Smith And Reagan Flats Roads, Town Of Bombay

I'd just finished getting my yearly auto safety inspection and there I was, far out in the countryside, on a county road on a beautiful June day. What's a guy to do? I took a driving tour through northeastern St. Lawrence County and into Franklyn County. I particularly enjoyed the scenery along Smith Road and Reagan Flats Road, in the town of Bombay. This old barn, silo, elevator, grain bin, snow plow blade and tractors, for example:

Not every home was a farm house, but they were all attractive on that fine day:

This amazing old home looked as if it might have been two homes, built at right angles near each other and then, at some later date, connected:

A mobile home with an addition, set way back into the trees. I liked the bear and pine tree decorations. Also, there was an old, yellow school bus parked out back, which you just barely see to the right of the home:

A rather elegant country home in a park-like setting:

An Amish barn raising:

On the same Amish farm, on the other side of the house, Amish women were tending to some of the horses:

A dairy herd stopped their grazing to look at me with curiosity when I pulled up to snap their picture:

The houses were sparse and I didn't take too many photos, but the last one, just before I turned onto the county road, was of this place with Adirondack siding and an amazing display of colorful flowers. That red "tree" in front was a frame, covered with pots of red flowers. I learned, after I turned the corner, that this was a business which sold flowers. Nonetheless, it was a beauty. I did a lot more driving that day and investigated some new parts of the Brasher State Forest. I hope to take the dogs there soon:

Beautiful, Rural Bombay, New York - Part 2

I was making a driving tour of the area northeast of my farm and focusing on Bombay, New York. I was just entering town and so far it looked like a pleasant place:

I saw one general store and someone was out front filling her gas tank as I passed by. I was in need of both gas and lunch but foolishly drove right on by. Little did I know how few and far between such stores were in that area:

As I entered what must have been the town center of Bombay, I found a Methodist church:

And a picturesque Catholic church:

But then I seemed to be out in farm country again:

More old barns, more firewood, more hay fields and corn fields:

And then the houses become closer together once again:

The Santa on this porch was turned with his face to the wall and back to the traffic. It looked to me like he was taking a pee:

This building looked like the town garage or perhaps a fire company, but the sign said "Bombay Food Pantry." That's all I know about it:

OK, now this was a REAL town center:

This was the town center, all right, but it also seemed to be the end of the town, at least insofar as my driving tour route:

I drove out of Bombay thinking it'd been a pleasant but not wealthy place, a bedroom community without any real business district. I was beginning to wish I'd stopped at Collette's 1 Stop but hoped I'd find similar stores on my way home. Just for the record - I never did:

Beautiful, Rural Bombay, New York - Part 1

I'd just finished a short winter hike with my four youngest dogs in the Brasher State Forest and was on my way to find the small town of Bombay, New York. I passed by some Amish farms where the corn was shocked (stacked in bundles). This was to keep the ears off the ground to allow them to dry for storage:

And right down the road was a large, modern farm with a sizable barn and silos:

And as I passed by this barn I discovered that it was bigger than I had at first realized:

And there were concrete bunker silos and feed bins:

The bunker silos only appeared about half full which surprised me that early in the winter. I never did figure out why:

And then, according to the sign, I arrived in the town of Bombay:

Bombay still looked pretty rural to me, a collection of pleasant homes clustered together on the County Road:

A wheelchair ramp and plywood moose - or were those reindeer left over from Christmas?

Comfortable, friendly looking homes:

The houses grew closer together as I apparently approached the center of town:

I didn't see any grand homes but lots of bungalows, modular homes and older, two story frame houses:

Most houses were built close to the road, a wise thing in snow country on a County road:

A Driving Tour Of North Country Barns

I was spending a whole day up at the farm and had just taken the four younger dogs for a short hike in the Brasher State Forest. I figured I'd follow that with a driving tour of the surrounding countryside and Bombay, New York. As I began driving, what I saw mostly was barns. I've always loved picturesque old barns and this was pure gold to me:

This pair of unpainted barns had some of the loveliest grained old barn boards I've ever seen:

A giant old hip-roofed barn all painted white and blue to match the house:

More old barns, farm house and hay wagon. This was real farm country:

When I saw a sign pointing me toward Bombay, I turned onto whatever County road that was (they weren't well marked):

I slowed down and stopped when I saw a flock of wild turkeys right next to the road:

And Daphne found them especially fascinating. Oddly, the other dogs couldn't be bothered to even look:

I passed more old barns, silos and farm houses:

A beautiful pair of barns in fine condition:

An older barn and silo with a couple of pintos out behind:

A closer look at the barn with the pintos:

This old barn seemed to have had several additions over the years. Well, my driving tour was just getting started. I'll post more tomorrow: