This week’s selections come from the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina. These were taken when I took my grandson, Coleman to visit the horses he so enjoys visiting. Most of the horses were in or near the stables. You can see in slide three, the horses do love to run around in the pasture.
Barn at Greenway Stables Entrance Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South Carolina Gazebo at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens Belmont, North Carolina Fort Mill Dam Fort Mill, South Carolina Old School in Watauga County, North Carolina [This is an old school my maternal grandfather & ancestors attended.]Elizabeth Freese Elementary School San Diego, California [This is the elementary school I attended from Kindergarten through sixth grade.]2912 E Street House San Diego, California [This is the home where I often visited my maternal grandparents]
Hummingbirds, Windmill, & Flowers Artistic Door near the picnic tables Flowers & a Butterfly Along the path towards the children’s gardens Who’s that in the Birdbath looking over the Flowers? Purple & Yellow Flowers with Butterfly 🦋 on Light Blue Door
Coleman inside the North Carolina Transportation Museum NC Transportation Museum Spencer, North Carolina
The N.C. Transportation Museum is a historic site, once home to Southern Railway’s largest steam locomotive repair facility in the southeast, and a museum featuring all types of transportation history – railroading, automotive, aviation, and more.
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.
Echinacea Sombrero Salsa Red displays single rows of drooping, deep orange-red ray petals around a sombrero-shaped, orange-brown cone. The lightly fragrant flowers attract butterflies! They provide long lasting color in the garden.
Echinacea Sombrero Salsa Red Coneflower
These are reded daisy-like flowers with dark cones and are produced on strong, well branched stems. Echinacea is well known for its large, daisy-like flowers. It is a bold, sturdy perennial sporting flowers with a large cone-shaped center, hence its common name of Coneflower.
It is also known by African Arrowroot, Arrowroot, Canna, Edible Canna, and Wild Canna Lily among a few other names.
The rhizomes of cannas are rich in starch, and have many uses in agriculture. All of the plant material has commercial value, rhizomes for starch (consumption by humans and livestock), stems and foliage for animal fodder, young shoots as a vegetable, and young seeds as an addition to tortillas.
Other interesting usesincludethe hard black seeds of the Arrowroot having been used in the 19th century as bullets when ammunition was limited. The seeds are also used for making jewelry and musical instruments such as rattles.
AnolIs carolInensIs Aka AmerIcan Chameleon (Green Anole LIzard) They are closely related to Iguanas. GraffItI Art under the BrIDge SmIleyFaceFootprInt In the TreeColeman sIttIng on the FIrepIt at Anne SprIngs Close Greenway
PigGoatAmerican Brahman American breed of indicine cattle
The Brahman is an American breed of zebuine-taurine hybrid beef cattle. Zebuine (Asian humped) cattle were present in the United States from 1849, when a single bull of Indian origin was imported from the United Kingdom to South Carolina. Cross-breeding of these with local taurine cows was the first step in the creation of the Brahman breed.
Echinacea purpurea is recognisable by its purple cone-shaped flowers. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United States. It is often known as the purple coneflower.
In Silvertone Another Silvertone setting In Monochrome In Noir
Coleman & I went hiking along the Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway and spotted the sand and water underneath the bridge. He loves looking at the water and sand fascinates him. He would have loved to go down and play in it.
While he was watching the movement of the water, I decided to play around the the different black and white settings on my iPhone. The above photos are the results.
Artistic Door Inside Daniel Stowe Botanical GardensArtwork Seen Along the Path in the Gardens And Down a Different Path one Finds Interesting Artwork within the Gardens
Gastonia Transit Bus StopColeman waiting for the Bus to Arrive On the BusColeman’s first city Bus RideRiding the Bus to Highland Rail Trail for a short Hike Highland Railroad Tracks Coleman looking at the Train Tracks Coleman by the Highland Rail Trail MapColeman by the Rules sign for Carolina Thread Trail Usage Down the Paved Trail We GoAnd Go…AndGo Coleman GoesHighland Rail Trail Carolina Thread Trail Gastonia, North Carolina
Skyscape/Cloudscapes over Carowinds Charlotte, North Carolina (taken with an iPhone X in May 2018)Skyscape/Cloudscapes over Port of Galveston Galveston, Texas (taken with an iPhone 11 Pro Max in February 2020)Skyscape/Cloudscapes South Carolina Welcome Center Fair Play, South Carolina Looking at Lake Hartwell State Park landing (Taken with an iPhone 11 Pro Max in April 2020)Skyscape/Cloudscapes Dairy Barn Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South Carolina (Taken with an iPhone 13 Pro in December 2022)Skyscape/Cloudscapes Horse Road Entrance Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South Carolina (Taken with an iPhone 14 Pro Max on May 22, 2023)Today’s Cloudscapes from our Backyard Gastonia, North Carolina (Taken with an iPhone 14 Pro Max)
Naps are beneficial and not just for children. Naps can be a way to refresh and recharge mid-day. They can give you the boosted energy you need to meet the demands of your afternoon and evening. They can help to improve your mood, mental awareness, and added energy levels. They help in reducing daytime sleepiness, also boosts your learning and performance. For children, they can improve their behavior and emotional self-regulation, as well as aid their memory and language learning.
My grandson, Coleman
Coleman doesn’t like or want to take naps if you suggest or tell him to take one. That being said, when he is worn out he will nap basically anywhere. Sometimes I just wish he would nap sooner so he would listen and follow instructions better, instead of falling asleep when he’s supposed to be eating.
Naps are not for everyone, but if you feel like you need to take a nap do not feel guilty about taking one. Remember naps are beneficial to the mind as well as the body.
Playground at Gable Oaks Apartments in Rock Hill, SCPlayground at Gardner Park Elementary School Gastonia, NCPlayground at Schiele Museum Gastonia, NCMy grandson’s preferred “playground” out on a trail. Persimmon Trail Carolina Thread Trail Belmont, North Carolina Chewbacca
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.
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.)
Eastern tiger swallowtail
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]
Children aside, do you celebrate your birthday/anniversary or is it just a normal day for you?
For me, my birthday is just an ordinary normal day. It is not recognized by my children. Oh, I wish and long for acknowledgement, but henceforth it does not come and by nightfall I am disappointed.
Do/did you always give your child a birthday party when they were young?
I did not always give my children a birthday party. However, when I did it was usually just with family including cousins.
If your child was born on Christmas Day (or a few days either side of the 25th), did they have a ‘half birthday’ in June, two presents/celebrations, or something else?
None of my children were born near Christmas, but I do have a good friend and an “old” neighbor who was born the day after Christmas. If I remember right, and I might not, his parents tried to make his birthday special & not just combine his birthday with Christmas.
I do have a daughter that was born on “traditional” Memorial Day (traditional meaning before they made it always on a Monday). We tended to celebrate her birthday with the patriotic theme of red, white, and blue.
Would you prefer to give your child a party, or take them and a few friends on a special outing?
A party is nice, but also a lot of work and expense. When my children weren’t so young, I took them out to a restaurant of their choosing. I remember, in my teen years, my parents took me out for my birthday at the restaurant of my choice with cake and present(s) at home afterward.
A Red Rose Bud for my birthday (Not really my rose, but I can dream) Photo Credit: (c)Deb L. Waters
As a side note, today’s my birthday. I spent the day with my grandson, Coleman (But then again, I usually do). We took the city transit bus into downtown. His first time on a bus ride. First time for both of us in this area (we only moved here in February). We rode the bus downtown and then walked a short distance and hiked the Highland Rail Trail. (He loves to go hiking). The paved trail was just 1.8 miles in length one way. We stopped shy of the end of the trail and walked back to the bus station to wait for the bus to return home. (Coleman was ready to go.) After my daughter got home, she insisted on us going out to eat for my birthday. We hadn’t done that in over three years. We went to a new to us restaurant called Noodles & Company. World Kitchen. It serves many different times of noodle dishes. Italian, Asian, Vegan, and more. I had the Zucchini Pesto with Grilled Chicken. It was delicious. My grandson had the kids grilled chicken, but he was too antsy to sit still and eat. (He fell asleep shortly after we got back home). I did very much appreciate her thoughtfulness. My sons couldn’t bother with acknowledging my birthday. I am thankful for my online friends new and old who sent their birthday greetings. No body wants to be forgotten on their birthday even if they don’t care for celebrations.
Clematis viticella, the Italian leather flower, purple clematis, or Virgin’s bower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to EuropeShades of Purple in a Garden PlanterSalvia officinalis, the common sage or just sage, is a perennial, with blue to purplish flowers. Sisyrinchium angustifolium, commonly known as narrow-leaf blue-eyed-grass Viola × williamsii, known as hybrid horned pansy, tufted pansy, or just horned pansy
Steps Landsford Canal State Park Catawba, South CarolinaLadders Lake Haigler Entrance Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South Carolina Coleman on Steps Lake Haigler Loop Anne Springs Close Greenway Fort Mill, South CarolinaColeman on Ladder Lake Wylie, South Carolina John Thomas Waters And Mary Alma Waters on Back Steps 14 Walnut Street Great Falls, South Carolina Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge Steps or Ladders
This week Cee asks us to share photos of catching people unaware. These photos were taken from the Duke Kimbrell Trail of the Matthews-Belk South Fork River Corridor which is a part of the Carolina Thread Trail network of Greenways, trails, and blueways.
The people were enjoying a day on Lake Wylie with their families and friends. They were completely unaware that someone hiking along the was taking photos of their activities.
The young girls were enjoying Stand-up Paddle boarding on the waters of Lake Wylie as their family watched and gave any necessary advice and/or assistance.
As you can see one is having fun with stand-up paddle boarding and another chose to sit and kayak along through the water.
This activity may still be fairly new to them as it seemed they didn’t venture too far away their families Pontoon.
Coleman and I had fun to stopping along the trail to watch their activity. Coleman would probably have preferred to be in the water along with them.
This Artistic Door is located inside Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens building This one is located along the Garden pathway.As we walk along we encounter even more artistic doors A lovely painting. Each Artistic Door is accompanied by a card listing the artist.