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??!!

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

Autumn done just right

Have you ever taken a bunch of pictures then come home, pulled them up on the computer and one really grabs your eye? You think, 'oh yeah, this is beautiful'. That's what this picture did for me. The scene looked better than I remembered when I shot it this afternoon.

Mid October Mosaic Monday

A local farm on a bright, autumns day

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And since it's Sunday, and Mosaic Monday is fast approaching, I thought I'd submit a few photos.

• I'm not sure what the Chickadee found so enticing about the Mum but it returned several times
• Who doesn't love a Wooley Bear in the Fall
  
• A Dandelion ready to hand itself over to winter
• Autumn leaves reflected in our birdbath

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Mosaic Monday @ Mary's Little Red House

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.

Field and Farm Views

All of the following photos were taken in Strafford, NH. A wonderful old scenic New England town incorporated in 1820. It's actually just up the road a piece from where I grew up.

The reason I've been in Strafford is for work. It's about 45 minutes away from home which I don't care for. But tomorrow will probably be my last day.

The following pictures are of a beautiful field/driveway I found. I kind of wanted to play around and give the photos a 70's look but only one ended up that way. Each photo has different textures and actions applied. Don't ask what I used because I honestly couldn't remember at this point!

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I couldn't see a house anywhere in the field, but there is a number and mailbox at the end so someone must live up there!

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This week . . .

• the baby Chipping Sparrows next to the driveway fledged
• I found out the House Wrens in the Bluebird house have babies
• the sounds of Peepers were replaced by Crickets
• the Cardinals are bringing their new addition around to eat
  
• the Downey Woodpeckers are feeding the babies at the suet feeder constantly
  
• and the Orioles are going through grape jelly like no tomorrow!

What's new in your yard?

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This one was the only image I thought had a bit of a 70's faded feel, and it's probably the one I like best. Do you have a favorite?

For the past several days I've wanted to post but my laptop drives were so full it wouldn't let me even look at my photos, much less work on them in Photoshop. Yesterday my husband and I decided it was time to clean it out and take it back to factory settings.

I backed everything up, and my husband thought he did too. Email addresses, bookmarks, program files, document, pictures, the whole shebang.

Once my husband got the laptop up and running I realized my email addresses weren't where I thought they were. I found the folder but it was empty! Yikes! Luckily my husband copied the C drive onto the external hard drive. There, in my Recycle Bin, were duplicates of most of my email addresses. I had dumped them a few weeks ago because I accidentally duplicated them. Phew! Besides that, it's like I have a new computer! Everything runs fantastic! We should have done it a long time ago.

*All textures are from Shadowhouse Creations (because his textures rock!), or were found randomly on Flickr

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!

My favorite Vermont farm (Part 2)

Back to the farm . . .

I sure wish I could have gone to Vermont when the grass was a little greener. There isn't much color going besides the barn.

What do you think it was like growing up on a farm like that? Plenty of dirty, hard work yet adventurous at the same time. I think the farm has seen better days. If you noticed in the last post, there's a lot of windows missing in the barn. During the summertime it must be a great haven for Barn Swallows and Bats, along with any other varmint that can find it's way in.

Those are some well used tractors!

One lone tree in the middle of a corn field (which actually wasn't on this farm but I threw it in anyway!)

The view overlooking the farm and Lake Champlain . . .

It gives you a better idea of just how large the farm actually is.

You could live with this view everyday if you wanted to. It's the view from a house that's up for sale. Want to see it? Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page for pictures. Not a very fancy place but just think how nice it would be to sit out on the back deck watching the sun go down over the mountains after a long hot day. I could live like that.

Click here for more beautiful Charlotte real estate.

If you ever get the chance to go to Vermont, GO. And if you do go take the time to really look around at the scenery and history. Think about the generations of families who have lived there. Farms and views like this aren't what they used to be and many are a thing of the past.

Thanks for tagging along with me!

My favorite Vermont farm (that I saw anyway) Part 1

Although I can't say for certain, I believe this to be Miskell's Farm, located in Charlotte, VT

When I look at this photo I think of the Dixie Chicks song, Wide Open Spaces. It's a view that no camera can bring justice too, you just have to stand there and see it for yourself. Only if you do I hope it's not as cold as the day I was there. lol!



Go down that road a piece and take a right. It runs right through the middle of the farm, or farms, I'm not sure which. In New England it can be difficult to tell because that's how they built them sometimes, on both sides of the street, you know, back in the day.

Charlotte (with a french accent, pronounced shar-lot) is a scenic, beautiful town. I think if I were to ever move to Vermont, this would be the place. Plenty of open space with rolling hills, and Lake Champlain is located just over the hill behind the farm. You'll see ; )

I took so many photos that there's no way I can condense them into one post so there will be a part 2, and most likely part 3 as well.

Farnsworth Road

So, honey and I just returned from a very brief trip up to Williston, VT. He had to head up on business Thursday morning, work until 8:30 at night, then work most of the day Friday. I tagged along for the photographic opportunities.

Most of the time I wasn't really sure where I was going, so GPS came in handy. Especially when I wanted to get back from where ever I wandered off too! It's God's country up there!

The views are serene and breathtaking. Acres and acres of fields, old farms, breathtaking mountain views. Quite a few farms have sold their land for housing developments. Disappointing to see, but understandable.

Yes, there's snow up on the mountains.

I became so excited when ever I'd see this in the distance: barn vents and a silo. I know, it doesn't take much, does it.

Making it my mission to find as many farms as possible I some how forgot all about visiting Maple Sugar houses! You can best believe I'm kicking myself now!!!

Thursday saw temps in the 50's with an overcast sky. Not the best day for shooting but it's all I had to work with. At one time I would guess this was a thriving farm. Today it's worn out, ill kept, and overgrown. Many others I encountered had the similar facades. It's no wonder they've sold out.

Still, it makes for a wonderful photograph

Sim Farm

I love this farm, and yes, it's owned by the Sim family. All of the following pictures were taken this morning.



Right now I'm very infatuated with Jon Olsens winter landscape photography collection. Though my photos are much brighter than his, I still find his work inspiring.

On Sunday morning I shot this farm during the snow storm. You may be seeing those pictures on my blog in the very near future.

We had a wonderful week-end of non-stop snow. It started on Friday and kept on snowing right through Sunday night. It made for beautiful New England winter scenery.

After a week and a half off the girls wished they didn't have to go back to school this morning. We all enjoyed our time together, Christmas was wonderful, and my oldest daughter finally got her license. She was thrilled. Now all I can do is try not to worry ... but you probably know how that goes.

Tomorrow I'll have all the Christmas decorations put away, finally. For some reason the new year is making me feel energized, something I don't normally feel in winter. Think I'm going to run with it!

I hope the new year is making you feel the same!

Got me good!

It's always interesting when you put that memory card in to see just what you've captured. Sometimes it's better than what you think, and sometimes it's worse. And sometimes it's not what you thought you had at all.

Beautiful morning here today, especially compared to yesterday. It's frosty and cold, but sunny with a potential for temps around 50.

This is a wonderful old farm in Stratham, NH. All the land is supposed to become conservation land, all 200 acres of it. Unfortunately they were having some disagreements concerning the stipulations so I don't think a deal has been etched in stone yet. I sure hope it all works out because the sunsets here are spectacular, not to mention the land is beautiful old time country farm fields. It would be a shame to see the fields filled with houses, or even worse, strip malls.

Looking towards another part of the field you can see Geese grazing amongst the old corn stalks. Can you see them? I know, they're small but they were quite a distance away and it was a hassle just to get this close in the first place. I wanted to creep down through the field but didn't feel comfortable doing that, plus I didn't want to scare the Geese away. Ha!

Feel free to click on any of these pictures to enlarge them.

Ah yes, look at all those Geese. Please look at them up close. Make sure to click on the image one more time after you open it. I know, they're still hard to see.

Yeah, they're decoys, and they got me good. Okay, so there were a few real ones off in the distance, even further away than these. Apparently it's hunting season.

I'm taking Lily for a walk now. Have a good Sunday!