Sunday, December 27, 2015

December Barns

A few days before Christmas, I went for a drive to photograph some barns.  Lighting was terrible; we get these dark days and I end up shooting into the light in mid-afternoon, but they're still such an appealing part of the valley landscape here.

This nicely maintained barn is just around the corner.  As you can probably tell, it's on a rural resident's property, no longer in use for farming.

I like this big barn close to the edge of the valley a few concessions north of here.

A closer view suggests its age.  I know the owner here, so maybe I'll go and see if I can get some more close views sometime.

I drive by this barn frequently on the way to Meaford, and I've shown shots of it before where you can see right through that space under the roofline.

But now the leaves are off the trees, unfortunately I've had a much clearer view.  The roof on the right hand portion has fallen in at some point this year, and the back part of the main old barn is looking partially fallen and ready to collapse.  I fear it will soon end up like its neighbour, below.


Sadly, I don't think any of the barns above are still in use for farming, and more and more end up like this.  Time to drive around and document more before they disappear.

****

Well, it's been a hectic Christmas here, with a five-year old and a 4-month old to entertain us and keep us busy.  Junior Scrabble was a big hit for the five-year old and his Nana.  Our son from the far north was here too, so we all had a good visit.  And I just 'facetimed' my sister and all her families, and my cousin and hers - even though I can't get used to 'facetime' as a verb!  Looking forward to resuming my walking and exploring now.  You may have noticed that I passed 200,000 'pageviews' very early this morning, so my enormous thanks to those of you who visit, give me reason to do this, and thereby contribute so much to my enjoyment of the retired life!

The temperature has finally fallen to freezing, and we're finally expecting some actual snow later this week.  There's a storm warning, and it's one of those 'Texas lows', which come up the Mississippi valley from Texas, and usually bend to the east when they hit the lower Great Lakes.  It's that storm which spawned the tornadoes in Texas.  As a result, Lake Erie and Ontario (and Buffalo) get the heaviest snow.  Even though we're further north we'll probably get quite a bit less - latitude seems to have little to do with how much snow you get.  I can't believe reading about record snow falls in New Mexico for heaven's sake, especially when we don't have any here, though we're so much further north!!

The Barn Collective



24 comments:

  1. I think you'll be getting your snow soon, and hopefully Arizona and New Mexico can return to their normal state soon. It is sad about barns not being used so much any more. Life moves on and things change. I hope to hear about your next walks soon! :-)

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  2. Wonderful barns - love the red on the first one. The stone foundations are what we saw a lot of when we visited Wisconsin a couple years ago - sad to see the barns go.

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  3. What wonderful barns you are sharing this week. The first one that is nearly black and white with the red doors is great. The second complex with all the add ons with the weathered wood is my favorite. I hope that you have a "Happy Barn Hunting New Year" and that you come back soon.

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  4. Seeing those old barns reminds me of my childhood. Unfortunately things change.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  5. I always enjoy looking at your barn photos.
    Still warm here. 54 degrees this morning!!!
    Crazy weather all over the place this year.

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  6. Lovely old barns, great settings for the all white , and page views, I've reached 106,000 plus a few more, and always so appreciate and value the words left there. 200,000, well done, I call it more than a milestone that you have reached.

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  7. It is sad to see that so many barns are no longer in use for farming. However the world must keep evolving and us old chaps must try to keep up! Time spent in the company of five-year-olds should do the trick! Congratulations on the 200,000, some of them must have been me!

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  8. looks very very cold there, how cold does it get there at the lowest temperature?

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  9. I have a friend in Buffalo. When we spoke in November she reminded me that last year they had 8 feet of snow by then. Stupidly warm this year. Still warm in London but the North of England has been devastated by torrential rain and massive floods.
    And I FaceTime too. Every day when the Chef is in Switzerland. The telephone is so last century!

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  10. Hello, wonderful barn finds. I like the first two images and barns. I am enjoying this warmer weather, I hope it sticks around. Have a happy week!

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  11. The fourth photo is my favorite
    Many blessing to you in the New Year!
    Lea

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  12. Lovely photos ! Yea I don't like the lighting where the sky's are a wash out but using the program lightroom I can adjust and make the sky's in some photos not be so washed out . We are near lake Erie and will be getting the freezing rain from this big storm looks like it may be a doozy to . I am glad you had a lovely Christmas and had face time with other family members to . Congrats on the page views . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day and take care in the storm that is on it's way !

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  13. The grey skies around here don't make for the best backdrops do they FG? I'll be looking for some fresh white covering on the ground to take away the gloom as there is not even a dusting here in Tobermory (yet). Flakes are slowly starting to fall this morning and hopefully the storm won't cause problems, just deliver winter, finally.

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  14. That first barn is beautiful and I love the stone foundations although it's sad to see the barns gone in the last 2 photos. We had a snowstorm yesterday - about 20 cm. - and are in line for the storm that you will get as well tomorrow. Christmas was mostly green and sunny and mild for us.

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  15. Our weather has been weird here in south Florida-- daily low temperatures warmer than average highs over most of the past month. Very nice depictions of the old structures.

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  16. It is sad that most barns are going to end up unused and possibly unloved. We are having gray gray days here too but we photo on don't we.
    Happy 2016 to you.
    MB

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  17. Wonderful barn pictures. Have a wonderful week heading into 2016!

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  18. Such pretty shots, even if some of these barns are on their last legs.

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  19. I am glad to see that there is a dusting of snow and that more is forecast.
    I hope you and Maria have a very good 2016 (it can only get better compared to 2015). It sounds as if you had a good Christmas. All the best.

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  20. Storms like that are what made Wayne head west to California to attend USC for graduate school. He grew up in Rome, NY, and went to UBC for his undergraduate work. He swore he would never move to snow country again. Fortunately in Powell River we only get a few dustings at the cabin each year, hardly any need to shovel. - Margy

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  21. That is a lovely collection of barns. I hate to see them falling into ruin, but there's still a beauty in them.

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  22. You sure have some nice pics...I do that with being out in the middle of the day, too.

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  23. I love looking at barns, unfortunately, they are falling apart. So many farms, with cleared land and no use for it.

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  24. HI Furry!
    These are gorgeous!
    We just had some snow last night...so no snowy barn pics for me yet this year...
    I will keep my eyes open for some!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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