Finnegan Road In The Town of Lawrence

The dogs and I had just finished a hike on the Rutland Nature Trail, beginning on Finnegan Road. Once I had all the pooches back in the car, I decided that this lovely rural road would make a nice driving tour:

This was more forest than farm fields, a rural road with comfortable, country homes:

There were old houses and new, big houses and small. This rather large home sat far back behind a row of trees and a stone wall:

This old farmstead may have been the home of one of the area's original settlers, maybe even the Finnegans:

Another family farm, with barns out behind the house:

A home with a patio deck and small lighthouse out front:

A large home with an impressive porch and a pond:

A woodsy home, set back in the trees and looking peaceful:

A smaller home:

Older barns alongside a modern home:

A modular and a mobile home:

A log home with an American flag, set back in the woods. There weren't many homes on Finnegan Road, and this was the end of our driving tour. But we'd had our hike and were anxious to get home:

Leary Flint Road In The Town Of Brasher, New York

When I first discovered Leary Flint Road, all I could think of was the famous, gnarly publisher of Hustler Magazine, Larry Flynt. But I got over it. Leary Flint Road was very narrow, sparsely settled and mostly forest. It was likely not paved. There was far too much snow for me to tell.

There were few homes on the road and even fewer farms, though this old barn gave evidence that there once had been farms:

Aside from a few small farm fields and old barns, Leary Flint Road was mostly forest and woodsy type homes:

This home looked like a place one might be invited to for a family Christmas:

There were a few modern modular and mobile homes:

Life on Leary Flint Road appeared to be country living of the woodsy type:

This home looked large and modern. The snowy conifers gave it a cheery, inviting look:

A home with a classic gambrel roof:

Larry Flint Road eventually became Murry Road, where I photographed this camp, set back behind the pines. I'd planned to continue on to the county road and then turn, but discovered the bridge was out. I had to backtrack, retracing my route:

But returning the way I'd come gave me the chance to photograph a few places I'd missed on the way in - like this very old cemetery, so buried in snow that its fence was barely visible:

I'd also missed photographing this place the first time through because the mail carrier was stopped at their mailbox. But that was all there was of Leary Flint Road. There are a lot of small, rural roads of this sort in the area and I sure do enjoy touring them:

McCarthy Road, Stockholm/Winthrop, New York - Part 1

We had a rainy day and I was in no mood to work outdoors anyway, so I took a driving tour to McCarthy Road in the town of Stockholm, and especially in the hamlet of Winthrop (which is within the town of Stockholm):

McCarthy Road began less rural and more settled than I'd expected. This mobile home did not appear to be lived in any more:

There were well kept homes beneath old Maple trees:

Neat and tidy mobile homes:

And modular homes. Most every home and yard showed that someone had been spending time mowing and gardening. Many, perhaps most, homes had garden gnomes, planters, benches, birdbaths, etc. to ornament them:

This mobile home was a good example:

McCarthy Road began to get both more woodsy and more agricultural. This log home showed the more woodsy style:

There were hay fields, bordered with trees:

Old barns, some of them nearly fallen down:

Old farmsteads, all fixed up with split rail fences and Day-Lilies just about to bloom:

Someone had been doing some repairs on this old barn to keep in top-top shape:

And there was a series of hay fields, each of them with rail fencing along the road:

This modular had an outbuilding and lots of roses in bloom. I still hadn't seen any commercial agriculture, but we were nearing the hamlet of Winthrop, so I figured that I wasn't going to see any on this road. Yet I was only about half way along McCarthy Road. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

McAuslin Road to O'Connell Road - Part 2

I was on a driving tour of McAuslin/O'Connell Road (see Part 1, yesterday's post) and it was taking me through scenes of rural beauty. This mobile home had been sided and roofed, with a front porch added:

A home with an enormous pile of firewood. This family plans to be ready in case we have another rough winter:

A pair of handsome horses:

And a logging operation. I wondered if it might be where the pile of firewood I'd just seen had come from:

A small red house and shed with a brand new, gravel driveway:

A log home with a large play-ship out back for the kids:

A forest brown home, set back in the trees:

A mobile home with lots of equipment and a wonderful, split rail fence:

It appeared that this mobile home and van were no longer being used:

And an old. abandoned farm house and barn. The barn's roof had collapsed. There was still more to see, so I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

McAuslin Road to O'Connell Road - Part 1

McAuslin Road runs from the town of Lawrence, in St. Lawrence County, into Franklin County, where it becomes O'Connell Road. I decided it would make a great driving tour one day. At the start, most of the road was through woodlands, with occasional grassy lanes which led back into the forest:

The forest was not old, but it was lush and green:

Then I began to see homes along the road, such as this blue house with pink and blue lawn chairs:

This barn was filled with old equipment:

A venerable old farm house:

This looked to me like a horse barn, though I didn't see any animals:

I pulled my car to the side of the road and got out when I saw a whole stretch of Blue Flag (wild Iris). They were in standing water, as they like it, and were lovely:

Here's a close-up:

I continued on my way, passing this mobile home. It did not appear to be lived in except that someone was mowing the grass for access:

A smaller home with a double garage, all neat and tidy and set back into the trees. But I'd just begun my driving tour and there was much yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: