County Route 35, West Potsdam NY - Part 2

I was driving on St. Lawrence County Route 35 in West Potsdam, NY (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), and snapping photos of the rural scenery:

The landscape was mostly flat, but in places it was lower than the road, allowing wonderful scenic vistas:

This classic farm house looked as it must have many years ago:

This farm house appeared to have been remodeled and modernized:

An old, small barn with lots of equipment nearby:

Almost hidden behind the trees was an old farm house and barn, no doubt a family farm for many years:

A country auto repair shop:

This appeared to be an active farm, with multiple outbuildings (which had new roofs) and haylage stored out back:

A lovely mustard colored house with a great side porch for sitting and enjoying the rural scenery:

A system of barns and silo, right next to the road:

An old brick farm house, an uncommon thing in these parts. I think the brick part was the original home, and it still had its old plank door:

This was a modern building, but there were two big silos out back. The former barn must have collapsed or burned many years ago but the silos still looked new. This was the end of my driving tour so I put my camera away continued on toward Canton:

County Route 35, West Potsdam NY - Part 1

I'd just arrived in West Potsdam, NY via County Route 34 (see yesterday's post) and turned onto County Route 35 to see the tiny settlement there:

This great old home looked historic and had a large, artistic weather vane at its peak. I couldn't tell for sure what it was, but it may have been a fox with wings:

There was an old church which appeared to be no longer a church. I don't know what it is used for now:

A classic blue house with a great front porch:

I suspect this home began long ago but has had a number of additions over the years:

A modern looking home (or one which has been remodeled) with an old looking barn:

West Potsdam was situated on the western shore of Trout Brook, and I think this house had a nice view of it:

A lovely old barn off on a side road:

An older house and carriage house in great shape. It reminded me of homes seen on Cape Cod:

I headed south on County Route 35, passing this large greenhouse up on a hill:

This appeared to be several old barns, tied together:

A sizeable herd of horses up on a hill were eating hay from a bale feeder like mine. There was still more to see on this road, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

County Route 34, West Potsdam

I was driving to Canton, NY via back roads and found myself on St. Lawrence County Route 34. It was so scenic and had so little traffic that I decided to take pictures along the way:

The farmland was flat, with wide vistas across the woods and hay fields:

Old barns with silos dotted the landscape:

I think this was an old manure spreader:

Blue colored maple sap lines which fed into a collection house. I have read that many small operations use gravity fed lines, but bigger operations often use a vacuum pump to keep the sap flowing. I imagine that was what the shed was for:

A traditional farm house and several outbuildings:

The silo and barns which went with the above farm house:

This wasn't an old barn, but with the windmill, old gas pump, Texaco sign and brilliant red color, it sure caught my eye:

A lovely old farm house with a horse barn:

An old cemetery. With no snow on the ground, I would have enjoyed strolling around in it and reading the gravestones. Alas, I didn't want to lengthen my trip to Canton any more than I already was doing:

All the lawn furniture and grill appeared to be assembled to be protected for the winter. Perhaps they were going to move it into the old barn, just visible behind the house on the right:

I arrived at the intersection of County Routes 34 and 35 and decided to turn there, so I took one last photo of this Christmas colored house before starting a new series of pictures (tomorrow's post):

West Potsdam To Morley, New York - Part 2

I was on my way to the town of Morley, but currently in the hamlet of West Potsdam, New York. The houses there were mostly historic:

Most of West Potsdam overlooked farm fields and forests and most homes looked to have begun their existence as farm houses:

It was a lovely day for taking photos of classic rural scenery - as long as I kept the sun behind me. There were photos I couldn't take because the camera would have been looking straight into the sun. I realized after I got home that this was an Amish farm, and there's an Amish man just to the right of the silo base:

This too was an Amish farm, and two men were working out behind the house. I wondered how they got those big logs stacked up. It must have required some heavy equipment:

This classic old church didn't have a sign and I wondered if it was still a church or on its way to becoming a town hall or some other public building:

But West Potsdam was tiny and I had a long way yet to go before I arrived in Morley. So I continued on my way, passing many more scenic old farmsteads:

Set way back behind the trees, this woodsy place might have been a vacation cottage or someone's year 'round home - I couldn't tell:

A beautifully restored old farm house, with firewood and a porch swing:

Two red barns, both is excellent condition:

This old barn was currently being used to store the family's motor home:

Another lovely old farm house:

This equipment shed seemed to house several hay balers:

I passed through a tiny settlement called Bucks Bridge, which included this farm. But there are more photos to share from this scenic drive, and I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

West Potsdam To Morley, New York - Part 1

I was on my way to the tiny town of Morley. The route was exceedingly rural, so much so that most of the scenery along the way was forest or farm fields. But there were enough lovely family farms that I began taking photos, beginning with this old farm house and barn:

This classic old barn had twin silos and a brand new, green steel roof:

There were no houses or barns near this ancient cedar split rail fence, but I'll bet there was when it was built. Cedar lasts so very long and these rails were so old that I guessed it might have been there for a hundred years:

A lovely and welcoming farm house, with garden and barn:

Very old barns and silo, still in good shape:

This house looked to have been totally renovated. The garage/carriage house may have been new - or maybe it too had been renovated:

Another very old farm house with front porch and split rail fence:

Several old outbuildings behind a fuel tank. One of them housed a tractor and one of them was falling down:

I found this house particularly interesting, with its red barn out back. The right side of it had been renovated but the left side still showed how it may have looked many decades ago. The white door in the center was of the old style, plank construction and may have been original:

I arrived in the hamlet of West Potsdam and turned onto a side road to see the sights:

Most of West Potsdam was historic:

But there were also some more recent houses. I thought this one was new, but the green barn (now a garage) out back looked old, so maybe the house was too:

This old home was being renovated. I didn't notice the weather vane until I got home and was editing photos. I'm not sure what it was, but it was fascinating. Click to enlarge the photo if you want a better view of it. But there was still a lot to see on my journey, so I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: