Texture Tuesday

Textures Used: KK's February Magic & The Ladder

Linking with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday. Check out more textured photos at:
 

At the Dragonfly Tea Cottage

The sign on the front sidewalk says, "open" 

so let' have lunch at the Dragonfly Tea Cottage in Sylvania, Ohio! 

MJ had told me about this wonderful little oasis and I couldn't wait to visit.  We came in through the backyard garden , passed the welcoming back porch with dragonfly decorated ceramic boots setting a quaint scene.

 

A vibrant sign, just inside the door, greeted us and the ladies smiled warmly creating a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. 

Everything inside the tea house is colorful, eclectic and artistic.  From the charm of mismatched table settings to the whimsical salt & pepper shakers that adorn each table. 

Then....there's the tea and food.  Hot temperatures outside require cool drinks indoors.  We opted for flavored iced teas, refreshing and delicious. And the food....fresh, home made and wow!

Someday I'm going back for dessert!  

Dragonfly Tea Cottage

"We Love Tea Parties!"

5723 N. Main Street

Sylvania, Ohio, 43560

(419) 824-2153

By the way...there's another whole floor waiting for little girls everywhere to experience their dream fairy tea party, but I'm saving that for another post. 

Priming the Pump

If you ever lived with a windmill outside your door you know what priming the pump means.  For those of you who think I've gone off the deep end...let me explain.  When a water pump dries up it must be primed or water added to get it flowing again.  The creative process is much like a moaning old pump...when the well runs dry it must be refilled with experiences, sights, sounds, tastes, and touch.  That's what my week in Toledo did for me...it replenished a drying up reservoir of imagination and creativity.  I came home ready to embrace my daily life with a new attitude. 

What did I do to prime my creative pump?  MJ and I nibbled on lemon poppy seed and orange burst muffins while gabbing between cups of Georgette's coffee in Maumee.  Where's the photo you ask?  I was so into the delicious muffin that I forgot to take out my camera. 

Maumee is a suburb of Toledo that is ever so charming.  It lacks the hoity-toity of Perrysburg which makes it even more quaint.  There's a nostalgia about the buildings....

street lamps....

and a night depository at a defunct bank.

But what got my attention more than anything was a sign swinging above heads...

What a jovial fellow, but who wouldn't be smiling when the smell of fresh-made pizza comes wafting out the door.

I should have been inspired to photograph so much more. Maumee was a battle setting for the War of 1812.  There are forts, landmarks, and old legends of Mad Anthony Wayne.  A river runs through the town adding that touch of romance that makes me sigh.  Another trip to Maumee is on my list of fall things to do and the next time I hope triple digits don't keep me from exploring the town as it should be.

As for the primed pump, every little bit helps and just sitting in a coffee shop with a Ten Thousand Villages shop in the back/front got the ball rolling.  What do you do to prime the pump of creativity when it begins to dry? 

Let's do tea tomorrow...shall we? 

Country Musings on a Morning in Spring

Once upon a time in the fertile, flatscape of northwest Ohio there were farms scattered hither and yon.

Where a farm wife planted lilacs from starts her mother gave her while a windmill groaned a breezey melody from high above.

Silly farm foul goose stepped while playing hide-n-seek.  "Can you find me behind the tree?" she squawked with glee.

A donkey, content with the sweet spring grass, peers curious.

Lonely outbuildings and empty silos stand as testament to long-gone stewards of the earth who worked to the rhythms of the seasons weather roulette their game of chance.

  The dust of 100 year old straw filters through the cracks of decay as paint and a way of life fades from view leaving only the sun worshipers with their wings outstretched greeting the morning.

Driving down the back roads of rural areas across the country is both beautiful and sad.  There's something splendid about old barns, the weather, the wear, the strength that harbored creatures great and small. The patina of graying wood, the slivery silver surfaces of fences that no longer corral anything more than tall grass and unloved plants.  Yet, there are stories imagined and real of families and lives lived in these now lovely hollow places.

I'm linking up with A Rural Journal for...

Holiday Shopping & Stuff

There's something going on around here. Little shops are springing up and it's exciting! Last Saturday, MJ and I galivanted about Williams County visiting shops. To give you a bit of background...Williams county lies in the very northwest corner of Ohio bordered by Indiana to the west and Michigan to the north. With a population of less than 38,000 you just know there's room to stretch. The county was hit hard by the economic woes the country faces and as of October 2011 the unemployment rate continues in double digits at 10%. 

So what's a rural area that relied on Detroit to do?

Get creative!  Set up shop! And oh how imaginative entrepeneurs are grabbing on to the possibilities and making them work...

Our first stop was at a holiday shop in West Unity.  You'll hear more about that shop in a later post, so let's travel down the road to Stryker, Ohio and...

The Green Awning

Yep, I've given you a bit of insight into the Green Awning in a previous post,but let me tell you...Kathy & Tom Short do it up right for the holidays.  Everything was bright, cheerful, and beautiful from antiques & old stuff in the window...

to the clove-studded oranges beneath an old stove...

After catching up with old friends and laughing at Kathy's Christmas hat, with a wave we were on way to Bryan and the...

East Mulberry Gift Cottage

What vintage love is found within the whimsical vignettes of Sharon & Gary Gyurnek's shop.  Birds in purses, perched on iron farm implement seats and everywhere creates a natural ambiance that pulls browsers and buyers into Sharon's world.  Look up....

  to find teacups hanging from twiggy branches on soft, silken ribbons.

Look down...

and there it is... a vintage suitcase just waiting to come home with me and be filled with dreams of far away places and crazy adventures.

Across the square sits Special Ocassions,one of my favorite stores in the area.  I'm saving this little gem for another post, so let's hurry out of town and to...

Fox Farms Christmas in the Barn

A clutch of hens and roosters greeted us as we walked toward the big barn.  Just outside the barn, a whimsical arrangement bid welcome and enter

Within the barn everlastings hung in huge bundles, ready to be crafted into wreaths, swags, garlands, and more. 

A loft circled with tiny white lights held more drieds

Karin Fox takes the everlastings and fashions one- of-a-kind-wreaths-and-designs. The Barn is open every Saturday through December 10th.

The Green Awning Gallery

Tom & Kathy Short

106 Defiance Street

Stryker, Ohio  43557

(419) 682-7432

E. Mulberry Gift Cottage

Sharon & Gary Gyurnek

847 E Mulberry Street

Bryan, Ohio  43506

(419) 630-0100

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10-6  Saturday 10-4

Fox Farms

Jerry & Karin Fox

09 319 Rd 750

Edon, Ohio  43518

(419) 272-2278

Open every Saturday through December 10th 10-4

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A December Photo Challenge: 25 photos in 25 days

 December 1 Berries & Bokeh

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I'm not quite finished.  Don't forget about the Holiday Planner under the Gift for You page. You're welcome to download, copy it, print it, and share it anyway and anywhere you like. 

Have a delightful December Day!

Homegrown & Handmade

Off to a farm we went on Saturday morning.

There were sheep, alpacas, and smiling llamas

And the people who love and care for them...

Baskets filled with colorful skeins of spun alpaca yarn caught the eye..

What a journey...from alpaca to stylish hat

I hope readers join me in supoort of local growers & producers everywhere. Check out what's in your area and then stop in.  You just might discover something delightful.

I realized that I forgot to include the information about the vendors and hosts of the farm fair.

Evening Star Farm

Diane & Terry Perkins

04917 County Road 22.75

Stryker, Ohio   43557

(419) 682-9137

One of the other farms showing their animals and goods was Winding Creek Alpacas and Llamas, please check out their website  or blog for more information

Mom's Diner

A week ago, we stopped at Mom's Diner for a bite to eat. 

Located in Archbold, Ohio, Mom's Diner is one of those places that remains in the psyche because the burger buns are baked fresh in the kitchen, the milkshakes are thick and creamy, and the ambiance is 1950 diner.

 I admit it, I'm captivated by the neon lights, vintage signs on the wall and the juke box...

It's a place loaded with memories of sharing pizza with friends after watching our little leaguers, grabbing a burger before viewing the Christmas lights, and stopping by for pie and ice cream just because. 

Mom's Diner is one of those places that I'm thankful exists.  It's a favorite of my grandsons and one of my favorite dining experiences, too. 

Mom's Diner

213 N Defiance Street

Archbold, Ohio

419.443.5060



Abandoned

When I visit my brother and sister-in-law, I drive past a wee patch of land, abandoned years ago leaving behind the deep scar of a house and the gentle presence of past lives. I’ve no doubt a farm once graced this corner and I wonder what caused the demise of so charming a place.  Could it be the railroad that slices through farmland like two,  never-ending  silver swords or was there some other catastrophe that befell the living, breathing homestead? 

Amidst soft bird calls and the wind whispering through pines there's signs that someone once surrounded their home with the simplicity of country life.

Apple trees were planted that brought white petals falling like snow in May

I'd like to think that the freckled look of cherry trees blooming pink brought smiles of contentment and thoughts of cherry pies

I'm sure someone opened a window of the long-gone house filling it with a clean, sweet fragance from lilacs growing nearby.

The only structure left standing are the skeletal remains of a windmill that once upon a time, caught Ohio breezes with paddles whirring echoing a song over plowed fields.  

There's something romantically haunting about abandoned houses, barns, and farms that invites wool-gathering moments.  In my mind's eye I visualize how it might have been with chickens scratching, cows lowing in a nearby pasture, freshly laundered sheets billowing out like sails on a sea of green, and the laughter of children as they swing higher and higher, almost touching the sky.

The dandelions are reclaiming this bit of earth, but I'll be back for lilacs in bloom and another peek into the past.          

April Musings

Here we are beginning the second quarter of the year with April showers and a high of 65 and that’s this morning.  Last week was busy with the little man on spring break.  There were Mario Kart races, pancakes in the morning, and the Imagination Station. 

I made this image dark on purpose using a texture by Distressed Jewells. I guess I was in a somber mood while processing.

 It was cold, windy, and overcast a good share of the week. We didn’t get kite flying in, but anytime a breeze blows kites soar, but flying still happened. 

I’ve been negligent with the 365 project and so far behind that I’m dropping the 365 and just calling it All These Things.  I’d love those three words as a title for a photoblog, but it’s all ready been snapped up and yes, I’m rambling.

Do you have spring dreams?  One of mine is to create a focus with my camera and writing. 

Two weeks ago, B & J and I went on a Sunday photo expedition.  We stopped by the home of a gardener I’ve known for many years.  To call Joyce a passionate grower is an understatement.  She lives and breathes growing.  She is a consummate grower…she grows indoors and out. I’m guessing that it’s more about the plants then the overall garden design, but I’m going to pose that question to her.  The only thing blooming in her garden were crocus, but the buds on her daffodils were fattening in preparation for the golden explosion of color.

Joyce’s garden is going to be my photo project for the rest of the growing season.  My focus will be on photographing, at least every two weeks, what’s blooming in her garden. As soon as the rain stops this week, I’m heading to Joyce’s garden and I doubt I’ll be disappointed in what I find. 

I'm ending with a processed photo of a poignant statue I found in a cemetery on the edge of Bryan, Ohio.  Yeats' poem, The Stolen Child, just seems to fit the photo.  The scrolling texture came from Shadowhouse Creations.

Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

~ W. B. Yeats