Weather Rebound

I was just thinking the other day that a lot of us just aren't ready for the colder temperatures yet.  And again, I was chastising myself for not spending more time outdoors when I had the chance.

We have a chance to redeem ourselves, my blog friends!!  Monday is going to be gorgeous.  I'm going to get myself outside and DO something for sure.  One rather sad but necessary task is to pull the annuals in my planter boxes and another planter on the deck.  Then put things away like my little angel that graces the backyard so very well.  She looks uncomfortable out there when it's in the 40s.

It's going to be in the 70s!  Wow.  I mean, you could potentially wear shorts, but that just seems ridiculous. 

So the last couple of days has been pretty rough, hasn't it?  The situation in Canada and then in the streets of New York and now another case of Ebola.  If it isn't terrorists, then it is micro-terrorists.
All of us are becoming more literate in the whys and wherefores of a disease that disappears for a time and then reappears -- and no one seems to know for sure how other than it is in Africa. 

Today we'll talk about Hartville, Ohio, a charming little village in Stark County, Ohio with a population hovering at about 3,000 in the 2010 Census.  Of course, that doesn't include the area surrounding Hartville which has grown exponentially in the last so many years.  That area is called Lake Township. 

You know, the crazy thing is that it isn't all that easy to get the actual history of Hartville, like why it was settled and all of that.  But there was definitely a lot of farming in the area and there is a farm elevator company still in operation there -- and they sell great bird seed too.  Driving around the oldest section of Hartville is fun in itself or just getting out and taking a walk would be nice.  Some of the buildings are obviously very old, dating from the 1800s.  There are mom and pop stores to be visited and enjoyed.

Then if you want to see a little more of that kind of thing, you can venture just past the Hartville Elevator Company and go down the road a bit to Quail Hollow State Park.  It is just beautiful and you can tour the lovely home there.  They have trick or treat too!  I think you can find all you might want to know about Quail Hollow online, and also check out the bog.  It must be a little like the Jackson bog with plants that have managed to survive for a long, long time.

When people think of Hartville today, the first thing tends to be the Hartville Kitchens, Hartville Marketplace, Hartville Flea Market, Hartville Collectibles, Hartville Hardware -- and now they are building a beautiful hotel on the site.  They are obviously going to market Hartville for the kind of visitors that come from far enough away that they want to stay overnight and do it again the next day!

One thing you won't see most like is the Hartville Tool Company, which is a spin-off of the hardware store.  We get all of our wood at Hartville and my son got the wood for his deck there.  They are nice to work with and very efficient.  The hardware store is quite large and has an inventory that includes a lot of unusual items, not to mention a whole house in the middle of it.

For us, visiting Hartville is a good day.  The last time we went, we visited the hardware store first to get some items we needed and then went to the kitchens for lunch.  Good food!  Not cheap, but very good and make sure to take time to check out the amazing artwork on the wall of the kitchens where people wait their turn.  You'll want to take a good, long look at each one because they are just beautiful.

The drive to Hartville is also lovely and I look forward to that part of it just as much.  There is a reason why so many people have moved to the area.

Have a wonderful day.  I hope we can learn to adjust to this different world we live in today without getting jaded, negative, and hateful.  Pray for the two policemen!!