Early June 2017

I took the shots in this post on Saturday June 3 and Saturday June 10.



The weather cooperated for me to check on Bill's garden where he's retired in Oxford, NC.



I wasn't sure if his vegetable garden would survive while he and our daughter were in Europe (France, Italy and Greece) for 18 days.



It turned out well with rain at the beginning of the week and and coool weather mid week.



The hot weather was on Saturday and Sunday both weekends so it motivated me to go and turn on his irrigation on the Saturday mornings. 



None of the shots are of Bill's actual vegetable garden. The shot above is rolled bales I shot before I got to his house and the tomatoes above that shot are of tomatoes growing in one of his compost cages. I'm not sure if he even knows about them. I pick him up tomorrow to take him home so I'll find out then. 



The shot above is Bill's meadow and the shot below are trumpet vines growing on an old tobacco barn that's in his meadow.



He has a lot of wildflowers. I'm glad that he and Avory were able to go on this trip. Bill's 8 years older than I am so he has retired before I'll be able to. I'm grateful that our friendship has survived our divorce many years ago.



I was able to meet Avory during a student exchange she did during high school in Germany (around 2002). We took a train from Germany to France so I'm glad she was able to have a trip like this one with her Dad. I spent a summer in Europe in 1974 too when my father was on a sabbatical. Bill has lived in Japan but never been to Europe and I've enjoyed their trip vicariously through instagram.

Late May 2016

I have been off work since Thursday and don't return until Wednesday which has been a nice mini break.



The mornings have been cool and it hasn't turned hot until today which has made walks very pleasant.



We've had a very wet spring and only sporadic days where the temperatures have reached into the hot category which has left everything looking very lush and green.



I was surprised to see a cormorant at Shelly Lake since they usually go somewhere else in the spring and return in the fall.



The gulls are all gone as they do every spring and return in the winter.



There are other lakes in my town and the surrounding area that have gulls in the summer so I assume they prefer other places to breed.



One thing I miss about working from home was it was easier for me to work walks in.



This picnic table would normally be on dry land but there are many signs of flooding around the lake.



Even this other picnic table is normally quite a ways back from the edge of the lake so it's clear the lake has swallowed up some land.



The great blue heron has found a nice spot to perch on. 



This one didn't seem to move at all for a long time.



I'm used to not seeing many Canada geese on this side of the lake in the spring since they are usually walking with their babies on a large field on the other side of the lake.



The odd thing was I didn't see any  geese on land with their babies.



I hope we continue to have a cool down at night for a while. I don't mind heat as much when the mornings are pleasant and it edges up during the day.



This American robin didn't seem to be making any sound and I was worried about it because it was so still.



I finally went out because I wanted to clean out the bath and put in fresh water. 



At first it just moved its head a bit and then hopped over to the edge of the deck and disappeared into the vines.

Lake Crabtree County Park

Bill and I went to Lake Crabtree County Park near Morrisville, NC last Sunday for a walk.



The park is adjacent to a 520 acre flood control lake and considering how close it is to me, surprising that I've never been there until last weekend.



The park has 215 acres with over 16 miles worth of trails.



There are mountain bike and walking trails and boating on the lake so something for everyone.



I haven't been on a walk yet today but Bill took me out for a delicious mother's day brunch and I heard from my daughter when I got home which is always a pleasure.



I'm feeling pretty lazy so I'm not sure if I'll walk today.



The cooler than usual spring is keeping everything looking very fresh.



Someone at work was talking about the cool weather delaying her long stem roses although other roses are doing well.



The forecast for this coming week is hot, hot and hot so I'm glad we've had some cool for as long as we have.

April 2017 comes to an end.

Most of the shots in this post are ones I took today, the last day of April but I'll begin with a few from the past couple of weeks.



I love yellow fields that I inevitably see when driving outside the city in April. 



It's also nice to see the birds foraging on the ground like the cardinal above.



The roses above are one of the few varieties I still have in my overgrown neglected yard.



The bath water was hanging onto the American Robin.



The rest of the shots are from a walk around the JC Raulston Arboretum at NCSU today.



They've made a lot of changes since I walked there last. 



The lath house is always one of my favorite places to explore.



They did a major change to the lath houses some years ago but that's one of the few part of the garden that doesn't seem different from when I was there last.



I always like to see children enjoying gardens.



There was one little boy that was fascinated with a dead animal and wanted to make sure we saw it.



I guess it's as good of a way as any for children to get an understanding of the cycle of life.



The paths meander in different ways from last year which confused me but major changes to paths and garden sections usually don't happen too often.



I like the way the arboretum has a lot of different conditions within the garden.



There's full sun, full shade, partial shade and so on.



That's one of my favorite parts of another garden not too far from me (the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill).



Duke gardens in Durham, NC is another nice one.



I was glad Bill suggested the arboretum in Raleigh, NC today because I drive to Durham and back every day for work so it was nice to go to the one in the town I live in.



There weren't as many people there as sometimes walk around the garden on weekends.



The think the overcast weather may have cut down on the people which suited me.



I prefer not having to dodge people when I'm taking pictures.



There was a much larger part of the garden devoted to rose than there used to be.



Believe it or not I actually whittled down the number of shots I initially picked for this post.



That said this is a rather long photographic meander.



Part of what makes it hard to be selective is there are so many different areas with different plants and trees.



I am running out of commentary so I hope I'm coming close to an end.



I upload to flicker before I start a post so while I'm pasting in the location of the shot I don't know how near I'm coming to the last shot I picked.



I'm pretty sure I'm on the last stretch.



Happy May Day tomorrow!