KENTUCKY OLD BARN GALLERY

Red barn found in Waco area

Living in rural Kentucky for six years, before I moved here to Oregon, I was astounded by the beauty of the old barns that still remained on their landscapes. Some were decaying and some were in fine shape as seen by the red barn above. During my Kentucky stay I took many photos of barns and plan to scatter a few posts over the next few months featuring them. All are from the central part of Kentucky. All the barns are diverse, no two alike, large and small giving us a glimpse of the talented barn builders of yesterday.

Have a seat and enjoy the beautiful day.

Decaying barn with old advertising painted on its side.

Barns have many uses today -- here are stored rolled bales for feed

Old "sentinel" barn watching over the hillside -- slowly aging.

Old and in fine shape

ME, MY DAD, AND STARBUCKS

Hey this is a neat place.

Just look at all the people in here.

Oh yes, and that lady over there is taking some photos of me. I heard her ask my dad if she could. I better put my best face on.

At last, a refreshing drink that my dad bought just for me.

Yummm!

NATURE, JUNG, FABRE, BEAR MOUNTIAN

Toad in my garden

Living on Bear Mountain  for six years has enlightened me six-fold about the world of nature. My mountainous woods and textured fields are packed with life in all forms that provide amazement beyond my expectations. I hope the next owner of this property respects Bear Mountain's natural world.

Pregnant Wolf spider in my garden

Two books have greatly influenced me while I have lived here.  One is the book, The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre, who was a brilliant researcher of nature especially of insects and spiders.

Nectar frenzy

Henry Fabre, would have loved my place. His influence on me was to develop an interest in insect and spider behavior. I found that webs of spiders are like pieces of art, no two seemingly alike,which provides beauty to our environment as well as catching traps for spiders. 

Bumble bee flying through wildflowers

Another of  my favorite nature related books is The Earth Has A Soul edited by Meredith Sabini. It is filled with the thoughts of Carl G. Jung, a man that believes that observations lead to discoveries in natural life connections. He was a Swiss scientist working in many fields -- especially studied Eastern and Western philosophies.  Let Jung speak to you directly from his book: 

". . . there is so much that fills me: plants, animals, clouds, day and night . . . the more uncertain I have felt about myself,  the more there has grown up in me a feeling of kinship with all things."

Orb garden spider waiting for its catch

Jung uses soul, psyche, and spirit as one and the same. He believes that technology has brought us further from our mythic past -- that we have lost its cosmological meaning. -- that technology does not always bring advances.

Blue tail dragonfly resting on my garden boardwalk 

In the waning days of living here I thought I would post these nature shots  from Bear Mountain. Hope you enjoy.

Praying Mantis -- terrorist to other insects.

DEFUNCT GAS STATION AND A MASSEY FERGUSON TRACTOR

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.

PHOTOGRAPHY WITH OUTBUILDINGS, A BARN, AND ANIMALS

There is a cluster of farm outbuildings with a barn that I have been eyeing  for some time as I thought they would be wonderful to photograph 

So a couple days ago I rode over to the spot with my camera thinking that it would be just me and the farm structures. But no, I found out differently once I stepped out of my little truck and starting taking photos.

First came the dogs, one by one

Racing down the road they came

Even a big Saint Bernard that wanted to check out the inside of my truck. 

All were friendly, they just hung around me while I took my pictures

When I had almost finished my photos I heard quite a sound coming up the hill in back of the barn. Then rounding the corner came mules -- then horses -- galloping toward a fence section near where I stood. Then they stopped and began looking me over very inquisitively. 

Mules taking a watch position in front of the barn.

Horses acted a bit bored with the whole thing. 

Now I had four dogs, two mules and two horses all closely around me.  I felt like I was at an animal party

As I finished taking photos, I thanked the animals for their hospitality. 

 Leaving the farm I took one last look at some of the official dog greeters. This was surely a new kind of experience for me.

OLD PHOTOGRAPH -- NOSTALGIA

Yesterday, I started going through my old paperwork in preparation of my move to Utah. 


Within my paper files I found two items that had slipped between some of my papers -- an old collar tag from a dog of long ago and some primitive drawings made by my young granddaughter.  These were nice finds and much beloved. I laid them aside to re-file later. Then I came upon an old school photo that had been missing for over twenty years. That photo is at the top of this post.


Someone's handwriting on the photo states, "Portland High",  and a date of 1895 which I take to be the year the photo was taken. Following this information are a few seemingly afterthought words --  "burned later." This is all that is revealed about the old school.


Now I never went to this school but I did at one time live in the charming town of Portland, Michigan where the school was once located. And while there, in my spare time, I became an antique photo collector.


There was a flea market in small town Portland that always had groups of old photos for sale. You know the ones that are going for high prices now. Well, I used to pick them up for fifty cents up to the grand sum of maybe three dollars. It was fun to peruse through all the old pics and get a glimpse of the culture that was current,  say in the mid to late 1800s -- dogs sitting on chairs, men in outdoor occupations, old store fronts, and circus performers from that bygone era. I even found a photo of the circus performers Tiny Tim and his wife with their signatures on the back of the cardboard backing. Little did I know that all of these photos would be so collectible in the future. 


Then I moved from this charming town. Far away to the west coast area. I carried my collection with me. 



After a few years I was in the throes of moving again. I cleaned out what I could live without and the photo collection was marked to sell. I sold them all to an antique dealer for what I paid for them. 

Many years later I became somewhat remorseful that I had parted with all of them -- not for the money sake but for their subject matter of common folkways. 

When I first found the above school photo in my papers yesterday,  I smiled -- it was the only one left from all that I had collected while living in Portland. Now, putting aside remorse,  it will serve as a reminder of the fun I once had collecting all those old photos of folks, animals and architecture of that long ago era.

1899 PHOTO -- MAN AND HIS FRIEND

In the photograph above dated 1899, sits a man and his friend -- his arm on its back like they were best of friends. 


He brought it to a studio to have their picture taken together. Notice the sign (difficult to read)  that he placed on his friend.  I have a feeling that his "friend" was a squash or pumpkin that probably was a county fair winner and the man was so pleased about it that he took it to a professional photographer. 


And why do I assume that it was a professional  photographer? Because of the hand-painted backdrop  that is behind the man and his friend. Backdrops like these were popular in small studios during the late nineteenth -- early twentieth century.


The sign on the pumpkin or squash says that it is 122 pounds in the year 1899. I cannot make out the long name except that it starts with an "S."  It could be his name or perhaps an heirloom variety name.


I found this old photo in a box with many others about twenty years ago in an antique store in Williamston, Michigan. It was one of those large, about 8 X 10 cardboard's, with the photo pasted on the cardboard while leaving about an inch of cardboard border. Sometimes you find names on the backs of old pictures. This was not the case here. Its back was blank.


You might wonder why I call this very large pumpkin or squash this man's "friend"  Well, I just thought it was a bit strange to include a squash or pumpkin with the presumed owner in a photo taken professionally. Perhaps it was a cultural folkway in 1899 to do so?


It is difficult to understand folkways sometimes when time has passed, in this case one hundred and twelve years. 

FARMERS MARKETS ARE NOT A NEW IDEA

Farmers markets in our country have been around for quite a while. It's an old idea that serves the community be it urban or countryside. Below are some early urban markets that offer up farm agricultural products. They were all busy markets and were essential to urban folks. The Detroit Publishing Company accumulated these photos and they now reside in the Library of Congress. Nice that we have the opportunity to view these early years of farm commerce. 

Great sign on this warehouse "AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE."  Apparently in this photo the vendors are setting up their spaces before the market opens. Photo taken in Boston, Massachusetts at the old Quincy Market, 1904.

City Market, Kansas City, MO, 1906

Close-up of the large bushel baskets and crates used to display produce. When I blew them up they got a bit fuzzy but they still are interesting compared to today's types of marketing display pieces. Close-up is taken from bottom left hand corner of Kansas City Market above.  

Every age appears to be involved in these great urban markets. Delightful photo of children at the French Market in New Orleans, LA, circa 1900 -1910.

Close-up of the "market kids" from the French Market above.  

This busy market place in New York City was called the Ghetto Market.

Open wagons of produce line the streets in New York City at the Italian Neighborhood Market, 

circa 1900-10. Ethnic markets were popular as immigrants flooded into the U.S. during this period.

New York city had a multitude of Farmers Markets across city neighborhoods. Here in 1900 is one called Mulberry Street Market.

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Farm markets have a long history in our country and thankfully for us they have had a resurgence replicating the market places in both urban and countryside places. 


GREAT RESOURCE SITE FOR LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
http://www.localharvest.org/