NPC #30: Moons over the Years

This challenge is different for me. Compared to others most of my moon 🌙 shots seem rather small and insignificant. I do not have proper equipment to get really close up photographic shots of the moon, however, I capture what I am able. The really close-up images were taken by a friend of mine or taken via a planetarium show of the moon 🌝 . I decided to post the photos through a video instead of individual images. I hope y’all enjoy the show.

Moons over the years
Moonlight Sonata (by Beethoven)

Denzils Nature Challenge #30: Moon

Ragtag Daily Prompt-Moon

God Bless. Thank you for watching my Moonlight Sonata video. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

2023 NPC #29: Spiders and Their Webs

I mostly see Spider Webs. It is a rare occasion when I can see and capture a Spider 🕷️ in its web. I’m not well mastered in the art of capturing Spiderwebs when I’m snapping photos out in nature. That being said; here is my contribution for Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #29.

Spider Webs:

Spiders:

***Argiope aurantia Yellow garden spider***

Spider-Man shirt:

Nature Photo Challenge #29 – Spiders and their Webs

Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

2023 NPC #28: Wild Animals

I have to admit I only see some “wild” animals in zoos since they are not native to my area. Therefore this first few are animals I’ve seen in various Zoos.

Wildlife in Zoos:

Backyard Wildlife:

Nature Photo Challenge #28: Wild animals

Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #27: Ladybirds

In the USA, the name ladybird was popularly americanized to ladybug, although these insects are beetles (Coleoptera), not bugs (Hemiptera).

Now, the word ladybird applies to a whole family of beetles, Coccinellidae or ladybirds, not just Coccinella septempunctata.

I had not seen any ladybugs 🐞 around our area in a very long time. Today as I was reaching for an item out of an upper cabinet this ladybug 🐞 landed on my arm and then proceeded to fly onto the overhead lighting. Couldn’t get that good off a shot looking onto the light fixture to obtain a shot, but at least I tried.

Nature Photo Challenge #27: Ladybirds

Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters

Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

2023 NPC #25: Seedheads (I think)

***Echinacea purpurea***
***(purple coneflower)***
***seed heads***

‘Lochinch’ Butterfly bush
Buddleia ‘Lochinch’

I’m a little late for NPC #25, but I hope better late than not at all. This one was a challenge for me. I hope I’ve done it justice.

Nature Photo Challenge #25-Seedheads

Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge

Cameras: iPhone 14 Pro Max and Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens.

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.

2023 NPC #24: Edible

Edible Berries:

Melons:

Corn:

Wheat:

Nature Photo Challenge #24: Ediblem

Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

Monday Windows: Pesky Fly

Ludwigs Monday Windows

Denzil Nature #23-Flies

Photo Credit : Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #22: Tree Bark

Hiking 🥾 Trails marked on Tree Barks:

***Heart Shape***
***surrounded by***
***Tree Bark***

Denzils Nature Challenge #22: Tree Bark

Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

2023 NPC: Black Around the Area

***Black Kitten***
***born under a***
***manufactured home***
***searching for food***

The rusty blackbird
(Euphagus carolinus)
These birds migrate
***to the eastern and***
***southeastern United States,***
***into parts of the Grain Belt,***
***sometimes straying into Mexico.***

***Black Horse***
***Stalled at***
***Anne Springs Close Greenway***

***Black Train***
***Norfolk Southern Railroad***
***near Glencairn Gardens***

Nature Photo Challenge #20: Black

Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #19: Ferns

***Sensitive Fern***
(Onoclea sensibilis)
Andrew Jackson State Park
***Lancaster, South Carolina***

***Lady fern***
(Athyrium filix-femina)
Kings Mountain State Park
***Blacksburg, South Carolina***

***Fern Forest Trail***
***Anne Springs Close Greenway***
***Fort Mill, South Carolina***

***Fern Trail***
***Crowders Mountain State Park***
***Kings Mountain, North Carolina***

Whatever We May Face
We Have
NOTHING TO FEAR
And Everything
To Hope For In Christ

Denzil Nature: Ferns

RDP TUESDAY-Ferns

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #18: Cacti

***Huntington Botanical Gardens***
***San Marino, California***

***Prickly Pear Cacti***
***Fort Mill, South Carolina***

***Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens***
***Belmont, North Carolina***

***Metal Prickley Pear Cactus Décor***
***Abilene, Texas***

Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #18: Cacti

God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #17: Bees & Informative Signs

***Nature’s Pollinators***
***More than just Bees***
***Lindsay Pettus Greenway***
***Lancaster, South Carolina***

***Mason Bees*** 🐝
***McDowell Nature Center and Preserve***
***Charlotte, North Carolina***

***Xylocopa virginica,***
***sometimes referred to as***
***the Eastern Carpenter Bee*** 🐝
***Anne Springs Close Greenway***
***Fort Mill, South Carolina***

***Pollinator Habitat***
Eastern Bumble Bee
McDowell Nature Center and Preserve
**Charlotte, North Carolina**

***Eastern Carpenter Bee*** 🐝
***Lake Haigler***
***Anne Springs Close Greenway***
***Fort Mill, South Carolina***

***Town Hall Busy Bees***
***Fall Scarecrow Display***
***Fort Mill, South Carolina***

***My Granddaughter, Alona,***
***in a Bee*** 🐝 ***Outfit***
***April 15, 2014***
***Charlotte, North Carolina***

Nature Photo Challenge #17: Bees

God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.

2023 NPC #15: Birds feeding and drinking

NPC #15: Birds feeding and drinking

Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for bird watching with me. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #14: Your Haven of Peace

The place I consider my Haven of Peace would be around the lake at Andrew Jackson State Park. Whenever I feel stressed and need a breath of fresh air and communion with nature, AJ State Park has been my go to place for years. It used to be a short distance from where I lived, not so much now.

Nowadays,my circumstances have changed. I do not have ready access to a vehicle anymore, so I can not just jump in a car and go to AJ like I used to.

What I do lately is to go out to a park, a greenway, or any place out in nature where I can be amongst the trees, creeks, rivers, or lakes. I often (when I have transportation) go hiking with my grandson. He loves being out in the woods with me. It is so peaceful. We enjoy gazing out upon the water wherever we might wander. When we are out in the woods the trails we hike are more likely than not next to or parallel to a lake or river.

When near a lake or river we stop, relax, and breath it all in and let the stress or worries flow out of us. The waters emanate a soothing, calming affect which is extremely peaceful.

These are all photos taken around the lake at Andrew Jackson State Park, my Haven of Peace.

Nature Photo Challenge #14: Your haven of peace

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #178

Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for visiting my Haven of Peace. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #13: Butterflies

All of the butterfly 🦋 photos I’ve captured so far were all taken within the grounds of Anne Springs Close Greenway. First photos are of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails shot with an iPhone 13 Pro.

***Eastern tiger swallowtail***
***(Papilio glaucus)***

*Male* Eastern Tiger
**Swallowtail Butterfly**

Male tiger swallowtails are bright yellow with black tiger stripes on the tops of their wings. You can sometimes find groups of male swallowtail butterflies gathered on the ground around mud puddles or other damp spots. This is a behavior called puddling. The butterflies are sucking minerals and other substances out of the damp ground. (This behavior can be seen quite often at the spillway at Anne Springs Close Greenway.)

Other butterflies found within Anne Springs Close Greenway:

***Asterocampa celtis,***
***the hackberry emperor,***
***is a North American butterfly***
***that belongs to the***
***brushfooted butterfly family,***
***Nymphalidae.***
***It gets its name from***
***the hackberry tree***.
***[Camera: iPhone 11 Pro Max]***

***Red-spotted Purple –***
Limenitis arthemis
Limenitis is a genus of
***brush-footed butterflies,***
***commonly called the admirals***.
***[Camera: iPhone 11 Pro Max]***

Nature Photo Challenge– Butterflies

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.

NPC: #10 – Dragonflies

***Halloween Pennant Dragonfly***
***in Monochrome***

Damselflies, like dragonflies, are members of an order of carnivorous insects called odonates.

***Ebony Jewelwing***
***in Monochrome***

Dragonflies are one of nature’s most intriguing and fascinating insects. The dragonfly darts around going about its business as usual, blissfully unaware and oblivious to the interest it has generated in us.

Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #10 – Dragonflies

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time. I appreciate y’all.

NPC #9: Long-Legged Birds

The only long-legged Birds I’ve seen in my area are in surrounding zoos. The Great Blue Heron in our local waterways are not really long-legged and my only shots of the are in the water. Therefore, I hope y’all enjoy my selections for Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge.