On Wednesday, December 29th, my son-in-law who was visiting, my youngest son and I went out to do some photography. Since our time was limited we went to a place in the foothills of the North Cascades about a half hour away where we had seen and photographed a yard full of old vehicles and machinery. The place is not a junkyard, but appears to be private land on which a quite a number of these old vehicles are displayed without any attempt being made to protect them from the elements. The vehicles include old cars and trucks as well as old tractors, and old logging and construction equipment including an old steam shovel, old bulldozers and caterpillars, and old farm equipment. We would have asked permission but there seemed to be no one about and no one said anything about our being there and taking pictures, so we snapped away, though the day was a bit wet and gray. These are some of the pictures we took that afternoon.
Since we were going to be heading south after our initial stop in Dublin, I started researching places that might be neat to visit on our road trip through the bottom half of Ireland. I came across a pretty little photo on Pinterest that suggested that The Wonderful Barn would be a worthwhile visit. Not only did it pique my interest because the building did in fact look unique, but it was also one that was right on our route and was free to see. Finding the barn was a bit of a scavenger hunt for us. Our navigation took us to a modern subdivision and told us we had arrived, yet we didn't see the barn anywhere. We exited the subdivision to get back on the main road and I spotted a gated off dirt road right around the corner. There wasn't anywhere to park, but I had a feeling we'd find the barn in the field behind the gate. I didn't want to ruffle any feathers by trespassing onto the property and figured this stop was a bust. But, as luck would have it, just as we decided to call it a loss and drive on, the groundskeeper pulled up, unlocked the gate, and told us to feel free to park our car on the sidewalk and walk on back. I seriously freakin' love Irish hospitality! The Wonderful Barn dates back all the way to 1743. It was originally used for grain storing, and is said to have later been used to keep the local poor employed during the Year of the Slaughter. As we walked up, I was immediately enchanted by stone entrance way, as it had a Secret Garden vibe going on. I am a sucker for odd architecture, so I was definitely mesmerized by the corkscrew shaped barn with its 94 steps circling the outside of the structure. It's no longer a functioning barn and has sadly fallen into dilapidation so we weren't able to go in for a tour, but I did enjoy walking the grounds imagining how lovely it must have been during the height of its use. Now, the grounds are overgrown and you'll find some parts marked with graffiti, but I could still see the beauty in this old place. While I loved the visit, my family wasn't really impressed and didn't much trust my judgement on the other stops I had earmarked on our road trip. "Are we going to a wonderful church next? What about a wonderful castle?" Even though they weren't amused, I'm still happy we plotted it on our travel map and would recommend checking it out if you're in the area. There's a lovely little garden that was being tended to on the grounds still, and I truly got a kick out of this gate sign. It's so Irish, don't you think? The Wonderful Barn is located in Celbridge Rd, Barnhall, Leixlip, Co. Kildare. If you venture out that way, snap a pic and tag me on Instagram (marison459). I'd love to hear what you thought about it! If you like this post, be sure to follow me on Instagram for more travel related photography! Yay or Nay on The Wonderful Barn design?
Prints | Facebook | Twitter | G+ | Blog | Music | © Ben Heine ______________________________________________ A very cute and colorful heart-shaped face barn owl I found in a forest near where I live in Rochefort... I took this photo with the Canon 5D Mark II. Prints of this photo available HERE. You can view pictures of other animals here. More info: Barn owls (Tytoninae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls. They are medium to large sized with large heart-shaped faces and long legs. They live in a wide range of habitats from temperate latitudes to the tropics. They are mostly nocturnal, and generally non-migratory. Like all my other photos, this is a copyrighted image. If you wish to use this photo for commercial purposes or for other requests, please contact [email protected] for permissions PS: Some cool & affordable gift ideas (10/12) for Christmas! ______________________________________________ For more information about my works: [email protected] ______________________________________________
Lately I've featured green barns and red barns. I've never seen a yellow one, have you? It's lovely, isn't it? It would be cheerful to look at on the dreariest of days. I am supposed to have three straight days of on and off again rain but I have sun this morning. Happy Friday. xo via
…In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back. - quote by Albert Camus None of these pictures...
Leixlip , County Kildare, Ireland
"It only cost about $48,000 to build, which was incredibly cheap," says Turner of the Stealth Barn. "We got the Timber Frame Company to supply the shell, then we clad it and fitted out the interior and windows ourselves.
Explore Martin Critcher's 11811 photos on Flickr!
captured in the abandoned Villa P. (2014)
“All is as if the world did cease to exist. The city's monuments go unseen, its past unheard, and its culture slowly fading in the dismal sea.” —Nathan Reese Maher
Barn on a country road - via Pinterest"
Explore Marcus Reeves' 328 photos on Flickr!
The house and barn in the mountain mist look very inviting. via
Do you know the poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat'? It's a favorite of mine from my childhood, I can still recite the words today! Not actually a likely friendship in real life I thought...until I saw this incredible video.
Three words: DIY Chili Bar.
A curated collection of images that catch and captivate my eye. Oh, and, of course, a tasty sprinkling of recipes. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. And if you like what you see, take a peek at the archives, too. I think it shows better there, anyways. ^^ //
Hashima Island (??; meaning "Border Island"), commonly called Gunkanjima (???; meaning "Battleship Island").The island was populated from 1...
Totally SFW. A random collection of the most beautiful things I can find. Some pictures are mine, most are not, and if I've posted something of yours you want removed, please let me know. Outdoors is the best place to be, no matter where you live...
Water Wheel, Cordoba, Spain • Chateau Jbb, France • Rustic • Abandoned Church • Frozen in Time • More ...
Animal lovers are being given the chance to cast their votes to pick an iconic national bird
Leixlip , County Kildare, Ireland
Explore shackman32001 busy, but never too busy for friends' 2000 photos on Flickr!
The Wonderful Barn
Water Wheel, Cordoba, Spain • Chateau Jbb, France • Rustic • Abandoned Church • Frozen in Time • More ...
Old abandoned houses tell a story. Even if the story is not documented in history, each abandoned home gives us a glimpse into a life once lived.
Video has captured the heart warming moment an orphaned kangaroo joey is being very affectionate by hugging her handler at the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, central Australia.
Patrycja Makowska takes stunning pictures of abandoned palaces in Poland, but the photographer keeps their locations a secret.
It never fails; at this time of year my attention turns outside. Having survived another winter, I’m feeling as though I want to spend as much time as possible outdoors. Once the yard is cleaned up and the gardens tended (okay, those two things are ongoing, months-long projects), it’s time to kick back and enjoy a bit of…
Learn more about 109 Cars: Kansas Farmyard Lot Sale on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.
When I was ten years old we moved to this old two story house. I had mixed feelings about the place but I kept quite as a mouse. It was an icon of the community, been there for many a year. Many families had moved in and out, I always wondered if ghosts did appear. Haints they called them back then, and scary as could be. My daddy told so many haint tales he scared the living daylights out of me. And there were quite a few told about the old house and how they came to be. That's why I had mixed feelings but I had to go along with the family. I never told my brothers or sister for fear they'd tell. I let them find it out on their own. Being the scardy cats they were, they would have cried their eyes out wanting to go back to our old home. They were all younger than me and looked up to me. I had to be a role model the best I could be. That old place had the most beautiful and biggest yard we'd ever seen. We wasn't used to a yard with grass, much less green. It stretched all the way to the main road and we could see cars go by. We'd never been used to that either, thought we'd died and gone to that home in the sky. We'd run and play all the live long day, come in at suppertime starved half to death and go back outside and play. Until dark thirty came and we'd all shiver and frown. We could hear them old stairs creaking and them haints coming down. And there's something about an old creaky stairway. It'll give you goose bumps and make your heart stop night or day. The whole time we lived there, we never slept upstairs. We'd all sleep together or in pairs. Except for a few times when some us were brave enough to take the dares. Didn't last long up there, before we came running back down them stairs. Mama said, you kids beat all I've ever seen. Ya'll will run up and down them stairs all day and then you're scared of your shadow, I ought to break me a limb that's keen. I said, But mama there's haints up there, they only come out at night. And mama said, whoever told you that I do declare is in for a big fight. Then I said, it was daddy that told us one time. He told us about a headless girl walking down them old stairs and other people has told it many a time. She was fit to be tied by then. She was actin like an old sittin hen, getting ready to flog daddy and he wasn't even there to defend. He was off at work somewhere down south. He was gone a lot and we always missed him but we got by with more and you didn't hear that come out of my mouth. It was even more scary at night when daddy was gone. We'd go to bed and couldn't sleep, all we could hear was a moan or groan. And it always came from upstairs somewhere. I swear that was the creakiest and scariest place I've ever slept at anywhere. One night I could have sworn I saw a woman in a white dress standing in the hallway. I never slept a wink, just shut my eyes praying for the light of day. And the very next night I saw her again. She had a little girl with her and they turned around and grinned. I ran and jumped in the bed with mama, fast as I could run. Woke her up and after almost giving her a heart attack she said, your daddy's scary tale days are over and done. And now that I think about it all today, I believe she did give him a good talking. But that didn't stop him none, he loved his talking. I'll never forget when he told about the incident over in the lane. Said he was walking home one night and he heard a horse coming and it passed him on by, rattling a chain. He said he never did see it, he looked really close but it wasn't there. Just the galloping sound, the chain and the horse in thin air. After that night he said every time he walked through, he'd walk along the side of the road when the noise of the chain grew and grew. He told about another mysterious happening over in that scary lane. People had told him they'd heard a baby crying in the distance so plain. He never paid much attention to what people said back then. My daddy was a brave and courageous man, he'd just grin. But one particular night he was walking through there on his way home. He heard that baby crying so loud, it really disturbed him the worst he'd ever known. There had been a lot of tales about a baby being dropped in a well. According to what daddy said, that crying went on for quite a spell. Then he told how someone run him all the way in home one night. He met a strange man up the road a piece, walking in the opposite direction and it gave him quite a fright.. The man had his head down and never said a word when daddy spoke. The next thing daddy knew he was coming up behind him, in a fast run and daddy said that was no joke. He even had his face covered with a mask and needless to say daddy was scared to death. He didn't even take time to go across the little footlog while crossing the creek, out of breath. And when daddy hit the front porch steps that feller was standing in the road at the top of hill. Daddy never did find out who he was, said he meant to kill him and that's for real. After he told us that we knew why daddy never did like Halloween. All of those scary masks brought it all back the worst he'd ever seen. Now after such talk as this, in that old house sleep never became our friend. That house was haunted and those haints wanted us out faster than we came in. But we never did see or hear anything after daylight. It was only when we went to bed those haints came out, when everything got quiet. And that old house had the most room. It had a living room, kitchen, dining room and I bet there were at least five bedrooms and of course no bathroom. Yep, we had to run outside to do our business and such. Although we'd never had a bathroom before, after dark we didn't like that much. One night my oldest brother went out the back door to take care of business like all the nights before and we heard a blood curdling scream as he pounced through the door. Said he saw somebody standing out there in the back yard. He said it was some old man and he was watching him and he was breathing really hard. My mama was the braviest woman I've ever known. She told us kids to get in the bed as she grabbed a big stick over by the fireplace and went out the door and hollered, make yourself known or you're the same as dead. We were all huddled together crying for fear we'd lose our mama when she came back in. She told us there wasn't anybody out there, get in the bed I'm not gonna tell you again. Come mornings we were up and at em before a cat could lick. Except when it came time to go to school, we all came down really bad sick. Especially when daddy was gone for quite a while. We used the excuse of having the belly ache and when the bus run we were in fine fashion and style. Until the weekend rolled around and time for daddy to come home. I'll never forget many a time I put two pair of britches on. We'd get him off on telling them old haint tales every time. It worked like a clock bell ringing it's chime. Until just before he left again and that hickory limb hit our behind. We lived in that old house several years before we moved back to our old place. We were living there when President Kennedy died, such an awful time for the country to face. Since we had managed to get our first ever TV with only one channel, it was on day and night constantly. We'd run through the house stop and take a peep and run back down them old steps, fast as we could leap. Being kids, we didn't know or understand. We just knew our President was gone and mama said he was gone to that Promised Land. But after all was said and done and I look back on it today, we really enjoyed living in that old house more than we would say. Because the day we moved my brother said something that was on all of our minds. Goodbye old house, even if you are haunted we had a good time. © Susie Swanson, 2013 Happy Halloween. If anyone wants a copy of my New Book, Echoes Of Time the info is at the top of the page under the pic of my book. thanks, Susie
Iowa has an abundance of barns, but these 15 old barns are the most beautiful ones you will ever see.
