The weather has been beautiful this month, except for a brief snowstorm and a few crazy rain and wind storms. Par for the course in these parts. Here are some fun things I've been doing:
 |
| I took my younger daughter on a spring wildflower walk at the metropark. There are many beautiful wildflowers native to our area, including violets, trillium, and marsh marigold, but I especially liked these Virginia Bluebells. |
 |
| Some of the names of the wildflowers are strange: cutleaf toothwort, bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, and jack-in-the-pulpit, but this one always makes me chuckle. And yes, it really does stink! |
 |
We also did our annual pilgrimage to the Daffodil Trail. It's a one mile walk in the woods, where 40,000 daffodil bulbs were planted in the 1930's. I've seen complaints online that people are disappointed that there were not as many flowers as they expected. We like it, and it's free! |
 |
| It hasn't been all about nature for me! I celebrated a friend's birthday by visiting some Lake Erie wineries. One of them was this 'church winery.' The abandoned church was built in 1892 and moved to this location from 50 miles away. Everything is original. |
 |
| You can sit in pews inside and enjoy the stained glass windows while sipping on your 'Jesus Juice.' |
 |
| Since it was a nice day, we opted to sit outside on their deck and enjoy the gorgeous farm views. |
 |
| Speaking of sitting outside . . . I was reading a book on my deck last week, when I suddenly felt like I was being watched. They caught me off guard, because they were being so quiet! I didn't care that they were eating my neighbor's foliage, because I don't really like the guy. But, that's a post for another day! HAPPY SPRING! |
haha not being neighborly and helping out, geez.
ReplyDeleteThose plant names sound like a witch's brew or something. Thankfully never smelled skunk cabbage. Neat idea with the rocks too many have going on near you.
I'm known to be a little passive aggressive! Ha!
DeleteLove that old church.
ReplyDeleteI've felt the same way about a neighbor.
Always nice to see a wild animal do the revenge for you!
DeleteHeh. . . the back door of the old church sure has a different look about it than the front door. . . ;)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it surprising how different it is?
DeleteHa ha, that brings back one of my favorite memories. We went on a trip to Lechworth park and on the way Mom had to, um, use the woods so Dad decided we'd make it worth the stop and we all took advantage. While in there he ran across some skunk cabbage and just had to have it so he tossed some in the back of our big old station wagon. Big Brother insisted that it was stinky and he couldn't stand it, Dad insisted it was no big deal. A few miles later BB's window goes down and 'whoosh!!' went the skunk cabbage. Those two fought for the rest of the day over it and BB was grounded for a week.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, at that time of year it most definitely did NOT stink. Unless you touched it, then your hand stunk for hours so BB got the smell up close and personal for the rest of the day in his efforts to eradicate it. Good times!
So, I guess your Dad didn't buy into the old 'Take nothing but pictures' dogma? LOL!
DeleteNah, if we stopped by the side of the road Dad was often finding something to take home. And Mom always had to stop 'NOW, AND NOT A MINUTE LATER'!! so we stopped on a LOT of highway trips.
DeleteThat Church is sure something else, very nice, and the visitors you had sneak up on you was pretty amazing too.
ReplyDeleteThis pack of six deer travel frequently through our yard. Memorial Weekend is when we usually find a fawn deposited somewhere. Cute, but boy do they eat everything.
DeleteOh wow, love the wild animals in your yard. That would be exciting to see. I don't see anything but birds and the occasional lizard around here. Painting rocks and hiding them sounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we always get excited when we see lizards out west! The rock group is very neat.
DeleteOMG, what an absolutely DELIGHTFUL post!!!!! First, great seeing your daughter enjoying Spring and the Daffodil Trail. Awesome photo!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE the idea about the rock painting and then hiding them. What a wonderful idea! The ones you pictured here are so beautiful, love the colors!
Okay, and the picture of the "church winery" is priceless. What a clever idea to turn an abandoned church into a winery! "Jesus Juice" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
While living in NYC back in the 70's and 80's, there were some infamous night clubs (disco's) that were designed inside old abandoned churches. And I have to say, I liked the idea because it gave the place a really cool vibe - like a party/spiritual vibe!
Thanks so much for sharing Spring in your area. Enjoyed this post!
X
Well, thanks, Ron! You have always been a faithful supporter of her! Aren't the rocks fun? I've seen photos online of people who copy gorgeous photos onto their rocks, with paint! Like Mt. Rushmore! Amazing!
DeleteIt's nice when someone can come along and re-purpose an old church. Glad to hear NYC has done that, as I'm sure there are some fabulous old ones there.
Happy Weekend!
The back end of that church (now winery) is amazing. Wild flowers in the Upper MidWest are always special during the spring. I used to always look for skunk cabbage as it would push up through the snow.
ReplyDeleteWe always get excited to see our plants and flowers survive another winter.
DeleteJesus Juice...LOL!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same thing here in Lakeland with the rocks! Some are really neat. I've come across a few of them. You can either re-hide them or take them home.
Glad you get my humor! It's not for everyone!
DeleteI was wondering if other places did the rock thing!
I think it could be interesting to visit the wineries in the Lake Erie area. It does seem indeed that spring has sprung where you are living!
ReplyDeletebetty
Honestly, the wine is generally too sweet, unless you like ice wines. Out of three we visited that day, I only liked one winery, and they grew their grapes in sunny Califirnia.
Delete40,000 daffodils isn't enough for people?! LOL. Sounds nice to me. Glad you're enjoying some nice spring weather. We are still waiting out here!
ReplyDeleteI know! I guess 40,000 spread out over a mile isn't all that many, but maybe they should donate more bulbs instead of complaining. People!
DeleteAww! I love the painted rock idea! How neat is that?
ReplyDeleteI find rocks that appeal to me and then I write little phrases on them. I keep a small smooth stone in my pocket that says, "Be Still" and I find it soothing. I never thought to hide rocks like these for other people to find. I love it!
Hilarious that you are fine with the deer eating the foliage because you don't like that neighbor. HA! Funny. I'd root for the deer too. :)
It seems as though the rock thing really took off after the election. People trying to put some positive messages out there. I appreciate any effort to unite, rather than divide.
DeleteWell, except when it comes to nasty neighbors! Ha!
Love these photos, Bijoux, particularly that church winery! And those painted rocks are great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rob. It was fun to fellowship with my friends at the winery!
DeleteI love the look of the church - very original. Do you know why it was moved 50 miles?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of painting rocks and leaving them to be accidentally discovered. As you say, a great way of brightening someone's day.
Here is a link to their website: http://www.southrivervineyard.com/Home.php
DeleteIt was a neat little place. Hope you are feeling well enough to drink some wine again!
Posts lie this make me miss spring on the East Coast. I'm very much looking forward to coming home in a few weeks!
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!
DeleteI used to dream of buying a small old church and remodeling it into a house.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely the time to be out and about in nature. It's just so beautiful. I love the walks - both the daffodil one and the wildflowers. And who complains about a free trail? I recently planted some bulbs for ext year that includes bluebells and different types of trillium. One is called "Stinking Benjamin." I'm curious to see if it actually smells bad.
I had to look that up and what a gorgeous shade of red it is! Was used to treat gangrene, back in the day. So interesting! And I think I've seen a few HGTV episodes where people turned a church into a house. Beautiful stuff.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and beautiful!
ReplyDelete