Winter Views of Stockholm Center, New York - Part 1

I arrived at the farm on Sunday and showed the apartment to a potential renter, took possession of the "new" tractor and began putting up curtains in the farm house. On Monday morning I decided I had to drive in to Massena to shop at Home Depot, Tractor Supply and Wal-Mart. So I got the dogs all settled in the house and headed out. I slowed down to photograph these turkeys in a farm field as I drove away:

But I didn't drive directly to Massena. I had plans for a driving tour of several small hamlets, beginning with Stockholm Center. The actual "town" is Stockholm, but it includes numerous hamlets and settlements. This one, right on the Route 11, was Stockholm Center:

I turned briefly onto County Route 47 to get a glimpse of this wondrous old barn:

And then continued on along State Route 11 where I noticed, for the first time, this golf course. The snow covered up its name but a quick Google search told me that it's Meadowbrook Golf Course:

There were large houses:

And even bigger, old historic stone farm houses. This one even had a barn constructed of stone:

There were smaller houses:

And ranch style houses. But there was more to Stockholm Center than this, so I'll continue tomorrow with Part Two:

I Begin Touring The Rural Back Roads

I'd arrived at the farm in the early afternoon. I'd toured the lawn and gardens and I'd walked some of the dogs across the north hay field and through the woods to a hidden meadow, a small part of which I own. I'd driven with Daphne to Potsdam to photograph "The Toilet House" and then I decided to drive the rural roads, photographing the local sights. My first stop was this impressive stone house and stone barn:

And this very nicely done stone wall built across a pasture:

Some horses in a field:

I noticed in my travels that the local area appears to be in the midst of a revival, with many people buying farm properties and fixing them up. I love the older buildings, though, so tended to photograph run down barns and abandoned houses instead of those all gussied up. This classic farm fits right in the middle and is neither run down nor all fancied up. It's typical of what one sees on those rural roads:

This barn, however, is in much need of repair:

And a sort of junk pile in the center of a pasture:

Some family's home and barn:

And a classic split rail fence of the type one commonly sees up there:

And way off the road behind that fence, a small modest cabin. If you click to enlarge this picture, you'll also notice two geese grazing:

An old homestead behind tall old maple trees. I can only imagine what stories it could tell:

Still a functioning farm:

I'd noticed in previous tours of the area that green was a more popular color for barns than red. This property had two of them. I continued exploring the back roads and will post more photos in days to come: