last week the ride from the barn, today the barn by itself

post #441
          I have kind of a fascination with Gary's barn.  I've posted photos in the past from when Jonathan was renovating the building.  Yesterday -- the week after the memorial ride I posted about last time -- I stopped by to make some more barn photos. Jonathan happened to be there, after feeding all the cattle and the horses! It turned out that this had been the day he separated the calves from their moms. These calves were in the barn but not at all in the mood to have their photo taken.  But the horses were in the barn as well, and they were delighted to stand around contentedly. Perhaps my presence was like desert.... (That's a joke..)
             The light for making photos (bright sun) wasn't as good yesterday as it was before the memorial ride (some cloud cover) but anyway, here are some of my takes, so to speak.

 inside the barn, with Jonathan

The oldest horse, Tiffany but nicknamed Tiff, is around 30 years old and beloved:
 

Tiff is mom to the bigger horse next to her, and I think the dark colored horse is Tiff's granddaughter:

 

my only half decent photo of some of the calves, looking huge to me:

  The repaired roof amazes me. What a piece of work. Bravo, Jonathan!

 storage area -- the old plow, now in the rafters:

 looking back toward the shed and the house:

      The last photo, of the door on that shed, is an attempt at art -- the door has been in use for over 50 years. Everyone realizes it needs to be replaced, but it is latched in place with memories and stories:

Some things are like old friends, and we get attached and even defined by the familiar despite the changes of aging....

5th annual memorial ride for Gary Purnell

post #440
         Friends and family continue to do an annual ride to honor Gary who passed away five years ago.  He loved his horses.  Other years the ride has happened in July. Since the weather then is often fairly hot, this year they tried for September. Well, yesterday was the least hot of this current hot spell, but even so it felt like July.  
        I do enjoy making photos when I can for my friends and neighbors on this ridge in eastern Kentucky where we all live. I was there this year for the starting out of the gathering and also I made a few photos while they were on the actual "circle tour" ride. 

The preparations:

Jonathan prepares his horse.

grandfather and grandson

Gary's grandson, with a sheet cake from home

riding the four wheeler -- I'm sorry not to have the full view because I don't know the specific names of the various kinds of vehicles....

getting ready to set off for a couple of hours, making a slow circle:

Jean, Gary's wife

Jonathan's buddies

on the roads:

         More happened than I can show in the photos, but I hope I have been able to give a flavor of the time and place and the honor and the love.  Thank you all,  Ann

could have been any given afternoon

post #439
         Such is what I see just wandering around. If the light is OK, then there are many temptations.  This first photo shows the chicken yard, seen on a recent post as well.  I've now added a photo of the two ducks in there with them.  Both look happy and healthy, so it's just weird, but not harmful.  

       However, there is this pond close by where the ducks could be swimming and showing off their beautiful selves in the beautiful reflections.... O well. (Please notice the hint of cardinal flowers on the lower left of this photo.)

cardinal flower and attendants:

(R, fun to realize that we each saw the same possibilities for this same cardinal flower!)

     
        Later, along the way during a drive to visit some neighbors, I stopped a few places to explore some shapes hidden from the road:

from the family cemetery on the top of the hill along the road

different light, though only twenty minutes earlier

Back at the chicken yard (see fence behind), there's a new chair, back and all. The rest of the tree is now firewood.

           I would hope that some of the monies designated to build a useless ego-driven wall in the wilderness can be liberated to help out instead our near neighbors in the Bahamas.  They are continuing to experience such a nightmare after being under a horrible hurricane for days.  Food and shelter seem to be a more urgent and compelling use of funds. A bit of kindness in the world would go a long way.  Just sayin'. 

far from the hurricane but very aware of it

post #438
          Some lovely moments these days with natural light.  I have made some hay photos this past week, near by --- some flowers in the fields, and other such beauties that catch my eye. We have some family members living in Key West, so I am paying attention to this slow moving hurricane which doesn't want to reveal where it plans to go. I hope people affected by the wind and weather can stay sensible and be safe. I think Key West could actually end up being a good place to be in Florida this week. 

recently mowed

I walked over these fields.

today, looking across those two fields that I had walked over two days earlier, before the bales were made, I could still smell the cut hay -- evocative

by the side of the field, thistles!

another unexpected evening sky

two days later, at the bottom of my driveway, watching this truck return for another load of bales from my neighbor's fields

along the edge of the field

          

being met by this two baler, as it was leaving the field to go load them behind the red truck

from my car, as I follow the two bales from behind

I don't happen to know the guys mowing the fields across the road from my house, but I enjoyed watching them work.  The hay was somewhat sparse this year after so much dry weather, but it was still taken care of. It's hard to believe that this means winter will be showing up in a few months.  In between is deer hunting. And lovely leaves. And an election in Kentucky for governor. And this is all for tonight.  No mow for now.....