The things that hide in the countryside ~ Rosewood Farms ~ Hartville, Mo

The things that hide in the countryside .. you'd be amazed !

Well I'm always up for a good drive in the county and if that happens to include stopping in at a shop and food along the way .. well you can pretty much count me in.

About a month or so back a post came up on my FB page from Ozarks Alive. They were featuring a darling country store and gifts shop out in the middle of nowhere. Well I guess not really the middle of nowhere unless you consider a 2 lane farm road with no other business around and an hour from the nearest city the middle of nowhere. I suppose if you're a city dweller that just might be your definition of the middle of nowhere !

Well we finally got around to taking our afternoon trip to "Rosewood Farms". This is a family run business which you can read more about HERE. Gift shop, and Handmade Chocolates ... Oh MY! You'll see below that there are not any photos of chocolates ..well I ate them ! I got S'mores Dark chocolate with graham cracker and marshmallow inside and we also got some Dark Chocolate covered English Toffee .. lets just say the camera never had a chance no matter how quick the shutter speed would have been set ..LOL .. Yes that should tell you the chocolates were amazingly good .. wished I had bought a few more packages the day after ! However if you want to see their chocolates and or buy some you can do so HERE

And if you want to see inside the gift shop then visit Ozarks Alive HERE they were given the opportunity to photograph the shop inside and well you'll just love the photos !

The Farm is beautiful... and even doubles as I believe a Wedding Venue and a place for photographers to come do stylized shoots. ( be sure if you go there is a fee and waivers if you're doing a professional shoot)  Well the grounds were beautiful ... and even though they don't allow photography inside the shop they do allow for photos of the farm to be taken so here's a few for you all to enjoy...

I loved Grandpa Joe's Windmill ...

And there were such beautiful Fall flowers in bloom .. My gosh the flower heads on these must have been 6 inches across at least...

The Honey Bees were out and buzzin' round the flowers .. taking in all the nectar they could get.

On our way back we stopped in the small old town of Hartville, MO. It's a town that has a few shops and a cafe..but mainly the storefronts are sitting empty. At one time in history it was a small working town of business but as so many of small towns go today they are places of history you seem to just pass through...with a working gas station and convenience store.

On one of the old brick building walls was the old Coca Cola add .. these old adds painted on the brick buildings are such icons of a bygone era. An era my heart loves for the simplicity of it's time.

Across the street on another building wall ..is this painting of a Soldier Praying with his Bible open .. I Love this ! 

We left the small town of Hartville and wound our way a few miles down the road and stopped off at this dilapadated beauty.

An old farmhouse perched upon a hill with bare branched trees surrounding it. I imagine the trees were full but just a few weeks back ..but with 1 little cold front that pushed through a week ago.. so many of the trees went bare .

I imagine this house has a great many stories hidden in it's walls to tell.. Hard winters, Hot Summers, Christmas's past, Laughter, Joy, Tears and times of hardship.... Now it stands as but a mere memory of a time that past long ago.

But it still stands tall holding on to the bits and pieces left of it . Perched on a hill overlooking a vast countryside filled with rolling hills .. and vast amounts of trees... a countryside that is positively picturesque.

Thanks for stopping in and enjoying but another journey with me.

If you live in the Springfield, MO Area or surrounding areas or are planning a visit to our beautiful city and countryside .. be sure and make time to go out and visit Rosewood Farms... as I said it's family run .. they are at the store each day ..greeting you with a smile when you open the door and there to help you rather you're looking for a gift, or and item for your home or a specialty piece of clothing which they have oodles of ... And don't forget Grandpa Joe's Chocolates .. Oh my stock up before you leave !

P.S. they'll be closed Oct. 31st through Nov 4th as they are gearing up for their Christmas Open House ... so be sure and call or look on their site to see when their open house is...

Until Next Time ...

A Beautiful day for a Country Drive

Ah .... how I love Country Drives...

I remember growing up we took Sunday Drives or Country Drives often. I love the drives .. seeing beautiful places and getting a treat along the way. 

For our years in CA.. we loved to leave the inland desert and drive to the coast. Drives along the coast through little beach towns and then open vistas of ocean in between. Occasionally we would drive up north into the countryside through the beautiful winding hillsides and I loved the quiet and the beauty of the open land that was dotted with old oak trees. Over the years as CA has grown and grown and grown .. the drives became less with  less open land and the lost art of slowing down and not being in a hurry. Taking time to "smell the roses" as they say or in our case just enjoy the beauty faded with the people living there. Fast paced driving took the enjoyment out of country drives with people tail gaiting, weaving behind you or flashing their lights off an on. Rudeness has become the rule of the road sadly in so many places.

Well we gave a country drive a go this week here in MO. It was a last minute idea ..which in my opinion are always the best. The pace is slower here ..not by much in town but out of town it is moreso.  So we headed out a road we saw last week that would give us a 42 mile drive to Table Rock Lake. 

It was such a nice drive .. and I only had to pull off the road 3 times to let anyone by ..no flashing lights or tail gaiting .. just me doing less than the speed limit and trying to be thoughtful in pulling over so those that wanted to get home or to their destination could do so at the speed they wished.

Anyhow along our country drive the land and hillsides and vistas were just breathtaking. We came upon the small town of Galena.. and then upon this old but amazingly crafted concrete bridge that's no longer in use for cars but can still be used to view the river and the surrounding beauty of the hillsides by walking across it .. This bridge is called the Y Bridge which you'll see later...

  

I love old bridges .. they were so beautifully crafted in the day and there truly is a feeling of stepping back in time when you walk across this bridge .This bridge opened in November 1927 it's nearly 100 yrs old and still standing proud. It crosses the James River ..which was just stunning.  More about the Bridge here: http://stateoftheozarks.net/culture/history/bridges/ybridge.php

Our view from the Y bridge looking south down the James River. 

The bridge you see in the distance is actually for the train to cross.

 And here is the reason it's the Y bridge ..at one end it's shaped like a Y .. which allowed traffic on and off the why with ease. I love the shale cliffs and the beautiful trees that cover the hillside.. so picturesque. 

(the bottom of the Y split pict. from state of the Ozarks)

Hwy 425 the scenic Ozark bypass .. getting back on the road and heading south ..

We plan on heading back to enjoy this drive again in the future .. along the way we were delighted to pass by and make a quick U turn at the town of Crane, Mo. I had heard of Crane but never realized it actually had a sweet old main street that had shops and diners on it. It was late in the day so we hurried through a few shops which were charming ...so we'll make it a point to go back and spend an afternoon having lunch and homemade pie and doing some antiquing too !

Here's a beautiful Scripture pictures I created from one of the photos I took .. with one of my favorite scriptures .. Enjoy and feel free to share it.

Until Next Time ...

A 2nd day enjoying the beauty of God's handiwork ....

I guess 1 day just wasn't enough for us... 

So yesterday afternoon we headed back to the Lake ...

I wanted to check out the Audobon Nature trail and see how steep and what the trail was like where it began so I could gauge what kind of shoes and pants to wear and so on. This was the beginning of the trail ... it was little steep but not too bad and the glades of rock make it perfect for walking up. It's Nature's perfect steps .... I couldn't see all the way... as the trail meanders through the beautiful trees and bushes ...but it looked beautiful and I can't wait to throw on some tennies and jeans and see what's beauty is in store for us.

These Beautiful Cone Flowers Or should I say flower .. as the others had already bloomed and faded with time ... grow everywhere here. I think these just might be echinacea .. I'll have to find out for sure ...

Another vista of the Ozark Hills surrounding the Lake.... Can you just imagine the years that these trees have grown here and covered the landscape making the air clean and giving sheltered homes to the birds, deer, squirrels and so many more. 

The Geese were out again .. this time sitting in the marsh 

And today a few deer decided to poke out into the field and graze.... We kept at a far distance as to not disturb them.. I just threw on one of my zoom lenses so I could get up close without getting up close personally and disturbing them...

Isn't she lovely .... even though we were far away ... she kept an eye on us .. thank goodness for a good camera lens that can zoom in...

The last 2 days at the Lake have been a joy .. It's such a pleasure to be able to enjoy God's handiwork.  I'm feeling rather blessed  ..!

Wishing you all a beautiful and blessed week !

P.S. .... My sweet Flossie is still doing well. She's been weaned off all but one med now .. and so far so good .. I'll get a post up about her soon !

My New Home Sweet Home Missouri ...

Well Hey Y'all ... I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday afternoon and evening ...

I'm still here .. just been super busy the last month and hadn't had a chance to get a post up.

And truth is I honestly kept forgetting my camera every time I went somewhere special. 

Well this week I finally remembered the camera ..

~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a beautiful day here in the Missouri Ozarks ...our new Home Sweet Home !

and

I thought I would share a little bit of the beauty on this Sunshiny and lovely day.

Yesterday evening we headed out to Lake Springfield boathouse and marina. Sounds like it was a long ways away doesn't it. 

It's a whopping 2 miles from where we are living and is pretty much smack dab next to the city here. 

 

It's funny we had driven by the entrance for Lake Springfield dozens of times and it's so unassuming that you don't think there's really much down that little 2 lane road .. well to our surprise it boasts far more than we imagined .. Beautiful Lakeside fishing with stunning views and vistas of the Ozarks.

 The 2 lane road is canopied in trees ...

 and last night the Sun was setting it set the trees on the opposite side of the lake on fire ... turning them to a beautiful golden autumn hue .. which they haven't even turned yet.

 The Views every which way you turn just grab your heart... you feel as though you've been enveloped into a setting of beauty that the eye is overwelmed by .. especially when you have come from the desert .. where shades of sand and dried brush are what you grow accustom to seeing.

 The Lake twists and turns .. the trees bow and bend .. and breeze carries the beautiful tune of nature on the leaves of the Pines, Oaks, Cedars and Maples...

 The water ripples gently while the beautiful marshes sway ...

 And these geese call this home .. well at least for a time until Old Man Winter comes knocking and blows a cool breeze to tell them it's time to move on to warmer parts of the land...

 The Deer graze here along the 2 lane country road .. eating away at the grass .. and cautiously watching onlookers .. last night we were blessed to see this momma and her doe .. last week.. the deer were grazing by the dozens on all the open meadows and hillsides .. it was simply stunning !

Twas' the end of our journey and the road leading out of the park ... the sun had fallen behind the trees and just gave the slightest glimpse of golden rays filtering down between the canopy of trees ..

It was beautiful and I look forward to going back and visiting the park.. Maybe one day a Canoe Ride .. or a walk on one of the Nature Trails.

For now though...

I hoope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the beautiful MO Ozarks  ... my new Home Sweet Missouri Home !