(Click on the thumbnail for the bigger, better version)
Saturday afternoon, The Husband and I drove to the neighboring town of Arvin to look at outbuildings. No. I most certainly did not say outhouses. Goodness! Where is your mind?
What has us thinking about outbuildings? Well, that recent dip in the economy and the big slide in the housing market just as we were relocating put a kink in our budget and we had to let go of a few dreams. One of the casualties was that charming barn we had in mind. While it would have looked great, more importantly, it would have provided shelter for the horses, hay storage, and a tack room. As things turned out, the horses had to settle for the mare motel, while The Husband is making do with the tarps and cinder blocks for hay storage along with a corner of the garage as his tack room. For a slight improvement, we have our sights on some outbuildings made by a California company called Dry Creek Mini-Barns.
Arvin is “just down the road a piece” and I love the drive down through the base of the Sierra Nevada’s and ranching country to the farm country and oil wells in the San Joaquin valley.
Traveling through the foothills entails a never-ending display of delightful colors and flowing, sensuous shapes. The greens of spring are an unearthly electric green and the oak trees, for a short time, are a pale and remarkable lavender. But for much of the year, the hill sides are golden. By summer, the grass is starved for water and baked to a rich gold by the California sun. I never tire of the spectacle. My one sadness is that, on the road through the mountains, there are few places for pulling off the highway to enjoy the countryside, and there are precious few side roads for exploring. Mostly, these are scenes that one must hold in the mind; or, in my case, shoot like a mad woman from a moving vehicle. Occasionally, my crazy experiments yield something that pleases me and brings back the feelings of awe and peace that I draw from the landscape.
What has us thinking about outbuildings? Well, that recent dip in the economy and the big slide in the housing market just as we were relocating put a kink in our budget and we had to let go of a few dreams. One of the casualties was that charming barn we had in mind. While it would have looked great, more importantly, it would have provided shelter for the horses, hay storage, and a tack room. As things turned out, the horses had to settle for the mare motel, while The Husband is making do with the tarps and cinder blocks for hay storage along with a corner of the garage as his tack room. For a slight improvement, we have our sights on some outbuildings made by a California company called Dry Creek Mini-Barns.
Arvin is “just down the road a piece” and I love the drive down through the base of the Sierra Nevada’s and ranching country to the farm country and oil wells in the San Joaquin valley.
Traveling through the foothills entails a never-ending display of delightful colors and flowing, sensuous shapes. The greens of spring are an unearthly electric green and the oak trees, for a short time, are a pale and remarkable lavender. But for much of the year, the hill sides are golden. By summer, the grass is starved for water and baked to a rich gold by the California sun. I never tire of the spectacle. My one sadness is that, on the road through the mountains, there are few places for pulling off the highway to enjoy the countryside, and there are precious few side roads for exploring. Mostly, these are scenes that one must hold in the mind; or, in my case, shoot like a mad woman from a moving vehicle. Occasionally, my crazy experiments yield something that pleases me and brings back the feelings of awe and peace that I draw from the landscape.
It seems that everywhere that I look, people are taking hits due to the economy. Now that mini-barn is pretty spacious looking. It would make a nice outhouse! I'm sure that you could dress it up, have the husband dig a hole, and presto-change-o, instant outhouse! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the photo at the top, Anita!
I really like the top photo--I assume it was made from a moving vehicle? Even though the scene is quite sparse it transmits a lot of energy.
ReplyDeleteOutbuildings these days are quite nice and convenient. When we purchased out home in 2006 it came with a very nice outbuilding that's even wired. Heck, there been times in my life I've lived in places that were not much better. ;-)
Paul - You really are getting mischievous, aren't you? I know you are full of beans this week, but honestly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment on the photo.
Earl - Yes, as we barreled along, I was shooting and hoping for something that would remind me of the scenes. Thanks for the commment. This is one of my favorites from those foothills.
ReplyDeleteThe previous owners of our place had installed one of the Dry Creek buildings that functions as the tractor barn and it has served well. While the current one is on a concrete foundation, the two new ones will get lighter use and will be placed on simple gravel bases. These buildings are much nicer looking than some of the sheds you can buy, and you make a good point. Heck, the nicely finished Dry Creek sales office is in an extra large one and looks pretty snazzy.
The intro photography is just wonderful, the yellows and the blues are perfectly balanced. And the overall softness makes it really dreamy. And that tree....it is just lovely.
ReplyDeleteOve - Thank you. Because looking at those foothills with the scattered oaks brings me so much joy, it is rewarding to know the photo pleases another.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful area Anita. I also love the top image - very nice.
ReplyDeleteMark - Thank you for your comment on the photo. We have a great variety of beautiful sights—all of them special. Doesn't leave me much time to long for new vistas, and that's something to be thankful for.
ReplyDelete