Charleston Falls Preserve




Charleston Falls



 

 Charleston Falls Preserve is in Tipp City, Ohio just a short drive away. It is a lovely park of over 216 acres of woodland and Tall Grass prairie. It has 4 miles of hiking trails that are pleasant and easy to navigate. Along the trail were beautiful wild columbines, honeysuckle perfumed the air, and ferns formed banks of green. Limestone formations, a cave, and these beautiful falls. We were standing on the overlook looking down on the boardwalk and pool. It wasn't flowing heavily that day but it was still quite beautiful. The water falls 37' and is spring fed. The pool empties into a creek which makes its way to the Miami River. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in the autumn and winter and will have to plan a trip back. The park is very popular as there were a lot of people out enjoying the day.

Just a lovely way to spend an afternoon...exercise and beauty!

Child's Play

The Children's Discovery Garden at the Wegerzyn Park is so much fun...and not just for kids. This picture is in front of the straw bale house that has a planted "living roof". The metal pink flamingos and art windows welcome you to the gardens. 







Everywhere you look there are little artistic and whimsical details; from the duck feet prints in the cement walkway; to a crocodile topiary overlooking the pond; a cave to crawl in with fossils to discover;
a sensory garden with aromatic herbs; a music maze with instruments to play; a canoe to sit in and teepee's to hide in; metal wind sculptures and dog topiary; tables to build a garden in; just fun! 


                                                                       

This is "A Wiggle in its Walk"

A living sculpture made of willow by

Patrick Dougherty. It is a 200' tunnel

of twists and turns with

caves and windows looking out

into the gardens. It is just outside the

Children's Discovery garden. 

 

 

Garden Inspiration

 
Wegerzyn Gardens is simply an inspiration! It is also one of my very favorite parks in Dayton so far. One of the Five Rivers Metroparks it has everything from a Children's Discovery garden, an arbor garden, Victorian, English and Federal gardens, woodland shade gardens, perennial garden and a woodland walk through swamp forest on the Marie Aull Nature trail. The Dayton Playhouse is also on the grounds.
This particular picture is in the English garden area. A great example of the trend in mixing edible crops; lettuces and greens along side boxwood and flowers. Love the elevated planter of flowers.

So many wonderful ideas and plantings and the staff on the grounds is knowledgeable and friendly and willing to answer questions. Just a wonderful park to explore, sit in one of the many benches and enjoy the flowers and discover a new plant variety. Next post will be all about the children's discovery garden- which is not just for kids!

A New Place to Grow

 

 

I find myself "planted" in a new place...who'd ever have thought Ohio? I've never even been to the Midwest, but hey if you are open to change why not? Life's an adventure and I'm looking forward to exploring a new place.

It's so green here and everything is blooming. After living in the High Desert of California and the pine forests of the High Sierra and Texas for 6 months the green is welcoming. It reminds me of New England where I grew up; lilac, honeysuckle, peonies, the green canopy of trees; thick green grass; rain- the sound it makes hitting leaves- a soft sound which is rather comforting especially at night as you lay  in bed listening. Everything seems alive with new growth.

We've been exploring the many parks of Dayton and the surrounding areas. This path led down to a river. It seems to say "come, see what's down here?" It's gentle curve winding down amongst the green, wild columbines here and there and that's what we did. You couldn't help but want to go and see where it led and it was lovely. A wide expanse of river with the trees filtering light above and the smell of wet earth and bird song overhead. Tranquil, restful, healing. The perfect place to walk and just Be. Be a part of the living environment with no distractions, no noise, no stress. Enveloped in a green embrace. Problem is I don't remember which park! Well we will just have to try and find it again and who knows what we will find while we look?

 

 

 

Taking Down the Tree

It is January and the holidays are officially over. Family has come and gone, meals have been shared, gifts presented and accepted, all in a whirl of colored lights, ribbons and tinsel. We took down the Christmas tree today. I like to take time and re-visit certain ornaments before they get wrapped up and put away for another year. So many of them are rather like old friends. You can sit down and remember Christmas' past, friends and relatives, your childhood. I get rather sentimental as if you couldn't tell!

Some ornaments are special because of the person who gave it to you. I hold a special place in my heart for a ceramic, white cat that my Dad gave me when I was young. It is a bust of a cat with a sprig of holly.

There is a Navajo story telling doll ornament and a cinnamon turtle with a tiny turquoise turtle fetish from Arla in Texas. A metal snowflake ornament that were gifts at a friends wedding.

Then there are the ornaments that remind you of certain places that you have been- a beautiful ceramic dancer that I bought in Virginia;the Swedish Tomten on a swing that Mom brought back from a trip years ago.

There are ornaments that reflect our heritage- Swedish wooden stars, ornaments made of wheat, lucky pigs and tomten, horses and Yule goats.

Glass clusters of red and white mushrooms that clip to the branches.

Every year I make photograph ornaments of family, friends and pets. I make frames around them from pine cones and cinnamon sticks. I have old black and white photographs of my grandparents, of my grandfather with his bi-plane in WWI, my Mom in a canoe on a lake with her Dad. Friends peek out from the branches with smiling faces, cats recline on favorite pillows, and a picture of my brother holding a trout that he didn't actually catch. Nephews and niece playing sports and hiking, a photo of me as a teenager peeking out from behind a tree, walking on a beach at the Cape with Mom.

Of course there are the ornaments that don't have sentimental leanings but just add beauty to the tree; red mercury glass balls, white glass pine cones, acrylic leaves of different types that reflect the little white lights so prettily. The Mark Roberts Christmas fairies that I just adore because of their whimsy.

We have a tradition on Christmas Eve where each place setting at dinner

has a gift of an ornament that everyone gets to open. Our new additions are a wooden squirrel atop a pine cone, a fat cat and a little book about the wisdom of women. I love watching as each is opened, the smiles and the laughter, the delight of matching the perfect ornament to the person. A new memory to unwrap next December.

Happy New Year!

Stopping in Bridgeport

We have been driving through Bridgeport, CA on our way to all points North, mostly Carson City and Reno, NV, for many years. One of those picturesque mountain towns that you always say you want to stop in but seemingly never do...until I made a point of going there for the day. We made it our destination and had a wonderful day exploring and meeting some nice people and learning more about local history.

Bridgeport is the Mono county seat and has been since 1863. It's most distinguished landmark is the County Courthouse, Victorian in design, and built in 1880. It is the second oldest courthouse in the state of California to still be in use.

Our first stop of the day though was behind the courthouse, the Mono County Museum. It is located in the old Bridgeport schoolhouse in the picture. It served as the local school from 1880-1964. It was great fun to see everything from real hobnail boots to beautiful Victorian dresses. Farm implements, barb wire collections and even a rare portable, folding bathtub! History of the local, determined pioneer families and surrounding mining towns of Mono as well as an entire room devoted to an amazing Native American basket collection. Beautiful examples of Paiute and Miwok basketry collected by Ella Cain. Ella Cody was born in Bodie, an infamous mining town, and became a teacher there in 1900. She married Victor Cain in 1904. She amassed a striking collection.

After the museum tour we headed over to the local cemetery as I like to look at memorial carvings and it gives you an added look at the local families and where they came from. Stones sometimes have a lot of information on them and the carvings have a language all of their own. I'll touch on that in another blog as it is really interesting.

We then headed out through Bridgeport Valley, miles of pasture with cattle grazing, large old family ranches, and irrigation ditches. Bridgeport was originally called Big Meadows! Of course we stop here and there to take pictures of surprised cows. We passed the Hunewill Circle H cattle and guest ranch, a family that has been in the area since the 1860's. (There was a large Hunewill family plot at the cemetery. ) The road winds up into the Humboldt-Toiyabe National forest and the majestic Sawtooth range looms ahead. Our destination was Twin Lakes. We had no idea there were so many cabins and homes around the lakes as well as resorts. It was beautiful. I'd like to go back and spend time just exploring this whole area.

In the Sierra you just don't know what you are going to discover next. Yes we have an abundance of natural beauty here but to really get to know an area is to delve into the history and those who came before. To truly appreciate what we have now you need to witness the contributions, the hardships and the lives of the people who made it possible.

Aliveness

In his book, "Reflections from the North Country" , Sigurd Olson has a chapter titled "Aliveness." He comments on how so many people seem to go through life with little or no happiness or zest for living... with little hope or enthusiasm. Sigurd was an ecologist and conservationist, a professor and writer who dearly loved the outdoors and the Quetico-Superior region of Minnesota and Ontario, Canada. This particular book was first published back in 1976 by Knopf, a book and a man that is very wise.

I have been coming in contact with more and more people who seem to be suffering from emptiness and just the plain old blahs! People who are trying desperately to fill the void in their lives with stuff and the pursuit of more stuff and/or busy-ness for the sake of being busy. People who find no joy in living and feel they have nothing to look forward to. Why?

I believe that in order to be alive, to live an inspired life one must be aware of their connection to the natural world every day. Our lives are interconnected with every living thing on this planet. Our choices and our thoughts affect other living things and each other. There is extraordinary beauty all around us every day. How can anyone look at a hummingbird and not be awed by their beauty, their ability to hover in the air, the speed in which their wings flutter, their own joy!? Walk around your neighborhood and see the colors and variety of flowers, trees and bushes; watch the sunrise or the sunset and the way the changing light changes the scene minute by minute; feel the grass between your toes or the smoothness of a water polished stone from a creek; smell the earthiness of the woods, the saltiness of the seashore or of a fresh rain; listen to the birds singing in the morning or the crickets chirping at night; reconnect with the natural world that is all around you and celebrate that you are able to appreciate and Be apart of it.

In order to be "alive" we must be inspired. To be inspired we must look for new ways to learn and experience life. We have senses to help us add depth to our daily experiences. Use your sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch to connect. Use your instinct and your knowing as well. The old adage "stop and smell the roses" is more true than you know. When we are inspired everything and anything is possible. Be adventurous, curious, seek your true essence enthusiastically and celebrate your Aliveness!