The Long Way Home Again

This past Thursday was a beautiful day

with temperatures in the high 60's, if a bit breezy.

Time for another detour on the way home.

Caution.

Deer ahead.

The deer gaze at me as I pass.

The water is even deeper this week.

I parked the car and pocketed my cell phone

while I took pictures.

Looking towards Lake Monroe.

The tops of the guard rails of the bridge

over Moores Creek can be seen in this picture.

Looking upstream.

Where lake meets road.

The road is now part of the lake.

This will stay this way for some time.

And now for some barns.

Color striations on the barn's roof.

Keep hangin' in there.

I like old barns.

Can you tell?

Another one just down the road.

The deer say goodbye as I head home.

A sad sight this morning.

Our neighbors decided to have their spruce cut down

after it received damage in an ice storm last month.

Goodbye tree.

The Long, Long Way Home

The other day I thought I'd take the scenic route home

from town.

Now, given the recent downpours,

I knew that this was a risk

and that I would more than likely have to turn around.

But that's life

and life is an adventure.

Yep, looks like I have to turn around.

Click on the picture to see why.

Now repeat after me:

never ever drive onto a water-covered road way.

There is no way to tell how deep the water is

or if the road is still even there under the water.

And if the water is moving then all bets are off.

Just say no and turn around.

Your life is worth the extra time.

This is now part of Lake Monroe.

As is this.

And this poor farmer is still hanging around.

This just tickles my fancy.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my readers a joyous holiday season...

And a prosperous New Year.

Now, why do I feel a sense of foreboding...




Could it be that this roost of turkey vultures

knows something I don't know?

What I do know is that turkey vultures are one of the few

birds that have a well-developed sense of smell and

that in the winter we can tell time by them as

they come out at 1 o'clock in the afternoon to fly or

in this case, roost.

I can also tell you that they live in the old barn behind us.

I can also tell you that this is my Christmas laying on

the ground.

Oh well.

That's life.

Happy Holidays!

A Frosty Morning

The garden sleeps.

I love the way the early morning sun casts
shadows across the landscape.

Good morning!

Barn Raising

My quick-witted readers will recall that my husband took me on a drive around the county in early November. Knowing my love of old barns (I'm silly that way), he made sure to slow down and point out photographic opportunities to me. Remember that all of these pictures were taken from a moving vehicle.

Here is an old barn tucked in along the woods. Click on the picture to get a better look.

This lovely old barn sits on a hill near the entrance to a newer subdivision.

The old is juxtaposed with the new. The road actually runs between these two barns.

This barn is just barely hanging in there.

The owners have obviously taken great care to maintain this beauty.

An old barn on the left and the remnants of a shed on the right of the road. Again, click on the picture for a better view.

The paint is faded, but the charm remains.

Memories Found

I came across these while searching through my low-tech, high-mess, easily-torn-and-lost-and-shuffled photographs the other day. Old memories surfaced and past adventures were recalled. So here is my daily treat to you.

The falls at McCormicks Creek State Park.

I have absolutely no idea where I took this picture. All I know is that I took it and it was taken several years ago. Now, where was I?

Dark Hollow Falls, Skyline Drive, Virginia

And here we are again a year later.

The vegetable gardens at Monticello.

Barn in The Smokey Mountains.

Barn near Bloomington, IN.

Guess this guy's still hanging around. Near Bloomington.

This barn has since been torn down. Near Bloomington.

Another old barn near Bloomington.

Are you noticing a pattern here? Perhaps it is because my grandparents were farmers and had several old barns on their property, but I am fascinated by these structures.




The Bloomington area has many barns.

And here's my favorite old barn. This view is from my back deck. Obviously it's fall here.

This picture was taken a couple of days ago. I hope they don't tear this barn down when they build the homes just to the left of it. Where will the turkey vultures live then?

And here's my favorite tree again. Now if I can just figure out where that dry stream bed from that earlier photo is...