Non Nobus Solum

Unseasonably cool weather in the mid-60s and rain have made the last few days seem more like spring than summer. But that didn't stop us from going to the farmer's market at Stan Hywet Hall this afternoon. Of course, it was another good opportunity for me to play with my camera.Stan Hywet was built by F.A. Seiberling, founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He named his company after Charles Goodyear, the inventor of the vulcanization process for rubber. It was1898, the turn of the twentieth century, and the Industrial Age was forming modern America where cities grew and industries flourished. Akron, Ohio was no exception.Like many of his industrialist peers, F.A. Seiberling had architectural aspirations. Between 1912 and 1915, he and his wife, Gertrude, built their country estate and named it “Stan Hywet” (Old English for stone quarry), the property’s most prominent natural feature. While European country houses were based on generations of title and wealth, the American country estates were built by self-made financial giants (think Vanderbilt’s Biltmore, Rockefeller’s Kykuit, and Hearst’s San Simeon).In 1957, the Seiberling family donated Stan Hywet to a non-profit organization so that the public could enjoy it. Above the Manor House entryway, the crest bearing the motto Non Nobis Solum (Not for Us Alone), welcomes guests as warmly today as it did a century ago.Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is Akron’s only National Historic Landmark. I have been to the manor house a few times, but this was the first time I have had the chance to walk (in a small part of) the gardens.

This shot makes me think of Cinderella running home from the ball.
That should be a shoe in the background, not a sippy cup, though!

Grace looks like such a big girl in this photo.
Notice how she has her finger dangling from the pocket of her jeans.
I look at this pose and think "(bored) teenager". Here Kyle was showing Grace a bumble bee.
She sings a song at daycare about a bumble bee so she
put her hand out like the movements of the song.
Good thing it didn't land in her hand!On the grounds there is a temporary art exhibit called "Barkitecture"

- designer dog houses! You can see one on the right side of this photo. If Grace sees a slide she automatically thinks it is for her.
But this jungle gym was made for dogs! She didn't seem to mind and
was proud that she could climb up the "wall" alone!