The Barn Series - Day 3 - Bluegrass Scenic Byway

Day 3 and I decided it was high time to switch gears. I know modern day horse barns will not satisfy the vintage barn lovers that follow here. Believe it or not, we are still in the Bluegrass Region in central Kentucky with this post where thoroughbreds and horse farms reign supreme.

Kentucky's heritage is famed for many things. The most famous of those are horses, bourbon and tobacco. Half way between Midway and Lexington sits this barn close enough to the road to get a fairly decent photograph. It's Fall and lucky me the tobacco and been put up and the windows were open to allow the air to help cure it. Every trip I made to this region, I would drive down this particular road where this barn sits, specifically to check in to see if anything was going on with it. Some barns just do that to you. They draw you in. This one did that to me.

On this visit I was happy to find the tobacco hanging in the barn and stopped to take several photos. It's nice to know this old barn still had some use. Tobacco is less and less of a money crop on farms throughout Kentucky today as smoking becomes less and less popular. But there's something about seeing tobacco hanging in an old barn that makes me happy. It takes me back to my youth when smoking was the trend.

All around this beautiful old barn stands horse barns and fields where thoroughbreds graze. I'm never quite sure why to this day tobacco is still put up here. I have photographed many, many barns over the years in my travels. Yet, I never really elaborated on the why and where of it with most of the images. I just felt compelled to do so now. Until tomorrow. ENJOY!

In the Bluegrass State: Kentucky Woman Series

The Kentucky Bluegrass area is like no other place to visit in the States. As you travel the back roads, along the designated Kentucky Scenic Byways, you pass famed horse farm after horse farm, and you soon come to realize just how beautiful this area really is. Horse barns are painted in reds and greens with most all of them beautifully adorned in various styles of cupolas.

On this particular drive on a beautiful Summer's afternoon, I happened upon this gorgeous scene along the byway. Vintage, stacked limestone fencing, a large pond with tall Cattails and a sweeping Weeping Willow tree decorated this property with this beautiful horse barn featuring multiple cuplolas. Stunning is all I could think of as I stood photographing this landscape.

As I meandered along the byway, I passed this beautiful scene of hay bales scattered all throughout this farm field just waiting to be scooped up and hoisted onto a long trailer for safekeeping elsewhere.

Driving around the Midway area all along the byway, I took in the beautiful Bluegrass horse farms. I stopped in my tracks, however, when I happened upon this black stallion grazing aimlessly in this clover covered field. He was such a gorgeous subject to photograph. Did you know it's not easy photographing horses because they constantly swish their tails back and forth.

Just for good measure, and knowing full well I had several images of foals laying around in the fields or sticking close to Mom, I wanted to add this image. This foal was sticking very close to its Mom and never ventured far from her as I stood capturing images. This obviously was taken on another trek to the area in early Spring when the foes are plentiful to photograph.

Farther along the byway, I passed this large black barn with a metal roof sitting off in the distance. Tobacco plants were growing high in the field and hail bails were resting off to the side of the farm road as I stopped to photograph this image. It was mid to late Summer so the tobacco fields were nearing ready to put up the crops. Did you know putting up tobacco is a hard, hard job and quite tedious to say the least? I remember when my family visited my great uncle's farm in Marion County, Kentucky, and watching as they completed the time intensive and quite labor intensive putting up of the tobacco.

On a side road, very near to Keeneland Race Track just outside of Lexington, I happened upon a field of dairy Goats grazing in the warm Summer sunshine. A cute brown and white one kept an eye on me as I stopped to capture images. Aren't they adorable?

As a Kentucky born woman, now living in Tennessee, I am reminded of my visits to Midway and Lexington as I browse my archives. The famed, Bluegrass horse farms with the gorgeous thoroughbreds and stallions, dot the landscape. The adorable foals as they run about the fields or lay nearby always staying in close proximity to their Mothers. The quaint cupolas that adorn the horse barns. The black wooden fences and the old stacked, limestone fences that surround the parameters of the many famed horse farms. And finally, the crisp green Kentucky Bluegrass that tops off all this gorgeousness with every twist and turn in the road. I must get back here soon. I hope you enjoyed my trek around the region as much as I did sharing it with you. ENJOY!

Barns of Kentucky

It is the perfect day to share some of the many beautiful barns I have photographed throughout the Bluegrass State of Kentucky. Kentucky has my heart, as it is my home state. I have wandered many a back road and scenic byway in Kentucky stopping along the side of the road or at times even pulled into the edge of a driveway to snap photos of a barn on my journeys. I hope you enjoy this look back as much as I enjoyed creating it. Off we go!

Historic Manchester Farms, Summer, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Lexington, Kentucky

Barn, Horse Farm, Late Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Barn, Horse Farm, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Vintage Barn Adorned with Rock City Logo, Maker's Mark Distillery, Summer, Loretto, Kentucky

 Barn for Curing Bourbon, Summer, Maker's Mark Distillery, Loretto, Kentucky

Tobacco Barn, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Vintage Barn turned Antiques Shop, Fall, Historic Glendale, Kentucky

White Barn Adorned with Quilt Logo, Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway, Midway, Kentucky

Red Barn, Visitor Center, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Kentucky

Barn, Amish Farm, Summer, Scottsville, Kentucky

Vintage Barn Adorned with Rock City Logo, Summer, Bardstown, Kentucky

There you have it. Some of the barns I have photographed over the years while traveling the back roads and the scenic byways of the great state of Kentucky. I have to say I am very partial to the Bluegrass Region for obvious reasons. I especially love it in Fall, but Summer is nice too.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look back over the years at the beautiful barns throughout Kentucky. My favorite photo is the first one of Manchester Farms in Lexington taken some 15 years ago. At that time I used a Pentax K1000 manual camera with Fuji Velvia slide film. It was difficult learning 'to shoot the light' using that seemingly antiquated camera. Interestingly enough, that is the camera they still use in photography classes throughout colleges everywhere. I can see why. Many a roll of slide film was used to create that beautiful photo. I hope you will share with me your favorite image(s) on this journey of old historic and vintage barns. ENJOY!

Linking to Barn Collective

Beauty and the Beast

A beautiful mare grazes in the field along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway. She truly is beauty and the beast. I miss visiting the Bluegrass Region with its rambling fields of Kentucky Bluegrass and the beautiful stallions and mares that grace the area. ENJOY!

A Bluegrass Winter

Winter in Kentucky, the Bluegrass State.

Icicles form on every surface creating needle like patterns.

Evergreen branches hang low to the ground heavily laden with snow.

A snowy bridge crosses a soon frozen pond as bitter cold sets in.

A new blanket of snow hugs the sides of a Fir tree in the Arboretum.

Snow covered limestone steps lead to a path unknown.

Winter wind whips around the Pavilion while layers of snow lay across its rooftop.

Crab Apple trees sit dormant as a blanket of fresh snow covers every surface.

Freezing rain clings to every twig and branch forming an intricate patchwork of art.

Winter in the Bluegrass State brings snow and ice and bitter winds while we seek shelter from the cold.

Wood sits ready on hearths waiting its turn on the warm crackling fire.

Blankets hang loosely off the arm of the chair ready for wrapping ourselves in warmth.

Travel slowly on the icy snow covered roads and stay warm from the cold all. ENJOY!

Linking to The Scoop at Stonegable

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Barn, Bluegrass Scenic Byway

Fall scenery as I drove the Bluegrass Scenic Byway was so beautiful. There are still a few trees that hadn't turned, but by next week I'm sure they will be in their peak.

This week and next the weak colors will be everywhere.

I passed this tree with beautiful orange red leaves and finally decided to stop as I drove back and capture a couple of images. Right outside my own back door, the maple trees have turned bright red. They are late turning this year compared to the past few years. I hope you are able to get out and take some in the Fall foliage. ENJOY!

LINKING TO http://rosestreetreflections.blogspot.ca AND AMYS BARN LINK UP!
LINKING TO:

Fall, Bluegrass Scenic Byway

In Kentucky, you will find.
Carpets of bluegrass that cover the landscape.
Horse farms and thoroughbreds. Stables and barns.
Limestone and wooden fences. Stallions and brood mares.
You can come along and take a ride with me.











You thought I was kidding. Oh, and before you go, let me introduce you to a beautiful chestnut filly you see hanging her head over the fence line. Her name is 'Love Me Good' and she was sired at the most famous horse farm known the world over, Three Chimneys Farm, in Lexington, Kentucky. Nowadays she resides at Sheltowee Farm in Midway. Her ancestry includes a Kentucky Derby winner, Northern Dancer. And she loved hamming it up for my camera. ENJOY!

A Horse Affair

A drive was in order today what with the beautiful blue skies and tons of sunshine making for a perfect Spring day. I didn't want to take a long drive so I chose to visit the Bluegrass area of Kentucky. I captured a few images of the new foals lazing about on the beautiful bluegrass carpet, while other foals kept close to Mom as she moved from one grassy patch to the next. Beautiful tulips were blooming at the entrances to the horse farms while Dogwoods dotted the landscape.

Next weekend is the fastest two minutes in sports, the Run for the Roses, at Churchill Downs, while Friday is reserved for the Fillies to Run for the Lilies in the Kentucky Oaks. It is a lot of fanfare for such a brief few days of frivality. Louisville will burst at the seams with visitors, tourists, racing fans, and least we forget, celebrities galore. There are charity events and Derby parties and Derby Balls as well.

The ladies will have chosen their Derby outfit to wear on the big day, and of course, their accompanying Derby Hat is fitfully adorned with gorgeous flowers in matching colors. Postage stamp sized handbags are tucked safely in suitcases ready to bring out for their excursion to the track. The gentlemen while decked out in finery as well are amptly contemplating a nice smooth glass of Kentucky Bourbon or an always popular Mint Julep. The jockeys are preparing their silks for race day and the handicappers are readying their racing forms. The Downs, as we call it here in Louisville, is set to play host to countless thousands and thousands and thousands of visitors with Mint Juleps, Kentucky Country Ham and Derby Pie on the menu, just to name a few. All betting windows are open and stand ready with folks who shall gladly help you take leave of your hard earned money. And, the only question left at race time . . . is the track fast. And then they're off.

It really is a week of fanfare in Louisville with the Great Steamboat Race, the Pegasus Parade, the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. I am inclined to believe that after many, many years of playing host to this event throughout my lifetime, the thought of it all tends to lose itself on me now. But there are those who can't wait and I remember a time when I totally understood the anticipation. ENJOY!

Barn, Bluegrass Scenic Byway

A little bit of nostalgia coming your way for today.

There are so many old dilapidated barns hanging out in the fields around Kentucky. Every now and then I have to stop and snap an image to share with you. I love old barns. What is it about old barns that draws us in? I don't know. But I know they do and I hope you enjoy this one. By the way, the snow has completed melted here in the Bluegrass State and what with 65 degree temps forecast for a day or two from now, it's starting to feel like Spring here. ENJOY!

Curing Tobacco, Bluegrass Scenic Byway

Several weeks ago I made the short drive on my usual route through the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky on SR 1681 near Midway. As the road took me to U. S. 60 near Keeneland, I took a side road back to 1681 past Midway. Along the side road I passed a farm where the tobacco was curing in the barn.

I turned around and went back for a few photos before heading on home. Seeing tobacco curing in this barn took me back to my childhood when my parents and siblings would drive to the country, as we called it, near Springfield, Kentucky to help put up the tobacco on my father's Uncle Mile's farm. Uncle Lee is long gone, as is his children, but his farm still exists and I'm fairly certain one of his grandchildren still runs the farm today. Putting up tobacco was a tedious and arduous process and back breaking work. Luckily, I was too young to help, but I remember well my older siblings toiling in the hot barn in the heat of late summer putting up the tobacco with the sweat covering their tshirts and their moans and groans as hour after hour crept by.

My childhood memories of the many trips to the country to Uncle Lee's farm still linger in my mind. I conjure up memories of taking a bath down in the creek near the road, of creeping out to the outhouse in the dark of night scared to death of every noise, sitting at the large kitchen table in the farmhouse kitchen eating fresh vegetables brought in from the garden. These are only a few of the many memories that seem to go on endlessly in the back of my mind. I wished I could go back there to any one of those trips with my parents and siblings and relatives present, if only for ten minutes, just to soak up a few more memories. ENJOY!

Buck, Along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway

It had been late Spring since I had paid a visit to the Bluegrass area near Midway to check out the horse farms. So when I took the day off Friday, I decided a drive along the Byway was in order. While the Fall color wasn't perfect, as peak color is late this year, the drive itself was still as beautiful.

Off Highway 1681, the main byway route, I took a turn onto a side road that leads back to several horse farms. Normally I take this detour and drive back about a quarter mile before turning around and heading back to the main highway. This turn off always presents deer grazing in the thickets just off the road. Today was no exception as there was a doe grazing in the thicket not far from the road. As I turned my car around to head back to the main highway, I looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of this buck. He was grazing in an open area between two thickets. And to my surprise, he was sporting a full rack. I'd forgotten that it was late October and I should expect to find the bucks with full antlers in display. It was a pleasant surprise. Knowing the buck was too far away for a decent photo, I still snapped a few images with my 300mm. Before I purchased my 300mm I always kept my 200mm lens on my camera. Now my 300mm stays on my camera at all times. There's only a few instances where I have to downgrade to the 200mm. When you photograph wildlife and landscapes for the most part, as I do, the longer the lens the better. ENJOY!

Foal Nursing

In spite of the fact that I'm doing some traveling this week, I decided at the last minute Saturday to make a quick drive to Midway to check out the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky and see if there were any new foals roaming about at the horse farms. As it turned out there were quite a few.

Such a pleasant feeling you get when you see a foal nursing in the pasture. There were five or six foals romping around this particular field, but also making absolutely certain they stayed very very close to Mom. Can you blame them. Mom's got lunch covered. What fun! ENJOY!

Horsing Around!

Tomorrow the Fillies are making a day of it at the Oaks at Churchill Downs. Then Saturday it's the boys' turn. Ahhhh, Derby. ENJOY!

Sheepish

A herd of sheep were grazing at one of the horse farms in Midway, Kentucky, several weeks ago as I drove my usual route.

I love photographing farm animals. For the most part they are slow moving which makes for cooperative photography. The Easter Holiday is upon us. Ready or not. The past few days have gradually grown warmer and the sun has found its way back to the Bluegrass State. Sorry I've been remiss in posting this week. Looming deadlines if you haven't guessed already. I've been busily putting the Derby/Mother's Day issue to bed (that's printing speak for . . . gone to the printer). Not to worry, that deadline will soon be a distant memory and perhaps I can get outdoors. ENJOY!

Bluegrass Region

One of the main things you may notice about today's image is that the bluegrass is NOT blue or even green for that matter. Winter is holding on for dear life. But it's still a lovely image I captured a few weeks ago on a quick jaunt to the horse farm region of Kentucky.

Speaking of Winter, I know I have no right to complain as many of you have been experiencing major snowstorms in your area, but seriously, I ordered Spring at least six weeks ago and it has yet to really show up. Somebody please turn off the cold and turn on the warmer days with those light breezes, blue skies and lots of sunshine, as opposed to the brisk cold windy days we've had of late. Today the wind literally cut right through me. BRRRRR. After a very busy start to the work week, I'm ready for the weekend. ENJOY!

Early Summer In The Bluegrass

Watching sheep grazing in the pasture amongst the horse farms in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky one early summer day was a real treat.

Sunlight flooded the landscape. A gentle breeze wafted across the fields. Surrounded by horse farms with barns and fences and thoroughbreds. Yet, amongst all of that grandeur, and in spite of the pomp and circumstance of such a majestic animal, this mere handful of sheep stood lapping up the fresh new grasses of early Summer. Paying me no mind, they lazily, yet laboriously, inched their way across the pasture as they grazed. ENJOY! PHOTOGRAPHERS NOTE: Image enhanced by Ortonish texture.

Kentucky's Thoroughbreds

It's a New Year! And this being my first post for the New Year, I felt it fitting to display an image I captured recently along the Scenic Byway near Midway, Kentucky.

This beautiful thoroughbred was standing quietly scanning the landscape in one of the pastures along the byway. He is absolutely gorgeous, there's no disputing that. But it really is the composition of this image that captured my attention. Your eye obviously goes right to the stallion, but then suddenly moves up and traverses the image as the fence lines take you on a journey all their own crisscrossing the landscape. And then, just as quickly, your eye moves down to the stallion yet again, because after all, he is the star. This scene tells the story of Kentucky's Thoroughbred and the majestic horse farms. While you may feel the horse farms created the thoroughbred, in truth the thoroughbred created the horse farms because without these beautiful creatures, we wouldn't need the beautiful pastures and farms they languish in. Several effects were added to this image to bring a tad bit more drama to the scene. I hope you like it. ENJOY!

Red Tailed Hawk

Today I took the day off and decided to drive over to the Bluegrass area around Midway and Lexington. As I made my way down 1681, I happened upon a Hawk perched high up in a tree. It was a Red Tailed Hawk, one of the most widely distributed Hawks in the United States.

Red Tail Hawks prefer forests and fields and especially like to perch up high in a tree or on a bluff so they can scan for small mammals to prey upon, although they will eat birds and reptiles. They also scan for prey while flying. This species of hawk is commonly used in 'falconry'. I wrote in my post on the Cooper's Hawk how hawks are highly regarded in Native American culture, as well as many ancient cultures. Hawks' feathers are considered sacred to Native Americans. The weather was beautiful and warm today. Tomorrow just may be a repeat. I hope everyone has a great weekend and get after that Christmas shopping list before time slips away. ENJOY!

Fall Arrives

Oftentimes I post images of the 'Byway' around the horse farms of Midway and Lexington, Kentucky featuring the horses and the barns so I figured one more barn image couldn't hurt.

This uniquely 'purple and white' barn stands in contrast to the green bluegrass fields around it. This is the same farm that has the purple and white cow I posted last year. I'm thinking the owner of this particular farm has a purple thing going on. More importantly those red leaves on the trees. So striking against the beautiful blue sky. ENJOY!

A Fall Day in the Bluegrass

Next door to Wallace Station, a popular eatery along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway right outside Midway, Kentucky, sits this beautiful horse farm. While I was getting back in my car at Wallace Station, I looked up and saw this scene.

If you are a serious amateur photographer you find yourself shooting this image and cropping it. No, not in your software, but in your mind, at that moment you see the scene. So I did it then and repeated it that same day as I culled through the images I shot on my short drive through the horse farms last Sunday. And here it is. Happy Friday to All! If you are within 200 miles of Louisville, Kentucky, this is the first weekend of October. And that means it's time for one of the biggest art fairs in the nation, The St. James Court Art Show. I've visited the art fair when it was hot, hot, hot, hot, and when it was 'brrrrr' cold and when it was a perfectly gorgeous Fall day. Today is the perfect day. Tomorrow it will be 20 degrees cooler. While I wasn't planning on going down to the art fair this year, you might find me down there anyway. Have a fab weekend guys and dolls. ENJOY!