Winterthur Part 2

I took so many photos of Winterthur on Wednesday, I thought the outside photos needed their own blog post. Du Pont's woods were still beautiful despite the trees loosing most of their leaves and the slowly setting sun added a bit of magic to our late afternoon stroll. The photo above with the quote was the idea of my husband who wanted to make sure I gave him credit for the composition:)

A view of the mansion and pool. There are some 175 rooms in that big house!

 Beauty berry, I really need one of these bushes!

 Frog fountain in the Enchanted Woods.

 Beautiful koi still quite active despite the falling temps.

 My Zoe exiting the toadstool house.

What child wouldn't want one of these in their yard?



 I've loved this hippocampus sculpture since I was a child! I have a photo of me sitting on it when I was around 5 years old. My Aunt Frances has worked at Winterthur for over 25 years.

 Colorful leaves litter the forest floor.

Thought I would take a photo of this giant in black and white.

 

 This is the view du Pont wanted to 'keep open forever'.

One of my favorite sites in all the world!

My daughter finds herself a walking stick.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have a few porcelain ornaments that I will be hand painting horses on and selling through Ebay. Keep checking my auctions to see what's listed. they make excellent gifts and no two are ever the same.

Printed porcelain ornaments are available through Cafepress for only $8.50!

Click here to see my designs.

Escape to the beach...

I was getting tired of my old burg this week and felt the need to smell some sea air and jump in the ocean. On a whim we decided to pick up my husband's mom and head down to the shore in Delaware.
I hadn't been to Cape Henlopen in a few years so that's where we decided to go. It's a lovely little state park, cheap to get in and very family friendly.
I absolutely love the beach and if I won the lottery, I would buy a house at the shore immediately:)
Here are just a few photos (can you guess, I'm a big fan of sea gulls).





Whoa, that's a lot of pelicans. I don't remember seeing pelicans at the beach when I was a kid. Maybe I didn't know what they were. I see them all the time now.

I won't be blogging much in the next week. My sister is getting married tomorrow and we're going on a mini vacation to visit and old friend in Oneonta, NY. I think it will be the first time my daughter gets to see mountains, how fun!
Take care, Jen :^)

Winterthur

Well, I took the day off from painting to go to Winterthur. Oh, who am I kidding, I haven't been painting much. Too nice outside and I love having my teacher/husband home for the summer. So much to do and see! I am working on a medieval unicorn tapestry inspired welcome sign I should have near completion tomorrow.

Okay, back to Winterthur! My Aunt has worked there for 31 years and I have just discovered this year what a great place it is. I would recommend a visit in the spring when the wildflowers or azaleas are blooming. Today was a wonderful day but very humid. My Aunt brought her daughters, my cousins, with her to work today so we had a very nice time.



I love this vista. I've probably posted a picture of this before but I would die to live right here! I want to make a painting of it someday.


Froggy went a-courtin'.


I think I met this guy on my last visit. Doesn't seem to mind a camera shoved in his face.


In the Enchanted Woods, a fairy tree!


Outside the fairy house.


Inside the main fairy house. I wish I could build this in my yard. The details are wonderful. Like the Snow White cottage. Hand carved kid size furniture with woodland creatures.



I have a photo of me on this seahorse as a child. I think he may inspire another painting!


A rock face tucked away in a secret spot in the Enchanted Woods.


A summer blooming azalea? I didn't know they exsisted. It was called a plum leaf azalea.

Celebrate Earth Day at Winterthur

My Mom, daughter and I went to meet my aunt yesterday where she has worked for the last 30 years, Winterthur. I haven't been there since I was a small child so I forgot how nice it is. So I thought I would share some of my photos today to celebrate Earth Day.
As their website says, Winterthur is "A wonderland for garden lovers.". Winterthur is near Wilmington, DE and was the country estate of Henry Francis du Pont. It sits on close to 1,000 acres and has 60 acres of gardens including a children's fairy tale garden called the Enchanted Woods.
I suppose many people go to Winterthur to see the collections of early American furniture, soup tureens and needlework but I was there to see the woodlands and gorgeous wildflowers (my new favorite is Virginia Bluebells).

Here are just a few of my favorite photos. Click on each photo to see a larger image.


Waterfalls and woodland ponds galore!


Pretty little stream with primrose.


Fairy house in the enchanted garden.


Friendly little snake.


Sparrow takes a bath.


I could sit here all day...


I want this tree!


Too many frogs to count. My mom pet one.


Huge koi followed us around the pond.


My new favorite flower.


Fields of daffodils planted everywhere.


Cute little chipmunk says hello!