#2 ~ Maryland White Barn

See a Barn ~ Wear a Smile

“Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere;

and sometimes , in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.”

~Inspirational Quote ~ Author Not Listed

You have to take what you get when you’re sitting in the passenger seat with your iPhone in hand yelling..."Barn Alert...Barn Alert!"

We passed this barn on our way home from Maryland after Christmas. Other than needing a coat of paint and a window pane or two, I thought it was a fine find. 

Tom, over at the Tom the Back Roads Traveler ~ Barn Collective ~ sponsors a meme devoted to the beauty of barns new and old. If you would like to see more of them here is the link: http://backroadstraveller.blogspot.com

Pictures taken December 27, 2015 with iPhone 5C
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Remembering My Beetle

Seeing a Beetle Made Me Remember

 “There are small fish and large ships. But the best ship of all is friendship.”
~Author Unknown

When I moved to Lexington many years ago, I brought with me two cars...one of them an old Land Rover like you see in Africa and the other my yellow VW Beetle. Both  have now gone to The Happy Hunting Ground for dead cars. Here’s the story of how I lost both cars:

1. Bud was giving my eldest son a driving lesson out in that big field in front of the house, but as he was turning to drive it back over our Bridge to Somewhere, he turned the steering wheel way too hard to the right causing the Rover to flip upside down into the creek. No one was hurt, but the Land Rover died.

2. Then one day years ago, my daughter had parked the Beetle on Main Street. At some point there was an accident somewhere, and one our trusty firemen came racing thru downtown in a huge red firetruck, ran a red light, hit the car which was already into it from the other direction and who had a green light. Then swerved smashing into my Beetle totaling it so it was dead. Only to me could these bizarre things happen. I just have to laugh like I always do, be thankful no one was injured in either incident, and move on.

Finally, last week I was coming out of my doctor’s office, and I saw this gorgeous VW Beetle. Well, out came the iPhone and I started taking pictures...pristine condition...a 2000. Well, as I was about to finish up, a woman came walking up speaking rather sternly...”Are you taking pictures of MY car.? "Oh dear, I thought”. I worriedly turned around, and there she was...Dorothy Perkins...a person I knew well, had been good friends with for years, and with whom I had taught. We both had a great laugh, and then I asked her if she ever was going to sell it to PLEASE sell it to me. I am keeping my fingers crossed. We shall see.

This is the icing on the cake...cool reflections I inadvertently captured in the side view mirror and the window above.

...and here is my friend, Dorothy Perkins

These pictures were shot with my iPhone 5C  - 12-17-15

Experimentation with My Favorite Tree

Experiment Each Day and You’ll Create

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, 

taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."

~Mary Lou Cook

My favorite tree on a beautiful day.  ~ SOC

And here is where the fun started. 

Creativity through  Experimentation.

Manipulation and the use of textures.

I find it interesting that in the last three pictures the two mountains look more like sand piles rather than to rather impressive smaller mountains and that the perspective changes. Photography can be so fascinating.

This picture was taken with a small Canon Point and Shoot  12-13-15

If you are interested in posting  pictures like these to a meme, be sure to go to Pippa’s site.Her  blog is  filled to the brim with creativity, unique collages, and more. Her work is one of a kind. Her link is:
http://pippavier.blogspot.de.

Nature Footsteps also has a meme on her site entitled  Nature Footstep Photography and Photo Art and her link is: http://nfbild2.blogspot.com

This picture was taken with a small Canon Point and Shoot  12-13-15

Wear Hunter Orange

Pay Attention and Wear Hunter Orange 

“There is certainly something in angling 

that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.”

~Washington Irving

These fences and gates are typical of Rockbridge County, VA...

nothing like the beautiful ones of Texas, but the sign is one I have never seen before. I suppose because of all the accidental shootings during the different hunting seasons, these new signs are the way of the future. Sadly, I still saw quite a few fishermen on that first day of trout season not wearing their Blaze/Hunter orange.The old wooden fencing dates back a long, long time, but is as pretty as the day it was installed.

This post is linked with Good Fences and Signs, Signs

Barn on White Rock Road ~ Rockbridge County, VA

Old Barn on a Rainy Day 

“Let the rain kiss you. 

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. 

Let the rain sing you a lullaby."

~Langston Hughes

This is a working farm with other outbuildings, and it is in our neck of the woods. It could use a couple of coats of paint on the roof and sides, but the old rustic wood still looks wonderful to me. The white spots are rain droplets as it was a dark, rainy day.

Tom, over at the Barn Collective, sponsors a meme devoted to the beauty of barns new and old. If you would like to see more of them here is the link: http://backroadstraveller.blogspot.com

Dragonstar also has a meme for black and white photos. If you would like to see more of these here is the link:
http://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com

Picture taken 12-17-2015 with my iPhone 5C.

White Rock Road ~ Rockbridge County, VA

Different Views Driving in the Rain

“I find peace in the rain.”

~Anonymous

I had to go into town this morning, so on the way home I decided to take the "road less traveled that just happens to come out very

close to our place. It was pouring rain, but I did not care. Genie was a woman on a mission...to take photos. That is NOT snow you are seeing...it is rain on the lens...UGH! The mountains were socked in so I could see little but fog and rain.

  

Maple Hall ~ Rockbridge Country, VA

A Happy Mariage ~ Years of Happiness

This gorgeous old home has a special meaning to me and my family, for this is where my daughter ~ now 52 ~ had her wedding reception in the garden area off to the right. It is also where I helped her dress for the last time before she and her husband left to fly off for their honeymoon in Ireland. She wore a baby blue with white polka dotted dress and threw her bouquet from the first balcony which is lots higher than it appears in my picture. I can remember it as if it happened yesterday. It was such a happy day.

“Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.”

~ Simone Signoret

Maple Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places

 To read more about it and its interesting history, go to the following site:

http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Rockbridge/081-0041_Maple_Hall_1987_Final_Nomination.pdf
It is on the National Register of Historic Places

Alexander Dairy Farm ~ Fairfield, VA

Local Dairy Farms Are Fading Away

“Growing up on a dairy farm, 

you certainly learn discipline and

a commitment to purpose."

~Mike Johanns

On my way to Fairfield Elementary School and the quilting shop, I pass this big dairy farm. I have been meaning to take some photos of it, but only this day all the planets were in line. There was no proper place to park and I was across the 4-lane highway from the farm, so I pulled off onto the shoulder and walked first to the median and then across to the farm to get these shots. It was a state road so the cars were going relatively slowly. I was very, very careful. I promise. BUT, I was scared to death the cops were gonna ticket me because I was just about 5 lengths back from a red hydrant and barely off the road.

This post is linked with:
 Tom’s Barn Collective
Saturday's Critters
Camera Critters
Our World Tuesday
Outdoor Wednesdays
Skywatch Friday

Keep Out!

You Can’t Chain Me From Nature

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

~John Muir

This post is linked with:
Weekend in Black and White
Black and White Wednesdays

End of Fall on North Mt.

North Mountain Is a Beauty of Nature

“Keep close to Nature’s heart...and break clear away,

once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a

week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.’

~John Muir

Sunday started out as a beautiful day, but by mid~afternoon the dark sky was moving in quickly. Bud and I decided if we didn’t hit the road just then, we would miss our views of the county from North Mt. so off we went. I was fascinated my the single little leaves stuck in trees...up high and down low. Each had its own personality. By the time we were ready to leave, the rain droplets were singing a little tune as they hit the dry leaves. and the temperatures were dropping. Even though there was no blue, this gray sky was a tranquil and beautiful one.

While looking through some of my pictures tonight, I found these two of Eloise and her close friend, Sage, up where we were at the North Mt. Overlook a month or so ago. They are so cute and have been together here at the house so many times she’s like like a second granddaughter. Buddy gave her that cute hat with the ties.I just couldn’t resist adding their photos to the page. 

This post is linked with:

 Scenic Weekends 

 Mosaic Monday

End of Fall at the Homeplace

Happiness Is Living in the Country

Today was so beautiful. The temperature was perfect. There was no wind, and the sky was bright blue with some scattered clouds to add a bit of fluffy white. I took all of these pictures in front of the house and out in our front field. The BIG hill you see is our land. We have 7 acres up there filled with timber which we will not touch.

 

Yes, here is our "Bridge to Somewhere".

The creek our "Bridge to Somewhere" crosses.
Its name is Kerrs creek and the area 
where we live is know as Kerrs Creek.



 Our front yard just above the creek.


 
And, here is another of the front yard.


Here’s our little outbuilding where I keep everything
 I cannot fit into a house without any storage. 

This is our front field where we used to have cows. No more! No more goats and ponies. Just Jack, the dogs and Trouble, Bud’s cat.

That’s the BIG hill behind. As children, the kids loved to climb up it and then slide down. Then when they all came home a few years ago for my birthday, they FORCED me to do it, too. Well, that was

the last time. Thought I was going to have a heart attack going up it is so slick and steep, and then coming down was worse. The clincher is and was that day...when we got down we had to walk across the darn creek with lots of water in it. No fun for this old gal.

They can beg until the cows come home, but I will NEVER do it again unless they can find me another easier way to get up and down. 

Jack couldn’t stand it. He just had to get in the picture. If you look down the center and then to the right,you can seethe mountain we see from the house in the winter. 

I was looking for a quote to go with this post, and I came across this sometimes hilarious and other times poignant bit of farmer’s advice. Hope you like it as much as I did. There are some good lessons to be learned from it.

An Old Farmer's Advice

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. *

* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.*

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.*

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.*

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.*

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.*

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.*

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.*

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.*

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.*

* Every path has a few puddles.*

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.*

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.*

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.*

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.*

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.*

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.*

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.*

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.*

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.*

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.*

* Always drink upstream from the herd.*

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.*

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.*

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.*

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.*

* Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.*

~Unknown

This post is linked with:

 Our World Tuesday

 Outdoor Wednesday

Skywatch Friday

My Love of Pink

When I’m Down Pink Uplifts Me 

“The Possible’s slow fuses is lit 
By the Imagination."
~Emily Dickinson

NF DAM~ Digital Art
Wordless Wednesday
Little Things Thursday
Six Word Saturday