Our little town's park is one of the nicest features we have, and it is especially nice being there in the early morning. The birds are awakening and most people are not up and about. It is a perfect time for a walk and for admiring the beauties brought by a morning blanketed by a light fog.
As usual at 6:10 AM, the park is deserted this time of morning.
The Doko Manor is used for meetings, weddings, and other social functions.
The soccer and lacrosse players meet in the field in front of my truck.
The Manor was nicely designed and built to reflect traditional Southern architecture. The style fits in with the community.
The driveway approaching the Manor from the front.
The sun is beginning to brighten the fog from the east.
Behind the Manor is where many weddings are held.
The small lake is the prettiest feature of the park. The resident Canada geese couple and their three babies were hiding this morning.
Fishing is allowed on the pier, but it is used most often for taking photographs.
Dogs like to take the scenic route down left to the water to find new scents and to get their paws muddy.
The water lilies have grown a lot this spring but have about finished blooming.
The pathway to the pier and along the lake.
Playground for the little ones. It is usually not so quiet!
This is the Depot at Doko; a reasonable reproduction of the early train station where the train stopped between Columbia and Charlotte. The railroad track runs along the side of the park behind the Depot.
The Hoffman House is now the Town Hall's administrative offices.
The official historical marker with its history. The 40 is for Richland County (40th in alphabetical order of SC counties) and it is the 135th historical site marker in the county. Viewing all of them in a county is very educational.
The town's Historical Society has a brochure with a map of a walking tour of local historic sites, with descriptions of each.
Looking back east, the sun is rising a little more.
I love the shaded paths along the eastern side of the park. The shade is really welcome when the sun is bearing down in the summertime.
This is across the street from the park but is my favorite place to stop every morning. It was 6:33 AM and the sun was beginning to burn off the fog.
Mike was waiting at the park gate. He does not like fast-moving cars, just in case one came by, it was safer for him. None did and the morning remained peaceful.
The butterfly attractors are all blooming and in a few hours, there will be a few dozen of them feeding here.
Benches are scattered along this side of the park where shade will be available most of the day. Nice!
The boardwalk through the woods was very muggy from all the humidity in the air. Mosquitoes were flying in organized squadrons, waiting for me!
The air was noticeable cooler over the flowing stream and the rich, organic smells of the forest floor were wonderful!
An easy upward slope took us back into the cleared area that was a cement mixing operation before the park replaced it.
This is Mike's favorite part. He makes four stops here to retrieve pee-mail messages and leave a few responses of his own. I think this is his main STEEMIT blog page.
The Doko Manor on the left and the athletic fields on the right.
The back entrance to the park is where we come in.
The last turn on our morning route. The air is rapidly getting warmer and Mike is beginning to pant harder.
Back at the beginning at 6:44 AM. The sun is already warm and the fog is clearing rapidly.
The photos are mine.
About Me:
My Writing:
- Losing Shirley
- Jules, Freddie and the Monkey Man
- The Foot
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- Timeline
- The Time Tree
- The Little Lake Without a Name I
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howdy there today @willymac! hey you got enough pictures on here? that had to take awhile but these are gorgeous so I thank you for spending the time. This place looks totally peaceful, what a way for you two to start the day. Any alligators in that water? I always imagine alligators all over in your part of the country!
Howdy, and thanks, Jonboy. I know it was a lot of photos but thought it might be better to do the entire walk-around at one time just to show what it is like. It's a peaceful place and it is a relaxing walk: 1.1 miles. Used to do two laps but Mike voted to stop that.
I doubt there are any gators and if the grounds crew found one they would discretely export it to where gators were needed. Last thing they'd need would be a wild critter eating a child!
They do turn up in ponds around here from time to time but we're in the Midlands and mostly they stay a little south of us. I'm at about 460 feet above sea level and the rivers on the fall line are too fast for them to bother with. Now, snakes! We have a surplus if you need any!
howdy again willymac...wow this is a rich comment with several good topics! First of all yes that was a good strategy of showing us the entire route, it's an amazing setup they have there, how far do you have to drive to get there?
the gators..I didn't know they were needed anywhere! where are they needed?
What is a "fall line?"
lastly, we got so many snakes here we don't need anymore thank you!
Lovely start to the day. Mike's favourite bit was great...Peemail...I just know I won't be able to stop using that phrase now.
It does seem appropriate because he even reads the junk mail.
Hehe...the hot weather over here has led to our Syd adding a few attachments to her outbox.
I saw Syd's photo. How old? Her health okay?
She's 11 now. She's fine...just a bit of the runs last 2 days. She's never been ill. She has a drop of cbd oil in her food to help keep the nasties away.
How beautiful mate. I could get lost in such natural beauty. It is a weakness of mine being a nature baby and never aging child at exploring. Thanks for all the images and the time you took to put this together. Cheers mate
Thank you, Pete. It would be great for us to walk the dogs through the park some morning. That would be something worth writing about!
My big secret is that I never grew up and never wanted to. Now, after decades of wondering why, I'm very happy that I did not. Old people tend to focus on possessions and forget about how wonderful the natural world is when you really pay attention to simply being part of it.
Very true mate. We grow old too quick and give up on everything that is more important. Being a kid at heart when possible is never a bad thing
An odd thing about staying young at heart: throughout my life, I have been around people - males, primarily - who thought that was a sign of weakness that made me somehow inferior to them, according to their macho standards. They were also the same people I had disliked even before they expressed their views.
Fortunately, I did not value their opinions.
Wolves don't concern themselves with the opinion of sheep. Enough said I think
how charming the cinery is!
Thank you. It is very pleasant and welcoming.
A very pleasant walk, I feel well rested, LOL! Nice park, and great pictures!
Thanks for sharing with us.
:D :)Thanks for taking the tour. Foggy mornings are the best times for photos, I think. Might as well take advantage of it.
Well, at least you have your guard dog along, LOL!
:DMike could not guard a creampuff and would be intimidated by the prospect.
Oh I'm sure he could. If he is like mine, he will put it in his stomach first; to protect it though, ROFLOL! >:)
Not Mike! If I put it down, pointed my finger at it from a few inches away, and said, "No, Mike, NO", he would not touch it.
He would not guard it, either, but telling that ruins the image, so forget I mentioned that part.
I have Dachshunds, they would Not touch it, as long as I watched it! THEN it would be doomed!
:DThen they would swear that some cat snuck in and stole it, while they were guarding it (not is so many words, LOL) like the good dogs they...aren't!
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