Small Town Living In North Lawrence, NY - Part 1

North Lawrence is a tiny community near me and I found this photo on a local Facebook page. It inspired me to take another driving tour there. Of course this picture was taken in autumn and my driving tour was in winter, but you can see how pleasant small town life can be:

The Google Earth view of North Lawrence:

The township of Lawrence, New York includes the tiny, rural hamlets of Lawrenceville and North Lawrence. I began in Lawrenceville and stopped at this old, unused barn for my first photo:

A huge old barn and silo along the highway:

It appeared to me that this old barn was formerly used for winter boat storage, and of course probably for livestock before that. Now it appears to be unused:

I arrived at the intersection of Route 11C, a state highway little used except for local traffic. But before turning north onto 11C, I stopped to photograph this old, abandoned farm house:

I'd gone past my turn in order to take the above photo, so I pulled into the driveway of the old farm house and was surprised to see the old barn which sat behind it:

But then I turned north north onto Route 11C and began snapping photos of the farms and rural homes on my way into North Lawrence. All of these places would have had the mailing address of North Lawrence:

This gigantic old barn always amazes me when I pass by it. I'd love to see inside it, but only in the summertime - not in this cold weather:

An old farm house with smoke coming out of its chimney - and a former carriage house, now a two door garage:

This is comfortable, scenic country living:

There was a cemetery in North Lawrence which, I deduced from the signs, was actually two cemeteries. This one was the Maple Grove Cemetery:

And adjacent to it, with no dividing barrier that I could see, was the St. Lawrence Cemetery. The Catholic church in North Lawrence was called St. Lawrence Church, so I guessed this was their cemetery:

This horse farm appeared to be new, or perhaps I'd just never noticed the sign before. The barn looked both new and expensive. The sign said it was

NATURAL HORSE LOVER FARM

HOLISTIC CARE & EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE AND ANIMALS

The sign gave their website address, so I checked it out. You can see the page with all the photos by clicking here:

 

I passed this old farm house, also with smoke coming from a wood stove, and its red barn out back. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

North Country Harvest Festival - Part 1

A very large horse farm, Honey Dew Acres in Crary Mills, New York, advertised a Harvest Festival on a recent weekend and of course I went to take a look. I parked in a hay field and walked toward the horse barns, paddocks and crowds of visitors:

There were large numbers of blanketed horses in many paddocks. Those people in the background were waiting for pony rides or watching the children already riding:

One of the horse barns, formerly a dairy barn:

A tractor pulling a wagon filled with tourists was parked on the main lane. When the driver asked if anyone else wanted on for this trip, I said I did and climbed aboard:

We sat on rough benches as the wagon bounced and lurched. The people were friendly and convivial, with quite a  number of youngsters. I was once again with the St. Lawrence County Maple Princess who, according her extra sash, was also the New York State Maple Princess:

We traveled around the barns and paddocks, and then headed into the woods, which apparently was also a sugar bush:

The sugar house was a classic structure and appeared to still be used:

Then we traveled back through the farm where friendly horses looked at us with inquisitive faces and sometimes followed us:

After the wagon ride, I stopped to watch the children being given pony rides:

I'd guess there were six to eight ponies, each with a young lady leading it and even younger children taking rides. But I still hadn't seen the hay maze or anything else, and it was time for me to go look for them. But I'll post about that in Part 2, tomorrow:

Part 3, Green and Hayden Roads in Parishville

Green Road ended at Route 72, but by taking a slight jog I continued my driving tour on Hayden Road. This was a gravel road as far as I could tell (the snow covered everything) and looked pretty barren of houses, but I continued on to see what I could see:

The first thing I saw was this huge lean-to, looking like a town garage, perhaps. It was empty except for one bay, which had lots of neatly stacked, split firewood. There were trucks out front but I couldn't read the name on them. That's when I realized I could use my zoom lens:

Yes, indeed. The zoom lens worked. This was the headquarters of Toomey Brothers Logging, in Parishville (which is where I was). A quick Google check when I got home informed me that they are dealers in firewood. Apparently that is a big business in the north country:

I continued on Hayden Road, passing more of the Toomey Brothers Logging buildings and trucks:

I no longer saw any power or telephone lines on the road but I did see this little cabin way back in the forest. It was quite far off the road and, just having proved the handiness of my zoom lens, I used it again for a better view of the cabin:

I passed by another small place back in the woods. With small places like these, I am always inclined to think they are cabins used for hunting or for summer vacations, especially since I saw no sign of public utilities. But that's only a guess. They may also be year 'round residences:

Hayden Road got narrower and took me through a forest with stone walls alongside the road:

But then I saw this sign. There was no need to slow down since I was barely moving at a crawl anyway:

This place said it was a horse farm although I didn't see any horses. Furthermore, It apparently had electricity, so perhaps the lines ran underground:

But it must have been the last house on the road, for beyond here the roads were not maintained between December 1 and April1. They were plowed that day, however, so I continued on:

The road became even more narrow and there was no place to turn around. I finally found a spot to get facing back the way I'd come at this place way back in the forest. This must surely have been a camp but again, that's only a guess. I ended my driving tour, put my camera away and headed for home:

Part 2 - Porter Lynch Road

I was surprised to find that Porter Lynch Road was very long, stretching from the town of Stockholm into the town of Norfolk and then back into Stockholm again:

Most of the road was agricultural and there were lots of fields with hay bales and farm equipment:

Herds of beef cattle out on pasture:

Spacious, comfortable homes with wonderful porches:

Old barns with sagging roofs:

Old farm houses:

And some antique farm equipment:

I thought this barn was still in use until I noticed the trees growing through its roof:

Big old trees in front of country homes:

Horse barns:

And, of course, horses:

This last photo of my tour seemed to be the very essence of Porter Lynch Road. A well kept flower garden, an older home with a barn out back. This looked to me like a place I'd like to call home. But of course I already had a home and had delayed getting back to it for too long already. So I put away my camera and pointed the car in that direction:

Part 2, Pleasant Valley Road

My drive along Pleasant Valley was a shortcut around the busy center of Potsdam as well as a scenic pleasure:

There were horses on pasture and many fine, old trees:

And the Pleasant Valley Horse Farm, which I found listed on the internet as a boarding stable:

More old farmsteads, now all fixed up:

And this long, low, modern home with perhaps the longest porch I've ever seen:

A sprawling home with an old stone well out front:

And an A-Frame, set back in the trees:

The Ellis Cemetery:

Pleasant country living:

Steeply pitched roofs and a double garage, protections against the rigors of northern winters:

More mobile homes:

And many homes barely visible behind the trees, this one with a load of firewood for winter. But I still had not come to the end of Pleasant Valley Road. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: