It's that time of year!  Time to start training for spring rides.   Sunny winter weekends are perfect for this.  The Flint Hills Trail at Council Grove is ideal for a long Saturday bike ride.  Enjoy all the comforts of home and relax in our beautiful guesthouse with complimentary hot breakfast.  The veranda's are perfect for this too.  The merchants on main street are super friendly and enjoy meeting all those who visit town.  So many unique and wonderful things and works of art.  Plan to take some time to getaway to a place that is quiet, safe and friendly.  Enjoy the sunsets on the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway and remember the Tallgrass National Preserve is open all year around and we are too.   We offer our special 4 Season Getaway and a free fourth visit.  You will be glad you did!

Our guests enjoy this favorite place.  The front porch of Spring Street.   In the evenings it is delightful to listen to the band playing down the street at the Ireland Football Field.  It is a wonderful place to listen and to enjoy all the hummingbirds sipping on the Rose of Sharon's that decorate the front.  You may also notice the 12' tall sunflowers.  

This week I learned the Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus plant.  They typically are white and pink.  Lavender and blue are not as common.  Our Rose of Sharon's seem to to be lavender on the south side but in the shade of the giant elm tree.  I am on the lookout for Rose of Sharon's that are genetically lavender.  Rose of Sharon's are great propagators.  In the Fall I love to use a sharp shooter to transplant them. 

Planning on more at Spring Street.  It is such a joy to make garden plans.  Dreaming of the native grass area for next year and plans to encourage them, sunflowers along the inner edge, coneflowers on the outer edge.  

Hope everyone had a good week.  Hope to see you soon at Spring Street Retreat.  We offer the 4 Season Getaway and the 4th visit is free.  We also often offer free breakfast on weekends.  We also are a guesthouse all week long.   Have a great weekend!  Enjoy this wonderful time of year.

January is a special retreat month.  These weekends are created to  gather your friends who enjoy learning and doing what you enjoy doing.   We have a special January weekend rate of $400 plus local taxes.  10 maximum.  Includes Friday and Saturday night.  It is a guesthouse with no breakfast provided.  And a  $100 cleaning deposit.   This is refundable if you provide the housekeeping.  We have a few suggested retreats.  But you are welcome to plan your own.  Spring Street is the perfect retreat house.  Unique comfortable  and large.  We have a breakfast table for 10 perfect for coffee and chatting each morning.  Our living area and craft room are wonderful for working and creating.  The Tallgrass Preserve and main street are ideal for getting a little exercise too.  Our friendly merchants love to visit with guests. 

Please call today to schedule your weekend  retreat 316-393-3194.

I cannot be more excited for this beautiful time of year and the neat things happening in the Flint Hills.  This Saturday Pioneer Bluffs is hosting a concert at 2:00.  Guests will get to hear the songs of Patsy Cline by Kim Coslett.  It will be a wonderful afternoon on this historic and beautiful farm and ranch.  Also nearby at the McBride studio and at the Rural School for Culture and Creativity there is a 1:00 talk and a 3:00 poetry reading.  It would be perfect to pack your picnic and enjoy an afternoon and this wonderful time of year.  

And then the next Saturday Symphony in the Flint Hills has organized a great musical event for the whole family.  Activities and meals provided  for a great day of camp and music.  It is a great deal.  The location is perfect at Camp Wood located just west at Elmdale.     Here is a picture of this beautiful camp.  The day concludes with music by the campfire.  

We have guest rooms available so please call me to put your name on a guest room  316-393-3194 or email [email protected].

Please join us for a perfect weekend getaway to our unique and beautiful home.  The perfect weekend includes a Friday afternoon drive on scenic 177.  Evening sunset.  Music on main street.  Rest in a spacious guest rooms with  king size bed.  All the comforts of home.  Hot breakfast in the morning.  Coffee on the veranda.  Visit with  merchants on main street.  Delicious local restaurant lunch.  Hike the Tallgrass Preserve to Sunset.  Another amazing meal at one of the numerous restaurants in the area.  I  am happy to share all the options.  Time to rest and relax.  French toast, bacon and sausage ready the next morning.  Several local church options.  Return to your life refreshed and ready for a great week ahead!  Thank you for being a Fan of our FB page.  Please remember to check in with us every season for a great Weekend Getaway.

At Spring Street we have a library to share.  A Weekend Getaway is a  perfect place and time  to read a book.  You can take a book along to a  scenic overlook, or the fishing lake,  or on your picnic,  or your hike for when you stop to rest.  One of our books is the Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge a long time and well known counselor and author.  He writes about ways to navigate current culture.  He suggests between appointments and meetings to take a "One Minute Pause" for the transition needed in order to be ready for the next thing.  This will be of help physically and emotionally to handle a busy schedule.  I am choosing 2 affirmation statements for myself and actually adding them to my calendar at 2 predetermined times that I need to make a transition each day.  This one minutes includes a deep inhale and my  affirmation and then exhale and another  affirmation.  He would suggest this instead of checking social media and emails during these times.  Give yourself these positive affirmations each day and you will be glad.  

We have many Weekend Getaway times available.  So please call 316-393-3194 to reserve your Weekend Getaway.  I am happy to help you.  

Wishing every mother a happy day.  A mother's love is an amazing thing.  I am so thankful for all the moms who have loved with all their hearts.  You make such a difference in this world.  We are not perfect, but we try to do the best we can.   And then our children can do even better.  

We are hosting Mother's Day Teas for the first time.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon we will be offering a tea at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 each afternoon.  This includes a tour of our unique guesthouse and B &B.  

I will be serving tea sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggies, cheese and crackers and tea cookies.   Please call to reserve your time 316-393-3194.  You can also inquire by email.  The cost is $20 per person.  
Happy Mother's Day!

Hot breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning and coffee of course!  Our breakfast table seats 10 and it is a joy and privilege to get to hear about each hometown.  Saturday morning is typically fresh fruit, yogurt and granola and breakfast sandwiches for those excited to get to the trails at the Tallgrass Preserve.  Our guests love the sunsets each evening.  And, visiting with the merchants on main street.  There is an amazing collection of unique items, antiques, collectibles, gifts and artwork.  
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Sunday morning french toast is prepared fresh and hot off the griddle along with sausage and bacon.  We serve this with lot's of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.  Also fruit salad and our homemade granola. 

Guests are welcome to linger on the back deck or front porch at any time.  Anything in the refrigerator is for our guests.  Fresh vegies, cheese and crackers.

The hills are stunning as they are turning brilliant green before our eyes.  It is delightful to see and experience.  Call me soon 316-393-3194 to reserve your Weekend Getaway and enjoy all the comforts of this  amazing restored and  unique home in the Flint Hills. 

It looks like that even despite all the windy days much of the prescribed burning has been accomplished.  The blackened hills are greening before our eyes.  The soon brilliant green will emerge.  It is always a beautiful sight to see.  The hungry cattle will be eating the fresh native grasses very soon. 

Our Weekend Getaways are perfect for enjoying the sunsets at the Preserve or the dam hike at the Chase State Fishing Lake, or the outlook just south of Cottonwood Falls.  They also offer time to enjoy driving scenic 177.  Hiking the Tallgrass preserves 40 miles of hiking trails is a ritual that many enjoy.  The visitor center looks like it is very close to completion and the restoration of the Spring Hill Ranch house is wonderful.  It is wonderful to see this American heritage being maintained so well.    

Last Saturday was so fun chatting and knitting at Prairie PastTimes.  Emily the volunteer artist that day is so good about being available for the customers and those who want to bring their project and enjoy the company.  PrairiePastTimes and all of main street is a "must enjoy" to meet all the friendly merchants and see all the unique things plus a great western store.

This next weekend there are many special things happening.  Sewing at community center, Hebrews Saturday evening music, and a revival at the Flint Hills Community Church.  Pastor Dave has invited guest speakers and is planning a Friday evening community dinner at 5:30,  Saturday evening community meeting and ice cream at 7, and Sunday morning and Sunday evening  at 6:00 singing and praise service. 

Please call soon (316)393-3194  to reserve your Weekend Getaway.  Have a great week!

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​I am learning there are many Weekend Weddings coming to our area.  The local venues provide a unique and beautiful setting in the quiet and peaceful Flint Hills.  Sunset weddings are spectacular.

At Spring Street Retreat we especially love  to help host these happy occasions as do all the other lodging options that you can find at www.heartoftheflinthills.org.

Hopefully you are noticing what a beautiful time of year it is here in Kansas.  Flowering pear, red-bud, crab-apples, forsythia, wild dogwood, daffodils  and still looking  forward to the tulips and iris.   

What a perfect time to be out and about exploring nature.  I cannot say enough about the red-buds as they grow wild along the way.  The winds have calmed as we still await the rains.  We had a mild winter.  There were not many weeks that the afternoon temps did not reach into the 40-50 degrees.  Still hoping for May flowers after the April showers. 

The cardinals are singing all around at Spring Street Retreat.  Property owners are out enjoying the fine weather as they are picking up fallen limbs, clearing away remaining leaves, sorting through their garages for things they do not need and can give away or throw away. Homeowners are finding handymen to add a new front door and railing to their front porches and set out their out door furniture to enjoy.  They say the "The front door tells a lot about the home".  

In case of a late winter freeze, I like to fill the front porch pots first and they can be easily protected.  I have started adding lettuce seeds to these arrangements.

I keep spray bottles ready for weed control.  Weed control on the lawn and and vegetation control on non-grass areas.  It seems regardless of rain the weeds appear.

As any new habit you wish to gain it is best to figure out how to keep it simple and make it easier to do.  

Please call soon to schedule your Weekend Getaway (316)393-3194 or [email protected] to email us is perfect.  Visit our website www.springstreetcwf.com to see all our beautiful guestrooms and verandas.