A mere two weeks ago we packed up for a "Girls' Road Trip" and headed down to
Kentucky for a long weekend. We made the pilgrimage to visit friends, who recently relocated from IL - seeking 'greener pastures' and warmer weather. What a whirlwind of laughter, adventure and photo ops! (Batten down the hatches... I took LOTS of pictures!)
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| Fowler Ridge Wind Farm - Fowler, IN |
In travel down "
Ventura Highway" (aka US-I65), through Indiana, we came upon a '
wind farm' that was really uber-cool - at first. Then it kept going, on and on.... If you enlarge this photo (just click on it), you'll see the windmills going on.. forever! It got a little "
Area 51" for me - but I DO love the idea of harvesting wind as an energy source, and the wind blows long and hard on the Midwest plains!
Never be short-sighted to the power of a 4-day weekend trip. It's cathartic, it doesn't require too many resources and you really feel like you've 'gotten away'! We went to an area, famous for one of it's early inhabitants - Abraham Lincoln. It included a stop at
Knob Creek Farm, in Larue County (shockingly, a '
dry county'!). I have to say, it was a bit surreal walking around the same grounds where America's 16th President wandered and worked as a boy?! There was a quiet vibe there - it felt a bit hallowed.
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| Lincoln's Farm - restored period home |
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Knob Creek
Dry creek bed in Fall / dangerous flood plain in Spring |
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| Lincoln's "Knob Creek Farm" - sample garden in the meadow |
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What IS that growth on the tree?
(... there was some posted sign explaining the phenomenon, but I missed it!) |
Also in our travels, we visited "Buzzards' Bluff"...
somewhere in rural Central Kentucky. It's the kind of place that you would
never find unless you are with a native resident - and I mean
never! Every road in Kentucky meanders - so bring a compass ... and remember landmarks! Anyway ... the views were incredible. (I did have a few moments where a chill ran down my spine - one mis-step would be the last one.)
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| Down in the Valley -- it's a LONG way down! |
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| The craggy trees and crumbling paths are not for the faint of heart! |
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The panoramic shot -- it is truly a 'bird's eye view' !!
(Buzzards' Bluff - appropriately named!) |
With all our adventures, some of the true beauty was in my friend's yard. Kentucky enjoys hardiness zone 6 - so they enjoy 2 more months of mild weather than Illinois, one on the front end of the season & one on the back. So while IL is fading into fall quickly, these little gems were doing well at this "
Old Kentucky Home" (by the way, there is a rumor rumbling around our family that we are somehow related to
Stephen Foster, but who can really know?)!
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What an invitation!?!! I love that trellis...
(This woman finds 'treasures' everywhere!) |
First, what's a yard, without "yard art"! There is heart and whimsy ... there's flora and fauna (my dear friend is a "bird nerd" and we love her for it!):
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| Need I say more? ... I think not! |
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| A wayward Pelican .. forever petrified in the garden! |
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| What's a garden without gnomes?!! |
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| These Kentucky "chicks" have no idea -- they have hit the mother lode!! |
And of course there is the "flora":
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| "Dinner Plate Dahlia" ....**POW!!**... |
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| Butterfly Bush: Kentucky-style |
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| "Black & Blue" Salvia |
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Pushing the 'edge' of complimentary colors!
(Another eye-catcher) |
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| Chelone - "Turtleflower" |
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| "The money shot!" (Clematis on antique trellis) |
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| ....***POW 2***.... ('Dinner Plate Dahlia' - in sunburst red) |
But ... all good things come to an end, especially when it is only a long weekend trip! So we 'shuffled off to Buffalo', and headed out of Kentucky, "the Bluegrass State" (or "Kentucky - Unbridled Spirit" if you visit the Kentucky Department of Tourism!)
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Heading home, over the state line into Indiana....
(Louisville, KY) |
Happy trails !!!!!!
Shyrlene, Thank for sharing those wonderful photos. It does look like some place I would like to visit. I like craggy trees and crumbling paths.
ReplyDeleteBeing Canadian, I haven't visited too many of the states. But I have been to Kentucky! :D Chuck's nephew graduated from boot camp in Fort Knox, and we buzzed up there to see it. We kind of did a loop...we went through Lexington, then Louisville, then back down through Fort Knox to the Mammoth Caves for a visit. We shot straight down to Nashville. Kentucky was so beautiful....rolling hills, racehorse farms. We even stopped for lunch just over the Indiana border, and had lunch at a cafe overlooking the Ohio River. You could see Kentucky across the river...amazing view! I'll have to post the pics sometime....
ReplyDeleteYou took some great ones yourself!
Now I know why you washed the windows so well when we stopped for gas.
ReplyDeleteOne - thanks for the kinds thoughts, and big thanks for adding 'the bunnies buffet' as a 'follow'!! :)
ReplyDeleteKyna - so cool to know we were flying in the same circles, even though at different times! Thanks for the props on the photos! That yellow Dinner Plate Dahlia just blew me away!!
Anonymous - I am SO transparent, aren't I ?!! ;) That little cell phone camera kicks some major butt! (not to be confused with the garden shots, that needed high res. & my fav. camera!)
I love that you visited the hallowed Lincoln's Farm, but still thought the true beauty on your trip was your friend's garden! That dinner plate dahlia is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your trip; I would love to experience Buzzard's Bluff in person! Your friend has some beautiful blooms. It sounds lie a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photography.. I did get hung up on the notion that there were 2 months more of mild weather..probably 3 more than Upstate NY!!
ReplyDeleteThankyou all for the wonderful comments on my garden! This past weekend we found a spot that makes Buzzards Roost seem like a 2-foot drop off! Can't wait to take our next house guests there! Keep gardening - it's good for the soul!
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