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
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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.
This week Terri from Second Wind Leisure is giving us a theme of Plants/Flowers in Planters. Most of my recent flower shots have not been located in planters, therefore, I went searching through my archives to locate a few images that should fit the challenge.
Here are my entries …
Click on images to enlarge.
Terri’s The #Flower Hour #41-Plants/Flowers in Planters
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. 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.
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John’s Cell Pic Sunday-2026.07.26
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Safari Wagon Ride; Lazy 5 Ranch; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a wonderful week ahead. 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.
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.
This week Terri is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on GHI. Let’s have some fun. Here are my GHI Florals for this week’s challenge.
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #40 – Floral ABC’s
Key:
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week is a free week for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness; instead of following her lead on Profusion I am combining my Monochrome Madness post with the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge’s theme of Adventures. I’m sharing a few Black and White images of our Adventures at the Lazy 5 Ranch.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness/2026.07.23 (Free Week)
Leya’s Lens-Artist Photo Challenge (LAPC) #405 — Adventures
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; Mooresville, North Carolina, USA
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.
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.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … gfpacificbee … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
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.
Interesting Fact: Seven Eastern States in America call the Cardinal their state bird. They are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP)-Cardinal
Photo Credit:©️2024-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max; Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Location: Old Town; Riverside Community, Cramerton, 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 – Purple . I have gone into my recent and archive files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme.
I managed to locate a few Purple images and are shown below …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC)-Crayola Purple.
Photo Credit:©️2020-2026 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.
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.
Hammad’s Weekend Sky-2026.07.19
Photo Credit: ©️Trisha L. Wilson
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Plus
Location: Kings Mountain, 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.
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! This week I’m continuing with sharing various benches and chairs at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. It is still extremely hot and humid here in our region of North Carolina. Here are a few more benches and chairs that are scattered here and there around the Gardens.
Here are my entries for this week …
Click on images to enlarge.
XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2026-Week 29
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.
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.
This week the guest host for Monochrome Madness is Sue from WordsVisual. She has given us the theme of Figures in the Built Environment. She gives us the opportunity to explore and express our own unique interpretations including using not just people, but also statues. Street art, and/or non-human figures. Therefore, I figured I’d share a variety using her suggestions as a guide.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Sue’s Monochrome Madness #64-Figures in the Built Environment
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness #64-Figures in the Built Environment
Natalie’s Public Art Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️1972-2024 Deb L. Waters … and Nornal H. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
Click on image to enlarge.
God Bless. Love One Another. 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.
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere (#WWE)
Photo Credit:©️2018 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone X
Location: Cane Creek Lake; Cane Creek Park; Waxhaw, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy the rest of your week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Judy from Life Lessons blog hosts a weekly photo challenge called The Numbers Game. This week’s number is 749. Her instructions for playing along are listed below …
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 under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s 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.
Here are my contributions …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters … #gfpacificbeeintrospection … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I look forward to seeing y’all’s pictures for Judy’s Numbers Game. 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.
Dan from No Facilities hosts the Fun Foto Challenge at and this week he is asking for our The Crayola Box of 8 – Orange. I have gone into my recent and archive files to see what I could locate to best represent this week’s theme.
I located a few Orange in the Gardens and a few others scattered here, there, and yonder. Here are my Orange selections for this week’s CFFC.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC)-Crayola Orange
Photo Credit:©️2022-2026 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.
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.
The plans to build the San Diego California Temple of the Church of Latter-day Saints was first announced in April of 1984. The LDS membership in the San Diego area at the time had exceeded 39,000 people. A Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Temple was held in February of 1988. The Temple building was completed in 1993 with approximately 720,000 touring it during its six-week open house.
The Temple was closed in 2023 for extensive three-year renovation. The renovations to the San Diego California Temple focused on resolving heat damage, upgrading old infrastructure, and refreshing both the exterior and interior to improve the overall visitor experience.
The Structural and Exterior upgrades included the facilitation of glass repair to aging art glass windows which had suffered heat damage and were cracking. Installation of new modern insulated glass units which were redesigned and strategically positioned to Prevent Heat Buildup. To Restore the Facade the exterior “marble-crete” was carefully power washed to remove decades of car exhaust from I-5 and bio-growth in order to restore its bright, iconic sparkle. Crews fully upgraded the roof and completely replaced the internal heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems during their overhaul of its external infrastructure.
I could go on and on regarding the renovation process and accomplishments, but I won’t. You get the gist of the extensive repairs that had to be done and why it took so long to complete.
The San Diego California Temple opened up to visitors during an Open House which was held June 18, 2026 through July 11, 2026. It was expected that there would be greater than 350,000 visitors (according to local news reports) attending the Open House. Final counts have not been released as yet as the Open House recently closed on the 11th.
The Rededication of the San Diego California Temple will take place on August 23, 2026.
Click on images to enlarge.
Photo Credit: ©️2026 Kimberly Milstead (my cousin) … All Rights Reserved.
Location: San Diego California Temple Church; Near La Jolla; 7474 Charmant Drive, San Diego, California, 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.
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.
Dale, the host of the Cosmic Photo Challenge, has challenged us to post a few close-up shots for this week’s challenge. Coleman and I had just recently visited the Butterfly Bungalow watching the butterflies fluttering to and fro from flower to flower feasting on nectar and/or pollen till their hearts content. Therefore, I thought it might be worth it to share a few close-ups with you.
First, in the image above we are viewing two Eastern Giant Swallowtails enjoying the tasty delight in the butterfly feeder.
Next, let’s take a closer look at the Butterfly feeder. Not only are the Swallowtails having a delicious feast of the sugar water solution mixed with fruit to provide them with energy, but severe black ants are joining in to sample it as well.
And finally for a close-up view of the Eastern Giant Swallowtails themselves. Observe the delicate line, pattern, and color details in the design of the Swallowtails wings. Notice their distinctive appearance with their prominent antennae that are dark, slender, and distinctively club-tipped. Its legs are also slender, dark, and segmented allowing it to grip the edge of the feeder.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cosmic Photo Challenge (#CosPhoChal)-Close-Up
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: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Be observant of all creatures large and small that call our Earth home. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This young fellow here was in a clear enclosed container held by one of the volunteers inside the Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden (Daniel Stowe Conservancy). She said he was playing dead, but very much alive.
Click on each image to enlarge.
John’s Cell Pic Sunday-2026.07.12
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a wonderful week ahead. 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]
Floral D:
Floral E:
Floral F:
Click on image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2023-2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
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.
Who’s Harebrained idea was it to come here? It is blazing hot in this extreme heat. Why would anyone think a Harebrained idea like this was alright to leave an air conditioned building to walk around sweating would be fun?
Yesterday’s temperature was 90°F with a heat index of 98°F. Not the recommended temps for walking or hiking outdoors. I asked earlier who had the Harebrained idea to go spend time outside in this heatwave. Where did we go?
Coleman and I were sick and tired or being cooped up indoors. We had been avoiding going out into the extreme hot weather we’ve been experiencing. A person go only take so much of being trapped indoors before anxiety attacks. My daughter (having a day off) suggested Coleman and I go out and visit the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. So that’s who suggested the Harebrained idea of leaving air conditioning and visiting the Stowe Gardens.
This are the entrance doors to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden …
Click on images to enlarge.
Dan’s Thursday Doors-2026.07.09
Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC)-Harebrained
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
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.
It was another extremely hot and humid day in the Carolinas. Despite the heat, Coleman and I ventured out to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to check out the new additions (more on that later), the flowers in bloom, and the Butterfly Bungalow (in a future post).
This is the pathway where we began our adventure towards the Gardens and the Butterfly Bungalow.
Click on image to enlarge.
#Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Black & White
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
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.
Judy from Life Lessons blog hosts a weekly photo challenge called The Numbers Game. This week’s number is 748. Her instructions for playing along are listed below …
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 under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s 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.
Here are my contributions …
Please click on photos to enlarge.
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Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday
Photo Credit: 2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved .
God Bless. Love One Another. 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:©️1979 Nornal H. Waters (my dad) … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Minolta XG-7 35mm
Location: Roman Pool; Hearst Castle; San Simeon, California, USA
God Bless. Enjoy the rest of your 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 – 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.
The above image is one my dad took with his Minolta camera while he and my mom visited my brother in Germany.
Click on image to enlarge.
Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP):Monday-Laneway
Photo Credit:©️1979 Nornal H. Waters (my dad) … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Minolta XG-7 35 mm
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
God Bless. Have a wonderful week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
In 1978, my parents and I took a trip north on the I-5 and switching over to Highway 101. We went up the coast of California to a small Danish-inspired village called Solvang. Solvang is located approximately a half-hour north of Santa Barbara, California. Solvang is known as the “Danish Capital of America.”
It was founded by Danish immigrants in 1911. The village is prominently known for its authentic half-timbered architecture, iconic windmills, and world-class Danish bakeries. It has a unique offering of a slice of Scandinavian culture blending with the Central California sunshine.
Click on Image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️1978 Nornal H. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Minolta XG-7 35 mm
Location: Solvang, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Valley, California, USA
God Bless. Have a funtastic and pleasant week. 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.
Looking back in time to 2017 …
To a trip to Riverbanks Zoo and Garden with my daughter and eldest granddaughter. We went in September of that year … it wasn’t hot then as it is now.
In the picture above you can see the Rings on the Lemur’s tail. It was a lovely day and I remember the fondness of togetherness we experienced.
Photo Credit:©️2017 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 7 Plus
Location: Riverbanks Zoo and Garden; Columbia, South 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.
![Which Way Challenge (2026) CWWC: Any Which Way (Your Choice) Week 1 —07.24.2026 -07.32.2026 Will run for 2 Weeks]](https://gfpacificbeeintrospection.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-1-1.jpg?w=489)
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