Pastures of plenty. An Amish farm complex rests it's land under winters snow. |
I started off today on the run chasing the light as a photographer must during the winter months. A day with sun is about a once a week occurrence. I had my second cup of coffee in the car driving northwest on M-10 jumping off northward on Lommis road. It doesn't take long then, just past the slow turn we pass a creek flowing clear with winter runoff and suddenly Lommis road turns into Tobacco road and the atmosphere shifts. This is the glacial moraine, the highlands between Lakes Michigan and Huron where the Great Wisconsin Glacier paused 10,000 years ago on its northerly retreat and deposited its stony load of sediments creating an odd and unexpected rolling landscape here in the middle of table flat farmland. I have loaded every camera lens I own in the Chevy along with my Gazetteer, a detailed atlas of the dirt roads that crisscross the countryside. The sun has swung to the south and is reflecting brightly off a fresh layer of soft snow as the first of what will be many of the Middle Rivers signature stone homes comes into view at the top of a rise. This fine home is being lovingly restored starting with a very expensive steel roof.
The first stone home of our tour. |
I was born in Michigan 58 years ago and have been in and out of nearly every nook and cranny of the State. I look Michigan, talk Michigan, and one day, when I die, my Michigan blood will flow no more. So isn't it ironic that I feel like a foreigner here in my own backyard? The local's eyes puzzle over me. I am obvious and out of place. Even wandering down deserted dirt roads I often feel like the mysterious eye is upon me. I try to shake this feeling of being an intruder but I can't. I recall Freud's words,"The paranoid is never entirely mistaken!"
One never knows what's around the next corner. Note the swirling pattern of the stone columns. |
In the Middle River Region folk still hang their clothes out to dry on a sunny day even when the temperature is 10 degrees below freezing.
We will continue our exploration of the Middle Region next week!
Check out Bluff Area Daily each Tuesday for Barn Charm.
Thanks so much for the gracious invitation ! I accept with enthusiasm !
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyed this first foray into the foreign land in the heartland. Saw similar people and places in Pennsylvania in September, but no spiral stone columns like these. Beautiful. Happy hunting...
Really enjoyed that exploration. Look forward to much more.
ReplyDeleteTwo beautiful homes too.
great post! enjoyed the info and the pics (though some aren't loading for me right now - slow connection I guess). Really dig that first shot - great composition! And the stone houses- just plain neat!
ReplyDeleteOutstanding! ;o)
ReplyDeleteWonderful stonework in that old house. It looks like they are doing a good restoration job. I was trying to decide if they had replaced the old windows, can't tell from the photos.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Springman! I love your description of the land and its geological past. The stone houses are fascinating, especially the one with the cobblestone columns - a local adaption of the Arts and Crafts style. I am looking forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteIt will be dang hard to get those clothes folded up and into a wash basket...BUT come end of the month they wont be singing the CO-OP BLues like we have been these last couple of months...IM thinking a metal roof with a nice big bank of solar panels may help the problem. Love these old stone homes and you know how it is if your not from the neighborhood they wonder what the Heck ya doing especially if you're taking pictures of their spread--
ReplyDeleteGotta love that Gazetteer...
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I attended Alma College (ah well, a few years ago) and miss the middle of the mitten often! One of my girlfriends at AC was Mennonite and she'd take us out to their farm. It was magical for us. She always said it was just a lot of work for her!
ReplyDeleteSo you are from Midland Michigan? I hear it is very cold there. My husband travels there frequently for work and has been offered multiple times to be relocated there. But we don't like the cold so we'll stay put in PA. His employer Rohm and Haas was bought by DOW over a year ago. I keep thinking maybe I will go with him sometime just to see what I can photograph...but now I can just look at your photos.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! =)
ReplyDeleteVery nice shots! I love places like this.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your series of photos very much! The barns are great, but the stonework on the houses is really something!
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed the pictures and commentary behind them. Those stone homes are just amazing. You don't find many examples of craftsmanship like that any more. I'm looking forward to seeing more next week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the invite. I'll definitely come along on this interesting tour. Your photos and commentary are lovely!
ReplyDelete