sunlight over the meadow

10.15.25 ~ Ann & Jim Goodnight Museum Park
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina

This will be my third Walktober post from North Carolina; my first three were posted while living in Connecticut. Again this year Dawn, over at her Change Is Hard blog, will be hosting. There is still time to participate if you wish to share a walk or other experience this month, and you can find the simple instructions to do so here.

I decided to try a new location for the walk this year. The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh is 27 miles away from home so it was a bit of an expedition getting there. (And due to rush hour traffic in the late afternoon it took us one and a half hours to get home afterwards!) The museum is surrounded by a lovely park with walking trails, so we picked the Upper Meadow Trail.

Butterflies and bees were all over the hillside meadow we explored, and we spotted two new-to-us kinds of butterflies. We even saw a honey bee with a pollen basket on her leg, filled to the brim. There was an interesting sculpture to ponder, and wildflowers and grasses as far as the eye could see. It was definitely worth the trip!

gulf fritillary aka passion butterfly
gulf fritillary aka passion butterfly
muhly grass
female sleepy orange
Upper Meadow Trail
“No Fuss” by Mark di Suvero
I don’t build small models or draw detailed plans first.
I start with a vision, a dream of what I want to do, and see where it goes.
~ Mark di Suvero

There blows the yellow crested reed,
The autumnal queen of flowers.

~ Samuel Alfred Beadle
(The Golden Rod)

eastern carpenter bee
painted lady (?)
calico aster (?)
honey bee

To see my past Walktober posts select the Walktober tag in the categories below this post. When Dawn collects the links to everybody’s posts in November, and then posts them on her blog, it’s fun to take a look at all the different places other bloggers have visited, and read about the experiences they have had.

around the botanical garden

10.7.25 ~ North Carolina Botanical Garden
37th Annual Sculpture in the Garden

So, we haven’t visited the botanical garden since the end of May, over four months ago. I wasn’t about to risk any more seed tick attacks. On this new try, I had Tim spray my shoes and pant legs with picaridin, giving up on previously tried deet and permethrin. So far, so good, but I’ve not been attacked in the month of October before so maybe I didn’t need it. Not taking any chances, though.

October skies aster

I didn’t get too many pictures of the sculptures this year. I guess I was starved for the beauty of flowers and berries!

deciduous holly
eastern carpenter bee
“Sonoran Sentinel” by Gary Taber
A contemporary reimagining of a desert giant, drawing inspiration from the formidable presence of arid landscapes. ~ Gary Taber
wildflowers in the sassafras sapling grove
(this spot always enchants me)
ditch daisy
asters
black-eyed Susan

When we got to the boardwalk going through the Coastal Plain Habitat we were amazed to find ourselves surrounded by a sea of black-eyed Susans, some of them quite tall, enjoying the sunshine.

Even though there were a lot of old favorites to delight my eyes, some new-to-me flowers presented themselves, sending me peeking into the greenery looking for id signs. If none could be located there was research to do at home. It felt good to get back out there and into the swing of things again.

“Marshland Morning” by Forrest Greenslade
My egret reaches for the sky to greet the day. ~ Forrest Greenslade
coastal plain tickseed
boneset
blue mistflower
“Guardian of the Night” by Nana Abreu
Taíno Moon Goddess symbolizes renewal, mystery, and unseen life forces,
representing the feminine rhythm of existence while illuminating the shadowed side of nature.
~ Nana Abreu
phlox
Chinese aconite aka Carmichael’s monkshood
‘Pampas Plume’ celosia
“Opossum in the Cherry Orchard” by Bronwyn Watson
Local opossum in early summer after an enjoyable night dining in a cherry tree.
~ Bronwyn Watson