Flowers at Dahlem

I can't resist taking pictures of flowers, probably for the same reasons that we enjoy planting them in and around our homes. 

My Sunday afternoon walk at the Dahlem Center was a constant distraction as flowers, both cultivated and wild, kept finding their way in front of my lens.

Cultivated

Yarrow with spiders

White Hydrangea

OK, so this isn't a flower. A curious red squirrel stuck around long enough to digitalize him.

Crocosmia Lucifer: Eye-catching brilliantly red tubular flowers appear midsummer atop bolt, slightly arching sparsely branched 3 foot tall stems.

Yup, and they attract hummingbirds..

Not sure what this is.

Loved the spiraled bud

Bee Balm

Just a frog.

And then the wild flowers.

Purple Loosetrife

Black-eyed Susans

Not sure about this one

Bee Balm Bud

I'm always trying to capture Queen Anne's Lace but never quite seem to get it right

Butterfly Weed is a fave -- love the orange

This is typical of a number of small flowers (aka, weeds) that bloomed along the path.

Tiger Lilies stand out in the meadow

The purple stems were striking!

Lots of white puffies!

This old tree is falling apart in the middle of the meadow.

I was just going out for a little 45 minute trek but ended up spending three hours. The wildflowers were a pleasant surprise.

Hocking Hills State Park

It's been over a year since my last blog entry. Since February of 2016 I finished up a very satisfying interim ministry, got married, and have been busy synthesizing our two households. We're about 95% done. We have the rest of our lives to sort out what remains.

Since Susie is from Ohio, she was easily convinced that a trip to the Hocking Hills State Park was in order. This has long been on my photographic wish list and last week we finally went. We only had parts of two days, but the park is manageable enough to do it some justice in that time. Another trip suggests itself—we saw Dead Man's Cave in the evening and  Ash Cave in the morning. I'd like to reverse that and see what the difference in lighting makes.

We went by this barn on the way from our motel in Logan, OH to the park. I don't think the shade of red has the Barn Owners Association seal of approval.

This old barn was in Logan. I added a filter to "age" the picture—it seemed fitting.

Same barn. Sepia toning.

The walk into the park follows a creek that over time carved out a small gorge.

We encountered small waterfalls on the way.

I was especially thankful to have Susie along to share the experience. Two previous treks I made alone. This was way better!

My adventurous bride!

Beauty and the Beast!

Old Man's Cave. The place needs people in it to get perspective on the size. It's immense!

Same falls as above from beneath.

...and behind.

 Piling ricks seems to be a thing there!

We left the Cave are and stopped at Cedar Falls, just a few miles down the road.

This little falls was tucked away around a corner from the main falls.

This is perhaps my favorite picture from the entire trip. 

When we finished our hike along Cedar Falls we were both hungry so we drove back to Logan for some excellent ribs at the Millstone Southern Smoked BBQ restaurant. The left uf primed for Tuesday.

The Ash Cave is at the southern end of the park. We got there early and had the place to ourselves for a while.

Entrance to the Ash Cave — wheelchair accessible all the way!

Magnificent 

Black and white for a change. Still looks gorgeous. 

Susie is just a dot to the right of the big rock on the left. It's a really big cave!

This might be a good place for me to mention the wildflowers. We hit it just right and they were out in abundance.

Red Bud

Foamflower?

Not sure: cutleaf toothwort?

Trilium

Blue Phlox

Wild Geranium

We made one last stop before heading home. The signs directed us to something called the Rock House.

The trail head was inviting...

...until the descent down the cliff. The old CCC cut steps in the rock face back in the 30's.

The entrance to the Rock House

This young lady agreed to stay in the picture. 

After climbing out were were ready to sit in the car for a while. Susie tramped with me every step of the way and shot her own collection of memories. Hocking Hills is one more place I'd like to go back to and spend a few more days. I hear the fall is magnificent!