From The St. Regis River At Santa Clara To The Farm

We were almost to the farm, the dogs and I, and were on scenic Route 458, the last stretch of road. But the day was uncommonly warm and beautiful so I pulled off the road into the boat launch area for the St. Regis River in the town of Santa Clara. It had been blocked by snow all winter and I was looking forward to some nice views. I parked the car near the water but left the dogs inside: 

There was still a bit of ice left on the St. Regis River but it was leaving rapidly. A few Mallards and Canada Geese floated happily on the surface:

Since this was my first day with a new camera, I tried the 18X zoom lens on the ducks. Not bad, not bad:

The ducks flew away but the geese stayed, unafraid of me, my car or my dogs. We were almost to the farm so I got back in the car and continued on toward home:

Arriving home at the farm, my first sighting of the barn with its not quite finished brown steel siding was exciting:

The barn looked almost like a brand new building. This was major restoration:

The south end with the wind damage, however, had not been touched. I'd have to ask the contractor about that:

Much of the debris from the demolished sheds had been removed, but much remained in unsightly heaps:

The sagging, broken floor joists were temporarily supported and a new wall had been built where the old wall was rotted away:

I was concerned that the contractor might be planning to leave the telescoping posts so I asked him about it when he arrived. They were only temporary, he told me, and the whole area would soon have a laminated cross beam supporting the hay loft floor. But I'd just arrived so had much to do. I'll post more tomorrow: