That's My World Tuesday: Sunday Crossing Town

Bill and I have gotten in the habit of walking on Sundays, usually at one of the lakes near by.

This Sunday, we drove across town to Lake Johnson and since Bill was driving I was photographing from the car.

The first two shots were taken on Peace Street (Raleigh NC). The shot above is of Needham Broughton High School.

The shot above was taken as we turned left from Hillsborough St. and cut through North Carolina State University (NSCU).

The shot above and below were taken during our walk at Lake Johnson.

After our walk we drove past the movie theatre on avent ferry Rd. and I shot the wall art on the building.

We had lunch in the seafood Restaurant at the Farmer's Market and I photographed the car we parked next to.

Heading home we were once again on Hillsborough St. and I took a shot of the NCSU bell tower.

When we reached Wake Forest Rd. I took a shot of the funky building below.

That's a cross town Sunday in my part of the world. Click for the home of That's My World Tuesday.

The Weekend in Black and White: a flock hides within

I need to cut away last years dead growth in my ornamental grasses to make way for the new, but every time I get close to it a bunch of birds start flying out or scream at me from within.

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SkyWatch Friday: Loving the clouds

We had a chilly start this Wednesday and I went outside to get the ice out of the bird baths.

I was struck by the clouds and their fullness as well as breaks for a little blue.

I'm also remembering to enjoy the winter trees before they start leafing out as I like bare branches against the sky.

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ABC Wednesday: Fancy Fire Fixtures

Last week I showed you an elegant entrance at the Colonial Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. This week I thought I'd take you inside the same palace for a look at some fancy fire fixtures.

Above is a fancy furnace in the dining room. Below is a fancy fireplace in the map room.

The fanciest fireplace is in the main entrance room but there were so many people around it that I only managed a shot of the fancy firearms and swords on either side of the fireplace. There is also a candle which can produce a flame when lit.

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That's My World Tuesday: American Robin

I didn't realize that the European robin bears little resemblance to the American Robin until I started blogging.

These shots are of an American Robin getting water on my deck. The American Robin is a thrush and there is more information about them at this link. The European Robin is much smaller and is now considered to be an old world flycatcher (according to wikipedia at this link). I also found at the same site that the Australian red robin is of the genus Petroica. You can find more about the red-capped robin and its Australian relative at this wikipedia link.

Were it not for blogging I would not have realized that a number of different birds, who aren't even relatives, are called robins. Click for the home of That's My World Tuesday.

The Weekend in Black and White: Bike Rack

I noticed this bike rack at Lake Lynn and it reminded me of one another blogger photographed, maybe for the weekend in black and white, maybe for another theme.

I wanted to crop out the cars but that didn't work for the whole shot because at the edge there was still part of the cars. Therefore, I decided to show the full shot above and a crop of part of the rack below.

I think I prefer the cropped shot. Click for the home of the weekend in black and white.

SkyWatch Friday: Blue Skie with varied clouds

I took the first shot on Sunday at the bottom of a dam looking up at the expansive sky.

The next two shots were ones I took at my house on Tuesday when the clouds looked like a feather quilt.

We've had a mix of gray dreary days and bright blue sky days and everything in between lately. I figured a lot of you have had a shortage of blue so I'd focus on that this week.

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ABC Wednesday: Elegant Entrance

Everyone who visits Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, U.S. can enter through the elegant entrance in the back of the Colonial Governor's mansion. Of course back when the colonial governor lived there, I suspect entering uninvited wouldn't be encouraged.

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That's My World Tuesday: Lake Lynn

Once again I'm posting shots from a Sunday walk at the lake but it's a different lake this week.

Lake Lynn is a nice change for me and still very close to where I live.

It has a long bridge, or maybe it would be considered a boardwalk which goes most of the way around the lake with only a few places where you walk on a trail.

The lake I usually walk around (Shelley Lake) is less than a mile from where I live but Lake Lynn is only a little over two miles from me so both are quite close.

I am very lucky in terms of trails, lakes, creeks, and parks near me in spite of living in a subdivision.

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The Weekend in Black and White: Gulls and their shadows

Maybe it's just me but I think the gulls shadows look like a line of trees.

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SkyWatch Friday: Light and Shadow

Both of the shots I'm using this week have blue skies which is a little misleading since we've also had a lot of gray skies lately.

It has been nice though to have a few pretty days. I liked the light on the tree in the shot above and the shadow in the one below.

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ABC Wednesday: D is for Dam

When you're ready to drop from fatigue at Shelley Lake, you can rest on the bench on top of the dam and look at the lake.

Down below the dam, water from the lake drips and gushes into a pool and then it floats into the stream.

In the winter the dam is brown and in the summer it's green. The Shelley Lake dam frequently has geese waddling downhill searching for dribs and drabs of nourishment.

Dams are diverse in design and size and diverge from each other based on what they are required to do. Shelley Lake Dam is relatively small (53 acre lake and park land - I think that's a combined figure). The next Dam (Falls Lake Dam) is a man made reservoir which covers approximately 12,500 acres with water and is surrounded by 25,000 acres of public land.

The Falls Lake dam has information about how it was built and what is does.

If you are interested in the Falls Lake Dam and can't read the information in the photographs of the signs, you can click here to visit its website.

For other takes on the letter D, please visit the home of ABC Wednesday.