I have lived in and around the same town since I was in third grade, but there are still so many things left to discover and appreciate…
Due to A LOT of HEAVY rain a few weeks ago, my normal trek through the woods with the dog was just too muddy, so the paved path near what is simply called “The Mansion” at Ridley Creek State Park called to me. Can I just say–LIKE. WOW.
Especially with the misty air and moody tone of the afternoon, I felt like I was on the set of PBS Masterpiece Mystery, not just out for a walk with a Corgi….
The formal gardens, although a bit rough around the edges now, made my imagination run wild, thinking about what life must have been like here in the early 1900’s when this house was first built around an old existing stone farmhouse… 
You know, back before the Great Depression set in, when it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do to build such an amazing, grand, sprawling structure where only a humble, plain one had existed previously. I don’t know about the family’s fortunes, or how they were affected by the stock market crash and all of its aftermath. Thankfully this beautiful house survived…
as well as all of the open space around it. It is such a blessing to see the beautiful things that people can create …
and to know that other people that followed them saw the beauty in what was there, and made sure that it was preserved so that we all can enjoy it for generations to come. What a delight and blessing to stumble across a gem I knew so little about, right here in my own back yard.
