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:

State Route 11B, From The County Line To Nicholville - Part 1

I was on the road on a lovely, sunny day and decided to take a driving tour of State Route 11B in St. Lawrence County, from the Deer River to the town of Nicholville:

This is farm country and the first farm at which I stopped had these huge grain bins (and barking dogs who were not happy that I'd stopped along the road):

This lovely old farm house had built a brand new barn just recently:

This farmstead had freshly washed quilts flapping in the wind to dry. It is spring cleaning time, after all:

There were a number of Amish farms along the road, all of them looking prosperous, but this was the only one without Amish people working out front. Knowing how they dislike being photographed, I don't usually stop for pictures when they're outside working:

I stopped at this old silo, standing all alone beside the foundation of its former barn. I was intrigued by the picnic table nearby. Does some family have picnics there?:

A small house with a bright red roof and a tractor parked out back:

An enclosed front porch:

This small, abandoned house got me wondering who had lived there and what life may have been like for them:

A red barn and a greenhouse:

A farm stand and several barns were part of this farmstead. This was indeed beautiful, rural countryside and I had more distance to go before I arrived in Nicholville, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Part 1 - Elliott Road, Town Of Stockholm, New York

As I often do, I combined a driving tour with a shopping trip. In this instance, I was on my way to Potsdam via Route 11B. I turned onto Elliott Road at this old, abandoned green building which may have been a factory, a store or apartments at one time - or perhaps all three:

Elliot Road was very rural and most of what I saw at first were barns and forests:

This woodsy home appeared to have had a series of additions:

The surrounding forest was mostly hardwoods and not too old:

This little cottage was probably someone's vacation camp or deer camp in the fall:

And many of the homes, what few there were, sat so far back into the trees that they were difficult to photograph:

This lovely old barn appeared to have been well cared for and given a new roof:

The barn belonged to this sturdy brick farm house:

Another cottage back in the trees:

An exquisite, old fashioned farmstead. I think of Thanksgiving when I see such a scene:

This old, abandoned home sat at an intersection and I wondered why it had been left to rot. It seemed like such a shame:

And perhaps the most beautiful farm scene of them all, this photo could grace a Christmas card. But I had just gotten started on Elliott Road and there was still a lot to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Part 3 - Snell, Brigham Hill And Taylor Roads

I'd begun on Snell Road and then toured Brigham Hill Road. That brought me to Taylor Road, where I passed lots of farm fields and beef cattle:

And homes for people who really love country living:

This appeared to be a classic old farm house:

This old trailer seemed to have been abandoned many years ago, as it was seriously dilapidated:

This nifty outbuilding stood all alone in the trees and seemed to be designed just for firewood:

And then I came to a series of trailers, set back in the woods, each a different, bright color. No one had plowed, so they apparently were not used at all, or used only in warmer weather. The first was yellow:

And then a salmon pink trailer:

And a green trailer - or perhaps I should call that color chartreuse, the color my mother painted our kitchen in a stylish 1950s update:

This was the first Amish farm I'd seen on any of the three roads I toured that wintry day, and this was their barn:

The Amish house was being insulated and had lots of clothes hanging out to dry:

Taylor Road, to my surprise, brought me right back to Route 11B, where I'd begun. This magnificent Amish farm stood at the intersection. But my driving tour was over, so I put my camera away and headed for home:

Part 1 - Snell, Brigham Hill And Taylor Roads

The severity of the winter weather eased off a bit, and I decided it would be a good day for a driving tour of some local road. I headed out toward Route 11B, only to be stopped by this small herd of deer. They weren't afraid of me until I aimed a camera at them. Then they fled toward the trees:

I drove east on Route 11B to Snell Road and turned left, where I encountered this snowy field filled with hay bales and farm equipment:

There was a hay rake, parked in the snow and waiting for next year's hay season:

Trailer, hay wagon and other equipment:

I continued on Snell Road through the woods, passing this travel trailer, parked back in the trees. I guessed that it was someone's deer camp:

I arrived at this lovely home and a sign which said the road, from that point on, was a seasonal road and not maintained in the winter. In other words, Snell Road had only one house on it. So I returned to Route 11B in search of another road to investigate:

Snell Road had been in the town of Dickinson, and I next turned onto Brigham Hill Road in the town of Moira (pronounced moe-EYE-ra):

Brigham Hill Road was classic farm country, as rural as could be:

There were woods and hay fields:

And more farm equipment parked out in a snowy field, just waiting for next year's rush to get the hay in:

I passed this old out building which apparently had not been used in many years. But there was lots more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: