“Meadow Contrasts”
Heatherwood, Summer
This small meadow vignette is full of contrasts: disc-shaped yellow rudbeckia flowers, spike-shaped green grass, ball-shaped blue thistle, and reddish-purple penstemon. A soft diffuser filter helps blend them together.
Different vignettes like this abound in Heatherwood’s meadow. This is its second year and it has started to fill in rapidly. In a couple more years, it should be a solid mass of color, shapes, and textures.
“Delma’s Gift”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
This small Japanese lantern and the rock marks a division in Heatherwood’s Japanese garden. Which path do I follow? Do I take the easy path toward the sound of the water? Or do I venture up a curving path to explore up above? Each path has its own little surprises. Take your choice …
“Woodland Garden Path”
Heatherwood, Summer
I am getting ready for an infrared photography workshop with Tony Sweet on Whidbey Island. I thought I needed to do a little practicing. In this section of Heatherwood, we are trying to create a woodland garden. It is a work in progress, and right now we have only small trees and a few “sun-loving” shrubs planted. The dark bark provides a striking contrast to the IR highlighted trees. In a few years, hopefully the ground will be covered with shrubs, ground cover, and shade-loving perennials. The envisioned garden path will provide the contrast needed for an IR image.
“Canola Fields”
The Palouse, Washington
During my week in the Palouse, I was constantly on the look out for yellow fields of canola. I did not have much luck. On my last day, a few fields broke into their yellow bloom. Thank You for the wonderful gift, what a great way to end a trip!
I will be back soon!
“Collapsed Barn”
The Palouse, Washington
How much longer can this old barn stand. From the shape of the roof, the barn looks like the top had collapsed recently. I initially zipped by this old structure, then decided to turn around and do a little exploring. I respect the private property of the Palouse farmers and stick to the roads that pass by these abandoned structures. This one looked pristine with no trampled down grasses or litter around the building. I left it that way for others to enjoy.
“Red Barn & Clouds”
The Palouse, Washighton
It was a beautiful day to capture an iconic Palouse red barn scene. The sun was out, highlighting the barn front, while the clouds provided a contrasting background. The plowed field circled the barn framing it in the scene. The barn just seemed to “pose” for our workshop group in this beautiful setting. Great morning!!!
“Elberton Church”
The Palouse, Washington
The town of Elberton has as a history similar to many of the late 19th century towns in the Palouse. It flourished for a while, then went into an irreversible decline.
In the 1870’s Giles D. Wilber built a water powered sawmill which provided lumber for nearby farms and barns. The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company build a rail line through the valley in the early 1880’s. The town was plated in 1886 by Sylvester M. Wait and was named after his son Elbert. By the end of the decade, Elberton had a sawmill, flour mill, post office, two general stores, blacksmith and wagon shop, two grain warehouses, livery stable, and a church. During the 1890’s, the town continued to grow. Fruit trees were planted as a major crop. By 1900, the town had a population of 400.
After the turn of the century, the town began to decline. The sawmill moved to Idaho after all the nearby timber had been cut. The town experienced a devastating fire in 1908 and severe flooding in 1910. Elberton then rapidly declined.
During my little exploration, all I could see that remained of the town was the railroad trestle, the church, old building foundations, a few pieces of farm equipment, and several remains of old non-native landscape shrubs and trees. It was an interesting off the beaten path excursion.
“Soon to be Demolished Barn”
The Palouse, Washington
On a midday wander along the little Palouse River, I spotted this old barn with a nice background of a railroad trestle and a stream. As I was photographing the barn, an elderly man walked up the road and stopped to talk. He said that he had been living in a little workers house just up the road around the corner. He had been asked to leave because the area was being plotted for a new housing development. He then told me that within the next month or two that this barn was going to be demolished for a home site.
It is sad to see the Palouse’s history fade away piece by piece. Part of my enjoyment of visiting the Palouse is to meet the locals and listen to their memories and experiences of the life in this beautiful area.
“Fields of Dreams”
The Palouse, Washington
Watching sun patches and shadows flow across the Palouse fields put my mind in a dreamy state. I squinted my eyes and dream-like patterns passed in front of me.
Fields of Dreams
Across the sky, flowing clouds
cast patterns of dreams
of light and shadows on fields of green.
“Old Skeen Schoolhouse”
The Palouse, Washington
Wandering country road, old farm equipment, and an old school house … how many memories do these represent? One hundred and fifty years of history have changed this area from sagebrush and native grasses to some of the richest dry land farming areas in the world. Decades of dilapidated used farm implements are scattered across the area. The old one room Skeen schoolhouse once served the children of the pioneer families.
As we were photographing, an old farmer who lived across the street came over to check up on us. What an opportunity would it have been to just sit down and and spend a couple of hours listening to him talk about the “Good Ole Times.”