Wordless Wednesday: I guess the Geese can't read the sign

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That's My World - Shots from around my house on Sunday

I didn't have any ideas this week, so I thought I'd fall back on showing you some recent shots from around my house.



These shots are all from yesterday (Sunday) which started as a rather wet and rainy day.



I love the way the berries look when they are dripping with rain drops. There is also a lot of different fungi because of all the rain we have had recently.



I tend to assume the red mushrooms are poisonous but something has been eating away at them.



Many of the flowers have already gone to seed but I have a late bunch of black eyed susan in bloom which is like a bonus plant.



I also had a late bunch of lantana start to bloom after most of the plants were spent.



The sun finally came out after a morning rain and the afternoon clouds were pink against a blue sky.



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Monochrome Weekly: Pitcher Plant

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SkyWatch Friday: Mix in the sky

I took the shot below on Monday morning when we had a blue sky for part of the day. The dogwood trees continue to be the main ones giving us some early fall color.



The shot below is one I took Wednesday morning showing the rain which is being dumped from the sky on a very regular basis. My pecan tree which takes up much of the shot is still mostly green with a couple of leaves starting to turn yellow.



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Wordless Wednesday: Designer Bug

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That's My World Tuesday: Lake Johnson Park

Lake Johnson Park consists of a 150+ acre lake and 300+ acres of land surrounding the lake. It is one of many parks with lakes in the triangle area of North Carolina where I live.



Bill and I went there for a walk a few weekends ago and although everything was still very green, some early signs of fall color were starting to pop up in the leaves.



The waterfront program center offers a variety of classes and a large deck for hanging out and looking at the lake. I like the lighting fixtures on the deck and thought perhaps the way they are angled down keeps them from interfering with the look of the lake at night.



When we walked across the bridge, there was a man walking with the largest bass I've ever seen. It really was enormous but I was to shy to ask if I could take a picture of it. I guess that's a case of the fish photograph that got away.



I'm not too shy to photograph the geese. That's a lot more my style. It amused me that there were so many geese hanging out at the picnic table area. I guess they were hoping for some leftovers or maybe it was a geese convention.



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Monochrome Weekly: A Fountain on a Rainy July Day

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SkyWatch Friday: Remembering Blue

I took the shot above last week. It's pouring down raining at the moment and I wanted a little blue in my life so I went with this shot. It's straight out of the camera without any tinkering. At the moment, hard to believe the sky was ever that blue.

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Wordless Wednesday: Spinning

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Durham Central Park and Historic Warehouse District

The photographs in this post will be a mixture from last week and the fall of 2008. The shot above was taken last week when I decided to walk beyond the tree line where I park when I'm working on site in Durham, NC, U.S.



Durham Central Park is in the middle of the Historic Warehouse District. The area used to consist largely of Tobacco Warehouses. After big tobacco left town the warehouses were renovated for arts centers, businesses and other mixed uses. In 2001 the Durham Central Park was established and it includes Grace Garden (shot above).



The shot above was taken last fall of the pavilion in the park which is used for a Saturday morning farmer's market as well as for arts shows and performances. My other blog has a post including a shot of the same sculpture taken last week, showing how it's covered in tall seedheads from flowers at the moment.



This time of year trees surround the park and garden, giving a lot of privacy from the buildings once you are inside the garden.



I like the fanciful benches like the one above and also the one below. In the distance from the bench below you can see the BP building which was built in 1928 and expanded in the 1950s. The BP company (produced headache powder) used the building as a factory. In 1980 the educational testing company I work for purchased the building and renovated it for offices.



The next shot was taken in the fall of last year from the parking lot where I park and has a better shot of the BP Building.



Beyond the part of the building you can see above is a breezeway leading to what used to be the Brodie Duke Warehouse which was built in 1878 to store tobacco. In 2000, the company I work for purchased the old warehouse and renovated it to house offices for the expanding company.



The shot above is one of the historic warehouses now converted for other uses, which is next to the one my employer renovated. I've never photographed the Brodie Duke one, probably because when I work on site I work in the BP building. However most of these historic warehouses in this part of Durham, pretty much look alike from the outside. The reason I happened to shoot the one above is because I was sitting at a red light.



It's pleasant having the park and garden to wander around, although oddly I never realized that there was so much to the garden before. Probably because when it's in bloom the trees hide it from view and when the trees drop their leaves there isn't as much to see. The last shot is one I took last fall and I was drawn in by the sculpture and Japanese Maple but none of the flowers were blooming, like some are now. It's the end of the season and quite a few have gone to seed but still a lot of color left in the garden.



I don't work in Durham that often but when I do I like to take advantage of the different scenery for photo ops. I love being able to work from my home computer most of the time but it is nice to change my view from time to time. Please click here for the home of That's My World Tuesday.

Monochrome Weekly: Stormy Evening driving by the NC mountains

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SkyWatch Friday: I Spy a Flying Saucer

Note - I will comment about the flying saucer in the comment section if anyone wants the literal information.

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Wordless Wednesday - 'Wood Spirit' by Zen Palkowski in NC Botanical Garden

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That's My World Tuesday: Completed UNC Cancer Hospital

This post is part two of a my world post I began in March of 2009. You can click on this link if you are interested in Part One. In March I discussed construction of the new Cancer Hospital at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC and showed you how I have been watching the construction of this hospital, while going to regular oncology follow ups for Stage III melanoma.



This past Thursday I had my first follow up appointment in the newly completed hospital.



The main exterior of the hospital was completed when I did Part One so I'm focusing on the internal part of the hospital with shots I'm sharing here.



The interesting aspect of the design to me is how they allowed for small garden courtyards not only on ground and basement levels but also up on the higher levels.



Part of what made it possible to incorporate the higher level outdoor spaces, probably has to do with the fact that this part of the hospital complex is U shaped and encompasses one and a half blocks.



If you notice my camera reflected in the shot above, that's because I took that shot out the window of the examining room while waiting on the doctor. Since I was in a gown at the time, I'm glad I'm not reflected or I wouldn't have wanted to use the shot. Please click here for the home of That's My World Tuesday.