A Rose Is a Rose

Fellows Riverside Gardens, which surround the D.D. and Velma Davis Visitor & Education Center at Mill Creek Park, see more than 400,000 visitors each year, park officials say. By far, the most popular collection here is the Rose Garden.

Count us among them. In this scenic area, four groups of roses flourish, reaching peak blooms in May and June. The Visitor Center also hosts an annual rose show -- this year on June 21 and 22. So it was that with cameras in hand, my husband and I trekked to the park on the first day of the show to see what we could see. My interest is in macro photography, particularly of flowers -- and not only was I hoping to get some wonderful photos of show entries, it was possible that at least some of the buds we'd seen a couple week earlier in the Rose Garden would be in full bloom.

Quite honestly, the rose show was nothing to crow about. Last year, both the main and lower levels of the visitor center were filled with fragrant, colorful roses grown by members of the local rose-growers organization. This year, less than a handful of tables were set up, and the flowers weren't very impressive.

Ah, but our disappointment faded quickly when we walked the short distance to the Rose Garden. Oh my, oh my! We were greeted by a sea of pinks, reds, whites, yellows and just about everything in between. I felt like a cat in a sand dune; where should I go next?
After half an hour of snapping away with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel, a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and a handy dandy monopod, I'd amassed quite a collection (actually, I'd used more restraint than usual; at this point, I'd kept the total number of photos to under 100). Then, a park ranger asked visitors if they'd exit the garden for 5 minutes or so -- a wedding was about to take place (one of four scheduled on this day, he noted) -- and the processional was to move through the garden to a pavilion overlooking Lake Glacier for the ceremony. Of course, we all agreed, moving to the perimeter where we could watch the wedding party and snap a few shots of other lovely flowers, including yellow and orange Calla Lilies.

We didn't return to the Rose Garden, meandering instead around the rest of the gardens and taking some landscape photos (I'd just purchased a nearly pocket-sized Canon Powershot A590 8 megapixel point-and-shoot camera to replace a similar-sized Sony Cybershot that had developed a fungus on the interior of the lens and wanted to see how it performed). After all, we reasoned, the roses will be in bloom for most of the summer, and the drive is short enough that we won't need to sell our firstborn son to pay for the gas to get there.

From there, we drove through the park to the Lily Pond, where we found several gaggles of geese begging for scraps and, for a couple of minutes, the blue heron who nests at the edge of the pond entertained us as he searched for snacks under the cool green water. For the record, I'm fairly happy with the new Canon, although the lighting at the pond was less than ideal and most of the photos weren't all that great. Although the jury's still out, I think it will serve the purpose nicely -- a highly portable and effective all-purpose camera I can tote with me when the SLR is just too bulky and heavy. Hey, guess I'll just have to make a return trip to Mill Creek Park on a sunnier day!

Welcome to Mill Creek Park

Welcome to my blog about the expansive Mill Creek MetroParks, one of the largest municipally owned parks in the country. My husband Jack and I are fortunate to live about a 20-minute drive away from the system's primary property, Mill Creek Park, and we're frequent visitors -- it's one of our favorite parks in the country.

I'll start by telling you a bit about the park's background and what you'll find here; as we make other forays, I'll report on our experiences and show you more of the sights. I promise there will be plenty of forays; Mill Creek Park is a park for all seasons, and variety is the spice of life. In the spring, wildflowers are plentiful and planted gardens are filled with early blooms like tulips and crocuses. In summer, trees shade the trails and bright green moss covers the rocks and gorges. In winter, you're likely to find a blanket of pristine white snow covering the lakes and sprinkled in between trees and bushes.

It is fall, though, that provides the best photo opps -- who can resist the brilliant reds, golds and oranges of the changing foliage that signals the coming of winter in the Buckeye State?Located in Mahoning County, Ohio (near Youngstown), Mill Creek Park includes 15 miles hiking trails, of beautifully landscaped gardens, historic buildings, wetlands, lakes and recreation areas.

Established in 1891, the park itself encompasses about 2,600 acres; a 402-acre working farm, is located nearby, as is Yellow Creek Park, a 76-acre gorge area acquired by Mill Creek Metroparks in 1991.

One of the don't-miss attractions is the restored Lanterman's Mill, which operates today much as it did in the 1800s, grinding corn, wheat, buckwheat and oats that are sold in a small gift shop. The mill and adjacent covered bridge, situated in a scenic gorge, are perhaps the most photographed structures in the park. Other popular photo subjects are the historic Pioneer Pavilion and Log Cabin, the Newport Lake Wetlands (you can get great photos from just about anywhere along the wooden path that ends in an observation deck) and a couple of small waterfalls. At the Lily Pond, photographers can capture stacks of young turtles sunning themselves on logs in the water as well as colorful Mallard ducks and geese that are willing to stand still long enough -- up to a point -- to have their pictures taken.

One of the most unique structures, though, is a bridge that spans Mill Creek and is often called the "Cinderella Bridge" because of its ornate ironwork. While it is just one of several bridges located throughout the park, it's certainly the most photogenic.

Much of our time is spent at the D.D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center in Fellows Riverside Gardens. The beautiful building houses an auditorium, banquet hall, gift shop, cafe, library and exhibit space that often showcases works of art and photography by local artists, both amateur and professional. Even in winter, we stop in just to take in the wonderful view of Glacier Lake from the floor-to-ceiling library windows.

Fellowship Riverside Gardens, an 11-acre living museum, filled with flowers and plants, decorative fountains and two pavilions (one overlooking the scenic Lake Glacier) that in good weather are popular spots for weddings. The annual rose collection brings thousands of visitors here -- including me -- but I'm also a big fan of the spring display of tulips, crocus and, over the summer, some of the largest dahlias I've ever seen.

Also a big attraction is the Ford Nature Education Center, located in an old stone building. It’s open year-round and features exhibits and nature hikes -- in particular, on the one-mile "People's Trail" next to the center that is handicapped accessible.

The park is a nature-lovers’ delight; it is part of four watersheds: Yankee Creek, Mill Creek, Yellow Creek and Meander. At the southern end of the park is the scenic Newport Wetlands, home to a variety of plants, birds and animals. A quarter-mile wood walkway ends at an observation deck that overlooks several deep water pools from nearby Lake Newport.

Taking in the park can shoot most of a day – unless, of course, you decide to play a few rounds at one of two championship public golf courses designed by Donald Ross; then, you might want to allow some extra time. My husband doesn't play much golf these days, but he's played there often in the past and late last summer toured the course with the manager to take publicity photos.

Check back often -- I'll be writing about our experiences here and, hopefully, showing you some of the wonderful scenery as well. Meantime, if you'd like to see my ongoing collection of photos, visit my gallery at Zenfolio.