I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968 at the age of 12. In those days there was a farm at the end of our street, lots of empty lots, orchards, and country roads galore. When my mom would give people directions to our house, she would jokingly say, "If you think you have left town....keep going. We are still two miles out." Since then a lot has changed. The area resembles the L A Area in Southern California more than any, now, complete with huge traffic jams, smoggy days, and lots of sprawl. That is why it always surprises me that you can still drive 5 or 10 minutes from my house and be in a country setting complete with a lot of open space, cows, horses, and barns.
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| Cow Paths |
One thing about living in this area, we have a very short "green" season. The hills around our area are more often golden (as in brown) than green. The green usually begins sometime in January or February depending on when the rains start. The hills then stay green for only a few months. It is by far my favorite time of year and I always feel a yearning to take advantage of the green-ness. That is why my husband and I took a drive the other day looking for great pictures while the green was new and fresh.
We decided to leave late in the afternoon, and the light was great for photographs. The late afternoon sun gives everything a bit of a golden glow, and the contrast between the shadows and the light was phenomenal. I couldn't resist incorporating it in a few of the pictures.
Along with my love of country and green hills, I have always been fascinated by barns. I'm not sure when this started, but I think it was sometime shortly after I got my first SLR camera. I took a picture of a barn somewhere and liked the result. I think it is really just an offshoot of my fascination with architecture in general. I love old buildings, farm houses, Victorians, mansions, all sorts of buildings. But the barns have really been taking first place lately. The examples below were all found within a 20 minute drive from my house, down a road that is still filled with farms and ranches.
The best barns are the ones made of wood. They have such character. I love the patterns the wood makes, and the different types of wood used. And the older the barn the more fascinated I am.
Another vista that has always fascinated me are the areas where you can tell a house used to be, but is no longer. These areas are usually marked by trees, plants, or walls that are still in existence, even if the buildings are not. I often find myself wondering what type of house was there and what the people who planted the trees were like. What type of lives did they lead. The pictures below came from just that type of place.
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| This one reminded me of Little House on the Prarie |
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| Lot's of Character here. |
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| A closer look at the cow barn |
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| I couldn't resist the flag flying in the background here. |
Along with my love of country and green hills, I have always been fascinated by barns. I'm not sure when this started, but I think it was sometime shortly after I got my first SLR camera. I took a picture of a barn somewhere and liked the result. I think it is really just an offshoot of my fascination with architecture in general. I love old buildings, farm houses, Victorians, mansions, all sorts of buildings. But the barns have really been taking first place lately. The examples below were all found within a 20 minute drive from my house, down a road that is still filled with farms and ranches. 
The best barns are the ones made of wood. They have such character. I love the patterns the wood makes, and the different types of wood used. And the older the barn the more fascinated I am. 
