A floating piece of Wood Coleman through into the River. Looking through the Branches as the Water passes on by. Canada Geese enjoying an afternoon swim in the South Fork Catawba River.
Camera: 1)Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment. 2-3) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy the Warm Springlike days when they come. Have a walk in Nature to refresh your mind and soul. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and Smell the Flowers. Enjoy the beauty in Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week when Coleman and I visited Goat Island Park and Greenway we noticed a few Canada Geese. We enjoy watching them around the South Fork Catawba River.
This one here was looking at the River and contemplating going for a swim. Looked back at his mate and seemed to say, “Wanna join me for a swim?”
Canada Goose
… Deciding to go on ahead, he slithered right on down the embankment slipping on in the River and waited for her to join him.
Canada Goose
… Not wanting to pass up the opportunity, she proceeded to join him and swim along and enjoy the River together.
To do so, simply share the photo* you have set as your wallpaper;
Provide as little or as much detail as you wish;
Use a pingback, or post a link here so I know you have joined in on the fun;
Then finally, share the fun around.
I am sharing my Wallpaper from both my Laptop and my Smartphone. I enjoy looking at different images each month. Most of which revolve around Coleman (my grandson) and nature.
Here are my Desktop Wallpaper and Screensaver for my Laptop:
From My HP Laptop:
Desktop Background Wallpaper
Coleman Taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Desktop Screensaver
Coleman Taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T3i
From My Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max:
Personal Focus
Coleman Taken with my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Reading Focus
Coleman Taken with my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Hiking Focus
Coleman Taken with my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Television Focus
Canada Geese Taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Sleep Focus
Coleman Taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T3i
As you can see Coleman and his antics and expressions are in all, but one of my wallpapers. These were all taken at Riverside Park and Greenway in Cramerton, North Carolina.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Old Town; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Capture the Beauty all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Warm. Take care of yourself and each other. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Last weekend was a fairly warm sunny day, therefore, Coleman and I walked over to Goat Island Park and Greenway for him to run around a play outdoors awhile. He enjoys going to Greenways to hike and play.
While Coleman was playing a snapped a few shots of the various sections of the Playground using a couple of different lenses and attachments. I used Google monochrome filters to alter the images into black and white.
Canon EF-S18-55mm with Altura Wide-Angle Fish-eye lensCanon EF-S55-250mm with Altura UV Filter attachment Canon EF-S18-55mm with Altura Wide-Angle Fish-eye lensApple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina , USA
God Bless. Get outside and enjoy the beauty in nature. Have a funtastic weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy Nature. Be Observant. Show Gratitude. Love to all. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Debbie’s One Word Challenge theme this week is Haze. My entries this week are from a trip with my eldest son in 2017. He had a birthday wish to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We drove to the Parkway beginning our trip in Lancaster, South Carolina driving through Chester to the US-321N. This direction led us through Blowing Rock before traversing over onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We (He) drove the Parkway from this southern point all the way to the North Carolina/Viginia Border. We did not drive the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We stopped at various milestones along the parkway for breaks, hiking, and to check out the scenery. At a few stops we incurred a bit of Haze which impaired the views somewhat.
Stone Mountain Overlook Bluff Overlook/Doughton Park Devils Garden Overlook Raven Rocks OverlookBalsam Grove/Pisgah Inn Observation DeckPisgah National ForestAlong the Blue Ridge Parkway
We stopped more on the way back southbound than we did going northbound. Our northern most stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway was at Stone Mountain Overlook at Milepost 232.5. We stopped here shortly before proceeding to Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap, North Carolina where we hiked the Stone Mountain Loop Trail. We had great views of Stone Mountain, saw the Middle and Lower Waterfalls, and visited the Hutchinson Homestead. The Hutchinson Homestead is a mid-19th century farm with well maintained old buildings, a large meadow with terrific views of Stone Mountain State.
Our next stops were at Devils Garden Overlook at Milepost 235.7; Doughton Park at Milepost 241.1; Bluff Mountain at Milepost 243.4; Raven Rocks Overlook at Milepost 289.5; Moses H. Cone Memorial Park (not pictured) at Milepost 294.1; Craggy Gardens (not pictured) at Milepost 364.6; and Mount Pisgah at Milepost 408.6.
It was a long enjoyable drive and valuable experience full of memories spent with my eldest son. As you can see from the images some of our views were obscured and opaque due to the hazy atmosphere.
While hiking a hidden (almost) dirt trail at Riverside Park and Greenway this past weekend, Coleman and I came upon this lone Benchin the middle of a sandy area near the South Fork Catawba River.
Backside of Bench
I am not sure if anyone else knows about this Bench and the Sandy area along the South Fork Catawba River or not. Coleman and I have not seen anyone else around the area. Most people stay near the Fishing Piers at the Greenways.
Frontside of Bench
It gives Coleman an opportunity to play undisturbed in the Sand with his Little Tikes construction vehicles. He is quite the “engineer” designing his own roads, bridges and tunnels in the sand.
It also allows me to have a peaceful serene tranquil relaxing place to Pull Up a Seat to relax and enjoy watching Coleman play.
Coleman and I met Lou and his owner while hiking the Carolina Thread Trail at Goat Island Park and Greenway. He was friendly and welcomed the attention. Later he enjoyed romping around with the other dogs in the dog park located at the far end of the trail.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get outdoors. Take a walk and enjoy the sunshine while seeing the beautiful landscape and interesting views all around. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Location: Cramer Mountain; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and Smell the Flowers. Enjoy the beauty in Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day! Here it is time again for another Which Way Challenge. I hope y’all will join in on the fun. This week I have selected CWWC — Any Which Way with Lines. As you can see from my selections, the lines may be from shadows casting lines across a road, pathway, or trail. And as always signs are welcome. Be sure your Which Way is clearly visible. Have fun!
Here are my entries for this week’s challenge:
Shadow lines across a pathShadow & bridge rail linesLines from shadows & the fencing Tree lines and shadows Rocking Chair lines & netting lines with shadows
My images are all my own taken at Goat Island Park and Greenway while Coleman and I were hiking along the Trail.
Thank you to everyone who played along last week. Feel free to click on the link to check out her Which Way below.
This Historic Baltimore School is a little less than a mile walk from our home. Coleman and I visited here last weekend. The school building is in bad shape, however, funds are being raised to restore and preserve the school building. It already has Historic recognition and is awaiting the necessary funds to begin the restoration process. It will be used as a community center and museum once it is restored.
Restoration and Preservation is necessary for future generations to learn and understand the historical structure significance of the Baltimore Village School. To learn and understand why there was such a need for the school and how people and society’s views back then were so dramatically different than they are today.
I didn’t live in this area back during that time period. I do remember when buses were used to transport black students from one neighbourhood to another to integrate the schools. Times were definitely different back in the day.
Location:Rock Branch Park Trail; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. Have a wonderful week and enjoy nature. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
John with the blog photobyjohnbo is the host for this week’s Lens-Artist Challenge and he is giving us an opportunity to choose our own Word which would be appropriate for our topic, sharing three to four photos that go along with our Word topic choice.
For John’s Pick-a-Word challenge this week I have chosen to use the word Historic. The Word Historic means that something is famous or important in history, for an example a historical site.
The Town of Cramerton, (which we currently reside in) has a couple of different Historic places within walking distance to our home. On Saturday, Coleman and I walked up the road and around a bend for approximately 0.9 miles to the Historic Baltimore School.
Coleman pointing to the Historic Baltimore Village sign.
The Historic Baltimore Village sign is located at the beginning of the road leading to the Historic Baltimore School. The Historic Baltimore School is located at 575 Baltimore Drive in Cramerton, North Carolina. It was built by Stuart Cramer, in the late 1920’s for the children of African American men and women who worked in the Cramer Mills and Cramer’s Dairy Farm and Orchards. The intention of the school was to educate the African Americans and provide skills to navigate segregation.
Historic Baltimore School
The Baltimore Village School sits on a hill near the South Fork Catawba River. Inside the building are cracked windows covered by boards, an old refrigerator on one side of the room, and patches of peeling paint hanging off the roof.
The school has been closed for quite some time, but a former Cramerton resident stepped in to preserve its history. Former residents Fred Glenn and his wife, Ernestine Glenn purchased the school building with plans to renovate it. They bought it to prevent it from being burned to the ground by the city’s fire department which had planned to do a control burn.
However, knowing the Historic importance of the Baltimore Village School, the Glenn’s wanted to protect and preserve the school for generations to come to be able to learn about its history and significance to the community.
The front and back sides of the Historic Baltimore School building.
Mr. Glenn has stated that the Baltimore Village School, where his mother and Aunt attended in the 1930’s, was the heartbeat of the community. The school building provided an alternative to places off-limits to African Americans. Back during that particular time period, African Americans did not have the opportunity of going to a cinema, or any such facility or theatre. The school building became the theatre for the Baltimore Village Community. The school building was also used as a place of worship and later used as a community center.
Help Save the Historic Baltimore Village School
The Glenn’s and the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Village School are currently still trying to raise enough funds for the restoration of the Historic school. Once enough funds are raised the money will be used to turn the building into a community center and a museum for people to learn about a critical piece of history in the small town of Cramerton.
“History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveler”
Cameras: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Historic Baltimore School; Historic Baltimore Village; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Tour an Historic Place. Learn about history not found in books. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman and I go hiking along trails whenever the weather isn’t too cold and windy to roam about outdoors. We often encounter other hikers/walkers walking their dogs on the trails in Greenways and, Nature Preserves, as well as State and Local Parks.
What or should I say whom we never expected to see while hiking on the trail was a man hiking with his Cat. He had a pet carrier on his back with the Cat inside on a leash. The Cat could (and did) leap to the ground, walk around and investigate the area and then spring back up to her carrier whenever she desired to do so.
These are shots of the Cat in his carrier people watching…
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get outdoors. Take a walk and enjoy the sunshine while seeing the beautiful landscape and interesting views all around. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman and I hiked a new (to us) trail today after he arrived home from school and switched shoes. We had to walk approximately one mile alongside the road (not every section had a sidewalk), across the C. Claudius Dawson Bridge (which crosses over the South Fork Catawba River) and cross the forked road before reaching our destination to eventually begin our hike for the afternoon.
On our hike we periodically encountered a wooden Bench here, there, and yonder along the Rocky Branch Trail. Here are a few of the Benches we happened upon throughout our hike.
Brian from bushboy.blogis the host for the #LastontheCard challenge. His rules are simple to follow. As per Brian, Your last photo doesn’t have to be on the very last day of the month if you didn’t take any photos on that day. Maybe it was earlier in the month when the last photo was taken.
Brian’s rules are simple: 1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 31st 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
Walking around Riverside Park and Greenway this week along a dirt trail Coleman and I came across this small tree with a few Green Sprouts popping amongst a sand-filled area near the South Fork Catawba River. Its location seemed an oddity, life beginning anew.
Here’s playing around with varying aspects of the image …
Original Google Stylized Pic Collage Watercolor Black & White Monochrome
We took a walk yesterday after Coleman got off the School Bus. We had a lovely walk around Riverside Park and Greenway. We took a new (to us) dirt path along the river.
On the way back home, we walked on the sidewalk parallel to the Railroad Tracks. When Coleman heard a noise coming down yonder on the tracks he thought it was a train chugging along down the Railroad Tracks. Imagine our surprise when we saw work vehicles running down the tracks. Oh my, that was such a sight to behold.
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) are very common sight here in the Carolinas. With the warmer temperatures and spring weather approaching, the Canada Geese are flocking to the lakes and rivers.
The Canada Goose is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. They are herbivorous and normally migratory in nature. They are often found on or close proximity to fresh water. They are also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. In our area they are oftentimes on and near the Catawba River or its tributaries, such as the South Fork (Catawba) River.
It was a tremendous pleasure to watch the Canada Geese sunning on the river’s shoreline, diving into the water, taking flight and landing in the water.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Time to Get Outdoors. Relax and enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This being a non-theme week, I have decided to post a random variety of Monochrome images. I am linking to Leanne’s Monochrome Madnesshere.
Front Door; Cramerton, North CarolinaColeman; Cramerton, North CarolinaCramerton, North Carolina Goat Island Park & Greenway; Cramerton, North CarolinaGoat Island Park & Greenway; Cramerton, North CarolinaGoat Island Park & Greenway; Cramerton, North CarolinaGoat Island Park & Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina Old Abandoned House; Watauga, North Carolina See the Doors )
God Bless. Black & White or Colour; the World is a beautiful convas for artistic expression. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Being Bold is not always easy especially if you’re timid or introverted, however being Bold in your photography is well worth it if you’re able to capture that thrilling moment, that “perfect shot.”
“Your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece. There are a million ways to be kind, amazing, fabulous, creative, bold, and interesting.”
The closest Shorelines we have near us are t hr e banks of the Catawba River, therefore I have chosen to show y’all what Coleman and I have seen recently on the Shoreline of the South Fork Catawba River. The first few photos are taken on the banks of the South Fork Catawba River at the Goat Island Park and Greenway.
Canada Geese on the Shoreline banks of the South Fork Catawba River
On both days the weather was Tepid which was a delightful experience and quite a contrast to our recent freezing weather of snow and freezing rain. The Tepid weather was just perfect, not too hit and not too cold.
This next set of images were taken on Monday of the South Fork Catawba River’s Shoreline from the Riverside Park and Greenway mainly featuring Coleman playing on the Shoreline banks.
Coleman playing in the sand along the Shoreline of the South Fork Catawba River
Cameras: Images 1-4 & 6-11) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; Image 5) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: 1st set of Images) Shoreline of the South Fork Catawba River, Goat Island Park and Greenway; 2nd set) Shoreline of the South Fork Catawba River, Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature’s beauty. Relax and have some fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Dan Antion with No Facilities blog is the host for CFFC. Dan has chosen a theme this week of Blue and ? with Blue being the dominant Color in the image.
Here are my entries for Dan’s CFFC challenge this week.
Coleman wearing Blue hiking on Blue Star TrailDSBG Eastern Bluebird TrailBlue Sky and post for the Railroad Tree limbs encased with Blue Sky background Siberian Husky in Dog Park with Blue bench in background Blue Goat Island Park & Greenway benchBlue Water in South Fork Catawba River at Riverside Park and Greenway Coleman’s Blue bowl & spoon with his Lactose free ice cream with sprinkles Cloudy Blue Skies
After days of freezing cold temperatures and wintery weather, it was a delightful afternoon with a high of 56° and a feels like in the low 60°’s.
After wandering around the trail at Goat Island, it was wonderful to see the floral display at the Center in downtown Cramerton.
Ceramic Flower pots filled with new floral life …
… Could Spring be on the way? Or is the Weather fooling us? Only time will tell. I’ll enjoy the beautiful floral displays and the warmth of the Sun while I can.
This past week Coleman was out of school for Two days due to winter weather advisory reporting impending snow and possible hazardous road conditions. Since We only get snow in our area every two-three years, I decided to bundle Coleman up to protect him from the elements and allowed him to run around outside while it was snowing. He had fun even though there wasn’t enough snow to adequately play with … nosnowman … nosnowballs … just light fluffy snow falling lightly to the ground.
Cameras: 1-5) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens with Altura UV filter attachment; 6) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Location: Home; Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Stay Warm. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Stay warm. Spread the Love of Friendship. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
For the past few days we have had intermittent grey cloudy skies and freezing temperatures and light snowfall showers off and on throughout the day and night. Not enough Snow? There was not enough Snow for Coleman to really play in and definitely not enough Snow to build a snowman.
Too much Snow? Why do I ask? Let me tell you, I’m partial to warmer sunnier weather like in Spring and Summer. I’m not too keen on winter freezing temperatures or having to wait at bus stops for Coleman’s school bus (which tends to run late lately). Maybe I should plan on moving to a warmer climate location? If I did or when we move; if I wanted to see Snow then I could drive to the mountains. I believe I (we) could have a delightful great time without driving into the mountains during the freezing cold winter Snowy season.
Cameras: 1) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; 2-5+Video) Apple 16 Pro Max
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Warm. Take care of yourself and each other. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 