (35 cm) in length. The Seahorses you see in this aquarium are on the rather small side of the size range.

In this first image you’ll need to look closely to spot the Seahorse (s).

Seahorses are unique marine bony fish belonging to the genus Hippocampus. They’re best known for their horse-like heads and upright swimming posture. Did you know that there are approximately forty-seven (47) recognized species of Seahorses found worldwide? I didn’t know that before seeing and learning about them at the aquarium.

Seahorses may not look like the normal typical fish you would expect to see, but they are indeed true fish equipped with swim bladders for buoyancy and gills to breathe. They feature a horse-like head at a right angle to their body, an exoskeleton of bony plates instead of scales, independent eye movements (which allows them to look in two (2) different directions at the same time, and also feature a coronet (a crown-like ridge) on their head.

Here are some interesting facts about Seahorses:

Seahorses are the only fish species where the male carries the eggs in a specialized brood pouch, similar to a kangaroo’s. The female deposits her eggs into a special brood pouch on the male’s abdomen, where he fertilizes and carries them for 2 to 4 weeks until birth.
Seahorses lack both teeth and a stomach. Their food passes through their digestive system very quickly. In doing so, they must eat practically constantly. In so doing they consume nearly 3,000 tiny crustaceans and brine shrimp a day by sucking them up through their tubular snouts like a vacuum.
Seahorses are the slowest moving fish. Their stiff bodies and small fluttering dorsal fins make them terrible swimmers. The top speed for a dwarf Seahorse is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) per hour.
Seahorses use their prehensile tails to keep from being swept away (just like an anchor) by strong ocean currents or fatigue. Seahorses wrap their flexible tails around seaweed coral, or even each other to act similar to a hitching post.
Seahorses have independent eye movement. In other words, they can look in front of themselves and backwards at the exact same time. Or even any two different directions completely in order to watch out for predators and spot prey.

Did you learn anything new today? I sure learned new information about Seahorses after visiting Sea Life Aquarium.

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-11.09.2026

Macro Monday (MM)

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; Concord Mills; Concord, North Carolina, USA

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

2026 Which Way Challenge (CWWC): Any Which Way Indoors or Outdoors with People

Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge (previously hosted by Cee Neuner). This week the theme for the Which Way Challenge will be Any Which Way Indoors or Outdoors with People. As always signs are always welcome. Mine are from our recent visit to The Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium. I decided to do something different and compile my photos for this challenge into a video. I uploaded the video to YouTube (hopefully you’ll be able to view and enjoy it.)

Click on video to enlarge and view.

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.

Dawn’s Which Way: Minions on the Sidewalk

Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s In The Evening Light

Dan’s Thursday Doors — Weekly Recap (CWWC-Autumn Decorations)

Marilyn’s Not Any Which Way! This Way

Dawn’s Town Park in November

Chava61’s More Festival of Leaves 2026 & CWWC – Any Which Way Together With Sunday Trees 659

CWWC 2026: Any Which Way (Your Choice) [10.30.2026]

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Video created in Google Photos & Uploaded to YouTube (Let me know if you’re able to view alright 👍🏼).

Location: Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; Concord Mills; Concord, North Carolina, USA

** Note Next Week’s theme: CWWC 2026: Any Which Way On the Road Again with or without Traffic [11.13.2026]

Monday Portrait – 2026 November 02

Super Hero Cow

Cows come in all shapes, sizes, and colours. I bet you never saw a Super Hero Cow before. Well, neither had we until we stopped to eat on the way home last Wednesday. Who would have thought that we would see a Cow in a restaurant? Would you have?

We stopped at one location and the manager informed us the Super Hero Day was at the other location in Belmont (it has 2 Chick-fil-A locations). Why did he inform us about the Super Hero Day at a different location? Probably because both Coleman and Sophia were dressed in their “Spider-Man” outfits.

What do you think we did next? Of course, we got back into the car and drove to the other Chick-fil-A location in Belmont. We ordered our food through the app so we could have taken it home, but what good would that have done. If we did that, then the kids would not have been able to see Super Hero Cow. So, we sat down at a table and scan the QR code to let them know we were there. We actually arrived a few minutes early. Super Hero Cow’s arrival was not for another twenty minutes. That was alright, fave us time to eat before “he”arrived.

After he arrived, we wanted pictures of Coleman and Sophia with the Super Hero Cow. Sophia was skeptical at first, but then allowed her mom to bring her closer to him. Normally, Coleman likes to have his pictures taken (and sometimes takes his own selfies without my knowing beforehand). On this day, Coleman was being unusually shy and skittish and Super Hero Cow. Now the “Cow” was striking all sorts of poses. It was hilarious. However, Coleman just stood there.

These are the results of Super Hero Cow/Coleman Portraits.

Monday Portrait
Super Hero Cow
Coleman & Sophia

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-11.02.2026

Location; Chick-fil-A; Belmont, 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 Monochrome Monday – 2026 November 02

Chocolate Chip Starfish

Click on image to enlarge.

Macro Monday (MM)

Monday Monochrome

Monochrome Monday

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; Concord Mills; Concord, North Carolina, USA

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

2026 Last on the Card — October 31

Brian from Bushboys World hosts 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:

*“Ghost Spidey”*
*(Sophia Ruthann, aka my granddaughter)*
*with Superhero Cow and*
*Trisha (her mom, aka daughter)*

From my Canon EOS T7 (2000D):

Click on images to enlarge.

Brian’s Last on the Card-2026.October.31

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

Cell Pic Sunday: 2026 01 November

Click image to enlarge.

John’s CellPic Sunday-2026.11.01

Water Reflections – Abstracts

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; Concord Mills; Concord, North 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.

One Word Sunday (OWS): 2026 November 01 — Back

Sometimes it is necessary to read the Back to understand what it is all about.

Click on image to enlarge.

Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Back

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

Spider-Man’s Sea Life Underwater Exhibit Adventure

For SWS …

Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium has plenty of Exhibits within the aquariums. I bet you would not have expected to see this exhibit with “Spider-Man” inside.

*This is the exhibit prior*
*to “Spider-Man’s appearance*

Who’s ready to see “Spider-Man”?

Are you excited, filled with anticipation?

*Hey folks, “Spider-Man”*
*has entered the exhibit.*

Let’s see if we can get “Spider-Man” to look our way.

Is that “Spider-Man”

or is that Coleman?

Shall we take a closer look 👀 to see if “Spider-Man” is really in Sea Life’s newest exhibit?

Did you figure out if “Spider-Man” was actually in a Sea Life exhibit? Well y’all, that’s my one and only grandson, Coleman, all dressed up and ready to show Spider-Man’s good character. At Coleman’s school that didn’t call it wearing Halloween costumes to school, instead they were instructed to were an outfit portraying someone of good character. Coleman thinks “Spider-Man” is an excellent example of someone who displays good character.

How about you? Who would you choose to portray as a person of good character?

Click on images to enlarge for enhanced viewing.

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.10.31

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Sea Life’s Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; Concord Mills; 8111 Concord Mills Boulevard; Concord, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Enjoy an awesome adventure. May your weekend and upcoming week be filled with tremendous joy, laughter, love, and an abundance of happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 Pull Up a Seat Week 44— In an Aquarium_Coleman Style

Ever think of Pulling Up a Seat in an Aquarium? If you’ve been following along, then you know that no matter where we are if Coleman wants to Pull Up a Seat, then he will regardless of location. This week Wednesday was a teacher workday (meaning no school for students). We went up to Concord, (an hour northeast of our location) to visit the Sea Life Aquarium. It’s not huge like the Ripley’s Aquariums, but it was still enjoyable to visit. We didn’t tell Coleman where we were going, so it was a surprise for him when we arrived.

Sea Life Aquarium has all different types of species of fish and other sea creatures like the Sea Urchins in my Thursday Trios post. In case you missed it you may view it by clicking here.

Sea Life has a 180° Ocean Tunnel area you walk through where you may observe sea creatures all around and even above you. The walls mimic areas you might find deep in the ocean similar to Deep-Sea Coral Gardens or Volcanic Rock Walls (Basalt).

Part way through the 180° Ocean Tunnel is where Coleman decided to Pull Up a Seat along a section of the wall which had just enough room for him to sit. (I think he thought he needed to sit and wait for me to catch up with him.)

*Coleman thinking*
*“Should I get up &*
*catch up to mam mam,*
*or wait here for grandma?”*

In case you were wondering, his mom told him to stay near me, so he started getting up when he saw me walking closer to him.

If you’re in the area you might check out their website for further information about the Sea Life Aquarium by clicking here.

Click on images for enlarged viewing.

XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat #44 – 2026.10.30

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium; 8111 Concord Mills Boulevard; Concord, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic weekend. Go on an awesome adventure with friends or family (or if you choose by yourself). Relax and enjoy yourself. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Thursday Trios: 2026 October 29

Pencil Sea Urchins

Yesterday, was a No Student Teacher Work day, so we took Coleman and Sophia to Sea Life Aquarium in Concord, North Carolina for a special “no school day” outing. I’ll be sharing other photos from our day in other challenges. Today, I’m sharing trios of Pencil Sea Urchins.

These Pencil Sea Urchins are located in the interactive Touchpool exhibit. The Touchpool was modeled after a rugged West Coast tidepool. This hands-on habitat allows you to gently handle and learn about rock-dwelling invertebrates alongside other coastal species.

Before interacting with the various sea creatures in the Touchpool you must first wash your hands at the Handwashing station located in the exhibit area. Under the guidance of an experienced aquarium educator, you may reach into the shallow pools to touch the urchins.

Pencil Sea Urchins are considered a type of Rock-dwelling Sea Urchins. They are highly specialized for living in turbulent coastal environments, shallow reefs, and surge zones. These areas are where they rely heavily on physical rock structures to survive.

Pencil Sea Urchins are different than other rock-dwelling sea urchins in that they no not bore, instead they are wedgers. They have thick, heavy, blunt spines that look like old-fashioned wooden pencils. They don’t carve new holes from scratch, but instead they crawl into existing rock crevices, caves, and coral reef cracks. After entering inside a crevice, they flare their rigid, thick spines outward just like mechanical anchors. This action wedges them so tightly into the rock that severe ocean waves, high tides , and predators find it impossible to dislodge or pull them out.

Coleman decided not to touch any of the Sea Urchins, instead he chose to touch a less pointed sea creature … a Starfish.

Click on image to enlarge.

Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.10.29

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Touchpool exhibit; Sea Life Aquarium; Concord, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Get Outdoors. Visit a museum or an aquarium. 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.

CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Indoor Pathways, Hallways, and/or Stairs [10.23.2026]

Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge (previously hosted by Cee Neuner). Last week our Which Ways saw us adventuring on outdoor Paved Roads, Pathways and/or Sidewalks [10.16.2026]. This week we looking for Which Way with Indoor Pathways, Hallways, and/or Stairs [10.23.2026]. Your Which Ways can be any Indoor Hallway. Walkway, Pathway and/or Stairs as long as the Which Ways are clearly visible.

My entries this week are from the New Elizabeth Williams Robinson Hall of Dinosaurs at The Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Gastonia, North Carolina.

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.

Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s With Autumn Leaves

Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Paved Roads or Pathways

Suzette’s Paved for Deb’s CWWC26 – Any Which Way

Dawn’s Which Way: Garden Walk in the Fall

Marina’s portico di san luca

Rich’s Pavement Beneath My Feet

Dan’s Thursday Doors — Weekly Recap

Chava61’s Festival of Leaves 2026, Sunday Trees 657 & CWWC – Paved Roads/Pathways/Sidewalks

CWWC 2026: Any Which Way with Paved Roads, Pathways or Sidewalks [10.16.2026]

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: The Elizabeth Williams Robinson Hall of Dinosaurs; The Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium; 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: CWWC 2026: Any Which Way (Your Choice) [10.30.2026]

Thursday Trios: 2026 October 15

Old Fashioned Candelabra

Click on image to enlarge.

Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.10.15

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

Location: Historic Cabin; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; 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.

Monday Portrait – 2026 October 12th

Woolly Mammoth

I thought about telling you all about Woolly Mammoths, but then I remembered something else about this particular Woolly Mammoth Statue. What did I remember? This Woolly Mammoth statue is one (1) of twenty-one Prehistoric Dinosaur statues along the Gaston County Dino Trail. This Prehistoric journey across Gaston County is a way for the county to celebrate The Schiele Museum’s new Elizabeth Williams Robinson Hall of Dinosaurs.

Pick up a map for the Dino Trail at The Schiele Museum or any one of the participating businesses and attractions. At each location you may collect Dinosaur Trading Cards and discover prehistoric surprises.

The Dino Trail runs from September 1st through December 31st. To find out more information about the Dino Trail and/or The Hall of Dinosaurs click here.

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-10.12.2026

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

Location; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, 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 October 12

Rosemary

Rosemary, is one of several herbs grown in the Heritage Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. Its needle-like leaves are incredibly aromatic and have been a staple in Mediterranean cuisine for centuries. It is often used to flavour meats, vegetables, and bread. Cooking is not the only reason Rosemary is cherished, it is revered for its traditional medicinal properties. It is also occasionally associated with memory and remembrance.

Click on image to enlarge.

Macro Monday (MM)

Monochrome Monday

Also posting in remembrance of …

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

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

Location: The Heritage Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

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

Cell Pic Sunday: 2026 October 11

The Gastonia

A armored and dangerous dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period. It is a type of ankylosaur (which means “fused lizard,”) known for its formidable body armor and spikes.

The “Gastonia,” although it shares the name with the City of Gastonia in North Carolina, was actually named after Robert Gaston, the paleontologist who discovered the dinosaur in eastern Utah.

Unlike later Ankylosaurs, it relied on an intense array of body armour and shoulder spikes rather than a heavy tail club. Its tail ended in sharp lateral projections instead of a fused bony mallet. It measured about 15 feet (4.5–6 meters) long and weighed roughly 1 ton, making it much smaller and sleeker than a true Ankylosaurus.

The “Gastonia” fossils were found in the same Utah quarries as Utahraptor. That fact meant that its spikes served as a defense against pack-hunting dromaeosaurs. It was a low-slung quadrupedal herbivore with a toothless beak which was specialized for cropping ferns and low-lying vegetation.

Click image to enlarge.

John’s CellPic Sunday-2026.10.11

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: The Hall of Dinosaurs; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North 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.

2026 Pull Up a Seat Week 41— At a Museum, Coleman Style #6

In A Pumpkin

No matter where Coleman and I hike/walk you can guarantee he’ll find a place to Pull Up a Seat. Whenever he does you can most likely expect to see a variety of antics, expressions. He likes to have me take his picture, but sometimes he doesn’t. It is Autumn in an our area, so naturally the Schiele Museum has Autumn decor set out in The Farm. This year there is less hay to than in previous years (same affect on my allergies though). After waiting his turn inside the “Pumpkin”, he wasn’t really enthusiastic about my taking his picture as you might could tell.

Here are a few of what I managed to capture … of Coleman Pulling Up a Seat …

Click on each image to enlarge.

XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 41

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

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

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 October 07

*Coleman*
*checking out a new*
*“Dinosaur” terrarium*

Click on image to enlarge (if you do you might see the 3 Dinosaurs better).

Wordless Wednesday-10.07.2026

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Entrance to the New Elizabeth Williams Robinson Hall of Dinosaurs; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

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

Monday Portrait – 2026 October 5th

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-10.05.2026

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, 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.

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 September 23

Click on image to enlarge.

Wordless Wednesday-2026.09.23

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D)

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.

Sunday Stills 2026 September 20 — Antlers, Horns & Hooves in a Museum

Sunday Stills
Animal of the Month
Antlers, Horns & Hooves

Terri has recently started a new theme for the Sunday Stills challenge called Animal of the Month. This month this theme is focusing on Antlers, Horns & Hooves. I’ve decided to share some that are on supper The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Here are my contributions …

Antlers, Horns & Hooves
at The Schiele Museum
of Natural History

Click on each image to enlarge.

Terri’s Sunday Stills-Animal of the Month-Antlers, Horns & Hooves

Camera: Apple iPhone 14 & 16 Pro Max Telephoto

Location: 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 Whatsoever is Lovely: Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #4

XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.

This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #4. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalowsince the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.

For this post I am focusing on the Dryas iulia, Aka Julia Longwing butterfly, Julia heliconian, the flame, or flambeau.

Dryas iulia is often misspelled incorrectly as julia. It is the only representative in the genus Dryas. It is a species of brush-footed butterfly, native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida. In the summertime it can sometimes be found as far north as eastern Nebraska. They are considered rare immigrants or temporary strays in both North and South Carolina. That doesn’t mean they won’t be spotted though. During the warm summer months, individual adults occasionally migrate or drift northwards from their permanent breeding grounds in southern Florida and southern Texas.

The Julia Longwing butterfly was are known for their striking bright orange wings. They can have black markings, and their have notably long and narrow forewings which gives them that “Longwing” moniker.

The Julia heliconian butterflies are extremely fast and erratic fliers; they were quite a challenge to capture with my camera. Their fast movements prevented me from being able to catch all of them clearly, however, I still did managed to catch a few good shots with my Canon.

Besides being very fast fliers, they frequent clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. They feed on the nectar of flowers, like lantanas (Lantana) and shepherd’s-needle. They drink the tears of caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears.

The Dryas iulia butterfly species is real popular in butterfly houses similar to the Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Conservancy. Their popularity is due to its longevity and its activity throughout the day. They were intensely fascinating to watch them zipping to and fro, hither and yonder faster than your (at least mine) eyes could follow them.

These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The Dryas iulia are a featured seasonal resident of the Butterfly Bungalow at Daniel Stowe Conservancy. Since these butterflies thrive in tropical environments, the Garden imports them chrysalides as part of their summer pollinator exhibition. The warm, humid greenhouse enclosure provides an ideal environment for them to fly alongside other native and tropical species like the Zebra Longwing and Malachite.

Click on images to enlarge.

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week #38

Terri’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge-Orange

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.

Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, 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 Pull Up a Seat Week 38— At a Museum, Coleman Style #5

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**

Click on each image to enlarge.

XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 38

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

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

Thursday Trios: 2026.09.17

Backyard Trios

with Coleman

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

Click on each image to enlarge.

Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.09.18

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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.

Monday Portrait – 2026 September Seventh (7th)

Brahman cattle originally came from India and are a hybrid of four different Indian cattle breeds. They are well-suited for the hot climates like we’ve been experiencing this summer.

We saw this one and others like it at The Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, North Carolina. Their loose skin, short, sleek hair, and ability to sweat efficiently are the reasons they adapt so well to our hot and humid summer climates. Their distinctive hump on their shoulders is the key feature which helps store fat. They are known to be gentle temperament creatures.

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-2026.09.07

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

Location; The 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.

2026 Pull Up a Seat Week 36— At a Museum, Coleman Style #4

Coleman Style

at The Schiele Museum

of Natural History

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

Click on each image to enlarge.

XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 36

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

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

CWWC (2026): Any Which Way — Your Choice [08.28.2026]

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 Challenge are 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.

Brian’s More of lifes ups and downs

Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Scandinavian Architecture

Cath’s Which Way… {Up, Down and Around}

Suzette’s For Deb’s CWWC26 Any Which Way – Indoor Stairs/Steps

Marina’s Perspective

Rich’s The Down Staircase

Dawn’s Paladin Indoor Steps

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

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: 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: Cee’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)-Any which way with Vehicles

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 August 26

Hypsilophodon sculpture
featured inside the
*Elizabeth Williams Robinson*
*Hall of Dinosaurs*
*at The Schiele Museum.*

Click on image to enlarge.

Wordless Wednesday-2026.08.26

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.

Sunday Stills 2026 August 23: Animal of the Month #2

Insects & Bugs

European Honey Bees

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.

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.

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.

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.]

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?

Click on each image to enlarge.

Terri’s Sunday 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cell Pic Sunday: 2026 August Sixteenth

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.

Click on image to enlarge.

John’s Cell Pic Sunday-2026.08.16

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Henry Hall of the American Indian; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North 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.

Silent Sunday: 2026 August 16th

Where in the World

is Coleman?

Click on images to enlarge.

Silent Sunday-2026.08.16

Cameras: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

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

Coleman’s First Day Back to School

2026 Back to School …

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.08.15

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, 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.

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.

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]

Monochrome Madness #65 — Outlived their Usefulness??

Elke from pictures imperfect blog has chosen a theme of Getting On In Years for this week’s Monochrome Madness Challenge. Getting on in Years can refer to many different things, (objects or people). Ive chosen to go with objects getting on (getting old) as in Antiques. Are Antiques still useful? Maybe some still are, but others like these are not useful for their intended purpose. However, they are useful for educational purposes and displays in museums.

Here are my contributions …

Julian Museum
Julian, California
*April 1978*

These Antique Mining Lamps were once useful to provide crucial light needed to navigate dark tunnels and identify gold veins. Nowadays, people use more modern versions of oil or kerosene lamps.

*Fireplace in a Historic Cabin*
*The Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia, North Carolina*

This fireplace has definitely seen better days. At one time it would have kept a family warm during cold winter months. It was probably also used to cook food for family and friends who may have stopped by.

*A Disc Plow*
*on Display at the Farm*
*The Schiele Museum of Natural History*

The above and below images are photos of an Antique Two-Disc Plow. Disc plows use large, concave steel discs, rather than moldboards, to cut and turn the soil. They’re especially effective in tough conditions like hard or sticky soils, or where there’s a lot of crop residue.

*Another angle of the Disc Plow*
*The Schiele Museum*
*Gastonia, North Carolina*

The Disc Plows were revolutionary in farming, especially for breaking up tough soil and preparing fields for planting. Unlike single-bladed plows, the two discs allowed for more efficient turning and mixing of the soil, which was a huge advantage for farmers back in the day.

Coleman testing out an
Antique horse- or
mule-drawn walking plow

An Antique Horse or Mule drawn Walking Plow (like this single-bottom moldboard plow) was once a cornerstone of 19th and early 20th century American agriculture. It along with the Two-Disc Plow is on display at The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. It is an outdoor exhibit dedicated to showcasing historical regional farming technology in the North Carolina Piedmont.

Click on images to enlarge.

Elke’s Monochrome Madness #65-Getting on in Years

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness #65-Getting on in Years

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.

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 August 12

One Last Outing …

*Free Afternoon at*
*The Schiele Museum*
*with Coleman & Sophia Ruthann*

Wordless Wednesday-2026.08.12

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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.

Monday Portrait – 2026 August Tenth

Ammotragus Lervia

This Aoudad resides at the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, North Carolina. The habitat range for Aoudad’s is northern Algeria to central Mauritania, east to west Egypt & west Sudan. Their height averages around 30-40 inches with the Males weighing approximately 220-308 pounds and females weighing much less at about 88-121 pounds. They have a lifespan of around 20 years in captivity.

Aoudads are expert climbers and are often seen running at “top gun” speeds up very steep slopes. You probably won’t see them near the creek or pond at the Lazy 5 Ranch, but you might just see them on a stump, fallen tree, or running up a steep rocky slope. Aoudad’s can survive up to five (5) days without access to fresh water. Hey are herds animals so when see one most likely more are not too far away.

Aoudad are often referred to as sheep, but they are more closely related to goats. Unlike the young of sheep which are called lambs, the Aoudad and young are called kids.

Click on image to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-2026.08.10

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.

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.

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.

2026 Last on the Card — July 31

Brian from Bushboys World hosts 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):

From my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max:

Click on each image to enlarge.

#Brian’s Last on the Card-2026 July 31

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

Cell Pic Sunday: 2026 August 2nd

Foraging

Click on image to enlarge.

John’s Cell Pic Sunday-2026.08.02

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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

God Bless. Have a wonderful week ahead. 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.

2026 Whatsoever is Lovely: Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #3

XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.

This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #3. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalowsince the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.

For this post I am focusing on the Giant Swallowtail (Polygonia comma). The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly located in North America. It is known for its black wings with striking yellow stripes and its large wingspan. The Giant Swallowtails can have a massive wingspan of up to six (6) inches long.

Interestingly, their abdomen and outer wings are a light yellow shade with red and blue markings along the bottom of their wings while they have black and yellow stripes directly above their heads.

These Giant Swallowtails (Polygonia comma) are also referred to as Eastern Comma. They can typically be seen in shaded areas or near bodies of water. The Eastern Comma feed on sap, rotting fruit, dung, salt and minerals. They are a confident , aggressive, and social butterfly.

***#Whatsoever Is Lovely – 2026 Week 29***
***Giant Swallowtails (Polygonia comma)***
***aka Eastern Comma***

These Giant Swallowtails are feasting on Pycnanthemum incanum, aka Hoary Mountain Mint. The Mountain Mint is a hardy, aromatic perennial in the mint family which is native to eastern North America. It is known for its silvery-white foliage with clusters of small white to lavender flowers that bloom during the summertime. It is an excellent magnifier pollinators like bees, butterflies, and wasps. (I prefer watching the butterflies to bees or wasps.)

These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.

Click on images to enlarge.

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week 29

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.

Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, 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.

Wordless Wednesday — 2026 July 29

Milling Around

Click on image to enlarge.

Wordless Wednesday-2026.07.29

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

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

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

Monday Portrait – 2026 July 27

Greater Rhea

Lazy 5 Ranch

The Greater Rhea at the Lazy 5 Ranch roam freely amongst the many various Exotic animals within the pathways as well as in the grassy areas. Sometimes you can spot one by itself while at other times they’ll be in pairs, near Elands, or even alongside the Wagons that carry visitors around the Ranch.

Here are a few Greater Rheas we saw during our Adventure …

*A Rhea next to the wagon & Coleman’s hand.*

The Rhea (Rhea americana) is the third largest flightless bird in the world. They are smaller than African Ostriches and have three toes instead of two. The single male bird builds the nest for all the females in his harem to lay their eggs. A single male may incubate up to 50 eggs while in solitude. [Hey, guys how would you like the responsibility to incubate the female’s eggs?] Rheas rapidly run on long legs and travel in family groups of approximately six (6) birds except during the mating season. The mating season is when flocks of about twenty-five (25) congregate. How fast do you think Rheas can run? [Answer noted near end of post.]

Click on images to enlarge.

Monday Portrait-2026.07.27

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

Note: The Rheas can run up to forty (40) miles per hour (mph). Did you guess right? If not that’s okay, then you learned something new.

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.

Seahorses

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Super Hero Cow

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Chocolate Chip Starfish

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Pencil Sea Urchins

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Old Fashioned Candelabra

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Woolly Mammoth

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Rosemary

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In A Pumpkin

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Backyard Trios

with Coleman

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Coleman Style

at The Schiele Museum

of Natural History

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Insects & Bugs

European Honey Bees

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Grist Mill

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Close Encounter

with a Black Llama

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Where in the World

is Coleman?

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One Last Outing …

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Ammotragus Lervia

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Swamp Water

Buffalo

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Foraging

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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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Milling Around

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Greater Rhea

Lazy 5 Ranch