Saturday, April 17, 2010

Mission: Barn Art

They say there's opportunity in every moment.

And when you come across an old barn, housing a rickety old truck- you gotta seize that opportunity, man!



I'll never forget that day...

While the last few minutes of our "adventure" involved prying my husband away from the oh-so-incredible scene, the first few minutes involved some good old-fashioned panic.

See, we initially parked waaay far away from the barn, and quickly found ourselves wading through a long ditch, filled with knee-high length grass, just so we could get close enough to shoot it.

That's when the good old-fashioned panic kicked in.

About halfway between the car and the barn, I started to visualize snakes.

And I don't know about you, but once I visualize something scary, it's over.

I had to abort "Mission: Barn Art"- and I had to abort it fast.

So after a quick glance at my feet to make sure I wasn't already standing on something slithery...

Photobucket
(no snakes, whew!)

...I whipped around and ran-walked back to the car as fast, but as calmly, as I could.

(Ya know- so that the folks in the cars driving past me wouldn't know I was freaking out or anything. I'm kind of a closet panicker.)

Anywho, Kevin never looked back.
He bravely forged ahead, and was able to get some great shots without incident.

Photobucket

That makes him a hero, right?





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PS-

Have you seen this magnet before?



Well, I was thinking this might be a good one too...





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44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Snakes! YUCK!! The barn pics are awesome!
Katie in N AL

Sandra said...

What a great photo - your non-snake-fearing hubby did you proud! Having the same feelings about spiders, I can appreciate your reaction to the potential snake situaion.

I've a bit of a soft spot for old barns as well and often stop to photograph them, but can never seem to get quite the focal range your hubby got in his photo. I see you have a Canon 30D, but what type of lens did he use to capture this shot?

Cheers,

A neighbour to the North

Beki - TheRustedChain said...

Ha! You are too funny.

We just bought an old farmhouse with a rickety barn that we're fixing up before we move in... (fixing the house, not the barn.)

I'm begging my husband to buy an old truck just to put out on our land! :)

I haven't seen any snakes yet, but I'm sure we will. We do, however, have a (mean) badger or two living in the barn... YIKES!

So next time, watch out for those too. ;-)

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

What amazing pictures of the barn and the old truck. I would have run back to the car too. I HATE snakes. Thanks Kevin for the wonderful pictures. Love & blessings from NC!

Old Beach Bungalow said...

i need a copy of your magnet. will that be available on letteredcottageart.com too? please say yes.

Karla@TheClassyWoman said...

Wow, those barn photos are beautiful! Kevin is certainly very talented in many ways. :)

Dianne said...

You are both too cute! I am a NC artist. I really can appreciate the old barn photos and that rusty truck was just too grand. There is an artist in Sante Fe that specializes in old rusty truck photography. Really neat stuff.

Anonymous said...

Terrific pics - what a sweet family...so, I had EXACTLY the same snake-y feeling come over me just yesterday when we stopped to take pictures in the blue bonnets. Along with it being totally cliche, I remembered exactly why I NEVER do that. Kids and husband snapped away, I waited in the car.

Staci at Craftify It ! said...

Wow! That barn and truck are INCREDIBLE! I'm so glad you stopped(despite the snakes) ;) Kevin got some great shots.

PS. Where did you get your shoes? Did those skulls come ON the shoes or separate? I NEED to find something similar for my cross bone lovin friend!!!

SJ said...

I'm the same way when an idea pops into my head like that. Sometimes at night walking back to bed from the bathroom, I think "what if there was someone under our bed waiting to grab my ankles... what if?" And in a childish and irrational way, I am compelled to vault into the bed from several feet away just to avoid the potential ankle-grabbing. I guess the point is that you are not alone when it comes to acting on silly fears!

Unknown said...

Snakes, yuck! Glad Kevin got to take the pictures. Will he be selling the barn and truck photo prints?

Lettered Cottage said...

Hey Elizabeth!

He sure will!

They're available at LetteredCottageArt.com!

Layla

Unknown said...

I should have checked Lettered Cottage Art first. I see the pics there. Thanks.

Georgetown Fresh said...

Totally agree... s-n-a-k-e-s (I have to spell it, can't say it) are a no zone for me too.

Love your blog. We are attempting a cottage renovation piece by piece on our decidedly non-cottage 1980s home. You are great inspiration!

Haley in Missouri

Lettered Cottage said...

Hi Craftify It!

I think I got my shoes at TJ Maxx a few years ago.
They came with the little skulls on them. :-)

Layla

J.J. said...

I love those barn pics! We had an old barn down the street from our house growing up and my parents took a pic and had a local artis paint it. I love it still...even if they tore it down. Good stuff.

liz @ bon temps beignet said...

I Love those pictures! And I really love that quote from Mrs. Roosevelt! I had my own little 'bravery test' this past week when I tried to pick some wild flowers on the side of the 5 freeway here in San Diego. Here's my little story...

bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2010/04/highway-robbery.html


Be brave! You'll kick yourself later for not do it.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures!!! I'm with you on the snakes...ick!

gretchen said...

I have a real weak spot for both barns and old trucks...
we were out at a auto swap meet last weekend and I must have taken a hundred shots of great old cars and trucks.

My Cottage Charm said...

Hey Layla!
Lovin' the pics, hating the idea of snakes! I swear to you I had shivers down my spine just reading about the possibility of snakes...brrrrr!! I'm glad you didn't meet any of them! Tell Kevin he's a brave hero for getting those cool pics. :)
Hope you have a nice day!
Melissa

Simply LKJ said...

OMG...too funny Layla. I too am one to forge ahead, but once I think about the "lurking" possibilities...am the first to retreat!

Jen Vogt said...

Kevin - way to be a brave husband!

Layla - I completely agree with aborting a mission for potential snake safety. My husband and I were doing some yard work this afternoon. I was cleaning up some of the mess leftover from our nasty winter, which meant moving some soggy hay bales. Have you ever moved a hay bale? I normally pick it up by the strings and pull it against my body. So, I went to do that today, and JUST as I was about to pick it up, I saw the snake, sunning itself on top. I have never screamed so loud or run so fast in my life. EWWW!!

Thank goodness that I, too, have a brave husband who was willing to dispose of the snake AND refrain from laughing at my terror (too much) :)

Have a great day, you two!!

Amber Polk said...

Wonderful pictures!

I also panic on the inside while looking calm and collected on the outside. That is unless it's pitch black, then I'll have a full blown panic attack.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Great pics and video and a fun story. BTW, your shoes and really cute, too!

Jess said...

Too funny! My husband would love these shots, he has a 1950 Ford truck in our garage.

I'm glad I'm not alone in my utter snake fear-- I was once at an architectural salvage place outside Oxford, PA (total Amish country) called "The Barn." I was fearlessly going through all of the old doors in the back completely distracted by all the goodies when the owner calmly came in and said.... how do you feel about snakes? I just saw one slither in here from outside when I moved a bench and I just wanted to give you fair warning-- ACK!

Needless to say I ran out of there without looking back and I'm STILL terrified to go shopping there!

Paula Barin said...

Your post made me laugh. I'm right with you when it comes to long grass and snakes.... even if they aren't there, you think they are.

I love the photo... what a great shot. Kevin really is a hero! :)

Unknown said...

Had to pull my feet up off the floor for that one...thanks.

Daryl at Vermont Cottage said...

First of all: that is a great pic. Good for Kevin for toughing it out! Second: I heartily agree with your take on Eleanor Roosevelt's saying. I need a magnet like that. :).

TWT said...

I had to laugh to myself cause before I even read the snake part, I was already thinking to myself,"is she crazy going in to tall grass, there could be snakes!!!" Glad to hear you made it out okay and thank goodness for Kevin. I love, love, love that barn shot. TWT

ItchyBits said...

Glad I am not the only one who marvels and snaps photos of random barns - such great structures. How about some of your hubby's music on your vids???

Sue said...

Barn beautiful-ness...great photos. What a great loation...you would have had to pry me away too

N said...

I love the pictures & the quote magnets.

I also LOVE the music on the video is it Kevin's band or something else?

The Charm of Home said...

Oh, absolutely! Abort all missions involving snakes! Totally with you on that one.

The Weathered Bungalow said...

Oh how lucky you are that you can take good photos! Its a gift I tell ya, a gift!!! :)

xoxo, Meredith

chris said...

Love love the picture of the side barn with truck. Also, you're a crack up with the Layla Palmer quote... so funny.

Kare said...

Wow, those are some awesome shots...very impressive work Kevin! Layla, I am so happy to learn I'm not the only one sensible enough to heed the heebie-jeebies when it comes to snakes. Bleck! That just may be the most intelligent quote I've ever read.

Nadir @ Hodgepodge said...

Gorgeous photo! And I'm loving the magnets! Haha! I need one of those.

Tracy Wills said...

Great photos, but I'm with you, I would have been out of there so fast.
I encountered 2 snakes in my yard this weekend, I'm really not afraid of bugs or anything else, but I do not like seeing snakes. Yikes. Luckily they were little garden snakes and not rattlesnakes.
Awhile back my sweet cat left me a baby diamondback rattlesnake on my front door. I think I’m still not over that incident.

Cathy said...

Looove the photos! I have that quote from Eleanore Roosevelt on my frig...maybe I need yours too :).

Jessica said...

I am so thrilled that you posted that picture!! My husband and I just moved back to Michigan from Georgia and we miss it sooo much. We have passed that barn many a times and know exactly where its located :) ....great memories. Thank you again, for it made me smile and warmed my heart... pictures from home :)

This Mama said...

I would buy YOUR magnet. What you just described has happened to me MANY TIMES. Recently a mom told me she wanted me to take her daughter's senior pics. She goes on to tell me about this awesome old barn and car in the middle of a field...full of sage brush. The whole time I'm nodding my head and smiling but all I could think about was SNAKES. I honestly don't know how I'm going to do it. You can bet I'll be wearing boots up to my thighs!

Anonymous said...

I'd be more concerned with ticks than snakes. Kevin's photographs are amazing. When you stumble upon something like this, it's like spotting a rainbow.
Thank you for sharing.

Deborah

The Runyans said...

layla.............
i so so so agree on the snakes.

i saw one on saturday trying to go to our composter, so i could plant some crape myrtle trees. it scared me to death. brant said he knew by my scream what it was. i'm petrified of them. mom says she "marked" me in the womb. when she was pregnant with me, dad killed one, and part of it flew up and hit her belly! YUCK!
anyways. . .i understand. i didn't sleep at all saturday, thinking they may have got in the house!
oh.....i just posted pics of my kitchen the in the next to last post. check it out if you get time!
jess

zees5 said...

Your kitchen re-do it yourself is the best I've seen! The trim makes all the difference. How did you attach the 1 x 6 board on top?

I am going to drag my husband through another re-model because we live in California where the land costs so much that the house that sits on it is invariably a dump unless you are really rich (: We just bought a short sale, track home that was has always been a rental, born in 1998 - can you SAY 4 strikes??? But we're really thankful - it's a long, long story, but let's just say an HOA and zero lot line is looking pretty good these days after the s-c-a-r-y neighborhood we've been living in.

My middle daughter has white blond hair like yours. She is 8 and has a zany, hysterical sense of humor and love to make plays for us with scripts for the entire family (I am the videographer) so I wonder if she'll have a blog like yours someday. You crack me up! ~Page