Leaves are often seen along hiking trails. Sometimes we notice the beautiful Autumn foliage in their full glory upon their tress and at other times we notice leaves of various shades upon the ground or in the nearby water.
The first two photos were seen in and around the creek at The Schiele Museum of Natural History’s nature trail. This is a place Coleman loves to visit at least twice per week. The only problem (depends on perspective) is keeping him out of the water.
The last two photos were captured as we were hiking along the Green Trail on the grounds of the Gaston County Warlick Family YMCA. These beautiful Autumn 🍂 leaves were located on the banks of the Robinwood Lake. The sunlight seemed to enhance their colourful loveliness.
Model Railroad chugging along New Braunfels Railroad Museum New Braunfels, Texas
I was able to visit the New Braunfels Railroad Museum back in January in 2020 when I had the opportunity to visit a relative prior to taking a cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas.
Coleman checking out the signs, the tracks, & the Norfolk Southern Railway Car North Carolina Transportation Museum Spencer, North Carolina, USASouthern Railway, Turntable Bridge and Roundhouse North Carolina Transportation Museum Spencer, North Carolina, USA
The 100-foot long turntable bridge on the ring rail — the outer circular rail. The roundhouse and turntable were apart of the Southern Railway Spencer’s Shops Complex. They are part of the North Carolina Transportation Museum.
The Roundhouse is the largest one of its kind remaining in the U.S. It was built in 1924 and served as a repair shop for locomotives and rail cars. In the old days, a turntable operator was on duty to spin the table to line up with the oncoming train car so it could be maneuvered into the Roundhouse for repairs.
My grandson, Coleman and I toured the North Carolina Transportation Museum back in August of 2021. We did not ride on the turntable bridge, however, for an additional cost visitors are able to do so if they so desire.
My cousin Marsha Hayes standing by railroad tracks in front of Railway cars The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Chama, New Mexico, USA
The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is a 3 ft ( 914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 64 miles (103 km) of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United States. The railroad is named for 2 geographical features along the route; the Cumbres Pass and the Toltec Gorge. It was originally part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad’s narrow-gauge network. It is jointly owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico and has been since 1970. The very first rails for this line began to be laid down on February 20, 1980.
Railway crossing the Railroad Trestle Tracks as seen from the Blue Star Trail Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
We are not always lucky enough to actually see a train traveling along the Railroad Trestle. I captured this particular video back on November 28, 2020 on one of the many trails Coleman & I hiked at the Anne Springs Close Greenway. Hope you enjoy as much as we did when we watched it chugging down along the tracks.
Happy October! This month has begun with several trips to the Schiele Museum and lots of hiking. First of was The Early Explorers program at the museum. Early Explorers is for preschoolers (2-5 year olds). They do interactive play, songs, story time , and a craft each week based on a weekly theme. This week’s theme was Pumpkin.
Coleman’s Pumpkin 🎃 Craft art
Later in the day we rode the city transit over to the Gaston County Warlick Family YMCA.
Tree 🌲 Fungi
We meandered down & around along the Green Trail to enjoy a hike and look at we saw. We noticed some interesting fungi and some very active bees 🐝.
Bee 🐝 Pollination
The bees were having a pollinating party 🎉 it seemed. They were flitting to and fro devouring the sweet nectar of these bright yellow flowers.
Windshield Leaf 🍂
Lastly, we spotted a autumn 🍂 leaf 🍂 clinging to the windshield of his mom’s car later in the afternoon.
We have been active this week more than other times recently. We’ve made several visits to The Pond at the Schiele Museum and today we did a double excursion and visited the Warlick YMCA as well.
The first three are of water reflections in The Pond while the last two are of Robinwood Lake at the Y.
As Coleman and I were wandering through the Nature trail at the Schiele Museum; we featured Up the stairs and around the path downward until he ran off and into the Playscape sand pit. He brought along his friend Mr. Blue.
Up and Around the Stairs
Coleman met Mr. Blue at the doctor’s office. He helped him adjust to receiving two shots. He was comforted by him and decided he did not want to leave him behind when we arrived at the museum.
Why amI on my side? How’d I get this way? Please help me!
Therefore, Mr. Blue tagged along by his Side any which way and everywhere he happened to go. Mr. Blue hadn’t realised he would be cast aside for Dinosaurs 🦕🦖🦕 Coleman discovered hiding in the sand.
Mr. BlueColeman playing with the Dinosaurs That’s not how I meant … I wanted Upright.
Please do not look down on Mr. Blue for being disappointed. I’ll have you know he was not forgotten. When it was time to go back Up the trail to go home, Coleman made sure he gathered Up his new friend when he was packing his belongings into his backpack.
Coleman and I walked around the Pond at The Schiele Museum of Natural History’s Nature Trail on Saturday after participating in the Dinosaur Day’s activities. I was fascinated by the turtles in the Pond while Coleman moved onto the Playscape area to have some FunTime in the sand. I stood there for a few minutes watching the turtle move (his/her) head & tail around to catch better rays of sunshine.
Coleman brings joy and sunshine to my soul. It brightens my day to see him smile and express himself in amazing ways.
Coleman does not get to have special treats like ice cream or popsicles on a normal basis when we are out at the museum or other places. He is lactose intolerant and cannot have any dairy or soy products. So on this rare occasion when I found out the ice cream vendor outside the museum had dairy free popsicles; I gave in and bought him one.
The joy I saw on his face as he was eating the strawberry mango popsicle brought a smile to my face and sunshine to my soul.
Spotted touch-me-notImpatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam
Impatiens capensis, also known as, Jewelweed has a long history of use in Native American medicine. When applied topically, sap from the stem and leaves is said to relieve itching and pain from a variety of ailments, including hives, poison ivy, stinging nettle, and other skin sores and irritations.
Jewelweeds are found in locations all over the Piedmont region and other areas of the Carolinas. As you can see from the top picture the flowers are rather small. They feature 1″ long, rear-spurred, cornucopia-shaped, orange to orange-yellow flowers with reddish-brown spotting.
The flowers bloom from June to frost. Each flower dangles from a leaf axil on its own slender stalk. It is a herbaceous annual that may grow 3 to 5 feet tall. It can be naturally found in areas of moist soil including forests, streambanks, and bogs.
These particular Spotted touch-me-nots are located along a dense moist trail behind an unused soccer field. The dirt trail winds around and contains many elevated manholes which are accessible to city or county utility officials.
We have seen Jewelweeds in other areas we have hiked but until searching for more information I had not known the many medicinal applications it contains. They are attractive to hummingbirds for their nectar from June until early frost.
This challenge is different for me. Compared to others most of my moon 🌙 shots seem rather small and insignificant. I do not have proper equipment to get really close up photographic shots of the moon, however, I capture what I am able. The really close-up images were taken by a friend of mine or taken via a planetarium show of the moon 🌝 . I decided to post the photos through a video instead of individual images. I hope y’all enjoy the show.
Moons over the years Moonlight Sonata (by Beethoven)
Its common name is red dahlia, although the flowers can be orange or occasionally yellow, as well as the more common red. Common Eastern Bumblebee feasting on its nectar. Dahlia coccinea
For this challenge I’m continuing the visit to the Schiele Museum of Natural History. This time I have selected photos taken inside the museum instead of outside photos in my last challenge entry.
Young QuailsBarbeque PitTurtle swimming in an Aquarium
Dahoon (Ilex cassine) Schiele Museum Gastonia, North Carolina Dahoon is a rare evergreen holly found at the borders of limesink ponds. Schiele Museum Gastonia, North Carolina.
All Autumn – Metal photos included in my entry this week were taken during the Autumn Festival this past Saturday at The Schiele Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Turkey in a Metal & Wood Coop The Farm Schiele Museum of Natural History Potatoes 🥔 in a Metal Basket The Farm Schiele Museum of Natural History Coleman in an Artificial Metal Pumpkin @ Autumn Festival Coleman on a haystack surrounded by pumpkins @ The Autumn Festival @ The Schiele Museum of Natural History Gastonia, North Carolina Coleman Autumn Festival Schiele Museum Gastonia, North Carolina
My entries today for the Ragtag Daily Prompt are a reminder of the times I enjoyed visiting the Museum of Man in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. I spent a lot of time walking around Balboa Park as a teen visiting all the various museums and just enjoying a fabulous time in the park. So many memories of long ago, but never far from my heart and mind.
Around the town, across the country, or across the World we are essentially the same. We may have differences in some areas, but in other ways we are basically similar.
I’m fascinated to see the World through your eyes, photographic insights and interesting posts. It’s a small World after all.
Exhibit in Discovery Center Abilene, TexasIt’s a Small World Float in Disneyland Parade Disneyland
Pachydiplax longipennis Blue dasher Species of dragonfly
Blue dashers live near still, calm bodies of water, such as ponds, marshes, slow-moving waterways, and ditches, in warm areas typically at low elevations. The adults roost in trees at night.
The blue dasher hunts by keeping still and waiting for suitable prey to come within range. When it does, they dart from their position to catch it.
I do not often see such amazingly beautiful sunsets where I live amongst all the buildings and such. This night I was lucky to be outside at just the right time.
Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 