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 ...