BITTERSWEET -THE HUNT IS ON!

I have been looking for 

REAL BITTERSWEET 

for the last 2 or 3 years.

I have scoured every country road

for miles with no success.

I have even hunted along 

Interstate 43!

My Hero wonders who in their 

RIGHT MIND

looks for BITTERSWEET along a

major highway.

I do. I do. I do.

I do because I want a wreath like this one!

source
Sadly my own wreath looks
NOTHING LIKE THE ONE above.
They, apparently,  found the
MOTHER LODE of bittersweet plants!

A while ago MyHero and I took a drive

along country roads North of where we live.
After driving aimlessly for 
about an hour and a half
Suddenly MyHero said:

 I think we need to head back to

THE MAIN ROAD, Diana!

I said- Just one more road?(pleadingly)

He said- NO- LET'S HEAD HOME!

sigh

So...I turned up the next side road and

headed to the main highway....

searching fence and field for 

BITTERSWEET.

The next day while he was at work

I retraced my steps route.

When I got to the place I had turned off

I kept going straight.

Yep!

You guessed it!

About a MILE down the road I found it!

I found
BITTERSWEET!

Let me tell you- 

It is a mess in the wild...and invasive..

BUT  I love it.

Sadly, American bittersweet is becoming scare

because they have sprayed 
and rooted it out almost to 

extinction in a lot of areas.

But I found enough to use a few sprigs of it
here and there.

I made 2 wreaths from the bit I found.
It's a devil to work with-
wiry and not very pliable.

I also tied a few small branches together
to tie onto the trellis beside our garage
that supports clematis in the warm months.

I love BITTERSWEET so much
that my good friend, Carol, had a
watercolor of
BITTERSWEET
commissioned for me by local artist-
Lois Christenson of Door County.
She painted it for my 50th birthday.
When Carol called her Lois asked
WHAT KIND OF PERSON
wants a painting of BITTERSWEET?
Carol said- Diana does!
Lois said- Well, I should have KNOWN!
It'll be a gift from BOTH OF US then.
And it was.
Sadly, Lois died almost 4 years ago.
Not only was she talented she had a 
wicked sense of humor.

RIP, Lolo...

This hangs in our lower hallway
year round because
I LOVE IT!

You know what ELSE I love?
Ingenious ideas!
Remember in the past I showed you
MyHero in his suspenders
that he wears to keep his pants up?

Well, I found some GREAT suspender ideas at 
WALMART of all places.
LOOK!

And here, my friend,
is a close up for your viewing pleasure.

And....as they say at WALMART
"Have a nice day".