Of Castles and Kings

A friend visiting in the summer provided the excuse to see some of the area around Stockholm. I hate to admit it but even though I’m a short drive or train ride away I have not explored that city as much as I should. Drottningholm Palace just outside Stockholm is where the Swedish royals actually live but you can still tour a portion of the historic building. While there’s certainly vast wealth on display you can see that Sweden’s Royal Family wasn’t the wealthiest in Europe by all the faux detailing and decoration. I captured a little bit of it in pictures.

All That Glitters Is Not Ringgold

Ringgold, VA is a crossroads without much that needs mention except a restored old depot with a caboose. Oh, and a trail.

The trail is along the route of the old Danville/Richmond railroad line and is where there tracks used to be in the distant past. Now there is nothing but butterflies, dragonflies, and old bikers making use of it. The latter was me today as I decided to pull out my two-wheeled transport and see this for myself. I took some pics along the way I hope you enjoy.

Laborless Day

Labor day is a holiday many people have off work so it always confuses me. I’ll never solve that conundrum but I do know it’s often thought of as the end of summer so I went out to catch some of the last flora, fauna, and weird animal stuff while I still could in the pleasant sunny weather. These photos were taken at the Bicentennial and Bog Gardens in Greensboro, NC.
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Petal to the Metal

I think I take pictures of flowers because they can’t run or hide. It’s easy to walk around them and take as many pictures as you want. They don’t complain about posing or itch their nose at the wrong time. Once in a while a bee will appear out of one and let me know I’m disturbing his work and should buzz off.

I took a walk through the Greensboro, NC Arboretum the other day and cornered some of these not-elusive subjects and took a few pictures. A factoid about Greensboro is that this is the place where Union General William T. Sherman negotiated the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate troops at the end of the Civil War. The terms Sherman gave were considered too lenient in Washington and were nullified.

Blog Garden

Greensboro, NC has a nature preserve called the Bog Garden right in the heart of the city. Both paved and wood planked walkways let you shamble about an area that has a marshy part and a small lake. It’s a lovely little place that lets you see area flowers, plants, and some wildlife. I’ve gone there a few times and here are some pictures from my last visit.