Abandoned Farm
By Pamela Johns
2 Jul 2009
My husband and I have been talking about visiting his family farm for a while now and this past Sunday we had nice weather so we decided to go.
We packed a lunch and headed out early in the afternoon. By the time we got there about an hour later it had started to get cloudy and it was a little disappointing (though I do think the dreariness help lend to the mood of the pictures) but we made the best of our day.
Usually we don't drive through the old gate onto the one hundred and fifty acre farm but there is so much to see and it would take all day to walk it. There was another old dwelling and a few ponds and some wooded area that I had not seen yet. We also didn't want to be far away from the truck if it started to rain. So, we opted to drive the truck in on the deteriorating gravel road.
His family has not lived on the farm in over forty years. After his grandmother died they rented two of the dwellings on the farm to tenants. The large house in the photographs was her home and one my husband visited often as a child. My husband's dad still farmed some there up until he fell ill over fifteen years ago and has since died. His mother is still living but does not like to visit the farm because it makes her sad that it is in ruins. Needless to say, it hasn't been tended to for decades.
The family leases the land to a man who has some cattle and a couple of mules. The mules are the only inhabitants around the farm house. When we first got there I told my husband I needed to use the restroom. Since no one has lived on the farm for over thirty years there was no working restroom. My husband suggested I use one of the sheds. While I was still in a squatted position the two mules decided to visit me. I was not sure what they would do so I softly yelled for my husband. He tried to shoo them away but they kept coming. I had my camera around my neck so I was able to grab a quick shot before I even got my pants back up. It was a tough decision to make because I didn't know what they would do. The photographer in me took the risk. It wasn't like they were mountains lions or some other ferocious animals. They were just curious and probably don't get many visitors.
I was able to get a few good shots of the houses and sheds on the farm and got some also of the cattle as they moved to shelter as a storm came in.
Before it started to rain, and it was a downpour, we stopped at where the house my husband lived in when he was a small child used to be. The chimney and a concrete slab where a porch once stood was all that was left. The house had been destroyed in a fire years ago.
It is beautiful and sad, the farm. The dilapidated structures are sad but the land is beautiful. I especially like the photo of the window with the reflection of the hills in the background. To think that this was someone's bedroom and that they would see that view every morning when they got up really stirs my soul.
