Heath Hill Road In The Town Of Dickinson, New York

I had just come to the end of Alburg Road and, when it crossed Town Line Road, I went from the town of Moira NY to Dickinson, NY and the road changed its name to Heath Hill Road. My first stop was to snap a photo of these handsome horses:

And Amish corn shocks, which were showing considerable wear after standing all winter:

Two very nice barns and a large pile of what must have been future firewood:

When I got closer, I got a better view of the two barns in the above picture:

A large barn, part of what appeared to be a busy farm:

And an Amish house, recently built and ready for siding. I noticed the tall bell and clothes on the line, both commonly seen at Amish houses:

This strange old shed stood all alone out in a muddy field and I wondered what it had been for:

Heath Hill Road became a narrow dirt road through the forest as I continued, and I stopped for a photo of this woodsy camp with a pavilion for outdoor entertaining:

As I neared the end of Heath Hill Road, the scenery opened up to scenes of the valley below and mountains beyond:

I loved this home with its two tiers of porches:

Corn fields were common and ready to be plowed:

Heath Hill Road ended at Route 11B, where I turned toward home, stopping only to snap one last photo of this old abandoned farm house:

South Woods Road, From Dickinson NY To Brushton NY

I had just taken a driving tour of Franklin County Route 7, a rural road which took me from the town of Brushton to the town of Dickinson (yesterday's post), but the day was still young so I turned north on the South Woods Road, the next road parallel to Route 7, and continued my tour. I realized I'd been here before when I passed Tower Sugar House. I'd stopped here several years ago when they had an open house:

I stopped and looked at this abandoned building, trying to decide if it had been a barn, garage, home or combination. There were no other buildings adjacent to it. Whatever it had once been, it was now a soon to disappear piece of American history:

I passed by this adorable mailbox and had to stop and back up to get its photo. This is easily the best rural mailbox I've ever seen:

This old barn had been kept up nicely and I took note of the grindstone and milk cans with which it was decorated:

A very large, old farm house:

And an exquisite barn with a wooden silo:

A woodsy type home, set back in the trees:

A large home with a magnificent porch:

And out behind the home in the above photo were these outbuildings and a huge pile of firewood. Notice the Tree Gnome face on the maple trunk:

And here's a closeup of the octagon(?) building in the above photo. It appears to be a sugar house for boiling down maple syrup, and the extensive firewood is more evidence to support that theory:

I drove right by these critters and, once again, had to stop and back up to get a photo. Two ponies and two donkeys in a woodland corral:

I was almost back to Brushton and the end of South Woods Road when I stopped to photograph this old cabin. I marveled at the small and simple homes in which our predecessors lived. I am glad that these old, abandoned homes still exist and wish they could be preserved for posterity. But this marked the end of my driving tour. I put my camera away and concentrated on getting to the feed store. I needed more grain for the cattle:

NYS Franklin County Route 7, A Scenic Tour

Our wintry weather continued to hold off and the day's forecast called for rain instead of snow yet again. I decided to take a driving tour and headed east on NYS Route 11 into Franklin County, where I turned south onto County Route 7 in the town of Brushton. It was a lovely, scenic, rural road with history everywhere in evidence:

There were farm homes surrounded by fields and woodsy homes surrounded by trees:

Homes with many additions and extensions to accommodate a growing family:

The above home had these play houses/storage sheds in the back yard - not to mention the old wagon wheel, leaning against a tree, a picnic table and a tent. This is family life in the country:

A very small and very old cabin which no doubt once was home to a farm family:

This old home still seemed to have its original, historic front door:

A lovely old silo and barn, whose roof had been kept in good repair:

This appeared to be someone's former home and barn. It sat alone in a field, exuding history:

Two old concrete silos, one without a roof, and a row of hay bales which also appeared quite old:

I suppose this was once an equipment shed or horse barn. It's hard to tell now, as it sat alone in the rust colored grass:

These appeared to be two modern equipment barns, perhaps belonging to the town or county, but I saw no signs and no activity:

I saw this old home just before the road ended at NYS Route 11B. It did not appear to be inhabited anymore, with the owners living next door in the mobile home, but like the other old homes and barns, it evoked a history which is not as distant as some would suppose. But the day was young, so I decided to do more touring. I'll post about that tomorrow:

Route 11B From Nicholville To Dickinson New York - Part 2

I was taking a driving tour of local Route 11B, from the town of Nicholville to the town of Dickinson (see part 1, posted yesterday). This lovely old barn seemed to be unused:

A brick farm house with an addition and a classic country front porch:

"The painted lady," an elegant old home along the highway:

Another old farm, perhaps an Amish farm (I can't remember for sure):

A farm house with front porch, clothesline, outbuildings and basketball hoop:

These giant grain bins were being filled with the corn kernels which were being harvested all around me:

An elegant old farm house, up atop a hill. This was the home which went with the grain bins, which you can also see in this picture, behind the house:

Another beautiful farm and, once again, I can't remember but think it was probably Amish:

This sagging old home was still standing - but just barely. I always pause when I see these old homes and wonder about those who once lived here:

When I arrived at the Dickinson intersection, there was a home which apparently was once a restaurant or at least a snack shop. Notice that sign on the left, over by what is now the garage:

This is the old sign which still rises above the building on the corner and gives me the idea that this once a restaurant or snack shop. I think it's funny and call it "The Boy With The Giant Wiener:"

Directly across the intersection from the above place was Nannette's Rise-N-Shine Cafe. It appeared to be doing a brisk business and I thought I should probably try it some day. My driving tour was almost over, and I turned around here and began heading back home:

I'd already taken so many photos that I didn't take any more - except for this old barn, just barely holding on. I'd somehow missed it my first time through but thought it might not make it through the winter and this might be my last chance to photograph it. And this brought my driving tour to an end:

Route 11B From Nicholville To Dickinson New York - Part 1

The day after my Rutland Trail hike with the dogs (see previous two posts) dawned gloriously beautiful and, if not warm, at least warmer than usual for this time of year. I decided to take a driving tour of some local roads in Franklin County. I began driving east on Route 11B to get there but then realized that the sun was right, the traffic was sparse and the scenery was spectacular. So I changed my mind and began shooting photos of the farms along Route 11B - such as this impressive Amish farm:

Another view of the same farm as the above photo:

This small house and two tiny outhouses seemed unoccupied, but I have on other occasions seen clusters of Amish children playing old fashioned games on the grass. I suspected that this might be an Amish school house which, perhaps, was not in session today - or maybe they were all inside, studying:

Cornfields were being harvested:

This old silo was no longer used and the house and barn, to which it once belonged, no longer existed:

An old, tiny house which still showed remnants of its former curtains. This was once home to someone:

An Amish farm and vegetable stand:

The Amish house which went with the vegetable stand (which you can see in the lower right of the photo). The clothes on the line usually (but not always) means the household is Amish:

A brown barn which sat rather far off the road. A man was pruning apple trees nearby and stopped to watch me, no doubt wondering what mischief I was up to:

The lovely old farm house which went with the brown barn:

This appeared to be either an old farm house with much modernization or a new house, built in the old style. I couldn't tell which:

Another old farm house with a comfortable looking front porch:

I don't now remember, but this farm may have been Amish. The electric wire running to the house is not definitive as many Amish buy homes which are already electrified and just don't use it. Amish or not, it was a beauty. But I had more road to travel and more photos to take, and will post Part 2 tomorrow: