Woodmere

I don't know why but I love cemeteries. They always seems so peaceful. Woodmere is beautiful with rolling hills, well manicured lawns and beautiful mature trees. We spent most of our time in the older section (the cemetery is huge).....many graves dating back to the 1800's. It's always interesting to read the inscriptions on the stones. If you are familiar with Detroit there are some famous people buried here. You can find out more on line. There were some really stunning monuments, a few of which I captured here. I especially love the lamenting sculptures. It was a beautiful sunny morning to make the day a great one.
Woodmere is located in Detroit and for more information go to the link posted below.
http://www.woodmerecemeteryresearch.com/

Yellow Iris

He loves me, he loves me not..

May Garden

The end of May and the first few weeks of June are the best in any garden. Most of the perennials are in bloom......Peony, Iris, Clematis, first rose, and many more. Hardly any weeds yet, another plus.

 This is actually my neighbor's Clematis that faces my house...Don was so proud of the two Clematis that he planted. I really miss him. I don't think my new neighbor even knows they are there.

 My Clematis on my light pole.

 Similar to my neighbor's....this purple beauty grows in my back yard.

 A variety of Vinca

 Old fashion Shasta Daisy....just bought this one.

Remembering

 I thought it appropriate on this Memorial Day weekend to post these photos that I took at Woodmere Cemetery on Wednesday in honor of those who served.  Hoping that everyone has a great holiday

Retro Pollution

Air Pollution

When you drive over the Rouge Bridge, to the west is the Mobil refinery and beyond that is the Ford Rouge Plant and Rouge Steel. To the east is National Steel which you see in the photo above. I have never before been down in, on this side (toured the Rouge Ford plant a few years ago). Very industrial area.  It reminds me of growing up near Youngstown, Ohio. I wish that I had more time to take pictures of the mill. Always wondered what it would be like inside the mill...noisy and dirty, I think. Anyway, you can plainly see all the pollution in the air and I live about 10 miles from here....ugh!

Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church

 Ste. Anne's is the 2nd oldest Catholic Parish in the USA.It was founded in 1701 and had several churches built during it's history. It was established when the area was a French colony. This church, built in the Gothic Revival style, was built in 1886. The oldest surviving church records date back to 1704.
Father Gabriel Richard came to Ste. Anne's in 1790 and started a school which would eventually develop as the University of Michigan.
In the above photo you can get an idea where the church is located as you can see the Ambassador Bridge in the background. Today, the church is mostly Hispanic.

 Would like to go back and shoot the church from different perspectives and on all sides, including the back. Would also love to see the inside as well. We didn't have the time when we were there Wednesday.

Fun Day Out With Our Cameras

Had a great day in Detroit with Mary Jo and Barb. Thanks, Mary Jo for driving us about. First we stopped to see the Boblo boat (see below), then we went to Woodmere Cemetery, then on to Ste. Anne's. We finish up the day with lunch at Slows  https://www.facebook.com/SlowsBarBQ and then picked up some Mexican pastery at Le Gloria Bakery  .http://coredetroit.com/spot/la-gloria-bakery/
It was a great day out with our cameras.

Poor Boat

 Gone are the glory days of the Ste. Claire when she ferried so many to Boblo Island. Her sister ship, Columbia, was sold to someone in New York for restoration and was pulled through Lake Erie to it's destination. Many fun time were had on her decks. Every summer the boats would pick up hundreds in Detroit for a day at the amusement park. Boblo is no more and the park has been turned into luxury condos.
At one time there was a dock in Wyandotte, I believe, but in the '80 it was moved to Gibraltar. My kids have many great memories of spending the day on the island. The dock was a short walk down the road (North Gibraltar) to the dock at Humbug Marina. My daughter, especially remembers going there with friends and the boat ride was half the fun. Feel so bad to see this boat in such a sorry condition.

Got this off of the internet so not sure who to credit for the art work and photo. This is what the      Ste. Claire looked like at one time (thanks Amy)

Travels With Carol, Greece

 We started off our trip by spending several days in Athens where Susan and I explored the old city, the Acropolis and so on. After that we boarded our ship for a one week cruise of the Mediterranean with ports of call in Rhodes, Turkey, Crete, Patmos, Mykonos, and Santorini.  OMG, what beautiful, beautiful scenery. I will never forget that trip.....climbing to the top of a fortress in Rhodes (as seen in the picture above), it seemed every island required a climb to the top. Then there were the wonderful smell of wild herbs on Crete and of course the beautiful ruins of the Minoans....., so much history on all the islands...we walked the path of St. John on Ephesus, Turkey,.....and lastly the most beautiful place of all, Santorini. We were lucky enough to eat dinner on the patio of a restaurant overlooking the caldera there. We could see our ship anchored and watched as the sun set on this most beautiful scene. So lucky to have seen this wonderful place.
There were some funny stories to tell and I will also make a comment on the food....not crazy about Greek food but luckily on board the ship we had other choices. This is a funny one...on our way back from Turkey we were hoarded into a big room and as we sat on benches around 3 sides of the perimeter, we were served Turkish tea. Then, we were subjected to carpet salesmen in the middle of the room displaying large rugs. We were trapped! Finally, I said to Susan "Let's get out of here" and we walked over the rugs and out the door. Some of our group did buy carpets and had them shipped to the USA. What a sales technique. After seeing the ruins in Ephesus, we had to go thru a large bazaar to get to the bus. We were surrounded by vendors grabbing at us. I really wanted to shop but was afraid and just wanted to get out of there.

 There's Susan defending the castle ;-)

Me, in Ephesus, Turkey

 This was a beautiful restaurant on the island of Mykonos.  Another interesting story, while on the island we were looking for a public restroom. When we found it, there was a line and when I finally got in, there was just a hole in the ground!. Left and just held it until we got to a restaurant.

Beautiful Santorini. This is our ship, looking pretty small out there.....our view as the sun set. All of the photos that I took were with my 35 mm Pentax so these photos were scanned and the beauty was lost in the translation. I am so lucky to have such great memories of my travels.
Watch this page for more travel with me, Carol. Next Sicily!

Vacation Over

These are the last of my South Carolina Photos and now it feels like my vacation is officially over. I love all my ocean photos best.....wish that I was still there. Can't complain though, because the weather here in Michigan has been absolutely spectacular. The last two days.....fabulous!

From the fresh water side of the causeway

Rough seas..

Beautiful skies

Old Truck

Gardening

 I always feel so guilty when I drive by Planet Fitness but when I think of all my hard work and exercise from the last two days in the garden, I really have nothing to feel guilty about. Still have all my pots to do. Enjoyed the rest of the planting this morning despite the clouds and drizzle....birds were still singing. Hope to finish it all up tomorrow so I can move on to setting up my porches. I may actually be sitting out there Memorial Day weekend. Our parade is tomorrow.

Garlic Onion Chives

Getting it done

OK, so I want to be on the beach but my back yard is a pretty good place to be too. Got some planting done and was serenaded by a beautiful male Cardinal the whole time. Saw two House Wrens and they were singing as well. Hope that they are setting up a nest in my yard. All is well and life is awesome!