Wednesday Wee Ones - on Thursday

I lost a day this week - actually I lost a week this month - but let's just stick with losing a day.  Thinking today was Wednesday, I planned to have a doll post  - and realizing it is Thursday - decided to do it anyway.

I've been crocheting doll clothes most of the spring - and finally finished outfits for everyone.  Long dresses, like we used to wear in the early 70s.  The dolls think they are great fun - and enjoyed a day in the sunshine on the deck.

 Sunshine and flowers - and pretty new dresses

Abby, who is standing behind you?  Is this a new friend in our group?

It is me, Candace Diane, your new sister.  I came from a yard sale - and I didn't look this good to start with.

Someone got loose with some scissors - and look what they did to my hair - oh my, I was a mess for sure.

But look at my new do - I'm a Ginger and I think it suits me so well.  Don't you agree?

Poppy Sunshine and I are going to pick some fresh flowers in our little pails.  We are so fetching in our summer hats.

 Look. Abby, I have some cute kitties!  Oh Kyla, they are just adorable.

Samantha, Sally Jo, Poppy Sunshine 

Abby, Kyla, Candy D. 

 Summer straw hats are perfect for our new crocheted dresses.

 Sally Jo, let's play catch with the beachball!

Oh Samantha - what a nice tray of sandwiches - let's share with the other girls.

Hiway 20 Barns

Almost all these barns are drive-by shots.  This is a very busy hiway, it leads to Anacortes, WA and the main terminal for this area to the San Juan Islands.  No stopping to get photos - it is four lanes and always busy, as there is either a ferry coming in - or about to leave.

 Bright red painted doors and clean white paint - and the back right side the barn is falling down.

 Another view of the same barn.

 All of today's barns are straight slant roofs instead of the traditional area barns which have the Gambrel roof.

 Most have a bit of a flare in the roof part way down - again to give more hay storage space.  Lots of dandelions this year.

 Once grand, now shabby - but the window frames are still there.

 Second view as we whizzed by

 And a third view

 No longer in use - and stacked in front of the barn are bundles of posts used to stake the ends of the massive raspberry fields nearby.  The raspberry bushes are tied up to the wires that run between the stakes.

The Barn Collective

5 in 5

Time again for 5 photos on the 5th, in 5 minutes - don't you just love this one?

My subject this time is a pot of flowers that I received as a Mother's Day gift from our oldest daughter and her family.

 1. Pretty petunias, pink and red, with a dark red, spiky grass, what a great combination!

2. A little Dragonfly stopped by for a visit.

 3. So many pretty flowers

4. The tiny pink Petunias (they called them "pot"tunias because they are grown especially for flower pots.

5. Sunshine, flowers and shadows on the deck.

5 in 5 

Acme Farms

Another road trip - this time out to Acme, WA - and what a treasure of barns they have

 Before getting to Acme we stopped and got a picture of this barn with the Sisters in the background - always a wonderful farm photo.

 It used to be a tradition to paint advertising signs on the end of barns - and on our way to Acme we always pass this barn - recently painted and advertising a restaurant that is  five and a half miles down the road - we'll have to schedule our trips out that way so we can stop for lunch.  I hear that the food is very good.

 Hidden amongst the blackberry vines

 A newly built barn, in the style that is very popular here.  That shape is called a Dutch Barn - it has a Gambrel Roof - the bulge in the middle of the roof - which allows for much more storage space for hay than a traditionally sloped roof.  This area was heavily settled by the Dutch and their influence is still seen today in the barns.

There are many Christmas Tree farms in our area - you can pick the one you like and cut it yourself.  This one is in front of a really nice old barn with a new roof.

The Barn Collective

Barns Near Silver Lake

A nice trip to Silver Lake County Park for an early spring picnic took us past some interesting farms and barns.  The area is in the mountains so I didn't expect to see a lot of barns.

But there were some quite interesting ones. The caps on the posts even match the barn roof.

 A lovely home in a pretty little valley

With a pretty barn and garden

 Beginning to sag - there was no sign of farming activity nearby.

 I think we'll store the boat and the old farm truck near this barn

 

Paint peeling - an old shed sits and waits

The Barn Collective

Summer Birds

 The ponds near our house have Canada Geese that overwinter - and in the spring it is time for babies.

 The goslings hatched some time ago, and swim along with the parents

They grow up quickly.

 And several Mallard families nest in the same area

 Something upset Mother Goose -  off to the water with the babies close behind

Mother Goose is also busy protecting her babies - all is well with mothers on guard.

Saturday's Critters