Brookdale, New York - Part 2

I was taking photos as I drove through rural Brookdale, New York. I passed this house still sporting Christmas decorations:

And this home with an enclosed front porch as protection against the winter's cold and the early summer's insects:

This home looked very "Old New England" to me:

A friendly place with a well kept barn:

And a brick home with a split rail fence. Wow. Just wow:

A more modern style home, but still with a split rail fence:

I was particularly taken by the small, snow covered deer in front of this house:

And a busy home with a useful truck out front:

Brookdale had its own church:

A small home with a wheelchair ramp:

And a sprawling farm on the great northern plain:

The last photo I took was of a flock of turkeys. They were quite bold until I lifted up my camera. Then they all took to the trees in case I intended to have one of them for dinner. But I'd reached the main highway into Massena and put my camera away. It was time for me to do some shopping:

Brookdale, New York - Part 1

As you know if you've been following these posts, I was on my way to Massena to shop but had been waylaid by the rural wintry beauty and kept stopping to take photos. This time, though, I really meant it - I was going directly to Massena. But then I saw this sign for the hamlet of Brookdale and reached for my camera:

Wintry beauty like this could not be ignored. I began snapping pictures again.

These folks seemed to be hosting company for the weekend:

And this old home stood solidly, providing warmth and shelter from the snowy weather:

Old barns, both functional and beautiful:

An old home being remodeled and/or updated, stll framed by old Maples:

A smaller farm house with its own barn and plastic on the windows to help keep out the cold winds:

A trailer home, a rather common sight in the countryside:

A friendly old home with lots of activity going on and an old barn out back. The ladder, wood smoke, bicycle and barbeque grill gave me the idea that this family was active and busy, probably a great place to gather for Thanksgiving:

An old barn with snow covered tractor, old tires and a broken door, now covered in plastic:

A smaller outbuilding, used now as a garage - but wasn't that a hayloft door at the top?:

A smaller home nestled in trees and bushes. Brookdale was proving to be picturesque and I kept snapping pictures. I'll post Part Two tomorrow:

Discovering Raymondville, New York

Just as it was difficult to know when I'd entered Brookdale, it was difficult to know when I'd left it. But this State Forest sign informed me that I'd passed into the village of Raymondville:

It was still plenty rural, but there was a public water supply tower alongside the road. Raymondville is not too far from Massena:

The houses were getting closer together and some, like this one, had obviously been added on to:

There were more modular homes:

And older bungalows:

And two story frame homes:

And one old, abandoned home which seemed to have been built wrapping around the trees (or had the trees grown in after it was abandoned?). I liked the concept, but clearly no one lived there any more:

When I reached the highway, I discovered that Raymondville had a rather thickly settled section also:

And its own Post Office:

As I continued on the highway toward Massena, I passed all manner of homes:

And the Raymondville Methodist Church:

I was traveling toward Massena on Route 56 which followed alongside the lovely Raquette River for a considerable distance and provided many stunning views:. At this point I was getting close to Massena, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

More Photos of Tiny, Rural Brookdale, New York

I was taking a driving tour of the rural area northwest of the farm and especially the little town of Brookdale, New York. I passed by this little pen of curious sheep who watched me closely:

There were several modular homes along the road:

And fine old farm houses:

This old barn had been a giant at one time and its farm appeared to be large and prospering. Had it burned? I didn't see any charred wood. Perhaps it collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall:

This much smaller barn appeared to have been converted to a garage but, judging by the unplowed snow, was no longer being used:

Brookdale had lots of old farms with actively used barns and tractors:

A friendly old farm house where I could easily imagine a family gathering for Thanksgiving dinner:

Well kept outbuildings:

Another friendly, comfortable old farm house:

And another small old barn:

There were occasional modern, upscale homes which I assumed where owned by people with good jobs in Massena or Potsdam:

Although we were experiencing an exceptionally mild weekend, there was still evidence of the big ice storm a couple of weeks earlier. Snowy birches arched gracefully alongside the road in many places. It had been unclear exactly at what point I entered the town of Brookdale and it was equally unclear when I left it, but I decided that this was perhaps the spot at which I was leaving Brookdale behind:

Beginning A Driving Tour In Tiny Brookdale, New York

I'd driven up to the farm on Sunday with all my dogs and had a sound sleep in our little farm apartment. When Monday morning dawned I didn't think the mountains would be hike-able in spite of the unseasonably warm weather. So instead, I decided to make a driving tour of the local countryside. I headed north on the county road but only made it about a mile when I was stopped by a flock of turkeys feeding. They ignored me for a long time but flew away when I got too close. I tried to snap a photo of them in flight but hit the wrong button, turning my camera off instead of taking a picture:

The map showed a small town called Brookdale just southwest of Massena so I headed that way. It was so small that I wouldn't have known I'd arrived if it hadn't been for this church sign:

Brookdale was a small cluster of nice homes and farms, situated on flat prairie. I liked it immediately:

People there seemed to take good care of their homes:

And many homes appeared to have been there for a very long time:

A few modern homes had been built:

There were all styles, shapes, sizes and colors of houses:

And leftover Christmas decorations:

Being a Monday, I was surprised to find quite a few driveways with cars:

And pickup trucks, of course:

Well tended properties, perhaps owned by someone with a good paying job in Massena or Potsdam:

This picturesque old farmstead provided me with one of my favorite photos of the entire trip. I'll post more about Brookdale tomorrow: