About a week ago I was out wandering the roads in an area I had not been in before. I just picked a road and followed it north. As it happens so many times, I found some rather interesting places in my photo quest.
This old former gas station was one of the places I found. It sat beside the road I was travelling on. The gas pumps that had once stood on the cement platforms were gone. There were all sorts of equipment pieces and also hand tools lying around so I figured that the place was some type of repair shop now, although there was no one around to tell me so.
But what I did notice was this old Massey Ferguson tractor that was sitting up under the front roofed area. I also noticed the gas station windows in back of the tractor that told me the place was built in the early 1900s. So I was thinking old place, old tractor. I have an idea of how old the building is but how old is the tractor? And even though I didn't know its age I thought it had both charm and status.
I noticed some new wiring attached around the engine part and some newer type hand tools lying on the engine cover and thought perhaps it was getting a spring tune up? Then, while standing there taking my photos a gut feeling rushed into my mind -- I felt as if someone was watching me as I took photos of the tractor -- I wasn't afraid -- I just thought it was time to move on down the road.
Wow how nice.
ReplyDeleteSparkle100 -- thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice comment -- barbara
DeleteI got out today and got nothing! Thinkin I need your eye... Fun pics!
ReplyDeleteturquoisemoon -- your back! I hope you had a good time on your break. It was a nice day today but didn't have the time to get out with my camera. I have days when I think I will never find anything of interest to photograph -- and at the end of my ride I do stand empty handed. Other times -- you know -- we find lots of wonderful things and places to photograph. I leave the house never knowing what I will find. -- barbara
DeleteI really enjoy these photos. There are places around here that have this kind of vibe: seemingly deserted but maybe they aren't really...
ReplyDeleteHattie -- you put it nicely -- places that seem deserted but maybe they really aren't. That is the feeling that I got when taking these photos. If they were watching me they probably got a laugh out of this older woman walking back and forth trying to get the best angle. thanks -- barbara
DeleteI am all creeped out thinking someone was watching you. ick
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures though!
Birdie -- I didn't mean to creep you out. Really I felt quite comfortable even if someone was watching. But I thought I might spook someone out by taking so many shots of the tractor -- didn't want to scare them so I moved on. thanks -- barbara
DeleteI'll bet the tractor is 50 or 60 years old; but things were made to last back then, maybe someone's trying to make it usable again. Once it was a nice bright red!
ReplyDeleteYour feeling of being watched is interesting - the feeling itself suggests a set of conjectures. A short story may be there, not necessarily a ghost story, it could go a few directions. Hmmmm. Anyway it's an interesting place.
June --I think you hit the age of the tractor on the nose. If you read the comment by Laloofah below you will understand why I say this. Yes, I saw online where the Massey Ferguson tractors were all a bright red. I was not feeling in harms way about someone watching me. What I do feel sometimes is that folks might think I am up to no good and might contact the sheriff. Or they can be laughing at this older lady taking all these pictures. I really don't want to explain myself to a sheriff. So I move on as quickly as possible unless someone is friendly at the site. Like the idea or ghost story though -- thank -- barbara
DeleteI see you as a folklorist/anthropologist detective here! The Ghost of Gas Station Past might have been watching, yes?
ReplyDeleteRita -- I am always playing detective when it comes to folk ways. It is in my blood -- always has been since I was a young girl.
DeleteMany photographers would take the trashy elements out of an image while I like leaving in the reality of the situation. It reflects its true essence. I think the ghost of the gas station would make a good story for this place. thanks for stopping -- barbara
Wow, looks like someone's got themselves a spring project going on! We used to have an old Allis Chalmers tractor that we used for plowing snow and grading our dirt driveway and such. Sold it when we moved to the mountainside, as its tricycle style (with the two little front tires right beside each other in front) was much too prone to making it tip over on our sloped land. I showed your photo of this Massey Ferguson to BW, who was a mechanized ag major at Texas A&M (every now and then that comes in handy! LOL), and he estimates that "your" tractor is from the late 40's to mid-50s. Maybe you can swing by it in a few months and see if our invisible handyman (or handywoman) has made any progress! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy eye was drawn as if by an eyeball magnet to the beautiful treed green space beyond the old gas station in the first photo. It looks like a park or a cemetery. Or is it just vacant land? It's very inviting!
Laloofah -- Yes quite a spring project for sure. Thought it very interesting about the tire configuration and the possibility of tipping on inclines. Never gave that much thought but will be more observant of tractor's design. So BW was an ag major. He would be the expert, for sure, in identifying the age of this tractor. Amazing that this tractor is still alive after 60+ years or so.
DeleteOh the back land belonged to a home set far back from the road. Apparently they are the ones that keep the property mowed up to the roadway? Although this whole area could be a park as it is treed with a lovely creek running through the area. Sparsely populated. thanks for the comment -- barbara
The date on the tractor is right on. It's old - maybe 60 and more even.
DeleteNice trip back in time. It was a time.
ReplyDeleteBirdman -- the past is who we are. Trips back can sure be illuminating. -- barbara
DeleteInteresting bit of nostalgia. Unfortunately our rural areas and small town see to many abandoned farms and service stations. A way of life has changed into corporate American. And not always for the better...
ReplyDeletetroutbirder -- It appears to me that what I see around my area is, sad to say, the taking over of corporate America. The declining farms, main streets, gas stations, and independent business places -- we now seem to work for "the man." There are many times I sit and gaze out my window and wonder if we will ever be independent from large corporations. How can we re-employ the masses laid off when many of our jobs are now being filled by other countries. thanks for the comment -- barbara
DeleteThat little gas station looks exactly like the one near my childhood church. It was open on Sunday and many a week we sneaked down between Sunday school and preaching and spent our collection plate dimes on candy.
ReplyDeleteNCmountainwoman -- When I was young just about every commercial establishment in my small town was closed on Sunday. Never thought about the gas station. I suppose it might have remained open on Sunday? thanks for the comment -- barbara
DeleteWhat a sweet, old tractor.
ReplyDeleteMichelle -- thanks -- I like all that old farm machinery -- such integrity they had -- barbara
Deletei once turned over a tractor like that, and I was still onboard!
ReplyDeleteKen Mac -- Ouch! Nice that you survived so we could all enjoy your photography on your blog! -- barbara
DeleteI spent the day out in the country picking up milk at farms. It's nice because I get to ride with the driver. That allows me to sit and stare out the window absorbing scenes like yours all day. I am like the lab with his head out the window soaking up the air. I swear I saw this same place!
ReplyDeleteRaining Iguanas -- too bad you couldn't take a camera on some of those drives. I do imagine that you see some great shots while out in the boonies. I'll say one thing if you saw this place you drove past all your stops -- right into KY for sure. -- thanks -- barbara
DeleteNot only was this a most enjoyable post, but I think an important one also. It is vital that photographer's help to preserve glimpses into an America that is either quickly disappearing in some areas or most likely will everywhere in the future. Great work.
ReplyDeleteLydia -- I agree that the American landscape is evolving full speed ahead. To many it is sad and to others it is what it is. So many of the buildings I see as I travel this area have disappeared. Photography can provide documentation of our landscapes -- it is great that so many are doing so. Thanks for the very kind words, I do appreciate it -- barbara
DeleteLovely photos. So glad you are capturing these disappearing icons of American life.
ReplyDeleteVicki -- We capture so many of the famous in our building history but seem in so many cases to forget the foundations on which we live -- our farms, small towns, small businesses etc. thanks for stopping -- barbara
ReplyDelete