#23 ~ Our Barn and Homeplace in the Snow of January 2016

Yep...This is our old barn.

The front of it.

I have told Tom many times how much I like the editing he does with his barn pictures. well, today we emailed me with 2 edits he had done for me. I asked if it would be OK with him if I posted him, and he said it was fine, I think they turned out so pretty. The other one is further down the page with the picture of our house.

The back of it.

The Chicken House Door

We are getting ready to put up a new fence and get us some chickens.

We have missed our fresh eggs so much over the years. They have a happy nice sized home inside the barn and are not cramped at all.

These are “horse” stalls, but our pony, Pretzil lived out in one of our fenced in cow fields. Somehow he got the gate open or something because our baby decided after a bad ice and snow storm to wander into the creek we guess to get a drink of water. This happened around 35 years ago, so I do not remember all the details. Well, that was the end of our pet. When we got up the next morning Pretzel was upside down stiff as a board, and we had to call a farmer neighbor a with one of those pusher thingies - I think it is called a back hoe - to pick it up and take it to the happy hunting ground for ponies. It was so sad we have never gotten another one.The children were devastated.


This was the goat house for Rosebud and Sagebrush. They were very naught goats and would devour our garden. We finally gave them away to some neighbors. This is now used for extra building materials left over from the two bathrooms.

 This is the garage for the old Model A or T or whatever car that came after the horse and buggy we have pictures of out in front of the house.
It is my favorite thing on the property.

This side view of the barn had a tree growing out of this window.

We did cut it down years ago :-)

Our one outbuilding....our only storage. No usable attic and no basement...and one closet.We have got to do some work on that roof over the shed part. It does not look this bad when it is not covered in heavy snow, but it is need of some serious work.

Bud and Jack shoveling the Bridge to Somewhere.

A Snow covered Bridge to Somewhere
Yes, we lost a tree. 

Our neighbor from across the road plowing us out. 

He does this every time we get a bad storm and refuses to take a dime. 

We have begged him to take something, but he always says “NO! 

He is also the mailman and a very good neighbor and friend.

Our creek as pretty as it gets.


The Homeplace
It does look pretty in the snow.
The addition there on the left is a handicapped bathroom just in case I need it.
My son, Gene...Eloise’s daddy...designed it for us.

Here is the other picture that Tom edited for me. It looks SO good.

Icicles on the bay window in our living room.

This post is liked with Tom’s Barn Collective. 
Please consider participating in this meme. 
It is full of wonderful new barns each Sunday.

Fall Is Knocking at the Homeplace Door

Our Bridge to Somewhere is still standing...35 years.

There is almost no water in the creek right now.

 It is almost time to start using our fire pit down by the creek.

We all bundle up with quilts on us and sit out there at night for hours.

 And this is the greatest time of the year temperature wise to sit on the front porch.

Chicken and Bunny with his Apple computer are ready.
Note the carrot on the computer top.

 Our tomatoes are heirlooms this year and the yummiest ever. 

We ate this one tonight with din-din.
Such a variety of color.

A few more days are needed for this one,

but all of the greenery was so pretty
I just had to take a photo of it.

“Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.
~Faith Baldwin

A Bright Blue Friday

Today was all blue...so pretty and warm...

and snow is in the forecast for Sunday night, AGAIN!

It is definitely time to clean up the barn.

Our "Bridge to Somewhere” could use a bit more water flowing under it :-)
Once again the water table is low.

This post is linked with Skywatch Friday and Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

I Wasn't Foolin'. Spring is NOT Here in Rockbridge County

The first wave of snow has come and gone. Now, we are waiting for the second tonight. We are ready...propane...camping cook stove...head lamps...chili already made...the old dial phone ready to replace the digital ones...and all electronics charged. We ALWAYS lose power and internet. It is a given out here in the boonies. So far 3 inches...we will see what we have in the morning. School is CLOSED! Hoop-d-Doo!!! Click one time to enlarge and then a second time to enlarge a bit more.

Mom's Best Friend ~ Jack

Hey, Mom...Do you think I can make it across the "Bridge to Somewhere"?

I promise NOT to go out into the highway.

I'm not sure. 
 Think I might need to think about this a bit more because it's risky territory.

Nope! Don't think I'll do it today. It sure did hurt a while back when I got my paw caught between those old boards and had to cry for help.We really do need a new bridge, Mom...a doggie proof bridge...PLEASE!  I'm going home for a "cookie". That's lots safer and sure tastes better.

This post is linked with: 
The Weekend in Black and White 
and 
Camera Critters. 

The Calm before the Storm ~ "Sandy" ~ 10-28-12

This is looking down from right in front of the house. All looks so calm but very dreary because of the gray sky. The water is trickling along, but the creek is really very low. Once the rains hit us, the water will be well above the apple tree, and we will once again lose some more of our bank and our front yard.

The hoo-doos are standing, but I am afraid it won't be for long. Once Sandy's rains and winds  reach us, it will be another story. Lots and lots of leaves, but very little color is left.

Here is a close up of some of the hoo-doos. Gene and his friend, John, are the kings of hoo-doo building as well as sand castle building. How they balance those rocks on one another I do not know. Now, Eloise is becoming a very fine 7 year old builder. From now on work on them will require high water boots. The water is already getting to be a wee bit cold.

This one will be demolished for sure. These cool ones never survive a rushing creek.

                                                                                      

         This is the mess left from the our big wind storm in June. 

A friend of ours who still burns wood in a wood stove for heat came and cut up the major part of the tree which had fallen across the creek, but he left the smaller branches on the bank for us.

Finally, here is what is left of the tree. 

One whole side is gone.

I am wondering if it will be able to stay standing

 if we get 30 mph winds and torrential rains. 

We shall see. Stay tuned.

Now, I am off to the store to stock up on ice and the other necessities.
Hope I haven't waited too long.

Our Bridge to Somewhere ~ Fall 2012 ~ DP 10-28-12

Our Bridge to Somewhere ~ Fall 2012

This picture was taken a week ago. These colorful leaves are all gone now.

This post is linked with Louis LaVache's Sunday Bridges.

Bridge to Somewhere ~ Wood's Creek Family Walk

The leaves are starting to fall, and it won't be long before Bud's pink shorts are put away for the winter. In a few weeks these trees will be bare. 

I cannot believe that summer ended today.

Yesterday Bud and I went on a one mile "Family Walk" along Wood's Creek here in Lexington. This is one of the bridges over the creek. If you haven't ever been on a "Family Walk," you have missed out on boocoodles of fun: babies in strollers, children, parents, old folk, people in wheel chairs, and lots of dogs on leashes.

This post is linked with Sunday Bridges & Pink Saturday.

Just a Bit Too Much Water

It rained all day yesterday and all night last night. Roads and bridges were washed out here in the county. This is what I saw as I walked out to get into my car to go to school...roaring, rushing water. School was an hour late due to so much flooding, and we were dismissed an hour early because the system needed to get all the children home before the next installment arrived. There are flash flood warnings until tomorrow morning. Flooding waters have never reached the house in the 112 years it has been here, but conditions like this are slowly eroding more and more of our yard.

Apple Tree Slowly Going into Creek

Water under Apple Tree

Water Rushing under our Bridge to Somewhere

This post is linked with Watery Wednesday.

Shadows at the Homeplace

Our Bridge to Somewhere

 Our Front Field ~ For Years It Was a Communal Victory Garden

L to R - Apple Tree, American Chesnut, Japanese Maple

This post is linked with Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

Our Snow Covered "Bridge to Somewhere"

I do not like driving over our “Bridge to Somewhere” when it is covered with so much snow. Usually I get Buddy to come in from running a bit before 7:00 to drive me up to the road. From there I am OK. I just do not do snow or ice well. Fortunately, school is always closed if our main road into town 
is not well plowed. 

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."

~Confucius

This post is linked with "Sunday Bridges" sponsored by Louis LaVache and his fabulous Holy Cow Coffee. The way to get your day off to a great start is to have a cup of his coffee. It does the trick for me every morning.