Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography
This blog is for my insights on life, the Bible, hiking adventures with my grandson and whatever is important to me
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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 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.
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.
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.
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Brown
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
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.
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.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
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.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
The Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. Not what you’d typically thing of when you think of Bungalow, however, it works great for the many Butterflies maintained within its enclosure as well as the flowers that nourish them.
Click on images to enlarge.
Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP): Saturday-Bungalow
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Daniel Stowe Conservancy; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
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
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
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).
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
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
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.
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)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
The Oxeye Daisy are beautiful to look win a field. They are good for more than looking at as they are edible. When you harvest them make sure they are perfect looking, not wilted or brown. If you’re not using them the same day you harvest them you may choose to keep thin a vase for a few days.
The spoon-shaped basal leaves can be added to salads and dishes just as you would add a herb (best done in Spring). Moving on to Summer, the white flower heads can be used in salads and if you like they can be added to spring rolls. No need to cook the Oxeye Daisies, as the entire plant’s edible and can be eaten raw. For those adventurous food connoisseurs, the large flowers make an excellent garnish. Anyone adventurous enough to try eating any part of all of the Oxeye Daisy plant? I’ve not yet been adventurous enough to eat flowers in my food I prepare, but who knows maybe I’d like it and just don’t know it.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Daniel Stowe Conservancy; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … gfpacificbee … All Rights Reserved.
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.
Click on image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy nature. Admire the beautiful flowers and plants. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
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 …
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.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
For this Sunday I am combining Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Water with Terri’s Sunday Stills-#Animal of the Month and her Sunday Stills-Reflections. The #Animal of the Month for me is the Fallow Deer.
Coleman and I were able to observe Fallow Deer at the Lazy 5 Ranch home to over 600 Exotic Animals from more than 6 continents. The Lazy 5 Ranch could be compared to a small Safari Zoological Park. At the Lazy 5 Ranch you can either drive your own vehicle through on a Safari tour of the Ranch or opt to take a Wagon Ride (which we did). With the Wagon Ride, there is a driver guiding the horses pulling the Wagon giving al overall commentary of the Ranch, informing us about the various animals we were seeing, and as well as giving a bit of history on how the Ranch came to be in existence.
Here we spot a Fallow Deer in a pond of #Water where looking closely you can see the deer’s Reflections in the #Water.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Water
Terri’s Sunday Stills-#Animal of the Month
Terri’s Sunday Stills-Reflections
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere (#WWE)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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. Admire all of God’s creatures great and small. Enjoy nature’s beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
I’m combining Debbie’s Six Word Saturday with XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat this week while continuing our Adventures at the Lazy 5 Ranch.
Before get into our adventures let me tell you that one of the reasons we went on our adventure was to give Coleman a special outing before his birthday (today’s his birthday). Coleman turned Seven (7). The first gallery of images show Coleman Pulling Up a Seat while waiting for the Wagon Ride.
This next gallery depicts Coleman feeding some of the Exotic Animals that came alongside the Wagon we were riding on during our Safari adventure around the Lazy 5 Ranch.
The last gallery illustrates Coleman feeding Giraffes during the Safari Wagon Ride plus showing a bit more of the Wagon.
Click on images to enlarge.
Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.07.25
XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat #30-2026.07.25
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.
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.
Welcome back to another Which Way Challenge (CWWC). I trust everyone has had a good week and able to spend some time to take a walk or hike in the vast outdoors. This week’s I’m allowing y’all to choose your own Which Ways for this week and next with the theme of CWWC: Any Which Way (Your Choice). The Which Way can be any path, sidewalk, trail, or road as long as the Which Way is clearly discernible. As always signs are always welcome.
For further information regarding the Which Way Challenge (CWWC) feel free to check out the home page here.
When I began preparing this post after last week’s went live I had thought of sharing a hiking adventure Coleman and I had two years ago in 2024. However, best laid plans do change occasionally as did mine for this week.
We had an incident with Coleman this week (I won’t go into details, but prays are appreciated). This is a special week for Coleman so his mom chose to take us on a special adventure up in Mooresville, North Carolina to the Lazy 5 Ranch.
I am sharing a few images of our adventures here with y’all.
Arriving at Lazy 5 Ranch …
The Lazy 5 Ranch is approximately an hour’s drive north of us in the City of Mooresville, North Carolina. It is privately owned and operated by Henry Hampton. It receives no federal or state funding. Henry Hampton has been raising exotic animals for over 50 years. He started out with the exotic animals at his own home and allowed school groups to visit viewing the animals from the opposite side of the fence.
In May of 1993, Mr. Hampton’s dream became a reality and The Lazy 5 Ranch officially opened. It opened with just five (5) staff people and only two (2) operating wagons. We chose to have a Wagon Ride with the driver commenting on the animals we were seeing instructing everyone to remain seated as long as the Wagon was moving. We could move around or stand to take pictures when the wagon was stopped.
The Lazy 5 Ranch has grown tremendously since its beginning with over 600 animals from six (6) continents. The animals can be viewed everyday all year long by horse drawn wagon or from your own personal vehicle while traveling along a 3 1/2 mile safari ride. As you can see, I have only shared a fraction of what we saw on our adventure visiting the Ranch.
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.
Suzette’s For Deb’s CWWC Any Which Way Paved [in Black and White]
Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Roads And Bridges
Marina’s Fence
Cath’s Which Way… {Monochrome Roads}
Dan’s Ain’t No Cure — SoCS
Dawn’s Which Way: Train Track in the Weeds
Marilyn’s My Way Or The Highway?
Dawn’s Around the Bend in BnW
Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)
Next week we’ll continue with the theme of CWWC: Any Which Way (Your Choice) [07.31.2026].
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55/250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Lazy 5 Ranch; 15100 Mooresville Road; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have an adventurous weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The whole family went on an adventurous outing on Monday (unusual for our family). Coleman’s mom and I discussed where we might could go Sunday evening and decided it would be an excellent idea for us all to go with her driving. Where did we decide to go?
We chose to go on a wagon ride at the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, North Carolina. Why did we decide to spend the day together and not just have Coleman and myself go somewhere together? This coming Saturday is Coleman’s birthday. He’ll be turning Seven (7) and we wanted to do something special for him when his mom and baby sister, Sophia, could join us.
Of course, I brought my camera along and not just my iPhone. An outing like this doesn’t happen often; I needed to capture the adventure so we could enjoy the memories.
Here is just one set of trios from our adventure …
As per the Lazy 5 Ranch’s Guidebook this beautiful set of Trios are Axis Deer (Cervus axis). The Axis Deer are also known as Chital Deer which means spotted in Hindustani. Interestingly, the Axis Deer retains its spots throughout its lifespan (approximately 22 years). They are available to be seen at the Lazy 5 Ranch year round.
Click on image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.07.23
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: 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. 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.
Note: I’ll be sharing more about our adventure at the Lazy 5 Ranch in future posts.
When you think of Castle Windows you probably think of ancient and/or historical castles, however, these windows are in a Castle Playground at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The Castle Playground is a fairly new playground inside the botanical gardens for children to climb, explore, and basically have an all out Funtime while at the Stowe.
On the day Coleman and I were at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden it was extremely hot and humid and we only saw one other child at the playground. Being so hot Coleman only had a short time to play before we moved on to the Tunnel Fountain for him to enjoy some water time.
The gallery of images above show the Castle Windows. The ones gallery below shows what Coleman is looking out the Window at and holding. For an active boy he was skeptical and yet excited to swing out the Window and repel down to the ground.
Click on images to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Castle Playground; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Cool. Have a wonderful week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Monarch Butterflies are one of the most familiar and recognized species of butterflies of North America butterflies. The Danaus plexippus, which are widely known as Butterflies Monarch or Monarch Butterfly, are famous for their 3,000 mile annual migration.
North and South Carolina serve as a crucial geographical corridor for the Eastern migratory population. Monarchs are a welcome sight in the Carolinas and a sign of seasonal change. The Monarchs pass through the Carolinas twice a year. Once in the Spring and again in the Fall.
When we see them arriving in the beginning of Spring (late March and April) they are migrating northward. The first generation Monarchs stop to lay eggs on emerging native milkweed. The second generation continues the migration journey all the way into Canada. In the Fall (Autumn)the “Methuselah generation” (aka the “super generation”), the Monarchs born at the end of summer, fly southward towards Mexico from September through mid-October.
This Monarch and ones shown in other posts are maintained in a controlled environment in the Butterfly Bungalow at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. To see more Monarch Butterflies check out my Whatsoever is Lovely post by clicking here.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy nature. Admire the beautiful flowers and plants. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
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 #2. 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 Bungalow since the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.
The best time of the year to visit the Butterfly Bungalow is during the Summer. Why do you think Summer is the best time to visit. Let me tell you. It is the best and only season to visit the Butterfly Bungalow due to the fact that it is a seasonal attraction that only operates from late May through early September, the warmest months of the year.
For this post I am focusing on the Monarch Butterfly. The Monarch Butterflies eagerly feast on Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush) because it functions as an elite nectar source. The nectar of Buddleja davidii is rich in sucrose, glucose, and fructose which offers a dense spike of immediate energy. The blooms of Buddleja davidii emit a powerful sweet, honey-like aroma that attracts Monarchs from a distance.
Below are Monarch Butterfly photos I took on our visit …
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 28
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
This fountain at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden looks so refreshing! It is located near the entrance to the Lost Hollow: The Kimbrell Family Children’s Garden. Coleman is having fun playing nearby.
The fountain spray is a powerful, tall column of white, frothy water shooting dramatically upwards. It crests at a significant height before cascading back down, creating a lively splash and ripples in the water below. have loved playing nearby.
Click on images to enlarge.
Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.07.18
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere (WWE)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment
Location: Fountain near Lost Hollow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Cool. Stay Hydrated. Spread joy and happiness all around. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Welcome back to another Which Way Challenge (CWWC). I trust everyone has had a good week and able to spend some time to take a walk or hike in the vast outdoors. This week’s theme is Any Which Way in Black and White On Asphalt Roads or Paved Pathways. In choosing the Black and White theme for this week’s Which Way Challenge I am honouring the memory of Cee’s Black and White Challenge. The Which Way can be any paved pathway, sidewalk, paved trail, or paved road as long as the Which Way is clearly discernible. As always signs are always welcome.
For further information regarding the Which Way Challenge (CWWC) feel free to check out the home page here.
Here are my entries …
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.
Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Into The Black
Suzette’s For Deb’s CWWC Any Which Way With The Colors Black or Brown
Marina’s Sidewalk with Black
Dan’s Nothing Special Saturday — SoCS
Cath’s Which Way… {Black Angus Cows}
Marilyn’s Brown & Black inThe Which Way
Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)
Cee’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Daniel Stowe Conservancy; Belmont, 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.
*** Note: Next Week we will be exploring and sharing the theme of CWWC: Any Which Way (Your Choice) [07.24.2026]
While these may look like real, they are not. These “Cattleya Orchid” are glass blown orchids created by master glassblower Jason Gamrath. He specifically tailored this highly intricate large scale Cattleya Orchid glass statue for Daniel Stowe Conservancy (formerly known as Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden). His Cattleya sculpture was designed to display all progressive phases of the flower’s life. This statue was originally apart of a Grandiflora Exhibition. Jason created the Cattleya Orchid glass statue by using highly intense, collaborative modelling and glass-blowing process.
Even though Jason calls the sculpture “Cattleya Orchid” according to the Daniel Stowe Conservancy website call these flowers Glass Daffodils. However, in its description it calls the statue an orchid piece stating that Jason’s purpose was to allow people to “observe with the same eyes through which ‘he’ humbly and graciously experiences our natural world” (Quote by Jason Gamrath).
Click on each image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.07.17
Also posting in Remembrance of:
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: William H. Williamson, III Orchid Conservatory; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, 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.
Last week I shared the entrance Doors to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; this week I sharing Doors within the Gardens.
Click on images to enlarge.
Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.07.16
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a funtastic rest of your week and weekend ahead. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with w. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day everyone! This week Terri with Second Wind Leisure Perspectives has given us the prompt of Groups of Three (3) or More. I have selected Groups of Three or More in The Gardens at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Having selected floral Groups of Three (3) or More I am linking this post with Terri’s The #Flower Hour.
Click on rack image to enlarge.
Terri’s Sunday Stills-Groups of 3 or More
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm and Altura UV Filter Attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the beautiful Flowers. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Succulents in the Garden at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy nature. Admire the beautiful flowers and plants. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, 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.
Debbie with Travel with Intent has selected the word Bicoloured for this week’s One Word Sunday theme. When I first saw the term Bicoloured, I thought of duotoned images not two distinct colours or shades. Hence the last images has both Bicoloured and Duotoned.
Floral Examples …
One …
Two …
Duotoned vs. Bicoloured …
Click on images to enlarge.
Debbie’s One Word Sunday (#OWS)-Bicoloured
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: 1-2) Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; 3-4) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the Flowers. Be observant of the amazingly beautiful colours found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
We are still experiencing extremely high temperatures and humidity. For the past month Coleman and I had not ventured outdoors (mostly my not wanting to be in the heat, Coleman doesn’t care one way or another what the temperatures are like. He prefers the outdoors.) Not wanting to have either of us (especially me) to get overheated and/or dehydrated, we stayed home and indoors (much to Coleman’s displeasure.)
Due to irritability (mostly mine), my daughter insisted we take her car and go visit Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. She even handed me the cash to cover the entrance fees.
After visiting the Butterfly Bungalow, the Prairie Castle Playground (for Coleman playtime), we walked through the various Perennial Gardens to the Tunnel Fountain. The Tunnel Fountain is a dynamic water arch display near the Canal Garden. It was at the Tunnel Fountain where Coleman found his Reprieve from this summer’s extreme Heatwave.
Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.07.11
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Video Created with Google Photos.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Location: Tunnel Fountain; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Cool. Stay Hydrated. Spread joy and happiness all around. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
[Let me know if you’re not able to view the video.]
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.
Summertime in the Carolinas is extremely hot and humid, too hot to want to walk around outside. However, it is the best time of year to view and watch the amazing fluttering of beautiful Butterflies. What better way to observe them than in an enclosed Butterfly Bungalow.
That’s exactly what Coleman and I did on Wednesday. It was wonderful and oh so lovely to watch the Butterflies flittering around. They move so fast it was difficult to keep up with them to photograph them.
Here’s a few Butterflies flitting to and fro enjoying the nectar of their favourite flowers.
This week’s featured Butterfly is the Heliconius charithonia, also known as Zebra Longwing or Zebra heliconian. It is distinctively known for its long, black wings with pale yellow stripes. Their wing pattern serves as a warning to potential predators that their toxicity.
One thing which is unique to the Zebra Longwing is that the adult butterflies feed on both nectar and pollen. The pollen enables them synthesize cyanogenic glycosides which makes their bodies toxic to predators.
The Zebra Longwing Butterflies may be spotted in South America, Central America, the West Indies, and the Southeastern United States. Adults will migrate into the Carolinas during the warmer summer months. 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 27
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
Welcome, I’m thrilled you stopped by for a visit. This week I’m holding off on Further Adventures of Coleman Pulling Up a Seat at Anne Springs Close Greenway. Instead I’m posting a few benches from our recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.
It was an extremely hot and humid afternoon here in our region of North Carolina, so a few benches scattered here and there around the Gardens were a welcome relief to hydrate and catch (at least mine) our breath before venturing on around the Gardens.
Here are my entries for this week …
Click on images to enlarge.
XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat 2026 – Week #28
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stay Cool. Stay Adventurous. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Floral Trios
Click on each image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.07.10
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location:
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.
Welcome back to another Which Way Challenge (CWWC). I trust everyone has had a good week and able to spend some time to take a walk or hike in the vast outdoors. This week’s theme is CWWC: Any Which Way with the colours of Brown and/orBlack. The Which Way can be any path, sidewalk, trail, or road as long as the Which Way is clearly discernible. As always signs are always welcome.
For further information regarding the Which Way Challenge (CWWC) feel free to check out the home page here.
For the adventure we parked at the Dairy Barn Entrance to Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina. We hiked down the pathway towards the Spillway, crossed the Swinging Bridge, and on towards Lake Haigler where we hiked along the Blue Star Trail. We encountered many Brown objects along our route and even a few Black one too.
Let’s take a look at our hiking adventure …
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.
Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s Dirt Track
Brian’s Down the road a piece
Marina’s Path with Brown
Cath’s Camera’s Which Way… {The Muddy Road Ahead}
Cath’s Camera’s Which Way… {Not Just Blue Skies}
Pepper from HeavensSunshine’s Between the Wildflowers
Dawn’s Which Way: Along the Brown of the Creek
Rich’s Brown The Trail
Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)
Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameta: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250 mm and EF75-300 mm lenses.
Location: Blue Star Trail; Dairy Barn Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South 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.
*** Note: Next Week we will be exploring and sharing the theme of CWWC: Any Which Way in Black and White On Asphalt Roads or Paved Pathways [07.17.2026]
Dan from No Facilities hosts the Fun Foto Challenge at and this week he is asking for our The Crayola Box of 8 – Black. I have gone into my recent and archive files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme.
I have found a spattering of images with Black to share for this challenge. Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC)-Crayola Black
Photo Credit:©️2018-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Have a lovely week. Enjoy a walk/hike if possible. Keep Cool. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2022 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens
Location: Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
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 June 30
God Bless. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Beth from Wandering Dawgs is this week’s host for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge with the theme of Subjects Beginning with the Letter ‘B’. We all like to have fun with the variety themes chosen by the various artists who hosts this challenge each week. I hope y’all enjoy my selections.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2020-2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Be Happy. Be Cool. Be a Blessing to those around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Dan from No Facilities hosts the Fun Foto Challenge at and this week he is asking for our The Crayola Box of 8 – Blue . I have gone into my recent and archive files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme. I will also be sharing Blue Along Trails as part of Friday’s CWWC post (Stay tuned to more Blue and feel free to share your blue with Cee’s Which Way Challenge as well as Dan’s CFFC challenge this week.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC)-Blue
Photo Credit:©️2020-2024 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Enjoy your week. May it be filled with love, joy, laughter, and lots of fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Nature Trail; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Mexican Fire Bush (Hamelia patens) is grown as an annual in Gastonia, North Carolina. It is a vibrant, fast-growing tropical shrub known for its fiery orange-red tubular flowers. It is highly prized for attracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. It typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall in a single season. Sinc North Carolina winters are too cold for it to remain evergreen, the plant will experience dieback, but it serves as an exceptional summer filler for local gardens.
The gardens at The Schiele Museum of Natural History are supported and maintained by the Master Gardener Group of Gaston County. This is not your traditional private garden club, but instead it is an organization that is a specialized volunteer network extension of the NC State Extension Master Gardener Program. The certified Extension Master Gardener Volunteers manage and improve the specialized flora spaces at The Schiele Museum which include The Farm and Along the entrance and nature trail. The Garden in the Farm at The Schiele Museum showcases Piedmont-native agricultural crops and plant varieties.
Click on image to enlarge.
Remembering ….
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Bren’s Floral Friday
Photo Credit: ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter Attachment.
Location: Entrance Gardens; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Help those in need. Spread Love and Kindness all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
In the Catawba Indian Village …
XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 25
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: 1-2)Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; 3-4) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Catawba Indian Village; 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.
This week’s host for Monochrome Madness is Brian from Bushboys World. He has chosen a theme of Jugs for this week’s challenge. Jugs have been around for ages and made from varies materials like clay, glass, and even plastic. I much prefer sun-dried clay or glass-blown jugs to the more modern lightweight high-density polyethylene (plastic) jugs.
These are a few of the Jugs I have found in my archives to share with y’all.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness (MM)
Photo Credit:©️2022-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm & EF-S18-55mm lenes; Apple iPhone 13 Pro; Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Locations: As stated above.
God Bless. Have a funtastic week ahead. May your week be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Anyone wishing to join in and participate, please go to the Monochrome Madness page to find out how.
Dan from No Facilities hosts the Fun Foto Challenge at and this week he is asking for our The Crayola Box of 8 – Green . I have gone into my recent files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme. Thank you Dan for the link-up with CWWC with CFFC for a Which Way Challenge theme of Any Which Way with Yellow along a Trail, Path, or Road. There is still time to participate if you’re interested. I am linking this post with Terri’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge-(Ever)Green.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC) – The Crayola Box of 8-Green
Terri’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge-(Ever)Green
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, South Carolina; The Schiele Museum of Natural History, Gastonia, North Carolina; Daniel Stowe Conservancy, Trailhead Store Trail, Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy your week. May it be filled with love, joy, laughter, and lots of fun. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Click on image to enlarge.
Terri’s The Flower Hour-2026.06.15
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 24
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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 fantastic weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman and I hiked along Wagon Loop a couple of weeks ago. Wagon Loop is one of 25 unique trails in Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
This trail follows part of Steele Creek and connects to Haigler Loop, Blue Star, Steele Creek, North Steele Creek, Ford Gap, Muscadine and Wild Azalea trails. You can access the trail behind the Williams Education Center or off Haigler Loop.
The distance for the complete Wagon Loop trail is 1.4 miles in length.It meanders through forested landscapes, creeks, and open fields (like this field of cut and rolled hay bales). It is often combined with Muscadine, Billy’s Walk, and the Lake Haigler Loop trail for a longer hiking experience.
As you meander along the Wagon Loop trail you’ll pass by several points of historical significance such as the Nation Ford Trail. The trails are well maintained, however, I would recommend you wear a good pair of hiking shoes. There are exposed tree roots and when the rains occur so does the mud along the trails.
There is a few to enter Anne Springs Close Greenway of $17 per adult, youth (ages 3-12) $8 (kids under 3 are free). The Greenway does offer memberships which I recommend if you live near the Fort Mill, South Carolina area. To find out more about the Greenway’s memberships click here.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.06.12
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Wagon Loop; Lake Haigler Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South 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.
Why go for the ordinary shot when you can capture the exceptional, unconventional, and unique beauty from a different and unusual perspective? I like to capture views from underneath bridges and/or trestles. The structural integrity and design in each bridge or trestle are unique and some with intricate characteristics and features.
The beauty of black and white/monochrome photography brings a unique perspective on how we see and experience the world around us. What will you photograph in monochrome this week?
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness (MM)
Photo Credit:©️2022-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: 1) Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; 2-3) Apple iPhone 13 Pro Ultra Wide
Locations: As stated above.
God Bless. Have a funtastic week ahead. May your week be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Anyone wishing to join in and participate, please go to the Monochrome Madness page to find out how.
Obscure or Not
Sometimes when Coleman and I are out and about hiking or visiting a museum like The Schiele Museum of Natural History I will try to capture objects, like doors, the majority of people wouldn’t ordinarily think to capture with their cameras. These I’m sharing today are ones more obscure than others you might expect to see.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.06.11
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. May your week by filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
![Which Way Challenge (2026) CWWC: Any Which Way (Your Choice) Week 1 —07.24.2026 -07.31.2026 Will run for 2 Weeks]](https://gfpacificbeeintrospection.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-1-1.jpg?w=489)
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