But first:
Don't forget to tie something blue around the necks of your fur kids and take a picture. Email them to me and I'll post all the pictures on June 10. Don't wait, do it today.
Now, back to the tour.
Springfield is not a lovely city. I have lived in places that were. Myrtle Beach with the Atlantic Ocean always in sight, Baltimore-DC with the monuments and gardens and street art, Syracuse with statues and the remnants of the Erie Canal. They were all exciting and beautiful areas. I'm afraid Springfield falls short in a number of ways.
Leaving our house, this is the group that meets us at the corner. There is a similar group on the other side of our fence, but I can't get a good photo of them. The fence is too high to see them well.
This is our view as we drive toward the city limits of Springfield.
About two miles from our house is the fairgrounds. There are events there almost every weekend all year. The hot rod show was there two weeks ago and next week there will be a miniature donkey show. I hope to get there to get some pictures. Our dog obedience trial is there in October and there is an all breed dog show in November.
Next door to the fairgrounds is the zoo. We are members and stop by often. It's fun on a pleasant summer day to stroll through the zoo and chat with the animals. There is also a small cafe where we stop for a cool drink. These wind socks are strung all along the cafe roof.
The roses are currently in bloom and you can find them everywhere. This house is about three blocks from ours and has a lovely display. We have one straggly rose bush that so far doesn't have a single bud.
There are two of these waterfalls. They are on either side of the driveway to a hotel complex. I am very tempted to take Norma Jean by there and let her play in the water. I'm sure she couldn't resisit the fast moving water for very long.
More roses live near the waterfalls. I'm sure they appreciate the humidity from the moving water.
This huge globe is pretty impressive. It's one of the few pieces of public sculpture on this side of town.
Ziggies, of course, is the restaurant where we visit with our friend Brendan and try his new recipes. They have breakfast all day as well as daily specials.
This is a twofer, a visit to the library and a cup of coffee at Panera.
This is our new library. The old one was small and dark and had a dismal selection of books. The new one opened a few years ago, has big open spaces and is bright and cheerful. We go there often.
Panera is attached to the library and offers hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, salads and of course pastries. We enjoy stopping in after a trip to the library and sipping a mocha.
Around the corner from Panera is Hobby Lobby. It's the only place on this side of town to get crafting materials. I buy most of my materials online, but in case of an emergency, such as running out of a certain color of floss halfway through a project, or matching ribbon, Hobby Lobby is the place to go.
Next door to Hobby Lobby is Pet Warehouse. Again this is an emergency backup place to go when we need a pet item fast. We get most of our dogfood at Petsmart on the other side of town and I buy supplies either from All Creatures or online.
Speaking of All Creatures, no tour would be complete without a stop there. Hardly a week goes by that we aren't there for something, at best to pick up supplies, at worst with a sick dog. The staff there is always friendly and helpful and they go out of their way to help us.
Now we're getting close to home again. Here's the lonely pony. He lives at the end of the block
and spends every day all year in this big field all by himself. During bad weather he gets up close to the barn to escape the rain or the hot sun. The rest of the time he wanders around grazing. It feels like he needs a friend.
That's my side of town and the places we frequent.
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