Finishing My Driving Tour And Arriving Back At The Farm

Wow, I'd sure had a busy day! I'd begun by signing a contract to have the barn repaired and re-sided and then taken a snowy driving tour of Blue Mountain Road in the Adirondacks. Then I drove through Gouverneur, Richville and Dekalb Junction, New York, snapping pictures wherever I went. It was time to go home to the farm and I'd made it as far as West Canton. I stopped at a convenience store and then noticed that across the street was a real, old fashioned Dairy Queen. Well, maybe it was more modern than those of my childhood but it was a cause of nostalgia for me nonetheless:

I followed Route 11 toward home, making the important turn at the Crossroads Inn. Notice on that sign that I had 10 more miles to go to reach Potsdam. And Hopkinton, I happen to know, is 12.5 miles beyond that. So I still had 22.5 miles to go (plus a couple of miles from Hopkinton to the farm):

On the outskirts of Canton, I noticed the Poulin Grain Company. This is real farm country:

And eventually I saw this welcome sight up ahead - my own house and barn. The four younger dogs were with me, but old Wally and Winky were sleeping at home and no doubt wanted to go outside:

Knowing that the barn was about to renovated, I walked around snapping pictures which I'll some day use as "Before" photos:

These ramshackle old sheds were to be demolished according to the contract, so take a good look now. They'll be gone the next time you see the barn:

A view from the west:

Another view of the sheds:

Good bye, old sheds and fire hazards:

And across the road in the north hay field sat this old lean-to filled with garbage. It wasn't part of the original contract, but the contractor agreed to take it down also. Things will sure look different the next time you see the farm:

I'm told that this old lean-to used to be used for cattle to get out of the weather. Obviously, that was a long, long time ago:

For many decades it has served primarily as a garbage storage place. Well, I was making plans to change all of that. Yes, I'd had a busy day and it was time to settle down for the night. I'll post more tomorrow:

Dekalb Junction, New York - Part 2

I was driving through Dekalb Junction, New York on my way home from a driving tour to Gouverneur. I stopped along the way to photograph something else when I noticed two Amish men stopped along the road talking. It seemed to me that one of them had brought the other there to wait for the bus. Notice the luggage alongside the road:

And right in the town center was a small Whatnot Shop. I now wish I'd have gone in to take a look:

And this was possibly the smallest restaurant I've ever seen. Rick and I ate lunch there once when he was up remodeling the farm house. It was extremely tiny and cramped inside, but filled with farmers talking about haying equipment and the price of feed:

This old home needed a paint job, but it was quite lovely nonetheless:

An active Methodist church:

Another older home, painted the green color of so many old barns in the area:

A giant old barn in good repair, still in active use:

Another Amish farm. The clothesline full of laundry was my first hint:

And then I saw another pair of Amish men, also apparently waiting for a bus. Again there was luggage at the roadside:

I stopped to say "Howdy" to these friendly horses and pony:

And nearby, apparently a bit of a loner, was a mule:

And my final shot of Dekalb Junction was this combination convenience store, liquor store and general store. They seemed to sell everything one could need but gasoline: