Old Farms, Abandoned

Abandoned farmhouse with swing set

Window, abandoned farmhouse

Steps to cellar

Barn ruin

 

“Abandoned Farmhouse”
by Ted Kooser, from Flying at Night: Poems 1965 – 1985

He was a big man, says the size of his shoes
on a pile of broken dishes by the house;
a tall man too, says the length of the bed
in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man,
says the Bible with a broken back
on the floor below the window, dusty with sun;
but not a man for farming, say the fields
cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn.

A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall
papered with lilacs and kitchen shelves
covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves
and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.

Something went wrong, says the empty house
in the weed-choked yard.  Stones in the fields
say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars
in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste.
And the child?  Its toys are strewn in the yard
like branches after a storm — a rubber cow,
a rusty tractor with a broken plow,
a doll in overalls.  Something went wrong, they say.

 

Painting with the Ladies at Bonnie’s Farm

The ladies under a tulip tree

This was my second painting en plein air outing with my lady friends from Bow, Washington.  We met under a tulip tree on Bonnie’s little 40-acre farm in the Skagit Valley.  I am still intimidated by landscapes and focused my work on a broken window rather than on the whole barn.  Maybe someday I’ll feel brave enough to paint a whole composition with buildings in a landscape — and even with people!!

The lovely old barn on Bonnie’s farm

Barn interior

Old door in horse barn

Weathered windows

My ink and watercolor sketch of barn window

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Trip to Whidbey Island: Hiking at Ebey’s Landing

Approaching Ebey’s Landing trailhead

“I leave this notice
on my door
For each accustomed
visitor:
I am gone into the fields
To take what this sweet hour yields.”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley

I take most of my out-of-town guests to Whidbey Island for hiking at Ebey’s Landing.  The journey itself is half the fun as it involves a ferry ride and a drive along country roads with old barns.

Old barn, Whidbey Island

Another old barn

Ferry viewed from the bluff at Ebey’s Landing

The hike itself is pretty spectacular no matter which season I take guests there. The trail is a pleasant loop, up a bluff, and then along the beach on the way back.  This past weekend the landscape was as green as I’ve ever seen it.

Stairs at the start of the hike

Notice the hikers (like ants) on the bluff and on the shore

The initial uphill stretch. The path soon levels off at the top of the bluff.

View of farmland from the bluff; so green

View from Ebey’s Landing

Lupine

Steep slope

Tree sculpted like bonsai

Wildflowers

Driftwood along the beach

The homeward stretch along the shore

Seaweed

Seaweed and rocks

Beach sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skagit Valley Daffodil Fields

Skagit Valley daffodil field

Washington’s Skagit Valley is well known for its tulip fields and the tulip festival which runs during the month of April.  But the bulb farmers there also plant fields of daffodils, which are coming into bloom right now.  One of the big growers, Roozengaarde, makes a bloom map available online each year.  It’s updated almost daily to show which fields of daffodils and tulips are currently in bloom.

Old weathered barn next to daffodil field, Skagit Valley

Old barn with daffodils

Following the bloom map will take you past scenes like these.  It’s pretty spectacular, even on a rainy day.  My Midwest mind is always tickled by seeing fields of bouquet flowers rather than corn, soybeans, and oats.

Mud in the daffodil fields

Daffodil in the Roozengaarde display garden

Old shed with daffodils

Nodding buds and blooms

Daffodils from the Roozengaarde display garden

Daffy Down Dilly
by Alice C. D. Riley

Dear little Daffy-down-dilly
First flow’r of the spring,
Dancing away with the breezes,
Gladness and sunshine you bring.

Daring the cold of the March winds,
Braving the forests and the snows,
Filling the woods with your glory,
Loveliest flow’r that blows.

Watercolor sketch of daffodils

 

Exploring the Mount Baker Scenic Byway

Early morning fog along the Mount Baker Highway near Bellingham

I do love a road trip.  Sometimes it still surprises me how I’ve yet to see many parts of Washington State, even after living here for more than thirty years.  This week I took a day trip along Highway 542, the Mount Baker Highway, and realized that this was unexplored territory for me.  I never knew what I was missing!

The Mount Baker Highway is designated as a Washington State Scenic Byway.  It starts in Bellingham (90 miles north of Seattle), and it’s just 58 miles to its end at Artist Point overlooking snow-capped Mount Baker. The outdoor adventure company, GORP, names this road one of the “Top Ten Scenic Mountain Drives” in North America.

I’ll devote several more posts to some of the spectacular spots I discovered along the way.  But today’s post will share the experience of the drive itself — a virtual road trip.  Enjoy the ride!

Fog along Hwy 542

A flock of Canada geese

Heading east toward the Cascade Mountains, blue in the distance

Towering trees in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Little bits of fall color amidst the evergreen

The road ascends

Surrounded by high peaks

Curving Mount Baker Highway near Artist Point at 5,100 feet of elevation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seattle Day Trip to Bellingham

Bellingham waterfront

Bellingham is about 90 minutes north of Seattle, and it makes a nice destination for a day trip.  I left the I-5 freeway just north of the Anacortes exit and drove leisurely through the countryside and along Chuckanut Drive.

Old barn on Hwy 11 near Bow, WA

Self-service farmer’s stand on Hwy 11 near Bow

The curvy Chuckanut Drive along Puget Sound

View of the sound from Chuckanut Drive

Bellingham itself has a welcoming, small-town feel.  I like the look of the weathered, old buildings near the waterfront and the small, independent cafes and coffeeshops.  I strolled along the waterfront paths of Boulevard Park, and  because I like to check out libraries on my travels, I stopped by the Bellingham Library.  Serendipitously, the library was hosting its Friends of the Library booksale.  I couldn’t resist buying five books from the gardening table at $1 each.  I will get far more than $1 worth of pleasure from each of these books.

Tansy (I think) — a spot of yellow along the path at Boulevard Park

Mural in downtown Bellingham

Sculpture outside Whatcom Museum

Old weathered building along waterfront

Table on the sidewalk outside the Mount Bakery Cafe, Bellingham

The five books I bought at the Friends of the Bellingham Library sale — a bargain at $1 each

The art alone will give me far more than $1 worth of pleasure.

Pages from My Garden by Mary Russell Mitford

Traveling the Backroads of Montana

A common sign on the backroads of Montana

On our return home to Seattle from Glacier National Park, we enjoyed the final miles of a leisurely road trip through sparsely travelled backroads.  We headed back towards I-90 via U.S. Hwy 93, and Montana highways 28, 200 and 135.  I marvel at the good quality of American roads.  It certainly feels like an indulgence to take a road trip these days, with global warming and the energy situation, but I appreciate the chance to do so.

Burnt tree trunks line the hilltop on Hwy 89 near St. Mary's.

View from Hwy 89 between St. Mary's and East Glacier

We saw miles and miles of barbed-wire fences along the backroads.

Old barn along Montana Hwy 28

Colorful cattails in the ditch along Montana Hwy 28

Round Barns

Round barn near New Market, MN

It’s unusual to see round barns.  We pass this one on our drive between the Twin Cities and our farm.  So many old barns are disappearing from the landscape.  This one looks to be in good shape.

If you are interested in round barns, in particular, there is a website that has listed many of them.  You can link to it here: http://www.dalejtravis.com/.

Countryscapes

Yesterday’s post offered some cityscapes.  So today I will give equal time to rural images.  What a contrast to the gleaming, shining, reflective glass and steel surfaces of a  modern city.  Yet each is beautiful in its own way. 

Old barn in the Skagit Valley

 

Weathered siding, old barn

 

Leaky roof on an old barn in the Skagit Valley

 

Rustic barn

 

Old Barn
by Janice Blanchard 

On the edge of the town
See the old barn sag
With a drop in its ridge
Like a sway-backed nag,
And the shingles torn
By the west wind’s will
Fly from the skeleton rafters
Until
You may count its starved ribs,
One by one;
Old barn, old horse,
Your day is done.

Weathered Barns

“Rain-sunken roof, grown green and thin

For sparrows’ nests and starlings’ nests;

Dishevelled eaves; unwieldy doors,

Cracked rusty pump, and oaken floors,

And idly-pencilled names and jests

 Upon the posts within . . .”
     Seamus Heaney and Edmund Blunden, excerpt from “The Barn”

Old barn with daffodil field

Weathered siding on an old barn

Old barn, old truck

These old barns dot the landscape of the Skagit Valley — very picturesque.