Greensboro Daily Photo

Osage Oranges (Not So Orange)

Tis the season of maclura pomifera-  also knows as osage oranges, hedge-apples, horse-apples, bois d'arc, bodark and bodack* The brainlike texture of this fruit looks like something that should be decorating a house at Halloween. Although we've always called this grapefruit-sized, inedible fruit an Osage orange, it is more closely related to the mulberry than an orange. The dense, heavy orbs are filled with a sticky sap that, as old-timey lore has it, repels spiders and insects. Scientific studies show there is some evidence for their effectiveness as an insecticide.

Some refer to the trees and fruit as bois d'arc because early French settlers noticed that Native Americans used the strong, flexible wood in bowmaking. In early America, the trees were planted to serve as natural barbed wire fences as the branches are quite thorny. We think this is a photo of the "orange tree" wood in the Greensboro Arboretum; that would explain the spikes. Recently, we found several Osage oranges on a walking tour of Greensboro's Westerwood neighborhood. It takes a brave person to allow these trees to fruit on one's street; because, if they fall off and hit your car, they leave a pretty serious dent. The Osage orange has some interesting history, some of which is linked to US presidents! Why don't you head out for a nature walk and try to find some, and ...... watch out for that THUMP!

 

* see this reference where we got the general information for this wonder of nature!

Fat Cat of McAdoo Heights

The domestic cat is the most popular pet in the world. In the United States, over 73 million cats are owned and three out of ten households own at least one cat* The Greensboro feline, in the above photo, was last seen in the State Street Community Garden on Golden Gate Drive. He roams near the McAdoo Heights houses we featured earlier in the week. He loves to hang out among the raised-bed, garden plots that are mostly empy and fallow for the winter. While a few tomatoes remain, Fat Cat, is not in the garden for the tomatoes. He is in search of little mice and other small rodents. Quite possibly, he is convinced that all the world is a litter pan. He navigates this common area like a deer through a plowed cornfield, running the perimeter knowing exactly where he is going.

With his blue eyes and seal-gray coloring, Fat Cat appears to be part Siamese; with his shiny coat, he appears to be well cared for. We doubt Fat Cat is a feral cat; however, if you have any in your neighborhood, Greensboro has a Feral Assistance Program and there is always an abundance of cats in the Animal Shelter. Join one of the 35 million households and let a feline adopt you today! If you are lucky, your cat will be as pretty as the one featured today.

*reference and the history of laws relating to cats here.

Autumn Vegetables

In Greensboro, the temperature dropped significantly yesterday, from what felt like 80 degrees on Saturday to in the 50's on Sunday. Above, you see the produce that we harvested from our back yard yesterday. Chez Mr. and Mrs. GDP, we've opted to nurse along our summer garden a little more, as opposed to being good southerners and planting cold crops (turnips, collards, radishes, mixed greens, broccoli, etc.). We still have okra (purple & green), a few cherry tomatoes, and eggplant.

Additionally, the fruit on our saijo persimmon tree is now ripe. It was so abundant this year that the top snapped off under the weight of the fruit. Saijo means "the very best one" in Japanese and rightfully so. The saijo persimmon doesn't need a pollinator tree, is disease resistent and is hardy in our planting zone. Wish us luck that the remaining half of the two-year-old tree will continue to grow. The photo shows about 1/4 of the fruit from the little tree so you can see what we mean by abundant. We have already turned the pulp from these persimmons into persimmon cake. Although we've enjoyed the fruit, we regret not pruning the tree back and learned our lesson the hard way.

One of Mr. GDP's favorite childhood foods was persimmon pudding, made with wild, native persimmons. The wild variety is labor intensive to prepare for use in the kitchen. The seeds are large and the amount of pulp significantly less than the Asian varieties. It is getting harder to find native persimmons. If you see some for sale, or better yet, free for the picking, please let us know. With each generation, there are fewer and fewer memories of seasonal foods. Just about any food one wants can be imported from somewhere these days. However, nothing beats the spicy tastes of fall... consumed in October and November! Making native persimmon pudding is a North Carolina tradition and is still on our to-do list.

Autumn Knocks on Knox Road

Autumn is knocking at the door just about everywhere in Greensboro. We see it in the shorter days. We see it in the leaves beginning to turn. The okra has decided it is done blooming and the basil has gone go seed. Squirrels are scampering, collecting acorns from our city's large oak trees. October has got to be one of the loveliest months in North Carolina. Before you know it, the leaves will be at peak.

The above photo was taken in the eastern end of the county on Knox Road just across the street from Twin Oaks Ministry. It reminded us that, before you know it, many Greensboro families will be heading out to maize mazes, spooky woods, and haunted houses. Before we bring on those end of October activities, we'll concentrate on all that the beginning of the month has to offer. Of course tonight is First Friday and so downtown will be hoppin'. Also, from 8:00- 10:00 pm, the Creative Center at 900 16th Street will be holding a candlelight tour and Triad Stage is in full swing. Saturday is the Battleground Brewer's Guild will hold Octoberfest. On Sunday from 12:00- 5:00 pm, Art in the Arboretum will host their annual art and gardening event. If you know of other things and want to share, do add a comment. We'd love to hear what you are up to this weekend.

Turtles of North Carolina

We've seen more turtles in Greensboro this summer than we have in recent years- mostly, when they were crossing the road. We found the above turtle quite a while back, but were reminded of it when we saw a man stop right in the middle of Liberty Road to "relocate" a turtle. Such a tender moment out of a burly man in a big truck on a rural road.

If a turtle is in danger of getting hit only consider helping it if you are in a position to stop your vehicle without being at risk of causing an accident. Save human lives first; turtles second. It is wise just scoot them off the road in the direction they are traveling. They know where they are going!  They have an instinctive homing ability and usually spend their whole lives in a 2-4 acre range (reference). Also, if you do touch them, wash your hands immediately as they have been known to carry salmonella. 

 Here is a great web page outlining the turtles of North Carolina and their habitat.

Speaking of Liberty Road, we'll be heading down to Liberty this weekend to enjoy the Liberty Antiques Festival- one of the finest events of its kind in the southeast. Head on down if you get a chance. Oh, and do watch out for critters in the road.

High Point Rowing Club

The High Point Rowing Club is new to the Triad area and we are so fortunate to have this opportunity for our high school athletes. The Triad's first rowing team practices at Oak Hollow Lake and yesterday was a fabulous day to be out in the 60' shell. Even the choppy water couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the people who came to practice. The rowing program started a few weeks ago and this was only their third practice. Coach Gene Kininmonth, originally from Australia, brings a wealth of experience to the team. Not only is he a rower himself, he has coached several places, including UCLA. 

If you are not inclined to row, there is still a great deal for you to do in the Greensboro area this weekend. Consider eating  at the Greek Festival and then heading over to the Tate Street Festival. It would be great if you could stop by Elements Gallery at 526 South Elm Street to preview the items in their Breast Cancer Awarness and Prevention Fundraiser. There are so many things to do in the Triad area, none of us should ever complain about being bored. Head on out and enjoy yourself.

We're sharing this photo with the great people at Weekend Reflections who will be clapping joyfully as they see the reflection of the crew in the water.

J is for Jefferson Gardens

    Jefferson Gardens is a neighborhood located off of Jefferson Road, between Friendly Avenue and Hobbs Road. The above house is located on Hayfield Lane; perhaps there was a hayfield here before the house was built in 1972. This neighborhood backs up to Price Park and to 240-acres owned by Guilford College. The natural area behind the houses of Jefferson Gardens attracts plenty of wildlife. As you can see, on the day we were photographing the neighborhood, a wild turkey walked out of the woods and was hanging out on Hayfield Lane. Residents say the turkey thinks it is their pet. 

    Jefferson Gardens is only made up of six main streets (Hayfield Lane, Broadmoor Place, Thorncliff Drive, Elderwood Place, Ainsworth Drive, and Bennington Drive- the main artery) and a few cul-de-sacs. The small neighborhood, with one way in and out, is fairly quiet eleven months a year. Come December, Ainsworth Drive is ablaze with a multiple-home display of Christmas lights and decorations. People from miles around make an annual tradition of driving by and enjoying the festive street.

    Today is ABC Wednesday and J is for Jefferson Gardens. View our A-H neighborhoods here.

Tobacco Hornworm

Yesterday, we brought you a view of UNCG's gardens. Related to the garden theme, today, we bring you a photo of the tobacco hornworm who was busy devouring our cherry tomato plant. He was pretty camouflaged so Mr. GDP offered his index finger to point out this giant caterpillar with the voracious appetite. The Latin name for this creature is manduca sexta. His cousin, manduca quinquemaculata- tomato hornworm- looks very similar. Both eat tomatoes and feed on plants from the family solanaceae. 

These giant caterpillars are fairly hardy and have a short life cycle, making them great for classroom purposes. As an adult, this caterpillar will become a moth that will have the ability to hover like a hummingbird. Nature is so fabulous to observe and Greensboro is teeming with life, as all of these creatures get ready for winter. For sure, with the wonderful parks and natural areas around Greensboro, we can easily combat nature-deficit disorder.  As we sat and watched this beautiful creature, we saw exactly what Eric Carle was thinking when he wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Go for a walk and let us know what you see. Maybe you can even write a book about it!

The UNCG Community Gardens

Saturday was a work day at the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Community Gardens on McIver Street. The gardens were established Fall 2010. The garden started with about 18 raised beds and has grown to around fifty. While each plot is a mere 4X8', with careful planning, a great deal can be planted. Susan Andreatta, Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Guy Sanders, Associate Director of Housing and Residence Life, oversee the project. Dr. Andreatta brings twenty five years in the study of farming systems and work with community gardens to the project. UNCG's Garden Club members are also very involved in this initiative.

Noteworthy is the involvement of UNCG's Dining Services employees at the UNCG Community Garden. They maintain nine of the nearly fifty plots and have actually been able to use harvested items- especially herbs, chard, watermelon, mixed greens, and cherry tomatoes-  for special events. 

Saturday's workday brought a great mix of people from the UNCG community. From faculty and staff to students, from people who have a specific plot to people who simply wanted to give of their time to some folks who were "doing" time for course requirements, there were people from all walks of life. Even those who were initially less than enthusiastic gained a greater appreciation of working together to provide a local food source.

Hopefully, all of the cold weather greens that were planted on Saturday will like this rain we've had in Greensboro and produce vegetables soon. It's still not too late to get some cabbage and mixed greens in the ground. And, if you have as little as a square foot plot of soil, you can grow produce.

Read more here.

Fishing on Labor Day

Yesterday, this father and son duo were enjoying some late afternoon fishing in Lake Hamilton. They didn't seem to be having a lot of luck, but, then again, fishing isn't always about the luck. It is about the fellowship, the fun, and the hopefulness that comes when waiting.. with bait on a hook and a line in water. The lake, located in the heart of the Hamilton Lakes neighborhood, was so peaceful yesterday and fairly clear, considering it has been raining in Greensboro. There is a large swan is quite at home on Lake Hamilton, and is oblivious to what his human guests are up to.

While we were walking the trails around the lake, we saw at least six different kinds of mushrooms; some with interesting shapes and colors. If you like to hunt mushrooms, locally, weather conditions have been perfect these last few days. All the mature hardwood trees in Hamilton Lakes, along with the leaf mulch, seemed to invite the fleshy, spore-bearing fungus.

Today, routines are back to normal, the boy in the above photo is back in school, maybe even talking about the "one they caught" or the "one that got away." Likely, dad is back at work taking about the good time he had with his son. Even without this photo, the memory is one the little boy will have in his heart- for a very long time. 

Happy Labor Day

With Labor Day, summer comes to a screeching halt. All students in Greensboro are back in school and memories of summer are quickly fading. Fortunately, the weather was nice on Saturday and Sunday (until late afternoon) in Greensboro and people were able to swim. These tomatoe plants, captured poolside, are still producing tomatoes. We'd hoped to enter Earth Fare's tomato photo contest but didn't get around to it. The winners are posted here. They hold the contest every year in July so mark your calendar and start planning your best shot. Maybe we can hold on to this photo and submit it then.

In the meantime, we're taking some time today to remember that Labor Day celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. America started talking about having a "labor day" celebration in the 1880's, inspired by the Canadian holiday. In 1890 it officially became a national holiday and 30 states were already celebrating Labor Day. Most neighborhood pools close this weekend as all of the students who work there have gone back to school and many, back to college.

Entrance to Forest Oaks

We're closing out the week with one more photo from the southeastern end of the county. Above, we see the main entrance to Forest Oaks on Forest Oaks Drive. We're not sure who the statue is. It could be Ellis Maples, the man who designed and opened the golf course in 1962. In 2002, the course was redesigned by Davis Love III and so the statue could be in recognition of his work. Golfers love the Forest Oaks course and Golf World Magazine rates it a 4.7 out of 5.0. We're betting some of the regulars can tell us more about the statue. There is a statue at the other end of Forest Oaks Drive, too. In 1989, the Forest Oaks Country Club was purchased by a Japanese company, Nisshin Real Estate Company, Ltd. of Tokyo.

Whe whole community of Forest Oaks is about 5 square miles. And as you can see from the last few days, residents take a great deal of pride in their landscaping. We wanted to feature Forest Oaks today because a few homes on this weekend's Tour of Remodeled Homes are in this part of the county. The tour is sponsored by the Greensboro Builders Association and is going on today through Sunday.*  Happy weekend, dear readers!

 

*get more online information here.

Hibiscus in North Carolina

The beautiful hibiscus flower is loved around the world. Several species of hibiscus grow well in North Carolina as the hardy hibiscus thrives in zones 6-8 and, unlike their tropical cousins, require little winter care. Greensboro is zone 7 on the USDA hardiness zone scale.  Hibiscus flowers are edible and many cultures boil the flowers to make hot and cold beverages. The drink is a mild diuretic with some health benefits. So, if you've made a commitment to planting edibles, this is a plant that would add beauty in your yard and make a nice beverage to serve. While dried hibiscus is a delicacy in Mexico, we think we'll stick with growing its relative in the mallow family, okra* for our dinner table.

The above specimen was found growing next to the mailbox in the Forest Oaks home we featured yesterday. The flowers on their plant are 6-8" in diameter and make a showy display in the front yard of this golf course community. Sometimes you hear them called saucer or flying saucer hibiscus.

A reader asked us to identify the large-leafed plant next to the porch in yesterday's photo. It is an elephant ear leaf, a member of the taro family and, in some cultures, parts of it are eaten. As always, before you start eating out of your yard, research the culinary aspects carefully to avoid any parts of a plant that may be toxic. We're fairly confident that the Forest Oaks family in yesterday's home are growing all of these plants for their beauty. If you get a moment, photograph your summer yard. In Greensboro, fall is nipping at our heels.

*see our okra patch here.

F is for Forest Oaks

The above home on Belvoir Drive in Forest Oaks is an inviting beauty with meticulous landscaping. The private residence is located across from the Forest Oaks Country Club 7 miles southeast of downtown Greensboro.   With its white columns, large front porch, and second-floor faux balcony, the house exudes southern charm. There are many attractive houses near the golf course, however, this one is exceptionally inviting.

Today is ABC Wednesday and, this round we're featuring A-Z neighborhoods in the Greensboro area. F is for Forest Oaks. In the 2,000 census, Forest Oaks had a population of a little over 3,000 people and 1,200 households. However, with the current construction in the area, Forest Oaks seems is growing. From 1977-2007, Forest Oaks hosted the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship. This house and its residents have probably seen a lot of exciting golf over the years. Heck, they've probably even hosted some sweet tea and lemonade breaks on that inviting lawn.

Mushrooms & Mosquitoes

Well, we start the week in Greensboro a little wet from the weekend....

With the rain came mushrooms and mosquitoes. The above white mushrooms snuck their way into our compost bed, which, at the moment, is a little heavy on coffee grounds and scraps from garden produce- not to mention soggy. Our compost pile is the perfect host for mushrooms that like a dark, warm, moist, nutrient-rich environment.

We are the first generation in our family incapable of conclusively determining whether or not mushrooms are edible. Those relatives from the "old country" would be mighty disappointed with the offspring of their offspring for not having mushroom identification skills. We do know that we have always been told to STAY AWAY from solid white mushrooms.

North Carolina has several biology and agricultural programs with mushroom experts, mycologists. To name a few, in North Carolina there is a lot of research and classification being conducted at Duke University (see here & here); NC State (see here) and, at Greensboro's very own NCA&T University (see here) do research and have active extension services. At NCA&T, Dr. Ormon S. Isikhuemhen specializes in mushroom biology and fungal biotechnology. NCA&T's School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences maintains a "how to get started" website for edible and medicinal mushroom farming in North Carolina. They work closely with farmers setting up mushrooms as a cash crop. How wonderful that a university works closely with the community to develop sustainable agriculture. See their great website here. Maybe we'll head back out and pick a mess and get them identified; that is, if we can brave the mosquitoes! We may get lucky and find some truffles!

On Denim Pond

Yesterday, we featured Eastern Shores, one of the neighborhoods of the Lake Jeanette community. Today, we offer this view of the nature trail at Turnstone Village on the eastern shores of Lake Jeanette. The water appears to be denim blue, harkening back to its roots as a Cone family property. who made They made lake on property they owned to have more water to use in their textile mills.

Jeanette Cone, for whom the lake was named, would be pleased to have such a beautiful place named for her. She was the wife of Ceasar Cone and mother of Benjamin.* Jeanette got a lake named in her memory; Ceasar got a school (Ceasar Cone Elementary) over near the mills off of Church Street. When Jeanette and Ceasar were alive, in the late 1800's/early 1900's, the property on which the school would be constructed was in the heart of the mill villages. In the day of the Cones, the above-property, that would become Lake Jeanette, must have seemed like Siberia. This lake would be a great backdrop for a movie about Greensboro. We could call it... On Denim Pond. Who could be the contemporary Fonda/Hepburn duo to play the parts of Ceasar and Jeanette.

As summer feels like it is about to come to a screeching halt, walking on a community nature trail, ever popular in neighborhoods like this one, seems more and more appealing.

 

*read about Benjamin Cone's papers here.

National Pigeon Association

This week, the west coast has been experiencing earthquakes and the weather on the east coast has been unpredictable, too. We've had strong winds and thunderstorms. During some recent winds, this white pigeon, with a band of purple feathers around his neck, lost his way. On Monday night, an animal lover, friend, and faithful GDP reader called us to help. She knows we are animal lovers and that we have a pet bird.

This tame pigeon was roosting in her neighbors' garage and their neighborhood, Sunset Hills, is full of cats. She wanted to know if we would help. She did not want to wake up to ruffled feathers and a dead carcass. Well, we drove to her house with a bird cage and it took less than a minute to get this beauty caged. Already night, we took him home and gave him food and water and a good night's rest.

The next day, we took him to Stephie's birds and she helped us read the band number. We have contacted the National Pigeon Association and are in the process of finding the owner. According to the association's website, if you get them fed and hydrated, you can let them go in an open field and they will find their way home-- even if it is hundreds of miles away. We will probably do that if our leads are dead ends. In the meantime, we'll keep trying to find the rightful owner. The bird is so beautiful, tame, and well cared for that we're pretty sure the owners are missing him. 

As a child, Mrs. GDP had a pet homing pigeon who just showed up at her house one day. When she went to town on Saturday afternoons, she would see her pigeon on the court house square. He always came home to roost at night. One day he never returned. Mrs. GDP's mom made up a little story about how Homer married and went with his new family. So, finding the rightful owner would touch a nostalgic chord in Mrs. GDP's heart. If you have any ideas, please let us know. We feel like we're in the middle of P.D. Eastman's tale, Are You My Mother?. Let's hope our ending is as happy as the one in the children's book.

MUSEP @ Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

MUSEP with friends means fabulous summer fun. Local sponsors and the City of Greensboro bring music to the community each Sunday. The venues are mostly public parks and they are always free. Yesterday's concert was held in the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park off of Old Battleground Avenue& New Garden Road. The evening was one of country music with first, Katelyn Marks and then, Lisa Dames. It was as if Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline were in the park with us. The above photo was not our best at capturing yesterday's tremendous crowd. However, it captures the spirit of our city's great parks.

To the left, you see the 27' tall statue of Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War hero and our city's namesake. In front of Greene is one of our giant oak trees; they sure help keep the green in Greensboro! The statue and the mighty oak dwarf the people en route to their seats. At the military park, being surrounded by trees enhances the acoustics and the seating area is great- plenty of shade and a gradual slope down to the musicians. The park should host more concerts.

Next Sunday at 6:30, the Greensboro Concert Band will play at Latham Park- a city park off of Wendover at Bessemer. There are four more concerts and then the concerts, and summer, come to a screeching halt!

Happy Monday, folks!

Flying through Rainbows

Earlier this week, Greensboro was blessed with a rainbow. By the time we had our camera in position to photograph it, little light was left. However, by that time, an airplane appeared overhead. (We were close to the airport). We loved seeing the airplane fly past the rainbow. From the ground, we could see what looked like the airplane going past the rainbow; however, from a plane, you can't have the sensation that you are passing through a rainbow.

Last Friday, Moscow Daily Photo posted a rainbow and referenced a rainbow view from the Netherlands. It would be so fun if you can link your photo of a rainbow to our photo and, then, someone can link to your picture.  Let us know if you link and we'll let MDP know that we've linked to them! Pass the rainbow on.

While we'd love to see another rainbow in Greensboro today, we'd like even more to see rain. Happy Friday folks. What does the sky look like above your head?

Do You Have a Farm-acy?

Very near Kirkwood and Irving Park, right beside this busy segment of Battleground Avenue, someone is growing vegetables on a little plot of land. The sign is such a cute way to drive home the point that if you watch what food you put into your body and make good food choices, you will likely decrease the amount of medicine that you will have to take. 

Home gardening has been on the rise in the USA over the last several years. According to the National Garden Association, in 2009, 43 million households planned to grow some of their own food and that number has been increasing by 15-30% annually.*  Some of these urban gardens are owned privately and others are shared by community members. Another option is for church and civic groups to grow gardens and donate the produce to people in need.

Yet another trend is to have edible landscaping. With this option, plants are chosen, not only for the fact that the yield something edible, but also for their attractiveness. What a healthy, economical option! If you are local and really interested in edible landscaping, you can drive to the Edible Landscaping nursery, about three and a half hours north of Greensboro. The ride through the mountains of Virginia (between Staunton and Charlottesville) is beautiful and when you get there you can visit their orchard and see what the plants would look like in your yard.

Let's all make an effort to plant something edible. Maybe we can all find one of these signs to alert passers-by to the farm-acy in our yard-en of eat-ing! A virtual "honk" if you support the above gardener's efforts!

*reference.

Name that Vegetable.....

Can you name this vegetable? This is one of our favorites and it grows well in our back yard. It likes the hot, sunny weather in Greensboro. Above, you see the hibiscus-like flower as well as the pods that are beginning to form. Have you guessed what vegetable this is yet?

Well......it is okra, a flowering plant in the mallow family. Okra is related to cotton and cocoa. It is a popular health food that is high in fiber, vitamin C and oxidants. This year, we planted the reddish/purple variety, instead of the green pods. We were shocked that, when you steam it, the reddish/purple pods turn green. The whole plant is beautiful. The broad leaves are large and attractive. It is nice to plants that are both attractive and edible! Happy Monday, folks. Thank you for reading and let us know how your garden is growing. Let us know if you have suggestions for our edible landscaping adventure.

Maple & Crepe Myrtle

The crepe myrtle bushes (right) are in full bloom now. They are beautiful, unless you park under one during a rain- in which case, you will find yourself picking little crumbs of flower parts out of every nook and cranny of your vehicle. Some crepe myrtle, or lagerstroemia, are deciduous and others are evergreen. The summer-autumn flowers are long lasting and you can find just about every color variety, except for blue. The genius is named after a Swedish merchant. 

This North Battleground scene is noteworthy because, to the left, you can see that the maple tree has already started changing color and it is only the middle of July. This early color change is probably due to the stress plants are undergoing in the heat wave with irregular access to water.

If you peek in the space between the tree and bush, in the grassy field, you can see where Laddie and Duke's Family Grille and Pub used to be. This Greensboro institution was raised a few years ago. Nothing of the building remains.

At GDP, are still in the habit of featuring sky shots on Fridays even thought we don't usually participate in Skywatch Friday any more. Happy Friday, dear readers. Here's to that beautiful slice of the sky hovering above in your neck of the woods!

Z is for Zoo

Today, Round 10 of ABC Wednesday (one of our favorite memes)  comes to a peacock-screeching halt with Z is for Zoo. People around the world who "play" will be posting their favorite "Z" photos. We're sharing the not-so-original "z" is for "zoo." * Actually, this photo wasn't taken at the zoo in Asheboro (also a worthy cause) but at the zoo/animal discovery portion of Greensboro's Natural Science Center. Roaming peacocks evoke memories of the Old South and they are a fun addition to the grounds of the Natural Science Center. In Hinduism, peacocks represent benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and knowledge (Wiki).  If you are lucky, one of these regal, terrestrial feeders will give you a private tour of the gounds. 

Greensboro's science center has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Currently, it is undergoing yet another growth spurt. It just keeps getting better and better and the zoo portion of the facility is included in the price of a general admission ticket! Everything from a Wallaby Walkthrough to tamandulas, giant tortises, maned wolves and giant anteater to tigers are waiting for you to admire (zoo info here). By 2013, we'll have a SciQuarium with yet more animals. 

 

*see GDP's  A-Y ABC Wednesday posts here. This round, we  featured worthy causes/non-profits. Next week, we will start Round 11 with ABC neighborhoods of Greensboro. Previously, we have featured ABC people and ABC streets of Greensboro. By the way, we're hoping someone will create a new neighborhood that starts with a "Z" or, we'll have to get really creative for our "Z" neighborhood. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz..................

Sun, Solstice and Salamanders

The morning after the last hard rain in Greensboro, we found this critter in our yard. We think it is a salamander and not a hellbender as the above anphibian had four hind toes, not five. We were hoping to find a hellbender after reading this great News & Record article. Still, to find a salamander when we don't have a stream in our yard was a pretty curious event.

This week, the sun is rising around 6:00 am and the sun is setting around 8:40, with a little over 14 1/2 hours of daylight. According to THIS convenient length-of-day chart, June 20th and 21st will have exactly the same amount of daylight: 14 hours, 36 minutes, and 44 seconds.  The summer solstice days give us an opportunity to turn over rocks and enjoy nature by day more than any other time of year.

Try going outside on a nature hunt and seeing how many different creatures you can find. Another way to spend your solstice days this week is to attend Greensboro's 2012 Summer Solstice event this Saturday from 2:00- 10:00 pm.* In the meantime, we're gonna keep searching for the elusive hellbender.

*see our photo of a previous Summer Solstice event here and here.

Brown Thrasher

This brown thrasher has been hanging around our yard in Greensboro. We suspect that she has a nest near our compost bed among the dense brush. This spring, we've been lucky, our compost pile seems to have the perfect combination of green and brown material as it is FULL of earthworms. Brown thrashers are omnivorous and eat anything from insects and earthworms to berries and seeds, all of which are present in our yard; most of which are present in our compost pile.

Every year, we plant more edibles and now have at least ten blueberry bushes, lots of raspberries, two small gardens, and more.  We've also made a committment to avoid pesticides. Our efforts are paying off as, this year, we've seen a variety of birds and other wildlife. This is the first year that we recall seeing a thrasher. According to the literature, brown thrashers can make up to 3,000 distinct bird calls. That's quite a reperitoire. We hear the thrasher a lot and have gotten very close to it. The bird seems to be so tame.

What kind of birds to you see in your neighborhood?

The Giving Garden

Did you know that community gardens abound in Greensboro? The one in the photo above, The Giving Garden, is located on West Market Street across the street from the federal courthouse. At the time we photographed it, cabbage was growing; however, that was a few weeks ago. There may be more now. Community gardens are not only beautiful and useful, they promote sharing and learning.

Guilford County's Cooperative Extension Center is very involved in the local community garden effort. We're not sure if the above garden is actually one of the Extension Centers; however, the agency has 35 sub-plots of land that are awarded to community gardeners who agree to work the land and, ultimately, give 10% of their harvest to feed the hungry. Master gardeners help with this effort. The gardens are a collaborative effort that brings the community together for everything from working the land to providing sources of water to sharing the bounty.

Read more about the initiative here and here. While it is too late for you to get one of these plots this year, you can find someone to help, encourage people you see as they are working them, and start thinking about committing to a plot next year. Here's one we featured two years ago in Glenwood. What a great way to bring people together and to get fresh produce to those who might need it most.

On a Hill....(Not So) Far Away....

Today, we bring you a photo of a simple cross.... seen on a hill... in the woods, not so far away.... near Bur-Mil Park in Greensboro. The scene reminds us of how beautiful Greensboro is this time of year. Sometimes it is nice to get out and enjoy nature, to get a little exercise, to reflect on the week past and to plan for the week ahead. The first week after school is out is a big vacation week for Greensboro; so many people are out of town. If you are in town, too, take a little time to look around and take in the beauty of our great community. Let us know what you like about our community and we'll try to take a photo of it for you. We are nearing the summer solstice and are busy taking lots of photos, now that the days are so long. Have a great week, dear readers. 

If you want to hear Jim Nabors sing "Old Rugged Cross" listen here.

Bumble Bees: The Great Pollinators

Here we see a close up of a bumble bee in a lavender garden in northwest Greensboro. Locally, the lavender has passed its peak, at least for the first blooming. Bumble bees* have been visiting diligently since the first hint of a bloom. Actually, North Carolina is a great habitat for bumble bees, in that it isn't as hot as some of the other southern states. Ted Mitchell, who curated the North Carolina State University bee collection for more than thirty years, wrote two books on about bumble bees. Bumble bees are mid-identified as there are some copy-cat species (more here). Since sharp regional decline among honey bees has been noted in the region, those bumble bees and bumble bee "wanna-bees" are increasinly important to pollinating our plants. If you are an expert in been, please let us know if the above are bumble bees, or not........

*Everything you ever wanted to know about the body of a bumble bee can be found here! Locally, when we want to know about bees and beekeeping, we head to the Yanceville Curbside Market and talk to Mr. Mullins who has been selling honey there for years.

T is for Tolerance

Today, we are at Guilford College celebrating ABC Wednesday. After reading the article in Sunday's News & Record by Guilford College President Kent Chabotar, we were inspired to use Guilford College to represent "tolerance." Chabotar, who has been president and professor of political science at Guilford College since 2002, reminds us that the college's Quaker founders risked so much to promote peace and tolerance. He also quoted President Kennedy, saying that "(t)olerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the opression or persecution of others."  

Increasingly, it is getting harder to find people who tolerate people with beliefs other than the ones they hold. We are a society dichotomized into democrats/republicans; liberals/conservatives; on and on. Chabotar says that to promote diversity of ideas, you need to "(t)hink it possible you might be mistaken" and we need to "(p)rotect the rights of others to be different." Finally, he quotes Voltaire about dissent: "I do not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" (N&R, 5/27/12, p. H3, col. 3). As Greensboro becomes increasingly diverse, how can we maintain that core Quaker value- TOLERANCE?

Thank you, President Chabotar, for getting us to ponder: TOLERANCE.

Hydrangea-gold

Believe it or not, our flora photos are extremely popular. People consistently search the ornamental cabbage photos; so much so that we now feature one a year. Additionally, our Lady Banks Rose photo is one of the most searched photos. One man even went to the house of this featured specimen to get a cutting to propogate. These are the photos that tend to bring visitors worldwide to GDP.

Closer to home, readers help us identify what we have seen on our "nature" walks (here). Today, we are featuring  a hydrangea with a marigold stuck in the middle. We're pretty much purists when it comes to photos and don't ever Photoshop photos. However, we were not above sticking a marigold in the middle of a hydrangea to add a little color to our life and to the yard. So, happy Thursday, readers. The children of Guilford County Schools are really excited that they're on the ten day countdown until summer and teachers are madly trying to figure out how they're going to keep all of the students engaged with all that summer excitement on the horizon. Here's to keeping everything beautiful in our gardens, hearts, schools and lives..... one day at a time! 

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter! Here we see the sanctuary flowers at Guilford College United Methodist Church. Flowers anchor the eye and bring beauty and color inside in a church. However, if you are up on your church symbolism, you know this photo was not taken on Easter. On Good Friday, the sanctuary cloth changes to black and on Easter Sunday, it changes to white and gold (see color calendar here).

Whether you celebrate Passover, Easter, or sunshine, we hope you are enjoying time with your family on this lovely day. Spring is a time of rebirth and in Greensboro it is glorious. 

L is for Land, Sustainable Land

Today is ABC Wednesday and L is for land. Above, we see Guilford College's resident farmer, Korey Erb, in one of the school's greenhouses.  Korey was showing us all the green leafy vegetables that are thriving in the greenhouse. Two rows over, lettuce and tomatoes are growing side by side as they are compatible crops. The greenhouse itself is a high tunnel or hoophouse construction. It is an unheated and is very helpful in extending the growing season.  Beside the greenhouse, Guilford College also has an outdoor garden, known as the Production Garden.

The Guilford College Production Garden provides food for Guilford College and helps lower the school's carbon footprint. Since its beginning, in 1837, stewardship-- the planning and managing of resources-- has been at the core of Guilford College. Production Garden is one great step in the direction of self sufficiency.

According to Korey, the goal of the garden is to "create an on-campus, large-scale garden that’s financially self-sufficient, productive, [that] can serve as an educational tool and community builder, and is sustainable.” Erb goes on to explain,  "sustainable farming is all about building the soil, growing the soil and reaping the benefits from that. It’s a little tricky, and requires tons of patience early on. But in the long run it’s healthier for the ecosystem, you’re going to get better products out of the soil, and you’re naturally replenishing the nutrients that the crops take out of the soil" (reference here). 

Greensboro is lucky to have Guilford College in its back yard, and Guilford College is lucky to have the Production Garden and all of the wonderful people like Korey who work tirelessly to build community and to nurture the land. L is for land and love of land, the cause is sustainable agriculture and lowering the carbon footprint!

Pink Dogwood

Dogwood is the state flower of North Carolina (and the state tree of Missouri). Dogwoods are a sign of spring and, in the South, the saying "dogwood winter" is a reference to the belief that it isn't wise to plant crops before dogwoods bloom for fear of a cold snap that could damage sprouting plants. The wood is prized for being hard and strong, but dogwood trees don't get very large. Local woodworkers use it for making small items like ink pens, canes, dulcimers and wooden inlays.* In Greensboro, the pink variety, featured above, is not as common as the traditional white. 

Locally, this iconic spring blossom is being attacked disease which has the potential to destroy the trees. NC State University has been developing a disease resistant dogwood that is anticipated to be ready by 2014. They are also working on a red-flowering variety of dogwood. Read more here.

Today's photo is dedicated to local artist Karen Bjork Dischell. Since we can't paint pictures of trees like she can, we took a photograph mimicing her use of positive and negative space among the branches.

 

Painting found on the following website: http://ure.uncg.edu/prod/cweekly/2010/08/31/karenbjork-dischell/

*reference.

Bluebirds are Back

Bluebirds have returned to Greensboro. Usually, this time in March, they have found a spot to nest. If you see them in your yard now, likely, they are planning to stay for the season.  In this area, bluebirds lay their first eggs about April. Their eggs are usually light blue in color with five-six in the first clutch. These songbirds, a member of the thrush family, are so docile and content to hang around in suburban yards. 

The 2012 meeting of the North Carolina Bluebird Society will be held on Saturday, April 12, a couple of counties over, in Hillsborough. (Learn more here). This organization works to protect bluebirds and other cavity-nesting birds in North Carolina. North Carolina has quite an active group of people dedicated to attracting and maintaining bluebird habitats. Information online is plentiful. Bluebirds like to be near a water source. The above bluebird was photographed near Lake Higgins. They love insects, but when those are scarce, they eat berries and seeds. Dogwood berries are a real favorite.

There is a lot of mythology surrounding the bluebird. If you want to know more about the 'bluebird of happiness' wikipedia is not a bad place to start. While North Carolina's state bird is the cardinal, the following states have the bluebird as their state bird: Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and New York. Click here to listen to an eastern bluebird. The 37 second track will repeat all day, if you let it. Heavenly.

Blueberry Buds

The blueberry bushes in our backyard are starting to show signs of life and Greensboro is a great place to grow them. These perennial flowering plants belong to the same genus as cranberries, which is why the word arándano serves for both in Spanish. Blueberries are actually native to North America and are available in both wild and cultivated varieties. The North Carolina blueberry council has produced a four minute You-Tube video on blueberries in North Carolina (here). If you are interested in the plant at all, watching it will be four minutes well spent. 

The 9th annual blueberry festival will be held in Burgaw (Pender Co.), NC on Saturday, June 16th. Pender is one of our southern coastal counties so it is a long drive from Greensboro. However, the festival is a non-profit, civic event that sounds like it is a lot of North Carolina fun. What a way to kick off the summer. Attend the festival and head on to the beach! In the meantime, we suggest you consider planting some blueberry bushes in your own yard. Not only will you have a bush that provides interesting color from March-October, you will be planting something edible. It doesn't get any more local than your back yard!  NC State will walk you through the planting process here. Let us know if you plant any bushes.

Moon Over Proximity

The Proximity Hotel is located at 704 Green Valley Road, just down from the Merrill Lynch building posted yesterday. As seen in the above photo, the Proximity has several acres of property between it and Benjamin Parkway. It is a stone's throw from Friendly Center. This space would be perfect for a giant festival on a warm summer day. Likely, there are plans to build on these lots. For now, we enjoy standing there and taking photos of the sky without the distraction of power lines and telephone poles. The property has its own character every season of the year.

We've featured the Proximity from another angle; however, we still need to go inside and share the details of this environmentally-friendly, LEED Platinum-rated hotel. The owners are doing everything they can to reduce their carbon footprint. The hotel does look beautiful with clouds behind it. We were lucky to catch the moon out, hovering above hotel last weekend.

Here's to a beautiful weekend, readers, and to a great Skywatch Friday.

Spring Green

Our white hyacinth are just about to bloom. The green shoots are at that fresh, tender, translucent stage. There is nothing that can surpass or even dulpicate the beauty of a warm spring day. Spring is such an optimistic and hopeful time of year; rebirth is all around us. Spring green is interesting from a color perspective, too. It is halfway between cyan and green and is a pure chroma with a hue of 150 degrees. Its complementary color is rose (reference here). No wonder spring green is so compatible with rose colored flowers.

As for green and spring........ Greensboro has the word 'green' in it and 'spring' is a word that appears on many names in our city: Spring Garden Street; Lee Spring (springs);  Spring Place, Spring Arbor, Wellspring Retirement Centers; A Breath of Spring Carpet Cleaners, and Spring Place Apartments-- to name a few. As a community, we are very excited about the 2012 Spring Nationals for the U.S. Master Swimmers, being held the end of April at our own aquatic center (here). For sure, spring is knocking at our door.

Better hurry! Just about the time it takes you to blink, signs of tender spring green will be gone...... only to come out again, the next spring.

Floral Art on Elm Street

Elm Street is abloom, too!

This weekend while we were out photographing redbud blooms in the Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery, "Kang" was busy securing glossy magazine photos of flowers onto a lamp post in front of the Green Bean Coffee Shop. The metal pole is covered from base to top with lovely, springlike pictures. From a distance, it almost looks as if butterflies have landed on Elm Street.

One of the barristas at the Green Bean said an artist who calls himself "Kang" worked on the pole for two days. It is such a fun, uplifting work of temporary street art. A harsh rain or extreme wind will be the demise of this masterpiece. However, if you head to Elm Street soon, you will see this lovely piece that took hours and hours to cut and paste! It looks much better in person, as a 15 foot pole is hard to capture and retain the details available in a close-up.

If you know more about this installation or the elusive "Kang", who is not jumping out on a google search, please let us know! We have a hunch there is a story behind this project. Could it be that ELSEWHERE Collaborative is priming us for their annual spring reopening?

In the meantime, we're enjoying every photo we took of this project-- from every angle.

Cherry Trees in Bloom!

Saturday (2/25/12) was the first day that we noticed cherry trees in bloom. Other than daffodils, hyacinth, and the other bulbs, cherry trees, redbuds and forsythia, are the earliest bloomers in Greensboro.  The above cherry trees are located at the top of the hill in the Jewish cemetery on High Point Road. They looked so beautiful, yet it was so ironic to see the first signs of life springing forth inside a place that symbolizes death. You can see the majestic tree in the left-hand corner still in in the middle of its winter nap-- but not those eager trees with the red blossoms. It is not uncommon in Greensboro to have an ice storm in March. Let's hope that either spring arrives early and stays or that it will get cold enough to keep more plants from blooming prematurely. February 25th is a little early to expect winter to be completely over.

On GDP, we try to capture a photo of early bloomers every  year. Here is a redbud photo from 2010. We've picked up quite a few followers who like the flora pictures. Please feel free to add comments if you know some facts about the above tree. Happy Monday, dear readers.

Note: We've changed this post after learning that the trees were likely cherry trees and not redbuds! Thanks Mike, Jane, and others!

Digital Gothic Gate

Today's post takes us to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Downtown Greensboro. We're not sure when Holy Trinity was constructed; however, the Episcopal Church came into being after the American Revolution when America was breaking away from England. Its constitution was established in 1789.

In the above photo, the metal gate is a piece of sculpture by Greensboro's very talented Jim Gallucci. According to the plaque to the right, it was given to the glory of God in loving memory of: Mary Lee Copeland, Tullross Fleming, Katie Fleming, Margaret Welch Lambeth, Mary Adair Phifer, Edward William Phifer,Jr.,  Lucille Woolfolk Wells, and Henry Herbert Wells, Jr. For the brief moment that we were photographing Gallucci's gate, the sun's rays began glowing in all their glory.

We try to feature something spiritual and worthy of reflection each Sunday. Holy Trinity's labyrinth was featured previously as one of our Sunday selections. Wherever you live or whatever you believe, may these warm rays of light shine when you need them most.