Garvin And Harvey Roads In North Bangor, New York

I was on my way home from the North Country Animal Shelter in Malone, New York (previous two posts) and noticing the lovely farm country along the road. I eventually gave in to temptation and turned onto Garvin Road for a driving tour. I was not disappointed:

This modern style barn had an old fashioned, traditional corn crib:

A farm house with both a wonderful front porch and an upstairs balcony from which to enjoy the scenery:

A herd of cattle, eating beside an old barn and silo:

A farm house behind a traditional maple:

This was indeed traditional farm country, with old fashioned family farms everywhere:

A very large tractor was parked outside this red barn:

A farm house with a smaller barn out back:

A sugar house with its supply of wood all cut and stacked for use in the springtime:

Lots of firewood here too:

At some point I left Garvin Road and continued on Harvey Road, passing these beautiful birch trees, bordering woodlands:

 

This classic, red brick farm house sat up on a hill and must have had lovely views. But my driving tour was over and I had dogs waiting for me at home. So I put away my camera and continued on toward home:

North Country Animal Shelter - Part 2

I'd checked out both indoor and outdoor dogs (see yesterday's post) and walked away from the dog building wondering if they had cats:

I stopped along the way to say hello to this tiny dog in a red jacket:

His red friend joined him to bark excitedly. Just then, a woman arrived to let them out and they greeted me with great enthusiasm. It appeared that they were only outdoors briefly for a bit of fresh air. I learned that this pair could only be adopted together:

I walked over to the cat building, which had a sign on the door with the warning to open it cautiously as the cats were not caged:

And indeed they were not. I marveled at how clean everything was and how well all the cats got along. A family was looking for a cat to adopt:

There were cats everywhere and had been given lots of high perches and "highways" to travel:

I didn't notice it until I got home and was editing the photos, but the cat on the right could be a contestant for one of the websites for "Cats That Look Like Hitler" or, as they are sometimes called, "Kitlers:"

This girl had found a cat, about half grown, which was extraordinarily affectionate and she wanted to adopt it. Her mother thought the cat's great friendliness might be annoying. I butted in, saying that was kittenish behavior and if they needed a more staid cat, to choose an adult. Ignoring my advice, they then headed to the building where the younger kittens were kept:

The cats were clean, well cared for and looked mighty contented:

With every color combination I could imagine:

I met the Shelter manager, who introduced me to Stevie, a tiny, blind special pet she kept in her office. He was found, blind and lost, during the winter and, once rescued, became her beloved companion:

I left the shelter with mixed emotions. I hated to see some dogs kept outdoors although they all looked happy, healthy and comfortable. I also worried about the great number of animals they had compared to the miniscule number of adopters looking for pets (only one family on that Saturday afternoon). But I also got a good feeling about the place and found the people warm and caring, the pets clean and well taken care of. I think that if I were to again volunteer at a Shelter, this would be the one: