2025 Silent Sunday: 11 May

Holding On

Coleman Swinging
& Holding On

Silent Sunday

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV filter attachment.

Location: Goat Island Playground; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Monday Window: 05 May — Reflective Church Windows

Kitty by a Window – 2
— AI creation by PR

As Coleman and I were walking up from the River by the White Church Coleman noticed a wind chime. He decided to go check it out & see how the chimes sounded.

Coleman rings
the Wind Chimes
See the Sky
Reflected in the Window
Side Windows
of Cramerton Independent
Presbyterian Church

Monday Window

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: 1) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; 2-3) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: 151 8th Avenue; Downtown Town of Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA 

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

2025 OWS: 04 May — Favourite Capture (this week)

Coleman
looking out over the
South Fork Catawba River @GoatIslandParkandGreenway

Debbie’s One Word Sunday

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL filter attachment.

Settings: f/4 • 1/320 • 55mm • ISO100

Location: Centennial Center River Access and Observation Pier; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a lovely day. Relax and enjoy the outdoors. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Silent Sunday: 04 May

Water Abstracts

Silent Sunday

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #268

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1-3) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max ( 2-3 edited in Pixlr); 4-5) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens (unedited)

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

Coleman’s Hiding … Can You Spot Him?

Did you Find Coleman’s location? Let me know where you see Coleman hiding.

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday 

SWS 

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL filter attachment

Settings: f/5.6 • 1/320s • 250mmISO3200

Location: Goat Island Playground; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina

God Bless. When’s the last time you played Hide & Seek? Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 April — Last on the Card

Brian from Bushboys World is the host for the Last on the Card ChallengeThe rules are simple, just post the last photo from SD card and/or the #lastphoto from your phone. It doesn’t matter if it was taken on the 31st or not. It can be The Last Photo whenever it was taken. No editing. No explanations needed. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments. Use the tags The Last Photo and #LastOnTheCard.

Here’s my Last Photos for April. 

From my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

A Trio of Canada Geese
Goat Island Park and Greenway

From my Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Coleman

#LastPhoto

Last on the Card-April 2025

Thursday Trios

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Location: Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Flower of the Day: 30 April

Lagerstroemia indica ‘Tuscarora’

“When Sun warms Earth,
Myrtle knows to shed her skin
and show her inside beauty.”

~ Margaret Simon

Thinking of summer nearing with the end of the school year approaching, Crape Myrtle’s beginning to bloom once again with the heat encroaching upon the earth surface displaying beauty in all its glory.

Tuscarora Crape Myrtle

“I have a secret
It’s a bit of gold
hidden away
only Myrtle knows”

~ Linda Mitchell

There are many times Coleman will walk on by the flowers in bloom and then there are times like these when he’ll stop, sniff the blooms and admire their beauty and fragrance.

Tuscarora Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Tuscarora

“Myrtle knows
Her dress is so last year.
Underneath—mottled beauty
For fashion’s new season.”

~ Rose Cappelli

Cee’s FOTD ( Flower of the Day) Challenge

Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S75-300mm lens.

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

God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Enjoy Nature’s bountiful beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 #CosPhoChal: Pick a colour

—- Pick Green

Dale is hosting this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge and she wants us to feature primarily one colour this week with her prompt of Pick a Colour. My pick is Green, Coleman’s favourite colour.

Mostly Green in the Garen
Daniel Stowe Conservancy
(Botanical Garden )
Canada Goose
nearly hidden by the Green Foliage
across the Green tinted River.
Coleman
in Green Camo
Camouflaged by the
Green Tree Leaves
Lush Green yard
with Coleman playing
in his Green Turtle
Green Focused
Color Pop of Coleman

Cosmic Photo Challenge-Pick a Colour

Photo Credit:©️2023-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens

Locations: In Belmont & Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Words for Thought #58: 04.29

John 1:3 (NIV)

God always has something to say. Be encouraged by His Word as you spend some time in biblical meditation and hear His heart for you.

The Beauty of God’s Creations are all around us. Be thankful for God’s many blessings and the beauty he has created in you.

“Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.”

—Mary Oliver

Think About It Tuesday

Photo Credit: © 2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; 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. 

2025 OWS: 27 April —Texture

Textile & Visual

Physical Feels

& Visual Appearance

Rough, Hard, Bumpy, Rigid
Bryoria nadvornikiana,
aka horsehair lichens
Rough, Hairy, Fuzzy, Stiff
Dog vomit slime mold
Slimy, Spongy, Soft, Gelatinous
Juglans nigra,
aka Eastern American Black Walnut

Hard, Rough, Tough, Spherical
Walters(Waters) infant Gravemarker (my paternal Great Grandparents infant son)
Grainy, Rough, Weathered, Coarse,

“The friends whom I have are invaluable, and although not numerous they are sufficient for my enjoyment; and the texture of my own mind renders me very indifferent to the rest of the world.”

George Combe

Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Texture

Photo Credit:©️2019-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

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

Spring Festival 2025: Along the South Fork Catawba River

Spring Flowers are springing up up and down the river and riverbanks. Coleman and I took a walk on Friday to Riverside Park and Greenway, I was amazed at all the beautiful flowers sprouting into bloom.

Here are some of the flowers we came across that are starting to blossom. There are signs that indicate other flowers will blossom in the next week or so.

The Green Arrow Arum should begin blooming in the next two-three weeks, about the same timeframe as the Spider Lilies.

Spring Festival 2025-Week #5

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2025 Week 15

God Bless. Take time to enjoy the Beauty in Nature. Be thankful for your blessings. Have a wonderful week ahead. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Monochrome Madness (MM) #32: Springtime in the Carolinas

Host this week for Monochrome Madness is Dawn from The Day After. She has chosen a theme of Everything Spring.

Springtime in the Carolinas entails anything and everything from Spring sports like T-Ball for Coleman, to Kayaking through the Catawba River, to simply rolling in the grass at an outdoor concert, to the beauty of Spring flowers. And who can’t forget about the Spring festivities surrounding the Easter Egg Scramble. Let us not forget what this Holiday Season is all about. It is not about the Easter eggs hunts, even though the children enjoy them, it’s about the Crucifixion of Jesus and his Resurrection. We celebrate that “He is Risen!”.

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”

— Anne Frank

Dawn’s Monochrome Madness-Everything Spring

Spring Festival 2025

Cee’s Flower of the Day

To check out the guidelines for Monochrome Madness and/or upcoming themes check out Leanne’s Monochrome Madness page here.

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Location: Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. May God bless you at Easter and keep you all year through. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 SYD: April 15

Clare from Clare’s Cosmos invites everyone to join her in Sharing Your Desktop (SYD). Below are her suggestions for participating in the Share Your Desktop Challenge 

  1. To do so, simply share the photo* you have set as your wallpaper;
  2. Provide as little or as much detail as you wish;
  3. Use a pingback, or post a link here so I know you have joined in on the fun;
  4. 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 at his
1st T-Ball Game

Desktop Screensaver

Coleman by the
South Fork Catawba River
Riverside Park and Greenway

From My Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: 

Personal Focus

Coleman
practicing fielding
for T-Ball

Reading Focus

Coleman at
Riverside Park and Greenway

Hiking Focus

Coleman hiking
on the Disc Golf Trail
Goat Island Park and Greenway

Share Your Desktop – April 2025

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1,3,5) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; 2,4) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & Star Filter attachments

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

2025 LAPC #343 – Seen on my Last Outing with Coleman

Leya is this week’s host for the Lens-Artist Challenge. She has selected a theme of Seen on my Last Outing.

My last outing was on Friday after I picked Coleman up from the school bus stop. After stopping at home to allow him to change into shorts, gather drinks and snacks we proceeded to hike downtown to Goat Island Park and Greenway for a relaxing afternoon of hiking and fun.

What we saw when we first approached Goat Island were the Canada Geese out soaking up the warm sunshine.

Continuing on our way we gaze over the South Fork Catawba River from the bridge as we cross over into the Greenway.

Next up, we saw a bicyclist riding along in front of us on the paved Greenway trail.

Hiking along we saw Sasquatch and more Canada Geese.

Isn’t it amazing the variety of interesting things we see on our various outings we take when we venture outside. The interesting “thing” we saw next was not in our normal per view of subjects seen on any of our adventures previously.

We spoke with the man in the River as curiosity plagued us to know what he was doing standing in the middle of the River. He informed us he was searching for golf discs that might of missed their target and landed in the river instead of the disc golf catcher.

Venturing on, Coleman and I spotted trash discarded by the trail (someone didn’t adhere to the Leave No Trace rule).

Trash by trailside

Before continuing on our hike, Coleman decided to throw sticks in the river. He likes to see the splashes that occur when he throws objects into the water.

And coming back around to the beginning of the trail, we see some newly grown mushrooms and a couple of disc golf catchers.

As we are at the end of our adventure and what was Seen on our Last Outing, you might like to venture over to Leya’s blog to see what she saw on her last outing. Thank you Leya for hosting this week’s challenge. Click here to check out Leya’s post.

Lens-Artists Challenge #343 – Seen on my Last Outing

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #264

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star Filter attachments. 

Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Wordless Wednesday: 09 April

Tree Replanting

Coleman
trying to replant
this portion of a tree

Hugh’s Wordless Wednesday

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #264

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star Filter attachments.

Location: Riverside Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 CosPhoChal: April Week One — Fun in the Sun

Fun in the Sun

Coleman Style

Whenever the weather is nice and warm on the weekends and sometimes during the week, Coleman and I go hiking to one of the nearby Greenways. Coleman prefers being outside having Fun in the Sun anytime to being cooped up indoors.

Whenever I go outside into the Sunshine, it is, more likely than not, to watch Coleman having Fun in the Sun.

Now that Spring has arrived, Coleman has Fun in the Sun practicing T-Ball (or if you hear him say it, it would be T-Bat practice).

Some days we go to Riverside Park and Greenway, while there he likes to have Fun in the Sun playing in the Sand or being near the water.

On other days we hike down to Goat Island Park and Greenway to either hike or allow Coleman to play in the playground. Occasionally we bring along our cornhole bean bags to have some Fun in the Sun playing a round of Cornhole.

Most other times at Goat Island he play on the playground equipment swinging & twisting in & out of the ropes or convincing me to push him on the Swings for him to enjoy having Fun in the Sun.

Cosmic Photo Challenge-Fun in the sun

#CosPhoChal

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

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

Locations: 1-3) C.B. Huss Recreation Center; 4-7) Riverside Park and Greenway; 8-11) Goat Island Park and Greenway

God Bless. Have Fun in the Sun. Enjoy the vast beauty in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Monochrome Monday: 07 April

Unusual River Sighting

Searching for Golf Discs

Monochrome Monday

Monday Monochrome

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #264

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star Filter attachments. 

Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Numbers Game #66-187

Judy from Life Lessonsblog hosts The Numbers Game each week. I am posting for The Numbers Game #66-187. Judy’s rules for playing along with her Numbers Game are simple.

 To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find that include that number and  post a link to your blog in my Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.This prompt will repeat each Monday with a new number. If you want to play along, please link your blog in comments below.

In lieu of numbers this week I am choosing a theme of Downtown Concert. The Downtown Concert was held in Centennial Center in Downtown Cramerton, North Carolina on Friday, March 28th.

The Opening Act for the concert was a singer named Trish England. Trish England is a Christian music artist who performs Southern Gospel, Christian Contemporary and Country music. She is originally from Austin, Texas and currently resides in Bessemer City, North Carolina. She has three (3) CD albums and releasing a single sometime this year all recorded under the Son Sound West Records.

I was really impressed by Trish’s performance. I had never heard of her before her performance in Cramerton, however, I soon realized she is an extremely talented artist who loves Jesus and loves to share her love of Jesus through her music to audiences everywhere. A few of the songs she performed were “Jesus in My Country”, “God Did It”, “Christian in the House”, “That’s God”, and “Behold the Beauty of the Lord”. My grandson, Coleman and I really enjoyed her performance and would recommend listening to her sing in concert, via Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music or which ever is your preference for listening to music online or streaming outlet.

Judy’s Numbers Game #66-187

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or Reuse without the express consent of the copyright owner.

Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: GRAHAM AND GAYLE BELL PAVILION; Centennial Center; Downtown Town of Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

Sunday Trees — 2025 06 April

Cornus florida,

the Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida
Flowering dogwood in Spring
Flowering Dogwood Blossoms

Click on each image for enhanced viewing.

Sunday Trees

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved 

Camera:1 & 3) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; 2) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura 4-Star & CPL Filter attachments. 

Location: Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Silent Sunday: 06 April

Agrocybe praecox aka
Spring Fieldcap, Spring Agrocybe 

or Early Agrocybe

Silent Sunday

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2025 Week 13

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star filter attachments.

Location: Near South Fork Catawba River; Disc Golf Trail; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Weekend Sky(Watch) Friday: 06 April

The other day it was warm, but cloudy and windy. It was raining lightly when Coleman got off the school bus. We waited a half hour, the rain stopped, so we ventured down to Riverside Park and Greenway for him to play in the sand by the South Fork Catawba River.

These shots of the Sky(watch) were taken using an Altura 4 Star filter and an Altura CPL filter attachments. Occasionally, the sun tried to peek through the cloudy sky.

Hammad’s Weekend Sky

Skywatch Friday 

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera:Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star filter attachments.

Location: Riverside Park and Greenway 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.

River Wading – Not Fishing for Fish

Coleman and I went hiking after he got home from school today (Friday). We walked downtown to Goat Island Park and Greenway. There weren’t any kids in the playground when we arrived, so I made a decision for us to hike along the trail first and then come back to the playground when we were finished hiking.

We started out along the paved hiking trail and meandered over to the dirt disc golf trail which runs simi-parallel to the South Fork Catawba River. While walking adjacent to the river, Coleman pointed out that there was a man standing in the river. This is not a normal sight when we are hiking. Therefore, we proceeded to investigate what the man was doing wading in the South Fork Catawba River.

At first, I thought the man Wading in the river was fishing even though most fishermen/women fish from one of the fishing piers or from the riverbanks. When we were close we asked the man what he was doing. It turns out that one of the disc golf catchers is on the opposite side of the river from where one is to throw the disc. According to the man wading in the river, many people miss the other side when they throw the disc across the river. So, it turns out he was searching the river for any golf discs that may have landed in the river. He had been searching for approximately twenty (20) to thirty (30) minutes when we approached him. Besides wearing waders the man was tethered to the riverbank by a rope to insure he wouldn’t be carried downstream if for some unpredictable strong wind and current tried to whisk him away. So you see, he wasn’t fishing for fish, but instead for golf discs.

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

SWS

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #263

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura CPL & 4-Star Filter attachments.  

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA 

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

2025 LAPC #342 — Wildflowers (Wild Life) +

Wildflowers for Cee

When I first saw the theme was “It’s a Wild Life” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to post for this week. Reading about Cee’s passing sealed the idea for me. Hence, I settled on the Wildlife of Wildflowers displaying a variety of Wildflowers for Cee.

Wildlife of Wildflowers:

Bonus: My Wild One

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge #342-It’s a Wild Life!

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Photo Credit: ©️2022-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

God Bless. Prayers for Chris Donner (Cee’s Chris). Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Last on the Card: 31 March

Brian from Bushboys World is the host for the Last on the Card Challenge. The rules are simple, just post the last photo from SD card and/or the #lastphoto from your phone. It doesn’t matter if it was taken on the 31st or not. It can be The Last Photo whenever it was taken. No editing. No explanations needed. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments. Use the tags The Last Photo and #LastOnTheCard.

Here’s my Last Photos for March.

From my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Coleman standing on the Porch Railing

From my Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Waiting for the movie to start … in Centennial Center, Downtown Cramerton

Brian’s #LastontheCard-2025 March

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Location: Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Silent (Almost… Not Quite) Cell Pic Sunday: 30 March

O! Say can you see …

⁠O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
⁠O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
(1)

U.S. Flag
hung from a
Fire Ladder Truck

‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.(1)

U.S. Flag

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(1)

United States Flag

⁠And the star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(1)

U.S. Flag
Waving from a
Fire Department
Ladder Truck

And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave!
(1)

(1) ©️The Star-Spangled Banner lyrics by Francis Scott Key; music by John Stafford Smith; adopted March 3, 1931.

Silent Sunday

John’s Cell Pic Sunday

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. All images are prohibited for use in any format without the explicit consent of the copyright.

Cameras: 1-2) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; 3-4) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: Centennial Center; Town of Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

Sunday Trees — 2025.30.03

Carolina Poplar

Sturnus vulgaris (European Starling) in a Carolina Poplar aka Populus deltoides, Eastern Cottonwood, Southern Poplar
Carolina Poplar
aka Southern Poplar,
Eastern Cottonwood

Sunday Trees

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved 

Camera:Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: Centennial Center; Town of Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

Rolling Rolling Up a Good Time

Coleman’s Pre-Concert Activity

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

SWS

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.  

Location: The Center; Downtown Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA 

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

WWE: South Fork Catawba River — Ripples and Reflections

We live in walking proximity to several access entrances to the South Fork Catawba River, so Coleman and I visit the River often. On this particular day, we accessed one of the back access points which, I believe, is seldom visited by the majority of visitors to Goat Island Park and Greenway.

Here are the Ripples and Reflections we enjoyed seeing on our visit to the South Fork Catawba River.

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #262

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Capture the All around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Which Way Challenge (CWWC): March Week 4 — Any Which Way with Bridges

Deb’s/Cee’s Which Way Challenge

Welcome back to the Which Way Challenge. Another week has passed and we’re almost through with one-quarter (1/4) of 2025. Hope you’re all doing well and will be joining in on the Which Way Challenge .

This week I have chosen a theme of Bridges. As you can see from my images the Bridges can be of a variety of types from Road Bridges to Swinging Bridges to Garden Bridges. Any type of Bridge will be suitable for this post.

Here are my entries for this week’s Which Way Challenge.

Swinging Bridges:

Road Bridges & Trellises:

Trail Bridges:

Throwback Bridges:

Be sure to check out these other Which Ways. Thank you for participating in the Which Way Challenge.

Tgeriatrix’s Animals on the road

GERIATRI’X’ FOTOGALLERY’s ANIMALS ON THE ROAD

Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)-Any Which Way with Bridges

Photo Credit: 1-8) ©️2022-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

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

2025 Thursday Trios: 27 March

Follow the Leader

in Kayaking

the River

Springtime in the Carolinas brings kayakers to the river for Funtime paddling in the water with rays of sunshine bringing warmth and tranquility to their lives.

Hey, Wait for me … I’m coming …
Okay, y’all who’s taking the lead?
Just let me finish maneuvering
and I’ll by straight to follow y’all.
I’m ready now, shall we venture on?

Three kayakers in kayaks as seen from the banks of the South Fork Catawba River as Coleman and I were hiking the Disc Golf Trail parallel to the river. We watched the fellow in the red kayak maneuver his kayak away from the River bank and paddle to catch up with the other two kayakers to continue joining them on their adventure downstream.

Thursday Trios — Follow the Leader

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #262

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Get Outdoors. Enjoy the Spring Sunshine and have fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Thursday Doors: 27 March

Skillet Southern Bistro

Center Street in Downtown Cramerton is the central location hub for get togethers and dining. The image below is of one of the many eating establishments that people gather for some fine dining experiences.

We mostly prefer to eat at home and not waste our resources on eating out at restaurants. Therefore, I cannot personally substantiate or invalidate the claims of being a highly recommended restaurant. However, from everything I hear about the restaurant, the food is high quality and the service is exceptional.

Skillet Southern Bistro

Dan’s Thursday Doors

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: 119 Center Street; Downtown Cramerton; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Cee’s Flower of the Day: 27 March

Spring Garden

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Cee’s FOTD

Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters

Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Stop and admire the Beautiful Flowers. Thank you visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Words for Thought #57: 03.25

Proverbs 4:25 (NIV)

“Peace doesn’t come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat.”

—John Ortberg

Turn off Distractions and Keep Your Eyes Focused on Jesus, Trusting Him in all aspects of Your Life.

Think About It Tuesday

Photo Credit: © 2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; 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. 

2025 OWS: Pets in Parks & Greenways

Janet from This, that and the other thing is this week’s host for the One Word Sunday challenge. She has chosen a theme of Pets for this week’s One Word Sunday .

Currently, we do not own any pets, however, Coleman and I see Pets while we are hiking along trails in various Parks and Greenways. Many visitors to Parks and Greenways bring their companions/Pets along with them. Some of the Greenways have Doggie Park sections for the Dogs to enjoy running around and playing with other dogs.

The following are some of the companion Pets we have encountered on our hiking adventures.

Janet’s One Word Sunday-Pets

Monday Portrait

Photo Credit:©️2019-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1-9) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm and Canon EF-S75-300mm lens; 10) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max; 11) Apple iPhone XR

Locations: as stated with images.

God Bless. Thank you Janet for hosting One Word Sunday this week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Benches Along the Trail

On Saturday Coleman and I went hiking along the Disc Golf Trail at Goat Island Park and Greenway trying to follow the trail in numerical order for the Disc Golf Course. While hiking along the pathway crossing back and forth from paved to dirt trails we came upon these benches. Who knows, maybe people need a bit of rest in between “holes”.

I’m posting these benches for Jude’s Bench Anniversary Challenge and Xingfu Mama’s Pull Up a Seat Challenge.

Jude’s Bench Anniversary Challenge

Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2025-Week 12

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: Disc Golf Trail; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, 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.

2025 Monochrome Monday

Discarded & Unused

It is interesting sometimes what Coleman and I run across while hiking. Things like posts with no apparent rhyme or reason (even if there is one), a discarded trash can (all the Greenway Trash cans are large with a Goat on them & are accompanied by a recycling bin), or a board discarded and tossed into the river. I’ve been teaching Coleman to LEAVE NO TRACE, so he notices when things have been left behind and discarded without thought of keeping the environment safe and clean.

These are examples of what we found discarded and left behind this week.

Post with no sign
or reason for being there
(it probably had a sign at one time).
Discarded trash can,
don’t know why someone
would even bring one
to the Greenway
except for maybe fishing.
Discarded board tossed into the river.
( We need to keep our rivers safe from contamination.)

Monday Monochrome

Photo Credit: 2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV & CPL Filter attachments.

Location: Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Silent Sunday: 23 March

Streaming Upstream

A Pair of Canada Geese
on the
South Fork Catawba River

Silent Sunday

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #262

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV + CPL Filter attachments.

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Time to Get Outdoors and Enjoy the Beauty in Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Soul Mates Together at the River

Canada Geese Soul Mates

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #261

Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2025 Week 11

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA 

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

2025 Which Way Challenge (CWWC): March Week 3 — Any Which Way with Shades of Green

Good Day my friends and fellow bloggers. I trust y’all are well. This being the week of St Patrick’s Day, I thought I would have us show our Which Ways with Any Shade of Green in them. Posting your Which Way for this CWWC challenge could be one photo or multiple photos depending on what you desire to post. I look forward to seeing all your Which Ways with Shades of Green . Remember signs are always welcome in your Which Way Challenge posts.

Here are my entries for this week’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC): Any Which Way with Shades of Green:

Pathway at
Texas Welcome Center
I-20 near Waskom, Texas
Pathway at
Glencairn Garden
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Coleman behind Prairie Loop Sign
Prairie Loop, Anne Springs Close Greenway
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Nature Trail
at Warlick YMCA
Gastonia, North Carolina
Nicotiana tabacum
Cultivated Tobacco by Pathway at
Schiele Museum of Natural History
Gastonia, North Carolina

Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC): March Week 3 — Any Which Way with Shades of Green

Photo Credit:©️2019-2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1-2) Apple iPhone XR; 3-4) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens and Canon EF-S75-300mm lens; 5) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

God Bless. Here’s hoping y’all will share your Which Ways this week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Numbers Game #64 — 185

Birds of the Carolinas

Bird of the Week

Great Blue Heron

Admiring the Views

… Watching the Great Blue Heron Looking around admiring his views and insights on the South Fork Catawba River.

The Great Blue Heron is stated to be seen year-round in the Carolinas, however, in our area of Southwestern North Carolina the Herons and other Cormorants tend to be seasonal in the inland regions. On this day, it was the first time the Cormorants and Great Blue Herons had been spotted since the end of summer.

The Great Blue Heron (Egretta thula) is the largest heron in North America and one of North Carolina’s most familiar and frequently seen wading birds. It is commonly observed around shores of open water and in wetlands where it stands  silently or walks very slowly waiting for prey to get close enough so it can spear it with a rapid thrust of its bill.

The Great Blue Heron stands more than three (3) feet tall as an adult and weighs approximately 5.5 pounds (lbs). Its wingspan extends nearly 6.5 feet.

The Great Blue Herons live in both freshwater and saltwater habitats, including marshes, swamps, shores, rivers and tidal flats. These sightings were located near the shoreline of the South Fork Catawba River around Goat Island in Cramerton, North Carolina.

For the most part the South Fork Catawba River is a slow-moving river with calm waters. The Great Blue Heron prefers the calm waters to forage and the ability to feed on almost anything that comes within striking distance of its long, pointed bill. They typically feed in shallow waters. 

Coleman and I were delighted to watch the Great Blue Heron soar over the river and land on the opposite bank from where we were hiking. Naturally, I aimed my camera towards the Great Blue Heron and proceeded to snap several shots. The Great Blue Heron stood tall and upright looking all around the waters of the South Fork Catawba River being observant of his entire environment.

Judy’s Numbers Game #64-185

Bird of the Week CVIII

Birds of the Carolinas

Ragtag Daily Prompt Sunday-Watch

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #261

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment. [This was a time I wished I had a longer lens or at least a 2X converter to capture a closer view.]

Location: South Fork Catawba River; Goat Island Park and Greenway; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA

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

2025 Thursday Trios …

Beside the River

On Tuesday after Coleman arrived home from school, his mom and I took him to the Baseball field to practice his hitting and fielding. Coleman just recently been assigned to a team for T-Ball.

Anyway, after his mom was tired of helping him practice Coleman and I took a short hike down to the river. The C.B. Huss River access is located off the Eleventh (11) Street parking lot. The Kayak rack is located at the river access trailhead.

Coleman
checking out the
Three Kayaks

Last Thursday, Coleman and I hiked the backside of Goat Island Park and Greenway. We hiked along a back road to reach the far side of the South Fork Catawba River. When we reached our starting point, we came upon these three pipes seemingly discarded near the river.

Three pipes
near the
South Fork
Catawba River

Walking a bit off trail, we saw these three tree stems, limbs, or branches sticking up out of the water. It is always intriguing to see what interesting things we can find along our hikes.

Three Tree Stems

These Wild Daffodils were saw near the river while we were walking up the road to begin our hike for the day.

A Trio of
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
(wild daffodil)

Thursday Trios

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Cameras: 1,3-4) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; 2) 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. Have triple the fun. Enjoy Outdoor life. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 OWS: 16 March – Monotone

Catawba River In Monotone

This week Debbie with Travel with Intent has chosen a theme of Monotone for this week’s One Word Sunday (OWS) challenge.

Here are my entries for this week’s OWS Challenge

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.

Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Monotone

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

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.

2025 Silent Sunday: 16 March

A Boy’s Treasure

Coleman’s Pinecone

Silent Sunday

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters All Rights Reserved.

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

2025 SYD: March 15

Clare from Clare’s Cosmos invites everyone to join her in Sharing Your Desktop (SYD). Below are her suggestions for participating in the Share Your Desktop Challenge 

  1. To do so, simply share the photo* you have set as your wallpaper;
  2. Provide as little or as much detail as you wish;
  3. Use a pingback, or post a link here so I know you have joined in on the fun;
  4. 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.

Clare’s Share Your Desktop-March 2025

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #261

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

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.

Goat Island Playground in Monochrome

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.

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters

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.