Rural Elmer Road, Town Of Lawrence NY

One morning I was in the mood for a driving tour, so I grabbed my camera, got into the car and headed to Elmer Road, where I knew I could find much rural beauty. The first farm I passed was this classic pair of barns, with a silo and hay bale elevator:

Farm equipment, a red barn and baleage stacked up for the winter:

In my mind, Elmer Road should be called "Elbow Road" because of the sharp turn it makes - and right at the turn is this log home:

They had two horses in the field, though I only managed to get one of them in the photo:

Two outbuildings, one apparently in use and the other not:

I have photographed this woodsy home before, set back in the pines like a forest hideaway. This, however, may be the first time I've seen it in the winter. It still looked woodsy and welcoming:

A series of outbuildings, apparently leading to someone's home, mostly hidden by trees:

I came to this ambitious and prosperous looking Amish farm, with its twin barns and twin silos:

I got a closer view of the silos and one of the barns as I passed by:

Another barn, this one with a traditional buggy parked outside:

The same Amish farm had a roadside stand and another barn beside the house:

And the house had laundry drying on the porch, a tree swing and a children's sled:

Still the same farm, I passed this workshop and windmill:

They also had a busy, prosperous looking sawmill. But that was the end of Elmer Road. I then turned right on Alburg Road, but I'll post those photos tomorrow:

Town Line Road In Malone, New York

I was on my way home from Malone and decided to turn onto Town Line Road, headed east, to view the old farms there. This giant old barn appeared to have once had an apartment in it:

A huge farm with multiple silos, barns and grain bins:

An old shed, falling into disrepair, which I suspected was once a horse barn:

A dairy farm with an Amish buggy out front. I believe the buggy was just for decoration:

The sign on the front of the barn said "Hutchins," and I presume it was a dairy farm:

A brick farm house, the only one I photographed that day. Later, I wished I'd taken pictures of more homes, but I'll have other chances:

Farm equipment, double silos and an old dairy barn:

Another Amish buggy, also possibly just for decoration:

This old barn was being renovated:

A beautiful scene with what appeared to be horse fences:

An old silo, whose barn must have collapsed or burned long ago:

Huge quantities of baleage, a sign that some dairy cows will eat well this winter. I intended to continue on Town Line Road to see more, but the road ended at the highway and I decided to head for home:

Garvin Road, Town Of Bangor, New York

I was driving home one day and passed Garvin Road, so I turned onto it and brought out my camera. The first place I came to was this handsome, old style farm, complete with dual silos and farm equipment:

And the corn crib out back was filled nearly to capacity. I wondered if they might have pigs, though I didn't see, hear or smell livestock of any sort:

This old barn and silo were rundown and I suspected they hadn't been used in years:

As I drove by, I could tell I'd been right. This barn has been out of commission for a long time:

A farm house, typical of the area:

Another old barn, also apparently no longer used:

People were still farming, though this corn field had not been harvested:

I took a close look at the once proud dairy farm sign on this barn and learned that it was once called Scattered Acres:

Farm equipment and baleage, with an outbuilding almost hidden behind the trees:

Barns, silo and grain bin, apparently no longer used:

Old fields, whose barbed wire and trees indicate that they once were pastures. Maybe they still are:

A small farm beneath big trees:

Coming closer to the above farm, it seemed as if no one lived there anymore but they were still harvesting firewood:

A sugar house. This is big maple syrup country. This is where I ended my driving tour, so I put my camera away and headed for home:

Maple Ridge Road In Brasher, New York - Part 1

When Upper Ridge Road became Maple Ridge Road (see yesterday's post), I continued on in search of family farms and picturesque rural scenery. At first, however, I saw mostly suburban style homes:

But it didn't take long to enter farm country, beginning with this large field, filled with baleage and haying equipment:

A picturesque farm with a log home, red barns, silo and tractor:

A large barn, filled with hay for the winter:

It was difficult to get a good photo of these outbuildings, but I tried:

The road crossed over a small brook. With grassy fields on both sides of the brook, it was sure pretty:

This pile contained logs big enough and straight enough to possibly be saw logs instead of firewood. There are a lot of farm sawmills in the area:

Forage wagons, used for collecting chopped corn on its way to becoming silage:

Lots of farm equipment, stored along a row of trees:

Well, this wasn't very scenic, but it's the way most farms used to dispose of their trash:

This old homestead was picturesque, and I would have said no one lived there except there was a pickup truck parked in front of it, leading me to wonder:

I came to a field of Holstein calves who watched me with interest. There was still a lot more to see on Maple Ridge Road, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: