'Round the new farm Sunday -- Including lots of photo-ops, too many to skimp on. Thanks for stopping by!

[George McGovern]

KC's the first to step over Laurie's new welcome mat.

"What d'ya mean why am I barking? You're supposed to know why I'm barking!"

Living room shadow.

Curtains light-through.

Watching Mommy

Maddie in morning light

Ditto

Pasture plant

Another one

Former farm owners' pigs had their own Bacon Lounge

Sunflowers are up in the garden

KC looking out at Daddy taking his picture

Shadow STILL loves to run run

Living room rug reflections

[gademocrat7]

1. Great photos

Thanks for sharing them.

[George McGovern]

2. You're welcome gademocrat7! Thank You for stopping by the farm!

[Walleye]

3. Really beautiful photos of feelings. Love the reflection of the cat. Keep up the good work.

[George McGovern]

4. Thanks a million Walleye! OK, it's a deal.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Great photos, beautiful country and I love the animals!

[George McGovern]

6. Thank You Kindly Rhiannon12866! I imagine that animals love you too!

[TNNurse]

7. There is nothing like living in the country.

One problem is when you have to go to town, the traffic and noise are stressful. You just want to get back out to peace and quiet.

Your new home is lovely.

[George McGovern]

16. So true TNNurse. A proverbial double--edged sword. You know whereof you speak.

We needed to leave our home of twenty-three years about a month ago.
Where we moved from was twenty minutes, eighteen miles from a small town in Washington. Our thirteen acre farm was surrounded by hay farmers' big fields. Quiet most all the time, so much so you could hear the wings flapping when geese flew low overhead. Now we're on a smaller farm outside another small town in Washington. Conveniently four or five minutes from groceries, take-out pizza, gas station; noisily, a half mile from a major highway and a local/regional airport, which serves the community with airplane rides and as a base for seasonal fire-fighting helicopters.

All was not lost with the move, outside noise notwithstanding. You're right, there is nothing like country living.

Thank You for your insightful and kind comment.

[SWBTATTReg]

29. I can believe what you say. At our somewhat isolated place in the Ozarks, we could, over the years, see

the encroaching city lights getting closer and closer to us, the nights being so nice and so pure in darkness, excellent for sky watching.

I suspect that there are lots fewer 'dark' places at night even in the Ozarks. Sad.

[Easterncedar]

8. Gorgeous

I really enjoyed looking at these. Thanks for posting.

[George McGovern]

17. You are welcome Easterncedar. re: your user-name -- are you in the northeast U.S.?

Thank You!

[Easterncedar]

35. Yes. I fetched up in Maine

[George McGovern]

36. God's Country! I once climbed Katahdin. Almost did me in.

[Easterncedar]

38. Yes. Katahdin is a magnificent place.

I don’t think I can do it again now. Have you seen the movie that came out last year about the boy, Don Fendler, who was lost on Katahdin?

[George McGovern]

42. No I have not. I'd not known of him until now. On the basis of your movie query

I just ordered the book, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" by Donn Fendler, from amazon. A google search for "Don Fendler, who was lost on Katahdin" returned 18 pages of listings in English plus one more page in Spanish.

I am looking forward to "meeting" Mr. Fendler. Thank You!

[Easterncedar]

43. It's a cool story

I hope you enjoy the book. It was a staple in Maine schools for decades, and Mr Fendler used to visit them to talk about his experience. The movie fills in the gaps really well.

[George McGovern]

44. It's been my experience that movies based on true stories don't always do the books justice.

Lost on a Mountain in Maine" sounds like an excellent exception. First the book, then the film.

I'll never forget my one-day experience on the mountain. Places like "The Knife Edge" being atop the world. And with no advance knowledge suddenly coming upon "The Chimney" — I had no idea how to get past that obstacle with a backpack on my back. Most fortunately hikers came along and talked and walked me through lowering my pack to the bottom while a hiker calmly
pointed our hand and foot holds until I shakily reached the bottom. Then "spotted" me, pack back on telling me where to go, what to reach for and, most of all said "Don't look down".

I slept really well that night back at the cabin.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

9. These are great Alan!

[George McGovern]

18. Thank You Much Ross!

[cate94]

10. Lovely!

You have a great eye!

[George McGovern]

19. Thank You So Much cate94!! I'd say it takes one to know one!!

[HeartsCanHope]

11. Love all the photos!

Always love to see Shadow, KC, and Maddie!

[George McGovern]

20. Thank You Kindly HeartsCanHope! Shadow and KC and Maddie are pretty

"photopetgenic".

[twodogsbarking]

12. Nice pics. You have a lot of friends with four legs.

[George McGovern]

21. Best friends a person may have. I suspect you'd agree. Thank You twodogsbarking!

[brer cat]

13. Those are some great shots, Allan!

[George McGovern]

22. Thank You brer cat! The last 7-10 days have proven prolific. Appreciate you!

[TheRickles]

14. What state are you in now?

Utter Bliss, I know, but....

[George McGovern]

23. For all our 34 years married we've lived in eastern, then central, now back to

northeastern Washington state. And you?

Less than utter bliss, truth be told; it is nonetheless, very good to be alive.

[TheRickles]

25. I retired to Western MA from the suburbs of Boston.

The foothills of the Berkshires is a beautiful place to be, getting solace from Nature while we ride out this storm. Keep those photos coming!

[George McGovern]

30. Splendid move! I grew up in north central CT and did a lot of hiking in your area, which is naturally beautiful.

I recall scenes similar to this one found at https://thegetaway.com/destinations/20-things-to-do-in-the-berkshires/



I miss much about western and northern New England. Though out here ain't so shabby so to speak.

Thanks TheRickles!

[highplainsdem]

15. Beautiful, peaceful photos, Allan! And you have sunflowers at your new place! Did you have any

on the old farm? You could get some wonderful photos later of birds perched on them, eating the seeds.

[George McGovern]

24. Birds on sunflowers -- THAT is worth watching for highplainsdem!

We had some at the old place too, but our hay farmer neighbor planted one of his fields in sunflowers last year and it was beautiful! Thank You!!

[Bayard]

26. Your pics are always great!

I especially like the fog creeping in behind the pig pen.

[George McGovern]

31. Awww, Thank You Bayard. That's mainly cuz you all only see the good ones.

Pioneer photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” Meaning, according to one person on reddit.com, "With each photo you take, you have an opportunity to learn from experience, improve your skills, and correct the inevitable mistakes that you will make."

The "pig pen" moment arose from an early morning look out the window at the fog layer. Walking around the yard with Shadow we came to that spot and just had to start clicking. Thanks again.

[Bayard]

47. You must carry your camera all the time, Alan

I always miss the good stuff.

[George McGovern]

48. It's right handy in the house Bayard & often rides along in the pickup. Always on the lookout for photo-ops. Thank You!!

[LoisB]

27. These are great. I especially like "Living room Shadow" and "KC looking out...". The display of

light and shadow on these is wonderful. Of course, I love each one of Shadow. Thank you.

[George McGovern]

32. You're welcome Lois! Thank You Very Much.

[Polly Hennessey]

28. Well, living room shadow scared me.

I hurried quickly to the loving sunflower. 🌻 Now all is better.

[George McGovern]

33. Understood Polly. I wouldn't want to come upon that lamp in the dark. But good!

I'm so glad you found sunflower solace. Love your emotional icon!!

[mike_c]

34. wonderful photos!

I love the way you captured every day life at your place. It's like street photography, only rural.

[George McGovern]

37. Thank You mike_c! You ever do street photography?

[mike_c]

39. no-- I admire it, but I'm just not that kind of photographer

I almost ask rocks and trees for permission to photograph them, lol. I don't take many pictures of people. This set of photos has the same sense of immediacy, to my eye.

[George McGovern]

40. Cool. What kind of camera equipment do you own?

[mike_c]

41. Nikon gear, mostly

My main walk around camera is a Nikon D500. I use a D7200 for macro photos, so it normally stays attached to a WeMacro focus rail. I have an old Nikon P4500 camera too, the one with the rotating articulated body-- I don't use it much anymore, but I hacked the firmware to make it save 12-bit raw images as well as jpgs, and I have fun with it occasionally. It's like listening to modern music on a crystal radio, lol. I originally bought it new for microscopy, like 30-ish years ago. My lenses and everything else are a mix of brands. My favorite landscape lens is a Tokina 12-28mm f4. I use several macro lenses, some manufactured that way, others adapted from other gear-- my favorite is an old 1970s Nikkor enlarger lens mounted on a Nikon bellows.

How 'bout you?

[George McGovern]

45. My friend bought a D500 soon as it came on the market and it's still going strong.

And going for upwards of $1500! I shot Nikons for 35 years film into digital. Eventually I purchased a well-used D3 and D3s. One had a wide-angle Nikkor zoom, the other a Nikkor 70-200 zoom f/4. For 10-12 years I shot horse riding clinics, competitions, fun rides in my wife's obstacle pasture until my shoulders protested the weight of two full-frame bodies.

Did some research and learned about lighter, yet capable mirrorless micro 4/3 cameras by Olympus. Best cameras ever. As with the Nikons, one lens has a full-frame equivalent range of 24-90mm, the other a 90-300mm.
Olympus is less expensive easier to handle and takes great pictures; however, not with the professional quality of better more expensive kits.

But they work for me. Thanks for asking.

[Diamond_Dog]

46. I love these, George!

It’s like having a visit, sort of!

Don’t all dogs think we must know why they are barking??

Maddie is a beautiful horse!

I LOVE the one of KC watching you take his picture.

[George McGovern]

49. Ha Ha Thank You DiamondGirl! Wonder what KC was thinking looking out the window . . .