Actually, I had a spot in mind -- Stonehenge Fiber Mill which makes the beautiful 100 percent wool, Shepherd's Wool. Their color palette is unbelievable! Imagine arriving and this is the first thing I see!
The woman who owns the mill tells me that this goose (the tall one) is 32 years old and when his mate for life died, he was so bereft, they found a new friend for him.
These two pal around constantly!
I loved the interesting shape of his head. At first I thought it a tumor but she said no, that was just his species.
For the volume of wool this place turns out, it isn't very big. The whole deal is within two small buildings plus the shop.
The owner invited me to look around so first I went into the spinning area. Machines are staffed by people who feed the fiber to the machine which spins it.
The I went into the carding section! Boy -- what a lot of fleece.
There's a huge sink for cleaning too.
By the time I got there I was reasonably close to another old haunt, also called Stonehedge (but not connected).
When it was previously owned I did a number of photography cards of the gardens that they bought and sold in the store. I had to take a good look at the gardens that day, too.
It's still as picturesque as always, with pretty out-buildings.
There was some lovely lawn ornamentation...
...and a charming pond.
But of course, you know I had to try to capture a photo of the butterflies! I managed one somewhat decent one.
I was in a small shop on the way back to the lake when the phone rang. It was Rick, who had been battling strong headwinds. Although he'd hoped to ride the whole way to the lake over two days, he asked to be picked up. So I bid farewell to gardens and hit the road again. I was sorry he had to cut his ride short, but I was also happy to see him! (And it was a good thing for him, too, because the next day was cold, windy and very wet!)
Fall. It's really here.
Sharing with: Best of the Weekend / Let's Keep in Touch
50 comments:
What an interesting outing! We are still waiting for summer to end here.
What a lovely day out. I get all excited when I see a big display of pumpkins. Who knew geese lived to such an age? I didn't, and 32 is incredible.
~~~Deb in Wales
What a wonderful little place!
Nice day out and a beautiful garden shop.
You sure have a knack for finding interesting places. Your photos are wonderful.
Jeanie to the rescue! The goose is sweet, I didn't realise they lived so long!
Wren x
What an interesting place. I am sure I would have very much enjoyed the visit. I am glad that you were available to go and rescue, Rick. No doubt the weather was the main factor in his submission, but perhaps he is still not recovered fully from his broken ankle, or, heaven forbid, he is getting older!
I loved seeing the gardens. The old shed with the flag is so interesting. Great flowers too. So glad you could pick Rick up. It would have been rough for another day. Blessings to you, xoxo, Susie
Jeanie, you had a nice excursion. Love the woolshed and the spinning. Spinning and weaving are a former love of mine. I still have my looms, but need to figure out a better place in our home to have them.
Glad Rick chose to be picked up, that would not have been a pleasant ride for him. Happy fall days, Jeanie.
You caught me at your title, it has all the keywords to things I enjoy, as well as these lovely photos. What an incredible place this is!
I was wondering about the same thing in regards to the goose. Glad it's not a tumor. The place you went to looks lovely with all the old rustic buildings.
Looks like such a wonderful place.. We visited an alpaca farm over the weekend and the boys got to see how they spun thread.. it was so fascinating.
Now that looks like a great road trip. Yarn and gardens, now you need is books too. Hope the weather has improved. Hugs-Erika
I forgot to mention the goose. Wow. I have never seen that species before but very handsome for sure.
You visited some fab places. Love that old goose, what a sweetie, and how wonderful that they are such good friends. The wool place is fascinating, but those fantastic flowers won my heart! Glad you got Rick back safe and sound again! Happy October, hugs, Valerie
Oh, Jeanie, I wish I could have explored that mill with you. So fascinating. Glad Rick got there safe and sound.
Jeanie, your road trip looks wonderful and so very interesting. I had no idea that a goose could live that long. Of course, I so enjoyed seeing the gardens.
How old is that goose? I never knew they lived that long! WOW! How incredible. Love all of your beautiful photos taken outside! I always love to come home and work on photos after a nice outing like that. Enjoy your week!
Beautiful pictures and great place to visit, thank you for sharing this!☺
The two birds are quite a pair!
What a great place!
32 yrs old. wow. Glad he now has a friend. Life is lonely enough.
Yes, Jeanie, the weather really is changing. We have had rain, thunder and lightening for the last two evenings. There was a flower/gift shop in San Diego when we used to go there. Such beautiful grounds with very old outbuildings and beautiful flowers. I miss seeing it, so your spot looks very special..Glad you could pick Rick up, didn't sound like good riding weather..Happy Monday and enjoy Autumn. She has arrived..xxoJudy
Great places to visit. I know you had fun! Janice
What a gorgeous fall adventure. I loved the old buildings at the woolen mill and at the garden. The garden was beautiful. Sorry Rick had to cut his ride short. Oh what a sweet friendship between ducks.
I had no idea that geese lived that long! Such a sweet love story, Jeanie. A lovely outing for you to such a beautiful garden and wool shop. Glad you were able to pick up Rick, I'm sure he was as well.
I never knew geese can get that old!!!
Neither have I ever seen a goose like that, amazing!
Oh, how I´d love a woolen jacket now, it´s getting really cold, still dark, too (06:20 a.m.).
Oh, what a pretty place that is!
Yes. Fall is here... Sorry Rick had to let it go for the day...
Hello, What a nice road trip! The Fiver Mill and the Gardens looks like great places to visit. I love the geese, I had no idea the goose could live that long. The garden are beautiful, lovely flowers and pond. The out building with the flag is cute. Great capture of the Butterfly. Enjoy your day and new week, Happy October!
Love the goose and his new friend. You do find the most interesting places to wander.
Looks like an enjoyable place (places) to stop when you are in “cottage time!”
Liked the goose friendship . . . companionship is a plus for all!
How many miles does Rick put on in a week, summer, year?
It must be continued therapy for that injured ankle/foot and soul therapy too!
Happy you were able to pick him up . . . “weather rescuer!”
This looks like such a fun day! I love to visit places like these. :)
And I can't believe that goose is 32! Wow! I had no idea they were so long-lived!
I have never seen a goose that looked like that. Glad they found a new friend for him!
September was a weird weather month here. We ran our a/c quite a bit and there were some July-like days with terrible humidity - like yesterday when it was 85 and the dew point was 72! We went from highs in the 60s on Sunday to super humid on Monday and now we are back to the 50s/60s. Mother nature keeps us on our toes!
You are so good about finding and going to cool places.
Hi Jeannie!
Happy fall!
I'm glad Rick called you to pick him up and did not chance bike riding in strong wind and rain! I'm sure he did not want to get injured again.
This wool shop was very interesting to see! Do they own sheep or do they buy the shorn wool?
Mr.and Mrs.geese were cute to see!
What a cool looking place!! Yes, what is up with that birds head? That just looks so funny and strange.
Oh, I'm so glad they found him a friend.
Wonderful photos and wonderful place to visit.
Very cool about your photography.
I had no idea that a goose lives that long. Interesting to consider.
Looks like an interesting place, the wool business.
So nice of you to pick Rick up.
Goodness! This goose is kind of "forever young".
A nice garden with beautiful flowers.
I can't believe I missed this post. You certainly had a lovely road trip. It was most impressive and that wool place would have been high on my list of visits, too. So glad you were able to get Rick and keep him from catching a cold or worse. That was a very interesting trip with incredible photos.
Fun little trip:):)
When I first glimpsed your opening photo, I only saw the top, and it looked like a whale's tail. I couldn't imagine where you'd been -- it crossed my mind that the Great Lakes might be deeper than I thought, or more accessible to the ocean, or...
Wonderful photos. It sounds as though it was good you were able to fetch Rick, even though he had to cut his ride a bit short. "They" are saying we're finally going to get a front next week, with lows maybe even in the 60s! Excitement abounds.
that sounds like a lovely road trip. The geese - I've never seen any like them, but it's touching that the owner took the trouble to find Mr Gander a new mate, and I'm glad they got on! The wool store looks really beautiful. I've passed the details on to a US friend who likes to knit and I'd guess she might contact them if she isn't already in touch.
Wow...never saw a goose like that one. Very cool. And when I saw that wool and spinner...YIKES! I have a friend who has provided me with her sheep's wool for many years. I especially loved the wool from her black sheep. I have cleaned most of it, took a few spinning classes, even got a small drop spindle to try it all out. I stink at spinning. So, I craft with the remaining wool. GREAT POST!
I absolutely love the butterfly picture! It's gorgeous. I like the garden, too. It's so pretty and cheerful. And I'm so glad they found a new friend for the goose. It's sad to watch animals lose their companions.
It looks like you're definitely enjoying fall there. It still feels very much like summer for us. Yesterday was the hottest that date has been for us since 1897.
That is one unusual looking goose. I had no idea they lived so long. Love seeing the end-of-summer gardens. Glad Rick had you as crew so he could get out of the wind and rain!
What a wonderful getaway! Just love those ducks!!
What a lovely place this looks.
I enjoyed seeing all of your photographs, especially the butterfly :)
All the best Jan
Well, you know my relationship with geese is not a fond one, but I was happy to read this odd fellow found a new friend.
Fall is definitely here too, thankfully. We had to go west to catch fall and bring it back to WV. I think it worked!
LOVED this trip the the fiber mill... fun to see "behind the scenes"! What a beautiful garden... All those black eyed susans, and that garden art... such fun! Pity about the rain... but looks/like there was much fun anyway! Autumn has been here for weeks now... and it's been a cold, wet one so far. :/ Happy Days ((HUGS))
I love that old barn! What a fun outing and an interesting story on the goose. Who knew they lived that long?! Thanks for linking up to Best of the Weekend. Your post was our most clicked of the week! Congrats! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to link up your latest posts. Thanks again for joining us and enjoy your weekend!
Shelley
32 years old??! Wow! To be honest - I'm shocked! I would never say that goose can live for so long!
They're both cute. And they're really nice couple ;)
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