Rural Elmer Road, Town Of Lawrence NY

One morning I was in the mood for a driving tour, so I grabbed my camera, got into the car and headed to Elmer Road, where I knew I could find much rural beauty. The first farm I passed was this classic pair of barns, with a silo and hay bale elevator:

Farm equipment, a red barn and baleage stacked up for the winter:

In my mind, Elmer Road should be called "Elbow Road" because of the sharp turn it makes - and right at the turn is this log home:

They had two horses in the field, though I only managed to get one of them in the photo:

Two outbuildings, one apparently in use and the other not:

I have photographed this woodsy home before, set back in the pines like a forest hideaway. This, however, may be the first time I've seen it in the winter. It still looked woodsy and welcoming:

A series of outbuildings, apparently leading to someone's home, mostly hidden by trees:

I came to this ambitious and prosperous looking Amish farm, with its twin barns and twin silos:

I got a closer view of the silos and one of the barns as I passed by:

Another barn, this one with a traditional buggy parked outside:

The same Amish farm had a roadside stand and another barn beside the house:

And the house had laundry drying on the porch, a tree swing and a children's sled:

Still the same farm, I passed this workshop and windmill:

They also had a busy, prosperous looking sawmill. But that was the end of Elmer Road. I then turned right on Alburg Road, but I'll post those photos tomorrow:

Maple Ridge Road In Brasher, New York - Part 1

When Upper Ridge Road became Maple Ridge Road (see yesterday's post), I continued on in search of family farms and picturesque rural scenery. At first, however, I saw mostly suburban style homes:

But it didn't take long to enter farm country, beginning with this large field, filled with baleage and haying equipment:

A picturesque farm with a log home, red barns, silo and tractor:

A large barn, filled with hay for the winter:

It was difficult to get a good photo of these outbuildings, but I tried:

The road crossed over a small brook. With grassy fields on both sides of the brook, it was sure pretty:

This pile contained logs big enough and straight enough to possibly be saw logs instead of firewood. There are a lot of farm sawmills in the area:

Forage wagons, used for collecting chopped corn on its way to becoming silage:

Lots of farm equipment, stored along a row of trees:

Well, this wasn't very scenic, but it's the way most farms used to dispose of their trash:

This old homestead was picturesque, and I would have said no one lived there except there was a pickup truck parked in front of it, leading me to wonder:

I came to a field of Holstein calves who watched me with interest. There was still a lot more to see on Maple Ridge Road, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Upper Ridge Road In Brasher, New York

I was on my way home from the animal shelter in Massena, NY and decided to take a driving tour of a side road I saw along the way, Upper Ridge Road. At first I saw only suburban style homes, but then I came to this log home, set back among the trees:

And an old barn beside a hay field, with a boat stored close by:

This clearly had recently been farm country, though the fields and pastures were beginning to go back to woodlands:

I had to drive slowly because I was following a tractor, pulling a wagon loaded with logs for firewood. The hilly terrain meant I had to wait for a safe place to pass:

Another log home, this one with pumpkins out front:

This old farm had haying equipment stored outdoors, near the road:

A fenced pasture, filled with stones. This used to be a common sight before big equipment made it easier to move the rocks:

A whole field of baleage, hay inside plastic wrappers where it can ferment as silage:

Two very old barns, a pile of rocks and some rusty equipment:

A cluster of outbuildings with a pickup truck parked nearby:

Two old barns in superb condition. I especially liked the new roof and tractor:

A traditional north country farm house, with barns out back. This was my last photo on Upper Ridge Road because it continued on as Maple Ridge Road. I'll start posting those pictures tomorrow:

Rural Elmer Road In The Town Of Moira, New York

I decided it was time for another driving photo tour and decided on Elmer Road, in the town of Moira. The first farm after I turned off of Route 11 was this beauty. What could be more classically rural?:

Everywhere I looked I saw beauty. The grass had greened and the trees were budding at a rapid pace:

Elmer Road takes a sharp turn where this log home was located:

I stopped to photograph these horses and then noticed the three goats. The were so friendly and curious that they trotted up to the fence to check me out:

Two small sheds along the road:

And a very old shed, set back off the road behind a row of trees:

This woodsy style home was set beneath towering pines and wood smoke rose from one of the chimneys:

Almost hidden by the trees, I might not even notice this place once all the leaves are out for the summer:

I passed by a large Amish farm and snapped a picture of the first barn:

And then two silos and the main barn:

The Amish house was built in the popular style and had the usual clothesline out front:

They also had a windmill and a sawmill, though a man was working at the sawmill so I didn't take a picture. Elmer Road is very short and this was the end of it, but it's long been one of my favorites: