Sunday, October 30, 2016

Dunham Tavern (10/30/2016)

Sunday, October 30, 2016
Dunham Tavern is the oldest building still on its original site in Cleveland.
Dunham House and Tavern (1824 with additions, including the
1842 tavern on the left side) that belonged to Rufus and Jane Dunham

Dunham Tavern was a stop on the
Buffalo-Cleveland-Detroit Road, a stagecoach route,
now Euclid Avenue
Flower garden
A silhouette that more resembles punting on the Thanes!
Outbuildings
A replica of the1840s Dunham Tavern Barn
 (2000, after a fire of the original in 1963)
A log cabin from Virginia, but in the same style the Dunhams
would have lived in when they arrived from Massachusetts in 1819
Working in the vegetable garden
Pepper plant
Companion planting with beans and corn
From Chester Avenue behind this display, the horses look real!
Garden and orcahrd
Fascinating seed pods of the Clematis terniflora/
Sweet Autumn Clematis
Photos were not allowed during the tour of the interior of Dunham Tavern, and we spent nearly an hour-and-a-half there!
The Dunhams sold the property in 1853 and it continued to operate as a tavern until 1857 when it was sold to be used as a private home. Several owners later, it was slated to be torn down like most of the mansions along Millionaire's Row on Euclid Avenue.  A. Donald Gray, a Cleveland landscape artist, purchased Dunham Tavern in 1932. He restored much of the 19th century architecture and replanted the orchard. For a time in the 1930s the tavern served as a studio for WPA artists and printmakers.
Gray helped establish the Society of Collectors in the early 1930s, and when Gray was no longer able to maintain the property, the Society took responsibility in 1936 and opened Dunham Tavern as a museum in 1941.
Our tour guide told us that it was essentially two women, Roberta Holden Bole (who also helped found Holden Arboretum) and Delia Bulkeley White (wife of Windsor T White of the White Motor Company) who saved the tavern from the wrecking ball. Apparently they held a major fundraiser in 1938 to benefit Dunham Tavern. It seems Mrs. White was instrumental in getting donations of period furniture and other household items. (Oh, my gosh, in my research I just discovered that Roberta and Delia were sisters!)
The tour included explanations of all the household conveniences of the 19th century, including origins of the phrases "Pop goes the weasel" and "Sleep tight." Something I hadn't seen before were the candle holders that could be adjusted from floor or table level to a height of about 2 feet.
Dunham Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1974.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

New Trail in Bedford Reservation (10/29/2016)

Saturday, October 29, 2016
A new trail was opened in Bedford Reservation a little over a week ago; the Forbes Crossing Trail. Some of the wood used was from downed trees, and a portion of the wood was processed at the Cleveland Metroparks Brecksville sawmill.
Autumn colors are late this year
on the Forbes Woods Ridge Trail, where
nature has taken over the old Forbes Dairy
One end of the new Forbes Crossing Trail
between Forbes Road and Hawthorne Parkway
A Dolichovespula maculata/Barefaced Hornet's nest
Dew drops
Leaf-covered stream
Fall leaves and bracket mushrooms 
One of two fiberglass trail bridges
with Gus and Kent
Trying to find more autumn colors
Kent and Gus on the curvy boardwalk
What?! With all these bridges and
we still had to ford a stream!
A log bridge
Woody vines
Two different burls
Gus and Kent on another trail bridge
A polka-dotted maple leaf
The "Claw" reaches out of the ground...
The entrance to something's home
Puff mushrooms
A wheelchair accessible picnic table
at the Forbes Woods Picnic Area
Back at home, the Blushing Bride Hydrangeas
decorate the large green-glass sake jar
from the Grandparents Ss
Yikes! Kent found two of these snakes with
viper-looking heads: one in a window well, and
 one while raking the back yard; this is a juvenile
Storeria dekayi/Northern Brown Snake,
about 15-18 inches long; apparently juvenile snake
necks are skinny and make the head look triangular!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Brecksville Reservation Redux (10/23/2016)

Sunday, October 23, 2016
Another couple sections of the Emerald Necklace of Cleveland Metroparks, first the Brecksville Reservation.
A large millstone made from stone quarried in the area
This is the Harriet Keeler Shelterhouse (1928)
that is the oldest in the Cleveland Metroparks;
it was built with sandstone and wood found within the park
Fallen maple leaves underfoot
On the Hemlock Loop Trail, a rocky ridge
A glimpse of Chippewa Creek,
a tributary of the Cuyahoga River
These black drubes appear to be Raccoon-grapes
or Ampelopsis cordata
Once again at the Harriet Keeler Memorial
Next was the hike through the Harriet Keeler Memorial Woods on the Wildflower Loop Trail.
A large glade of Vinca minor/Periwinkle
A short detour on the Prairie Loop Trail.
The Prairie Observation Deck (1986),
a gift of The Kiwanis Club of Cleveland
A view of the prairie; it seems springtime is the best time to visit
Stone drinking fountain
Kent checks out the Brecksville Nature Center
Sitta carolinensis/White-breasted Nuthatch
Poecile atricapillus/Black-capped Chickadee
Mini-amphitheater
"For Smilin' Dan, The Nature Man"
On our way to Bedford Reservation, we passed the County Line Saloon, but not any county lines!
The County Line Saloon dive bar
In the Bedford Reservation we followed the Buckeye Trail markers which coicided with the Bridal Trail.
Not a horse hoof print!
A large patch of Equisetum hyemale/Scouring Rush
(they look like dark green spikes) (KSS)
Scouring rush up close (KSS)
We have made it around the connected Emerald Necklace of Cleveland Metroparks, but there are other scattered parks still to visit.