Fall Scenes from Holmes County

 

National Geographic just named Holmes County, Ohio as one of the most scenic spots in the world to see fall leaves, ranking third, behind Sonoma County, California, and Northern New Mexico.

 

I don't think the colors are as spectacular as in previous years here or here, but it might be a little early. We just had our first frost so maybe the best is yet to come.

 

I have lived here all my life and take this area for granted, but when I take time to slow down from life and just take in the sights around me, it is truly beautiful and I feel blessed to live here.

 

This might have been the most colorful tree we saw.

 

Holmes County is known most of all for being the largest Amish settlement in the world. Scenes like this are an everyday occurrence.

 

Holmes County has many, many miles of dirt roads and we love to see where each one takes us. 

 

 

I am very passionate about old abandoned buildings and when we came across this one I yelled....Stop! This is one of the most picturesque ones I have come across.

They may not look so pretty to some, but they are so full of history and stories, I wish it could tell me just one.

 

This home looks so empty and lonely. I'm sure it has stories to tell too.

 

We meandered along, from one country dirt road to another, some of them barely more than a cow path.

 

The only traffic we met was an occasional buggy.

 

 

 

 

The one thing I love about our area is all the beautiful old barns. 

 

 I love the old ones with their faded wood and lopsided walls.

 

 

The more run down and weathered, the more they appeal to me.

 

I even love the shabby doors and broken window panes.

 

 

 

While some of our surrounding counties are very flat, Holmes County is known for it's rolling hills.

 

An old Amish School House, I assume no longer in use. Sometime I would like doing a post of just Amish School Houses. There are dozens of them in our county.

 

 

 

 Our rolling hills open up to beautiful valleys.

 

 The last farm we happened upon as we headed home, completely captivated me. All the buildings were painted white or red, but had the same aqua colored roofs. Just loved it!

 

I didn't notice until I put this photo on here, but I pretty sure the dog house on the far left is painted to match.

 

The buggy barn. 

 

 I couldn't find a good place to get a shot of the side of this but yes....it has an aqua roof. I hope I can find this place again because I would love to take some photos of a few buildings that I didn't get.

 

So while there wasn't that much fall color yet, I hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of  'where I come from'.

 

Fall at Mohican

 

Even though this years leaf color has been far from the stellar year we had last year here and here, a few Sundays ago we decided to take an afternoon drive to the Mohican State Park. We should have gone one week earlier for peak, but some areas still had nice color.

 

Couldn't resist taking this photo at the Amish neighbors gathered for church.

 

  Mohican State Park is located in southern Ashland county and is comprised of 1,100 acres. The Mohican-Memorial State Forest surrounds the park with 4,795 acres.

 

Our first stop was the firetower which is one of the last remaining in Ohio. We climbed the 100 plus steps to the top to take in the views.

A few views from the firetower.

 It was windy up on the tower and it caused just enough blur to make this picture look like a painting.

 

Covered Bridge over the Clear Fork of the Mohican River.

 

 

The Clear Fork of the Mohican River.

 

 

 

 

Clearfork Gorge from the Overlook

Wolf Creek/Pine Run Grist Mill

This grist mill in 1831 and was originally located north of Loudonville at Wolf Creek. It was moved and restored at this location in 1971 next to Pine Run Stream.

I was disappointed to find they had closed for the season.

 

Landoll's Mohican Castle

Since we were in the area we decided to take a little time and find this resort in a very remote area not far from Mohican. Up a narrow, gravel, winding road, miles from the nearest highway is not where you would normally find a castle. Just as we were certain we were on the wrong road, there it was.

 

Love the beautiful stone work!

 

We took a longer scenic route 'Wally Road Scenic Byway' on the return home and came across this beautiful old 1800s schoolhouse. Almost reminds me of Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains.

 

The plaque says Mohican Log Cabin, also on Wally Road.

 

LOVE old barns!

 

The Wally Scenic Byway is 10 miles long and travels through 3 counties on county roads that parallel the Mohican State Scenic River. Wally Road was named for The Walhonding Railroad that once ran this same route along the Mohican River. Today when you drive Wally Road you are driving over the exact same route the railroad followed.

The Fall Garden

I know I didn't blog much about gardening this summer like I intended, but other than daylilies most everything in my garden suffered with the heat and drought.
Not that I'm ready for winter, I am glad this summer is over and hopefully next year will be better!

We had Indian summer weather this week with temperatures in the 70s and I spent a good part of it cleaning out flower beds. I know some people do it in the spring but I prefer doing as much as I can in the fall.

We have not had a hard frost yet so I still have a few blooms remaining. That will probably change by the weekend or next week. It sounds like rain and colder weather is in the forecast. We sure have been blessed with a beautiful fall.

Autumn Joy Sedum

Fall Mums

Centranthus Ruber (Jupiters Beard)

Pink Autumn Sedum

Butterfly Bush

I loved the little dwarf zinnias. I have always grown the tall ones but this was the first time I planted these. There were only two in a pack but each little plant spread out two feet. Are these as easy to grow from seed as the tall zinnias? I think I'll save some seeds and see.

Orange Cosmos

Thunbergia aka Blackeyed Susan Vine

My carpet roses still have a lot of blooms.......

and buds.

Dianthus

These are sold as annuals here in zone 5 but mine come back, sometimes for a few years before dying out. I've always loved these cheery little flowers.

Gerbera Daisies

These overwinter very well in my garage. I water them occasionally and pull off the dead foliage in the spring and they are good to go. One of my favorite container plants.

Hen and Chicks

This is the only succulent I have but it seems like succulents are the newest garden craze! I see them all over pinterest and in magazines. They are starting to grow on me and I might add some more varities. I like them best in containers, especially hypertufa.

The last of the fall color here in my cove.

Weeping Cherry

Anyone else agree with me that weeping cherry trees are just not worth all the work?? In my opinion one week of blooms in the spring just isn't worth all the hassle we go through keeping all the shoots trimmed off to keep it weeping!! It's a constant battle all summer long. If it wouldn't be at the corner of the house I'd just let it go.  Seriously considering replacing it with something else. A Paper Birch perhaps??

On the other hand the Weeping Cotoneaster is slow growing and rarely needs pruned to keep it's weeping shape. Plus it's a favorite for the birds.

And a few of my little feathered friends.