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: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
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Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S-18-55mm lens f/5.6 • 1/250 • 55mm • ISO100
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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.
Ludwigs Monday Windows
Photo Credit : Deb L. Waters
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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
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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.
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.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
Settings: f/2.2 1/381 2.22mm ISO40
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Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway
Cosmic Photo Challenge: I’ll see you in the trees.
Posting for Alive & Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for visiting the Greenway with me. I appreciate y’all.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge.
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #177
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Debbies One Word Sunday: Shadow
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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John’s Cellpic Sunday
Kate’s Whatsoever Is Lovely Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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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 uses include the 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.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Found in Plants, Flowers, & Trees:
Found in & Around Animals:
Cee’s Black and White Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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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.
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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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.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
Location: Horse Stables Entrance, Anne Springs Close Greenway
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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.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
Posting for Alive & Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
God Bless. Thank you for Trekking with us. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Amy of Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for observing my Skyscapes/Cloudscapes. I appreciate y’all.
Natural and necessary
Antidote to Acquire and
Promote improved Performance
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.
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.
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters
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WHATSOEVER IS LOVELY CHALLENGE-2023 WEEK 17
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Mischelle Oyko (Shared with me from friend in hiking club)
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time & thoughts. Hope you enjoyed the Spider Lilies. I appreciate y’all.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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Saturday Evening:
Sunday Afternoon:
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Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max 24mm f1.78
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit: Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max Main Camera —- 24mm f1.78
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit : Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for following along with my blog. I appreciate y’all.
John’s Cellpic Sunday
Photo Credit: Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday: Vanish
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge–Pick Your Topic from My Photo
Kammie’s, Oddball Challenge
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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.)
Other butterflies found within Anne Springs Close Greenway:
Nature Photo Challenge– Butterflies
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
This week Di is asking us these questions;
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.
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.
#Keepitalive
#SYW
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time with me. I appreciate y’all.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge. This is also my entry for Kate’s Whatsoever Is Lovely Challenge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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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.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Catching People Unaware
Also Posting for Alive & Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing in our adventures. I appreciate y’all.
Sofia of Lens-Artists Photo Challenge-Art in the Park
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
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This month my desktop scrolls between two photos. One from my archives and one current photo.
From my Archives:
From my Current:
Clare’s Share your Desktop; May 2023
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
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Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens.
God Bless. I hope you have a fun filled inspiring week. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #175
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF 75-300mm lens
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens with Altura Wide Angle Fisheye Lens.
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Nature Photo Challenge #12: Trees
Alive & Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters (All except # 3)
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The New Braunfels Railroad Museum resides within the 1907 International and Great Northern Depot. In October of 1986, the New Braunfels Historic Railroad and Modelers Society was granted a long-term lease of the closed depot. At that point the restoration and museum efforts were begun. It interior was painted and the exterior was repainted to match one of the previous remodels of the depot. Brick pavers and new sidewalks were added to aid in the preservation of the museum artifacts and displays. Then again in 2007 the members undertook a compete make-over of the display area. This included new custom-made display cases, track lighting, and additional displays of items that had previously needed to be stored. Displays include a rare velocipede from the late 1800’s; several restored baggage carts, a complete telegraphy system and its history; a history of “standard time”; area specific photos; lanterns, timetables, passes, uniforms, and various other “tools” required of the railroad employee to sufficiently get his job done.
I visited the New Braunfels Railroad back in February of 2020 when I made a took a bus trip to Texas to visit relatives. When they had appointments in the New Braunfels area I would tag along and walk the streets sightseeing to see interesting sights in the area. I found the museum to be fascinating and enjoyed my self-guided walking tour.
Photo Credit : Deb L. Waters
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Photo Credit: 2-6; ©️Deb L. Waters
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The Eastern Gray Squirrel is particular known in other parts of the world as simply the grey squirrel. It is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. It is native to eastern North America (my part of the country), where it is most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator. These squirrels I’ve seen before in several campgrounds, Greenways, and along several hiking trails in the area. I usually see them more in the country and not so much in the city near apartments or townhomes.
My grandson woke me up early to watch the squirrel on our back fence eating the dog’s food. He was fascinated watching the squirrel. Most squirrels I’ve seen do not have as long a tail as this Eastern Gray Squirrel. This shot he seemed to be saying; “Why you looking at me? Can’t you see I’m enjoying my breakfast at your expense? Thank you, I appreciate the food.”
Photo Credit: Deb L. Waters
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John’s Cellpic Sunday
Photo Credit: (c)Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 