Thursday, January 14, 2010

Alone with myself, the trees bend to caress me

It was a balmy 35 degrees when George and I ventured out for the afternoon walk today; the first time in several weeks that I’ve gone without wearing a hat.

George surprised me when he barged out of the house carrying one of his small squeaky toys. He ran past me, chewing on his toy, squeaking all the way. He continued to carry this toy throughout the entire walk, placing it along the trail so that I would have to throw it to him. It was a good walk and we stayed outside for longer than usual.

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I took all of the photos here with my 50 mm lens.

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This was just before sunset tonight.

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And this was sunset itself. You can see it happening in the windows of the house. The original house is on the left and was built in 1769. The stone building on the far left was the old springhouse which was turned into part of the kitchen at some point. The right side of the house is the addition that was built in 1810, complete with a widow’s walk at the top. Back then, the trees didn’t block the view of the river, about 8 miles away. You can see it from the roof.

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Sometimes he just sits like this when he sees I have the camera. I figure he thinks it’s one of his jobs. He's a dog model.

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Don’t you love tree branches against the sky?

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I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. ~Willa Cather, 1913

Alone with myself

The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart.
~Candy Polgar

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Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats. ~Woody Allen

(now that WOULD be pretty remarkable).

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

It’s always a pleasure having you stop by.

49 comments:

Meg McCormick said...

Breathtaking! I really wanna "haunt" that house. It's chock full of character.

A Scattering said...

George, you win my heart every day. And you're so lucky to live in such a beautiful location!

troutay said...

Lovely photos and a pat for George.

Hilary said...

That is so interesting....the old part of my studio was built about 1790 and the bigger part of the house, like yours, was built in 1810.
I love old houses, and I love the silhouette of trees against the evening sky.
Beautiful, as usual.

JacksDad said...

The trees look amazing, as does the house!

Betty said...

Your sunset pictures are breathtaking.George is beautiful,and your house is exquisite.
~~Love Hugs and Good Thoughts~~

Unknown said...

BEAUTIFUL SHOTS! And that George.....he is one lucky dude

Jeanne Frances Klaver said...

Thank you for sharing your walk with us. The quotes you chose to go with the photos are perfect!

Jo said...

George cracks me up every time.

The photo of the sunset on the house is so beautiful. Very unusual. It looks as if the house is on fire from inside.

Very interesting house!

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

I love that house. Can I move in with you? We could take long walks with George. I know you wouldn't get annoyed with me for stopping to take pictures.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I love the house, thanks for sharing it with us... and lucky you to have time within!

I have always loved trees..they are like sentinels through history..sad when I see one go.

Mary said...

Oh Kate thank you SO much for taking us along on that walk. So beautifully photographed!!!

Treasia Stepp said...

Kate your home is beautiful. I have such a love/hate relationship with old homes, but lately I'm having more of a love relationship with them. Their character, charm and so much more are what does it for me. As the shows says "If walls could talk". What stories I know your house could tell.

Pony Girl said...

So pretty! I'm glad things, ugh, warmed up a bit for you! ;) George is so stinkin' handsome! I like that house. What "style" is it? All those windows right on top of each other! Is it hard to heat in the winter?

Sweetpea said...

This evening I didn't get my evening walk with Miss dawg, so it was a pleasure to be out & about with you & George for a bit...

...but I will have to make it up to her tomorrow :>]]

Glen Hartjes said...

Whenever I see photos of George I feel compelled to say, good boy!

ELK said...

tree branches against the sky...such a work of art Kate!

Jon said...

Lovely photos especially the ones with George

tainterturtles said...

Your pictures are great. George is a natural.

Carol E. said...

All Gorgeous!!! I love the "on fire" windows, but they're all great.

Country Girl said...

Thanks, all. Yes, Carol I think that the sunset windows photo is my favorite.

~ C.G.

Tess Kincaid said...

He's the best dog model. I adore Willa Cather, oh, and Woody Allen, too, of course.

Cloudia said...

Glorious!


Aloha, Friends


Comfort Spiral

Julie Harward said...

THERE IS SUCH PEACE AND BEAUTY IN THIS BLOG...LOVE YOUR HOME..LOVE GEORGE (I SAW A DOG MUCH LIKE HIM TODAY..MAKES ME WANT TO GET ONE!)..LOVE THE GORGEOUS PHOTO'S...LOVE THE WORDS HERE AND THE TREES AND THE SUNSET...JUST WONDERFUL! COME SAY HI :D

alphabet soup said...

The first sunset photo is truly spectacular. Glad the house wasn't really on fire but it sure looks like a couple of rooms are waiting for the firemen to arrive. I have a confession to make here Kate - it was the house that started me following your blog. I am always intrigued by old or unusual buildings.
Ms Soup

abb said...

Beautiful photos. Glad George knows his job!
And woody? He always cracks me up.

Caroline said...

*gasp* *sigh* *swoon* My goodness all of these are spectacular!

SandyCarlson said...

Beautiful skies. The pup sure knows how to make the most of outside time.

Barb T. said...

Beautiful photos and post, Kate! These really make me want to buy a 50mm lens!
I love the Willa Cather quote!

Evening Light Writer said...

This beautiful post absolutely makes me long for Spring!

tj said...

...I love those quotes and I love trees! We had a 100+ year old white oak that was down by the road, beautiful tree. Anyway it had some sort of pest that we didn't know it had 'til it was too late, suddenly one summer the leaves turned prematurely and I knew something was wrong. We called a fella out from a local nursery and he said we'd have to wait 'til Spring to see if it was gonna live... I used to visit the tree at night (so no one would see me) and I would place my hands on it and pray for it, silly I know. But anyway, the tree didn't live. When we had to finally cut it down, you could see where the pests had ate out the core of the old tree...it was so sad. That tree has been gone for years now and I still miss it. In the summer I would have my sunroof open and as I was coming down the road I would always stop underneath it and look up - the canopy on this old tree was absolutely spectacular! Our old farm wagon sat underneath it and now it looks so alone down there by the road without the old tree standing guard over it... Love the photos of the trees Kate, brought back great memories. :o)

...Love that George! He's like a canine version of George Clooney... ;o)

...We're having decent weather here too. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and it's supposed to be the same again today. :o)

...Enjoy the weather and have a great day! Blessings too... :o)

The JR said...

Great photos. Love George, the house and the sky.

Mental P Mama said...

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

Daryl said...

Sigh .. such lovely shots .. and that George continues to win hearts

Marla said...

What beautiful pictures. George is such a pretty dog... You're sunsets rival the ones we have on the Oklahoma planes... of course, we don't have near that many trees though.

http://asthefarmturns.wordpress.com/

Deb said...

that looks like my sunrise here in Texas yesterday...

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

Your house is georgous and so is George. Some wonderful pictures Kate.
<><

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love those skeleton trees against the sky; I love that George and goodness me, I love that house too.

S. Etole said...

winter's bare bones are intriguing ...

noble pig said...

Just absolutely beautiful. Beautiful photographs at sunset.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I do love a good quote and these are great. Beautiful photos and George is indeed a model dog. He also takes a very good photo. *wink*

I think my favourite part of this post is picturing George fly out of the house with his squeaky toy. That guy certainly knows how to have a good time!

Unknown said...

You captured my attention once again with the beautiful and stunning sunset that is so ever present in your neck of the woods! The trees seem magical...

Country Girl said...

Oh, Carolynn!
That was my favorite part, too.

Thanks so much, all.

~ C.G.

Jen (emsun.org) said...

That house is just gorgeous!

DesertHen said...

What a lovely evening walk. Thanks for sharing. And George is a wonderful dog model!

Sue said...

Beautiful sky.....Really Beautiful Dog!! But don't tell George that...he'll start charging you to take his picture....

GailO said...

...oh I love trees too...and George:)

beth said...

can I run over to your house and just stand in your front yard and "look".....seriously, I love where you live so much !

and george....always on watch as your protector !!

catlady said...

Kate you do have the eye for all things beautiful. This is my 1st attempt to comment on a blog. I hope you get it. I love you, karen