Friday, December 28, 2007

Around the county

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day here, up near 60 degrees. DH and I took advantage of it and went for a ride. Even in winter, with no foliage, there is beauty. We laughed about collecting "blog fodder"(feed)! We live right on the edge of our small town but less than 5 or 10 minutes away we have some beautiful mountains and farmland. I've showed you here that I can walk out on my front porch and see the mountains but I thought you might enjoy more views.

You will notice that one of my favorite things to photograph is old barns.

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This picture is an old swinging bridge which once led to the old house across the creek. There is a door on the bridge. I don't get it!! Maybe to keep people from crossing when it started to get run down??

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This creek always looks so inviting to wade across in summer but not in the winter! Brrr!

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Old country stores like this are almost completely a thing of the past.

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An old mill dam. It is flowing good right now but during the dry summer we had it only had a little trickle of water.

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I never tire of looking at the mountains especially when the sun is just on their peaks.

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Another old barn on the hillside.

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There are a lot of hillside farms in the area. The cows in the distance look like black specks.

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I love how the clouds make shadows on the mountains.

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I've mentioned to you before how it saddens me to see old houses long ago abandoned. Notice the outhouse in this picture. I think I've mentioned those before too!

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Here's another swinging bridge with a door!! Painted red??? I think this one might be privately owned. All the swinging bridges around here use to be state maintained but they are becoming a thing of the past too.

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Here are two favorites together..an old barn AND a corn crib! If you notice, there are mountains in the background of just about every photo!

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An old tractor inside:

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The only remains of an old homestead:

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This one is a beauty!

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A house nestled in this little valley:

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This is Dave's shadow puppet of a duck...but no shadow!! :o He's a nut!

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Back home again to our little town which you can see was also built on a hillside :)

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We enjoyed our ride and hope you enjoyed it too. Dave says he will be happy to give private tours (for a fee, of course) if anyone is interested!! The shadow duck show will be included in the fee.

9 comments:

Karen H. said...

Good Afternoon Hope,
Bout time you put up a post. LOL. I've had mine up for hours now. LOL. I had to get up at 6:15a.m. to start me a pot of coffee and call hubby at 6:30a.m. to wake him up. I just got thru talking to him and he is in Fort Smith,AR waiting to get loaded. The people are on a lunch break now. Hopefully, he will be home tonight. It was so good to talk to you on the phone last night. I really enjoyed it very much. "THANK YOU" for giving me a call and taking the time to call me. I loved all of your photo's you took yesterday. They are just beautiful. Up thar in them thar hills. LOL. Girl, I don't do the swinging bridges either. LOL. Those and flying and being skeered of heights just ain't my cup of tea. LOL. I know, I'm a big ole baby. LOL. I love Dave's duck shadow. That is just too cute. I remember when I was alot younger we would make shadows with our hands and fingers. Those were the days. "THANK YOU" for taking us on your ride with you seeing the beautiful country up in your neck of the woods. I enjoyed it sitting here on flat grounds. LOL. I loved the Red Barn picture. I think that is my favorite of them all. That would sure be pretty painted and made into a picture. I can't paint unless it's by numbers or colors. LOL. Oh well, I'm just a Southern Ole Gal who can't do didly sqat. LOL. Take care my friend and have a great Friday. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Anonymous said...

I my gosh. I love those pictures so much. I have begged my hubby to move there. I love the feel of peace when we come through there. What style home do you live in?

Talk..to..Grams said...

I loved your photo's!! Thanks for sharing them with us! My goodness I have not heard the words corn crib for years!! We had one when I was little girl on a farm in Iowa! I loved seeing the bridges and the barns!!
Love and Hugs Grams

Peggy said...

I loved the ride with you! Thanks for sharing

Lib said...

Hi Hope,
I "shore" enjoyed my Blog foddger.;o)
You sure have some Beautiful country up your way.
Thanks for the tour!I even enjoyed Dave's Duck .lol :o)
Hope, we're just gonna have to get Mix.Karen H. up here in the hills .lol
Blessins',, Lib

Miss Rhea said...

Wow, it is so pretty where you live !! Do you get snow ? I think Dave's Duck is priceless. And must be included in all tours. lol. Does he do other animals ? lol Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, thanks for all of your sweet posts. :)

Charmingdesigns said...

Hi, Im new to your blog. Wonderful photos! Im suprised how much it looks like Oregon. Well, nice to meetcha. Laurie

Karen H. said...

Good Mornin' Hope,
I've been knockin' on your door for a couple of hours now trying to come in where it's warm and have some coffee. I guess your still layin up in that warm bed of yours. LOL. I'll check back later.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Mom. Jennifer and I loved your tour. Uncle Dave's duck was awesome. He is so talented! Be home soon.

Jen