Greensboro Daily Photo

Fall on Lindell Road

With the recent change weather, it is starting to look like fall in Greensboro. Temperatures have dropped some and there has been rain. The above photo was taken at the corner of Spring Garden Street and Lindell Road. This is the entrance to Lindley Park, where the park used to be. If you look closely, on the right, you can see the stone columns that welcome you to Lindley Park. Throughout Greensboro, leaves have started to change color and fall. Before you know it, the city will be coming around to collect the leaves you leave at the road. Are you ready? Do you want to be? Read more here:

Greensboro's Department of Field Operations will have two rounds of loose leaf collection. If the leaves are at the curb by November 12th, they will be collected by December 23rd. Leaves on the curb by December 27th will be collected by January 25th. If you elect to use the regular yard waste service, they will take them every week, as long as they are in clear plastic bags or garbage bags. They use the leaves to fertilize city properties. Most importantly, the program keeps leaves from blocking the storm drains. In 2018, almost 14,000 tons were collected and reused (reference and more information, here).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

300 Block South Elm Street

Today's photo was taken in the 300 block of South Elm Street at twilight. This is the magical hour when the light intensifies the color before night sets in. The lavender-gray cast to the clouds and the sky was especially beautiful during First Friday in October. The spiked branches of the tree overhead hint that it won't be long before winter sets in. 

Downtown is so beautiful and the fronts of these buildings and the streetlight make it hard to date the scene to the 21st century. Only the cars give it away. We didn't realize how much these storefronts look alike before we took this photo. Enjoy your week and take time to seek out the beauty in our city. Try taking a photo (no selfie, no friends and family) and seeing what it says about Greensboro. what story does it tell? 

910 Walker Avenue

This house at 910 Walker Avenue, between Tate and Mendenhall Streets is a vintage beauty. For having been built in 1906, it still maintains quite a bit of charm over a century later. Although it has a yard that looks overgrown, as you walk by, the yard has the feel of a micro-prairie. Not all cultures and not all decades favored the manicured lawns that are expected in many neighborhoods today.

Urban micro prairies are valuable green space because they attract native insects and pollinators.* As Greensboro and Guilford County lose more and more land to housing developments, it is crucial that we be purposeful with flora to help fauna. The more prairie-like spaces with wildflowers, shrubs, and trees, also help with erosion and help lower temperatures in the summer. As fall rolls in, if you are considering planting, consider adding some native plants to your yard. If you want inspiration, seek out yards like 910 Walker Avenue and see them close up. Hurry, before old-man winter keeps us inside!

 

*reference and more information here. Also, NC State and NC A&T can help with making lawns attractive without over-relying on grass (see, here).

Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist is one of those small churches which used to be country and is now part of the suburbs. It is located on Rhondan Road in Summerfield, a road that used to connect to Highway 220, but is now a dead end. Calvary has Sunday school, Sunday morning and evening worship and Wednesday evening worship. For people who want to go to church on a quiet road in a church where everyone will know your name, Calvary of Summerfield may be just what you are looking for. As an added bonus, the people who live around the church are really friendly! The simplicity of the architecture is so typical of the older, country churches. 

Happy Sunday, may you enjoy every minute!

Pumpkin Patches

It is pumpkin patch time in Greensboro and Centenary Methodist Church at 2300 West Friendly Avenue is ready to help you with your pumpkin/gourd needs. White pumpkins are trending this year and people are really getting creative at carving them. Profits will be shared with the Boy Scouts and other groups at Centenary UMC. The church invites preschools and daycares to bring children to have story time in the patch. This activity is especially fun at this centrally-located church- as long as the weather cooperates.

Although you may pay a little more for your pumpkin at a fundraising patch, your money is going to help the local community. Also, you are building memories by picking out a pumpkin from an outdoor patch, as opposed to purchasing from a big box store or supermarket. It is predicted that 145 million Americans will purchase pumpkins for Halloween and spend $377.23 million on pumpkins for carving into jack-o-lanterns.* We're betting the Greensboro does its fair share to contribute to these data!

*reference.

Lake Daniel Park

Lake Daniel Park runs parallel to Benjamin Parkway, at the northern end of Westerwood. The above photo is the stream that meanders through the park. In times of great rain, it tends to flood. The big round rocks along the edge help control the flow of water and help with erosion of the bank. 

We were impressed recently, during our walk along the stream, not a single piece of trash was spotted. As we were leaving the area, we noticed three 8-ish year olds biking towards the stream. One of them made a great kid comment.  He leaned into his handlebars and said, "This spot is where you usually find the best sticks!".  How wonderful that there still children who love playing outside and value knowing the perfect spot to find good sticks. If you see some children wandering around the Westerwood/Lake Daniel area with Harry Potter wands, ask them if they got them in Lake Daniel Park at the special spot for sticks. Happy Friday. May your weekend be filled with great times in Greensboro, especially outside! 

The Not-So Mysterious Bite Out Of the Fig

Fall is here and it is not just the humans who are noticing the changes. Animals are scurrying around looking for food to stockpile for the winter- especially squirrels. The above photo shows a fig tree with lingering fruit. Some critter, likely a squirrel, took a big bite out of the fig and either decided it wasn't ripe or one bite was enough. Figs are very vulnerable to squirrel predation and they provide nourishment through many months of the year. 

This particular fig tree is in Westerwood where neighbors are very intentional about plantings; edibles, micro-prairies, and wildflowers are seen throughout the neighborhood. Trees and plants take on a charming scruffiness in fall, with or without the help of squirrel who are enjoying their last hurrah before winter. 

Bluegrass on the Farm

The Double H Bluegrass Band played at Summerfield Farms on Monday night. They played an assortment of music from Johnny Cash to Delaney Bramlett's "Never-ending Love for You." This harmonizing duo has been a band since 2012. Kirby Heard and Bob Hight are based in High Point. The music on the farm is free and open to the public. They usually have a food truck and a wine bar, plus, you can go inside and purchase eggs, meats, snacks and even pumpkins, gourds, and beverage items in between listening to music sets.

This organic farm hosts events that help us have a life well lived, as they like to explain. Indeed, sitting outdoors on a crisp fall evening, listening to Kirby and Bob, eating Moroccan food from a food truck, purchasing unusual gourds, and spending time with family and friends is about as good as an evening can get. Summerfield Farms on Pleasant Ridge Road will continue to host music as weather permits. You might want to call before you go as daylight gets shorter and air gets cooler. Take a few extra dollars so that you can drop some money in the tip jar, or boot as was the case for Double H. Musicians work so hard and live music is well worth a tip.