Thursday, September 11, 2014

A Late Summer Drive with Good Fences


We are having a beautiful Indian Summer
here in Western Washington State. 

Lovely golden days and cooler nights
makes this my favorite time of year. 

Come along with me 
and we will take a country drive. 

As we look beyond the old split rail fence, 
we see a large patch of sunflowers 
across the field, with beautiful Mt. Rainier
rising like an ice cream sundae in the distance. 



Yellow sunflowers against tall Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Red Alder
and blue skies. 


Tawny grasses soften the edges. 


More tall evergreens dwarf this charming hillside barn. 


This is the view. 
Part of this farm was sold off to build houses....


Vintage trucks retire along the tree-line. 


Clouds start to move in...


I love this little barn with its many sweet windows. 
A cedar split rail fence frames a view of a working 
farm with a large old stock truck and other equipment. 


As clouds thicken, we travel into open farmland, 
with the Cascade mountains forming the backdrop, 

This ancient barn and outbuildings have not seen a paint brush
in many long years. 


Another large farm is tucked into a pretty valley. 
Handsome fencing and 200 year old Douglas Fir 
stand out in the mist. 


Meandering through the farmland 
we find this neatly laid out Dahlia farm. 


We slow down to see if it is open.....


Not today - too bad! 


More sunflowers on another farm. 


A pretty tree stands guard. 


A classic barnyard hugs the foothills. 
Let's take a closer look....


Lovely fencing here. 

I expect to see Lassie come running around the corner! 


I think I see her way off in the distance..... 

Can you hear the song 'Greensleeves' ?


A stiff breeze blows the trees. 


We leave the farmland behind as we cross the Green River Gorge, 
raindrops falling. 


One hundred feet down, the Green River flows placidly past. 

All the rivers are low this time of year, but come spring

 they turn into raging torrents. 


We drive through an old coal mining town 
with tiny vintage cottages once owned by the mining company
 and rented out to the miners at the turn of the century. 


Sweet picket fences lined with a tumult of late summer flowers. 


Time to turn around and head for home. 

The skies are starting to look threatening....


I hope you enjoyed taking this country drive with me. 


With some Good Fences along the way!

Come and join the fun!

16 comments:

  1. i think i could really love your part of the country! so beautiful! thanks, karen!

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  2. What great photos! Loved the skies in them. A lovely country drive. That dahlia farm must have been a sight to behold!

    A beautiful part of the world. So glad you let us enjoy with you.

    Brenda
    xox



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  3. Karen, this was another beautiful country drive in your part of the world. Just gorgeous scenery and old fences and farms. The flowers at the dahlia farm were so pretty. Thanks for sharing your drive with us. Blessings, Pam

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  4. What great views! I love the red barns and fences, and then just the view down the road. I can't imagine living where there are mountains. They're so beautiful.

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  5. Hi Karen!
    My husband LOVES flowers. He was intrigued by your pix of the dahlia farm. So was I. Pardon my ignorance, but exactly what part of the dahlia is farmed? The flowers or the entire plant, or the seeds?
    In blissful ignorance, I remain your friend, maureen (and josephine!)
    Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention our blog address in your blogroll isn't current. We are at Wordpress now. xo, m

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    Replies
    1. Hi Maureen - flowers are one of the sweetest things in life, aren't they? I laughed when I read your question - it is a good question! The flowers are sold by the bunch - it is a cutting farm! Also, the tubers are also sold. They multiply from year to year (sort of like potatoes) and different varieties are sold. Some are highly prized. They sell the tubers in the spring for planting then. I will see what is going on with the blog roll. I thought I fixed it, but Blogger is a bit cantankerous when it comes to 'other' blog sites. Ha ha! Thanks for stopping by, Dear friend. Hugs xo Karen

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  6. Dearest Karen,
    On my driving experience for six days in the mountains of northern Arizona, I often thought about your blog in which you show your mountainous area so often. We both realized that we have MISSED our mountains. We did work for decades in high stratovulcano areas above 7,000 feet. So it did our souls a lot of good. In Indonesia where we lived and worked for some 3 years, we had to drive every morning up to the high area from let's say 4,500 ft where we lived. I miss those views that we never get to see here in the south!
    Enjoyed this ride with you; as usual. You live in a lovely region. And oh my, those rock bedded streams we saw in Arizona and on to Scottsdale and Phoenix from where we left early Friday morning, must have turned into a night mare with all the flooding they had.
    Hope not too much damage, but when you see cars floating that deep into the water one knows it is a LOT of damage, also inside the homes.
    Always something going on in this world, either by natural disasters or barbaric attacks...
    Hugs and blessings,
    Mariette

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    1. Dearest Mariette,
      You have lovely memories of your time living in the mountains. It is something that gets in your blood. Scottsdale and Phoenix are my favorite vacation spots - I just love going into the Superstition Mountains. The view points are spectacular, especially at sunset. Yes, you came home just in time - those poor people got hit with a tremendous dust storm and then such terrible flooding. I heard it was the worst since the 1930's. This world is suffering terribly in this day and age, but we must always have hope and faith that all will be well and we can overcome these difficult times.
      Love and hugs to you, Dear. xoxo
      Karen

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  7. What an amazing drive you took and so beautiful too. I believe I've been to that Dahlia farm before, it's really pretty.

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  8. It's always lovely when you are taking me around my friend! I love the area you live in! Fantastic!
    Have a happy happy weekend
    Elisabeth

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  9. Thank you for this wonderful tour. How pretty everywhere is.

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  10. Hi! I have enjoyed the drive around your beautiful countryside,... so much to see, lovely pastures, flowers, skies, and fences-
    Regards.

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  11. Thank you for taking me along on this beautiful drive! I love the progressive change in the sky - I could feel the storm coming in!

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  12. I always enjoy your beautiful scenery. Can you send some of your cool weather down our way? Thanks for taking us along on your country drive.

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  13. Hi Karen, thanks for that beautiful drive in the country for me! I love sunflowers and the farms and fences. It is finally cool today and not hot and 80 degrees! LOL! I 'm going to miss summer but look forward to fall. Have a nice weekend.
    Julie

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  14. I never knew that there was coal mining in the NW...when I think of it I see the Alabama strip mines that scarred my home state, or I think of West Virginia & Ohio and the books by Homer Hickum (I think I've read all of his Coalwood series!) It was interesting to see the photos of the old mine that you share. And that dahlia farm! Oh what a glorious sight--those rows of gorgeous dahlias! Your photos of the area are all so lovely!

    Yes, we are doing fine here...enjoying cooler temps and breezes. Watching that hurricane closely now though! I've been on hurricane watch in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and even Alabama, but I've never done so here, and didn't expect to! :-) We may get a bunch of rain and some wind. I doubt if it will be too bad...we're just a little too far inland. Although there was that one that made landfall in S AL and W FL and mowed a strong path all the way into the mid-Appalachians. We'll see!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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