A snowy roadside barn

It's been months since I've felt like blogging, but a letter I recently received from a reader spurned me on to post some wintertime images as well as work up a new header. 

Thank you, Marianne.

As everyone knows the winter has certainly been long and cold. On the bright side it has produced some beautiful snow storms. And plenty of them! This barn and fence sit right along side the road where there is very little space to pull over. So glad I made the effort.

Snow tends to only enhance old fences and barns. Bringing out the charm that can only be found in New England.

Looking over the fence when all I really wanted to do was go right through the gate and into their backyard. I would never be that bold.

I don't think hydrangeas ever really go out of season, do you?

Only 12 days until we turn the clocks forward. March 9th will hopeful be a bit warmer than 20-something degrees. I'm SO done with cold weather! 

Are you seeing any signs of Spring at your house?

Hen house

Chickens always seem to make a good subject. They add quirky life to whatever surrounds them. 

This was a drive by shooting. lol!

Here in the Northeast the weather has turned chilly, and I'm loving it. Although I am not normally a big fan of the passing of summer it just feels right this year. The air is clear and refreshing, the skies are bluer, and my new job (at a brand new Trader Joe's!) has brought much positivity to my life as well as new friends. 

I know I'm not the best blogger in the world so for those of you who still stop by, thank you. Can you believe the first day of Autumn is this Saturday??!!

Winters hanging on here in the Northeast

This past week-end we had another snow storm. It was a perfect day to go out and do a little shooting. Actually I did quite a bit! The snow was a bit sticky which is excellent for winter photos.

Winter is still trying to hold on, but spring is right on it's heels.

I'm hoping to go to a sugar shack this spring and smell the sap cooking. It's true nostalgia, reminding me of when I was a kid and my mom would put real maple syrup on toast for me. Or ice cream. Yum....

Oh yeah, saps a runnin' baby. Has spring sprung where you are?

Small town winters day

A wonderful old red barn I photographed last week.

I had to stand on the edge of snowbank right next to the road and hope no one hit me. Looking closely you can see the road at the end of their driveway running past the front of the house. One of the biggest challenges of shooting in the winter in New England on a country road is having no place to park or stand without risking life and limb.

Slowly our snow seems to be dwindling. There's still plenty to be had as most spots are over a foot deep, but there is bare ground to be found here and there. They're talking about heavy rain on Monday which will help bring the snow pack down even further, but it's not good for basements, rivers, and streams. Or skiing, of which my younger daughter is planning on doing with friends both Monday and Tuesday.

These photos were taken in East Kingston, NH. I'm not sure what this building used to be but currently it's a book store. In the distance is the United Methodist Church.

How I adore small towns that still retain history and charm. Who knows what type of future they face but for now I feel lucky to be able to travel through them.

As always thank you for stopping by. It still thrills me that so many of you enjoy seeing the world through my lens!

Winter photos: Enfield, NH

I would just like to start by sending a brief message to the person who left the hurtful, anonymous comment on my Vlogging post last week:

I would appreciate it if you would no longer visit my blog, you are not welcome here. Your message might have only been one word but it stung. Please, just go someplace else.


***********************************************************************

Below are a few photos I took this past Sunday while my husband, daughter, and her boyfriend were skiing at Whaleback Mountain in Enfield, NH

There was a light dusting of snow falling for much of the day. Perfect for the Queen Anne's Lace

One lucky Crow I'd say!

Looking out over the Lake Mascoma

The best way to go sledding ... with a snowmobile to take you back up the hill!

Enfield was originally a Shaker Village

The Enfield Shaker Museum, which seems totally out of place in this NH town. For more info click HERE

My husband, daughter Elise, and her boyfriend, Logan

Maybe next time I'll go skiing too! Maybe . . .

As always, thank you for stopping by : )

Oxbow Farm

Another wonderful, old, local farm

In the past month or so I've taken very few photos. My photography mojo has been lacking due to all that's been going on in my life. Soooo, these photos are from last winter! Not that it really matters, right? Good, because I have a lot more images from the past two winters.

I had to take all these shots from my drivers seat as I stopped in, or on the side, of the road. No one has lived in the house for quite some time now so the driveway wasn't plowed. Not that I would EVER stop in someones driveway, get out and start shooting.

Just a week or so ago I drove by and noticed a SOLD sign out front. I do hope the new owners maintain the integrity of the farms history.

I think there may have been a few flakes on the lens

My two favorite shots, above and below. The red, the snow, the granite, the fence ... it's a perfect winters day. All we need are a few cows! Moooo!!!

Don't you wish you lived in New England? Maybe just for a day ; )

* I just have to say thank you for all your previous comments and words of encouragement. As I said in my previous post, January has not been that kind. Last Wednesday, in the middle of a major snow storm, we took my older daughter to see an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist). This Thursday she will be having her tonsils out. They have been an issue in her mouth for at least a month now, but she has never had any pain which is the weirdest thing. After she has her tonsils removed the doctor is sending them for a biopsy to check for Lymphoma. He said it's a small chance, but it is a chance. We are thinking positive though!

So that's where my head it at right now. The drama never ends *sigh*

The Sweetest Days

Red

~ Red ~

Though I cannot say I know this horses name I always referred to it as Red

It was a perfect snowstorm on a perfect winters day early in January, 2 years ago. These are some of the very first images I shot with my current camera. She took the photos of the cow.

As we drove by a field next to the barn we stopped to look up at a handsome horse. He too found us rather interesting and trudged down through the snow to get a closer look. In the final photo I think he thought he might be hiding behind the small trees. So cute!

Thank you all for your warm comments and emails after my last post. I will do my best to respond to as many as possible. When I told my husband I was thinking of giving up my blog he looked at me and said, 'You can't do that!' So here I am.

My hope is that you all have/had a safe and comforting New Years. It's just about 10 pm and I'm headed to bed. Night!

New Hampshire beauty

Today while I was out and about I decided to take a few back roads to see what I could come across to photograph. After all, that's how I usually find the best stuff!

A wonderful old gem sitting in someones yard, up on a hill. Love this.

Autumn's colors are coming along slowly but most tree's are still green. Because it was such a dry summer many leaves are turning brown and dropping. This was an awfully pretty tree at the end of someones driveway. If you look closely you'll see a red reflector sticking up so the plow guy doesn't hit the rock wall in the winter.

Wouldn't you love to sit on the front porch of this house and watch the world go by on a warm summers day? The house, barn and property are like a little piece of New England heaven. I want to live there.

The barn that goes with the house is fantastic! On the left portion you'll notice they actually have a shoppe, but it didn't appear to be open today or I definitely would have stopped. And who knows, maybe it hasn't been open in years.

The red sign says Dow Farm Shoppe

Out in back, around the corner from the white flowers, on the left, is a chicken coup built onto the side of the barn. It can only be seen after you drive by. Even the coup looked immaculate! Lucky chickens!

So there you go, a few random photos. And speaking of random, thank you all for the wonderful and sincere words of encouragement you left me yesterday. It lifted my spirits and was just what I needed! Who knows, maybe Random Thoughts will be a regular addition to my blog.

Flowers for Mosaic Monday

Welcome to A New England Life and Mosaic Monday

Just a few photos from a Blueberry farm not to far from me

I hope you will stop by Mary's Little Red House for other Mosaic Monday posts!

Wonderful winter barn

A leftover photo from January 2009

I sure wish we had views like this in January-February 2010 but it appears the most recent snow is landing along the mid-atlantic states instead of New England. Doesn't Mother Nature know it's Winter in New Hampshire too?

*The Sweetest of Days ~ I hope you will stop by!

Outbuilding

I've wanted to photograph this little outbuilding for a long time now. Finally we had a morning that seemed just right. Freshly fallen snow was on the ground and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as I climbed over a snow bank, filling my shoes with snow, and took a few shots.

This is somewhat how I saw the scene in my mind. When I arrived home and looked at the originals it wasn't as pretty. Really, it wasn't.

Want to see?

Not very exciting is it. To dark, to much blue, no definition of the outbuilding. Just blah!

So I pulled it into Photoshop where I cropped and straightened it, used the Unsharpen Mask tool (Amount 28, Radius 250, Threshold 4) and then added a couple generic light colored textures (found on Flickr) to expose the building and tree a bit more, not to mention get rid of the blue color and highlight the snow. After the layers are flattened I lighten the photo just a little more.

Yes, it's a bit of work, but to me, in the end it's all worth it. I hope you like it too!

Just another snowy December day in New England

Although it snowed here today this was actually taken a few days ago, through my windshield. There's no place to park near this barn so basically I stopped in the middle of the road, took a few shots, and moved on. It was an absolutely beautiful morning.

I wish I had some history on this barn but I don't. No doubt it's quite old since it was built right next to the road, across the street from an adjoining old colonial home, and with a huge sprawling field in the background. From what I can tell it doesn't appear to be a working farm any longer, but it sure is pretty.

Horsin' around

So often I drive down this road just to see what the horses are up to. During the summer there were probably 8-10 of them roaming the field or hanging out by the barn but lately I only see two.

The fence gate is wide open to the road so the horses can just run between the barn and the field. If they were my horses it would make me a bit nervous letting them cross at will, however there aren't many houses around so apparently the owner must figure it's safe. My husbands been by on his bike when the horses were just milling around on the road, not a care in the world.

Although I wasn't raised around horses I can certainly see their beauty and understand why someone would feel so much love for this majestic animal, though the work load must be a hefty one.

Call me crazy but I'd kind of like a Llama