The Last of Spring's Blossoms

Our weather has been crazier than average over the last week especially.  Temperatures in the 80's even coming close to 90 degrees finalized all the blooming trees and some flowers before they were forced to succumb to the heat.  However, I happened to grab my camera before taking a quick walk around the neighborhood before this heat wave occurred.  So I was able to bring the blooming part of spring - minus the allergies - back again.   Not as beautiful as the real thing, but the pictures still speak 1000 words. :)

The whole tree is beautiful, but a single bloom is a work of art.

I really love the color blue in nature and these flowers were brilliant!

These blooms remind me of those tissue flowers we used to make as kids.

Wild violets are one of those things that make you look twice...gorgeous little creatures.

I had to take a picture of the amazing pink buds of this white rhododendron.

The opened flower buds fade into white.

Happy Spring to you all!  Blessings!

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Fall-ing for A Covered Bridge...

  Out for lunch on a chilly fall day, my mom and I decided to drive the long way back home and drove by this local park and covered bridge. 

I think fall is the perfect time to visit historic places, something about the color of the leaves and general feel of the season that draws you a bit closer to history.  Even though the day was cloudy and drizzly, I managed to snap a few photos of our fall at its peak.  

 

Here are some wild aster flowers alongside the bridge... I love the beautiful blue color of its petals.  It's not a color you see often in plants, especially in the "wild."

Here's the bridge entrance on foot.  Wood never looked so good against all the golds and reds of the trees.

The bridge was built in 1868 with some repairs through the years...

You know I had to sneak in another flower picture somewhere.... :)

 

 This cantilevered walkway was added in 1992 during a large renovation on the bridge itself.  It beckons its visitors to come and take a walk...and I couldn't refuse the invite!

 

There's a park and picnic area along the shore to the left in this photo.  The bridge always attracts plenty of fisherman in the summer as well.

It's pretty amazing to be driving across a wooden structure...you really need to roll down the windows a bit to capture the sound of the boards creaking as you go across.

Coming out the other side; a burst of sunlight and beautiful fall foliage.

The whole drive around the bridge was full of lots of beautiful trees...ahhh; this is why we love autumn!

Where's your favorite place to visit in the fall? 

Blessings! 

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Celebrating at the Holden Arboretum

This recent July 4th had to have been one of the hottest days of the year so far.  However, the idea of being inside any building for most of the day just doesn't feel right on this special holiday, at least  for me!  So, even with the threat of hot, humid weather and severe thunderstorms lurking about, we decided to take the risk and visit one of our favorite spots in the area.

The Holden Arboretum contains preserved land with over a 1000+ acres and over 100 acres are accessible to visitors who come to this unique place.  With twelve collections of lilacs, trees, bushes, etc intersected with cement and gravel paths; there's something new to see around every corner.

As you can tell by the photos, the rain held off even if the temperatures were unrelenting!  We had a great picnic with some great friends and then set off exploring.

Here are just a few of the snapshots caught before the mid day heat set in.  They are all of the Butterfly Garden which is located right behind the Visitor's Center.  Knowing how much I like gardens, I think you'll agree that these flowers are just a little bit of heaven!

Monarda or Bee Balm, explodes in a fire cracker red.

The water feature section of The Butterfly Garden.

 A bee burrowing into a Stokesia flower. Notice the pollen sacs on it's legs.

Daisies are the essence of summer.

I really wanted to sit in the middle of that running water!

Another butterfly plant...I didn't see too many butterflies that day, I think they were smarter than us and stayed "in!"

A perfect shady spot for a little friend to dream...

It was a beautiful day all in all.  We had a fun 4th and took a two mile hike where we saw not one but TWO Great Horned Owls in a tree.  Amazing!  

Hope you had a super holiday as well...blessings to you all!

For more information on the Arboretum, click here.