Beauty in the Backroads - Pink & Green Trains

While I'm busy on the backside, i wanted to drop in and leave you with a little bit of color for the day.

I discovered these on a road trip through the backroads recently.

How fun are these colors?

I just love finding unexpected treasures like this!

Beauty in the Backroads

If you know me at all, you know that I have a passion for outdoor photography. There's nothing I enjoy more than heading down the backroads with my camera.

You can often find me jumping fences, sneaking on to properties I shouldn't be, or laying in the grass, all in the name of a good picture.

I thought I'd share a few of the treasures I've discovered on those backroad drives.

We happened upon this place today on a drive down a country road. It sits at the front of a large farm property. It appears as if it was once a small mercantile.

I'm glad the owners of the farm kept it on their property. It appears they also keep it up. The porch had obviously been swept and the windows were clean.

Here are a few more I thought you might enjoy.

I love the way the spring sun brings out the vivid colors in nature.

This was in my own front yard.

Here's an old home I discovered on a drive a few weeks back. The sun was so strong that day, it was hard to get a good photo of this. I plan to drive back there now that everything is more green and get a better picture.

However, the subject was interesting enough that i wanted to show it to you anyway.

Isn't that a fabulous place?

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures. I'll be sharing many more with you from now on.

What do you like to photograph?

If you show your photography on your blog, please let us know in the comments so we can be sure to check it out.

Home on the Farm in Pictures

I love photography. You will rarely ever catch me without a camera. Outdoor photography is my passion - my indoor photography, well, it still needs some polished skills applied. I never even realized how tricky indoor photography was until I started blogging. I never really had a reason to take pictures indoors.

One day I was at my mom's and my nephew announced that he wanted to submit a photo for something at school. Could I show him how to take a picture? So after much discussion we agreed that I would show him a few things, but he had listen and be patient. Kinda hard for a 10 year old boy addicted to video games, but he pulled it off nicely. In fact, he became very interested and took to it like a pro.

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My mom still lives in the home I was raised in. I grew up on a working farm in a small town in Tennessee. It's no longer a farm, and there's barely a hint of animals ever having taken up residence there. But the property still holds the beauty it always did. On that particualr day, it was such a treat to show my young nephew how to look at his surroundings in a different way. How to look at big things and break them down into smaller vignettes.

So without further ado, here is what came out of that 10 year old boy (now almost 12) down home on the farm that day.

I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!

(That is my mother's barn in the background.)

(This photo is special to me. It is the trunk of the first Christmas tree we ever had in this house. Planted in 1975 it now stands higher than the electric poles. The last time I was home my nephew showed me where the electric company marked it to be cut off. [pouting with bottom lip turned under]}

This is at the corner of the barm. I challenged him to find a spot where he could get at least 3 blocks of color

in one picture. He did pretty good with this one.

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And this is my favorite. Each time I look at it it reminds of my dad. I have an affinity for bird houses which I'm sure came from him, and there are many to be found around my mom's house. The little triangular block on the side of the pole used to hold an ear of corn for the squirrels back when the farm was still active.

(Next time I'm home Ill snap a picture of a bird house I made for him on Father's Day when I was still a teenager. It still hangs on my mom's patio.)

So what do you think? Didn't Brandon do a great job? You'd never know it was his first time out.

He has no idea I'm posting this but as soon as I get a few comments, I'm going to call him and tell him to read my blog today. He'll be so surprised!

Duck, Duck, uh......Mallard? Finding joy in the Little Things

So last night I told you I'd tell you tonight what we happened upon yesterday that really was an unexpected treat. Well, everyday we drive down the road in front of our house and we pass this little lake that looks more like a big pond from the road. A few days ago we saw 2 boats on the water with people fishing, but we couldn't figure out how they got there.

Yesterday, we decided to drive down the road closest to it to see where the actual boat dock was.

Wow, what a surprise we got! There was a whole park back there, and that big pond was actually a winding lake. It was fabulous.There's a ball park, an amphitheatre, a wedding chapel, a fishing dock, a picnic area, and these, lots of these.

Literally, when we drove around the bend and came upon this, it took my breath away. I had to jump out of the car and take a few pictures.

Isn't it wonderful?

It was such a cold and dreary day, and the wind was blowing which made it even colder, and yet here were all of these ducks strutting around like they didn't have a care in the world. It truly did feel magical for a moment.

As I began to walk towards them I felt for sure they would quickly scatter and dart away from me. But instead they walked directly up to me, no doubt thinking I would feed them.

Here I was with nothing for them, only a Hershey bar for myself in my pocket. I felt so bad, and it didn't take them long to realize I came empty handed...........

That's right. They turned around and walked away.

My husband sat in the car laughing at me. It was a funny sight, seeing them run up to me, ponder a moment, and then turn around and leave.

Next time I'll know to stuff my pockets with bread.

As we were leaving the park, we spotted this, which perfectly thrilled my husband since he enjoys fishing. He was excited that we found this only two miles from the new house. So was I, but for different reasons.

I bet those people feel so peaceful out there.

And do you see that little red barn through the tree branches? As soon as I figure out how to get over there, I'll be taking some pictures of that as well.

I wanted to show you more pictures of this wonderful place, but it'll require a warmer day.

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And just so you don't think I've stopped unpacking and started playing, here's a sneak peek of Friday's post:

I can't for the life of me figure out why the pillow was removed from it's cover, and I sure haven't found it yet.

BUT, I DID find those pesky brackets I've been looking for for days. If they had been a snake, they'd have bit me.

Fall is in the air...............

I live right outside the foothills in Colorado, close enough to see the leaves change, but far enough away to miss the early snowfalls of the season. The mountains have already gotten about 6" of snow this past week, while the temperatures at the bottom have waned between 52 and 80 degrees.

While the resort areas are gearing up for more snow, we're just starting to feel the first signs of fall. All of the stores have their pumpkin displays neatly piled up on top of hay bales, with fall leaf springs strewn throughout. A pretty site indeed.

While I love those type of displays, I would much rather drive around and find the colors of fall imbedded in nature's own raw bounty. Colorado never disappoints when you're looking for anything beautiful in nature to stop you in your tracks.

I found this scene in the yard of an abandoned house. How pretty, and definitely fall. It was hard to believe that someone would uproot themselves from this property. It sits at the edge of the woods, right outside of the hub-bub of the city.

Can't you see yourself sitting on a bench along the side, sipping homemade hot cocoa? I wonder if any children ever skated on the pond in the winter..................

Can you believe this house is empty? Since I have a very curious nature, I had to peek in the windows. Everything was original to the house, and there was even a servant's kitchen off to the side. Someone of stature must have lived here at one time. I've snuck back up to this property during every season to take pictures. Once I caught it during a heavy snow, and it literally stopped me in my tracks it was so beautiful.

You'll see those pictures show up here at Christmas time.

(Just a side note.....they've now put a fence [big, orange, ugly and plastic] up around the property, and I'm sure it's to keep me out!)

Enjoy the freshness in the air, and look for the beauty that surrounds you.

Happy fall!