Heading and Personal Picks

Blue-eyed grass, my favorite wildflower

Lady Banks chaos in the Raleigh naturalist's front yard

Jaycee Lily Garden

Raleigh Swamp Tour

Raleigh Swamp is the local nickname for this expanse off Raleigh Boulevard. A massive boardwalk with gondola connects Buckeye Trail with Capital Boulevard.

Snapper and snake at Fletcher Academy

This is THE Snapper that helped me write my book.

Yates Mill pond

Yates Mill has a wonderful tree-labeled walk around the pond. But the neatest stuff is in the wet meadow valley around a ridge from the main pond.

This huge willow oak is on the nature walk through the upwaters.

Google Earth image of my beloved Crabtree

This is an image of Buckeye Trail and the eastern curve of Crabtree Creek. I use it as a single image from this copyrighted source because it shows my childhood haunts, my favorite section of greenway, and the largest haven for wildlife inside the beltline. Thank you, Google Earth!

Marsh Creek at Brentwood

Marsh Creek divides the elementary school and park properties, following another sewer line toward Capital Boulevard.
An upstream tributary makes this neighborhood pond at Huntleigh Dr.

Meadow off Sunnybrook

This meadow at the huge undeveloped farm northeast of Poole Road and Sunnybrook can't last long. But the site contains two ponds, one large enough to called Jones Lake, and remnants of the other half of the pecan grove showcased across the beltline at the county park.

looking down Jones Lake dam road

Jones Lake

Poole Road pecan grove

State Street Greenway Violets

The State Street Greenway meets Walnut Creek at State Street just south of Carnage middle School. It then follows the creek to a large marshy area right behind Women's Prison. Here you can see red-shouldered blackbirds and hawks, along with some unusual wetland plant specimens.

The Haw River at 15-501

The Haw River is some of the best rock clambering ( and, in high water, kayaking) in the area.

Some quiet water splits off just below the dam.