St. Francis of Assisi among the Hydrangeas

I love this time of year when my gorgeous pink hydrangeas
put on a beautiful show!  These are the easiest bushes I have ever grown.

I purchased them at the end of August in 2011 and they have performed for me amazingly
ever single year since then. They have very tiny and delicate florets that make up each flower
so they are definitely different than most hydrangeas.
They are certainly a show stopper!

I paid $5 each for huge bushes at the end of the season and I wish I had purchased
every single one of them. I went on a hunt for more this year and haven't found
any yet.

Don't you just love them in my metal Basil basket? 

I also added a few in this cement piece and it added the perfect punch of color.

St. Francis of Assisi hanging out in the middle of the beauty. I also have another St. Francis statue
that is cement and I love them both.

My daughter gave me this statue as a birthday gift or Mothers Day several years ago.
I don't remember which. lol

I looked up St. Francis of Assisi and here is what I learned. He was the patron Saint of animals.
I am sure you knew that as did I, but I also found out more information some of which
 I didn't know.

"He was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the church by taking the gospel
literally-not in a narrow fundamentalist sense , but in actually following all that Jesus
said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a mite of self-importance"...

"From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano , Christ told him,
"Francis , go out and build up my house , for it is nearly falling down".
Francis became the totally poor and humble workman."

He was never ordained into the Catholic priesthood, but he is one of the most venerated
religious figures in history.
His father was a prosperous silk merchant and Francis led the high-spirited life of  a
typical wealthy young man even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war
in 1204 Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for
worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter's
Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty.

Very interesting! I didn't type it all so if you want to read the whole story you can
click here and here or just google St Francis of Assisi.

Have a beautiful Thursday!

Historical Church Tour...St Joseph's Shrine

I picked up a couple of flyers for driving tours and we set out on Sunday to see what we could find.
One was a fall colors driving tour and the other was a historical church driving tour . Truthfully we
strayed from the fall colors tour because it was a bust and we found much more color on our own.

This was the neatest church on the historical church tour. We have passed by this place many
 times over the years when we would drive north to visit our daughter, but we had never stopped.

  All I can say is WOW...you would never know all this beauty existed beyond the road!

I will let the photos speak for themselves...{at least most of the time}

Pretty breathtaking so far... 

I fell in love with this door

Yours truly on one of the paths

We were just in awe walking through this courtyard. You would never know all this {and MORE} is here
 because you walk down a sidewalk at the back of the church and then descent a very long and steep
staircase to the lakeside below where all these statues and stone work are located. AMAZING! {and I
didn't include all the photos}

I hope you enjoyed your brief tour today.
Blessings~