Stone Homes and Barns

Greetings Old Barn People. I was excited to contribute last week to a meme whose theme is based on the architecture of the family farm era of American rural society. I knew almost nothing about this topic but after living in Detroit for 52 years I moved North into the middle mitten region of Michigan and now I am surrounded by it.  This Old Barns meme is a godsend because barns are everywhere around here. If you take your camera out for a ride in any county mid-state to shoot landscapes, it's very difficult not to include a really cool looking barn in the frame. Not only that, this area of Michigan has mind blowing examples of field stone homes and barns! Add our beautiful Amish homesteads to the mix if that's still not enough to contemplate. So, all this to say,  that while I have a lot of pictures, I do not have a lot of knowledge. I plan to be a regular here because I think it is a grassroots way to document a great era. I will have fun learning from you as I go along.
Okay! I can't wait to get started!

This is a field stone barn picture taken this year. I posted another side of this gem in Falling For You.

                                               This is a cropped section of the same picture.

         I just shake my head in amazement when I see what can be if the money's there to keep the place up.

I did use the phrase "mind blowing" at the beginning of this post when I vainly bragged on Michigan's field stone buildings so I'd better come through. I will post a couple more of this next house in the near future.

                  For goodness sake, double click to enlarge this picture for captivating detail.

P.S.  For Michiganders or for visitors to the Great Lakes State check out The Western Michigan Weekly for information on out of the way, totally fun Michigan hot spots. Hey! They give away a free weekend almost every week for people that stop in! Hint: Ask for their light house poster!

One more thing please, stop back here tomorrow and check out  !!!!!

And for even more great barns visit the home of our new best friend, 

the wonderful "Old Barns" meme at http://www.bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

Weekend Reflections -Maritime Reflections

Heat reflections from the morning sun turns the Maritime Trader into a ghostly presence. Taken from the northernmost point of Belle Isle looking up into Lake St. Clair where Great Lakes waters bottle neck before jetting through the Detroit River.

Hey all you Michiganders check out out this great blog http://westmichiganweekly.blogspot.com/ they give away a ton of free Michigan getaways every week! If you wanna know you gotta go!

Skywatch Friday III

Better late than never, I am belatedly adding a couple notes. This is Lake St. Clair. Over yonder is Canada. All the water from Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior flows through this shallow lake along with Great Lakes shipping and millions of birds. It is what I would describe as a natural world treasure just by its function as a life giving force alone.
.Happy Skywatch Friday! And check out World Bird Wednesday while your in for a visit.

               

A Thursday Daydream

December 1st and the first snow arrived here at the Pine River. It's like a switch has been flipped and it is officially cold. Just a quick post today with a few small bird in flight attempts starring the Tufted Titmouse, a Killdeer and my own personal friend Mr. Red Bellied Woodpecker who is a regular at my feeders.

The Blue Jay and Cardinal bird in flight pictures, that I hope are coming, still elude me. In this dim light I am using a 200mm f2.8L lens and as you can see it is still a struggle to get the speed and depth of focus that I need. How does that bench work out in the composition? I wonder.

                                        Here's my buddy jumping down out of a Cherry tree.



World Bird Wednesday was off the hook. It is truly a world wide event and the links are still up and active for your enjoyment. They are absorbing.                                                                           
                                                                          Peace out!     
                                                                                       Springman