My Dot on the Map: Work Farm

15 July, 201316 July, 2013 / Pat / 31 Comments

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We happened upon this interesting farm on our photography excursion last week. Don’t know exactly where it is except somewhere in the southeast corner of my dot on the map. Roll up your sleeves and enjoy your visit.

I was excited to see that there are people to tend to the ailments old barns tend to experience. Like us, their joints weaken and the outer structure sags.

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This old wind mill is still standing but not working very hard. It has an interesting structure which now serves a purpose of giving me pleasure.

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Julie was further down the fence photographing the two horses in the field. This one was curious (I think) and did a lot of prancing and posing. Or maybe it was just telling us something we couldn’t hear.

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I love this curved fence that defines the barn yard from the distant fields and frames this side of the barn. What beautiful barn windows.

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I worked hard to capture the personality of this farm. I guess you can’t be on a work farm without expecting to work hard. We left before they asked us to clean the horse barn. For us city folk, living on a farm seems like the simple life, but to those who work the farm, life is anything but simple or easy.

Travel Theme: Motion

6 July, 20136 July, 2013 / Pat / 15 Comments

Yesterday Julie and I were in motion, traveling down the country roads in the farm country to the southwest of where we call home. We didn’t really have a destination but kept on the move looking for photo opportunities. A beautiful brick farmhouse caught our attention but the dogs running toward us kept us in the car.

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After backing out and moving a few yards, I spied a BIG horse. REALLY BIG HORSE – so we pulled into the drive next to the coral. This horse was instantly on the move, prancing around, coming to see us, snorting at us, hiding behind the barn. I really felt like he was telling us that he was boss and I think he said something about not having any intention of working. At times he also seemed to like our attention and being the focus of our cameras. I was glad there was an electric fence between us because…

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Did I say he was big? Actually I didn’t take time to check gender so it could have been a she. There was a mate in the coral but he didn’t have much to say – the grey one did all the communicating. Sounds like most marriages – I wonder which one I am?

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Isn’t this the perfect farmhouse? Unfortunately the owners of the horses weren’t around to tell us their story.

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They are probably the draught horses that keep this cart in motion for parades.

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I suggest you mosey on over to Ailsa’s to see some more “motion” or to show us a few of your moves.

http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/07/05/travel-theme-motion/

Will You Be My Friend?

19 June, 201319 June, 2013 / Pat / 12 Comments

I’ve been remembering children’s books the past couple of days. Maybe having a child in the house does that – and I have read lots of children’s books over the years. One of our favorites, I think the boys liked it, was “Will You Be My Friend?” about a little mouse who goes up to all kinds of animals and asks, “Will you be my friend?’ and all of them say “no”. Until he meets up with another little mouse who says yes.

Coming back from buying strawberries this morning, I noticed that the horses were out so Lindsay and I walked over to check them out and of course to take some photos. They were on the other side of the pen when we got there, but after a while they munched their way closer.

Lindsay climbed up on the bottom board so she could see over the fence.

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Lindsay liked the white one best and just maybe the feelings are mutual, but the horse is big and a little, well, intimidating at first.

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Lindsay named the horse “Snowy Chloe”. Grandpa and Lindsay just returned from a walk to check them out and she says that the horse came right up to the fence so Lindsay could pet her this time. Will you be my friend?

Horses

2 June, 2013 / Pat / 35 Comments

Ed, at Sunday Stills, posted this weeks challenge as horses. Well, I’ve been taking a few photos of horses and here is one of my favorites that I haven’t gotten around to posting yet.

Pony (or miniature horse) at Puddingstone Farm

This next one is really my favorite but I used it in a resent post so I can only sneak it in as an afterthought.

Adam showing his attitude.

Photographing Sheza

26 April, 20133 May, 2013 / Pat / 18 Comments

I awoke eager to get up and moving this morning – even though I had a very busy yesterday, one that requires a quiet next day. This morning I was going to Lynn’s house to photograph her horse Sheza. As I was driving the country roads, with the early morning sun warming the side of my face, I noticed the car thermometer registered 31 degrees F outside (easy conversion to 0 C.). Yikes.

Lynn had just returned from her morning ride as I drove up. Adam, who lives in their pasture, was oh so excited to see Sheza return – he missed her. Sheza was just happy to be done with her morning work-out and get back to what horses like to do best. I could identify. Notice the frost on the grass?

I put on her husband’s brand new boots (really comfy) and spent the next hour or more wading around in horse manure, giddy with joy because of the beauty of the morning and the thrill of photographing these beautiful and affectionate animals.

After putting things away in the barn and playing with the cat, we sat in Lynn’s kitchen drinking tea and eating wonderful whole-grain toast with special strawberry jam. We talked about all the places in the world we would like to travel. It sounds like Iceland could be on the agenda.