Bicentennial Barn
The first of 12 barns to be painted with the Niagara country bicentennial logo, the 30-by-50-foot front half of the Sweeney barn dates to the 1840s. It currently houses a dairy herd-it’s a wonderful thing that the county chose a working farm for the first barn to be painted. As the painting is completed, we will be driving out to each barn to photograph it-it would be great if each barn chosen was still in use! We were a little disappointed that the logo being painted on the barns is really just the falls and doesn’t take into account the rest of the county’s heritage. Although Niagara Falls is certainly the most well known part of Niagara County, there are many other historic and interesting parts to is. At the south. there is North Tonawanda, once the largest lumber port in the world. It is bordered on it’s south end by the Erie Canal, and is home to the famous Herschell Carrousel factory. At the north of the county, there is Youngstown-home to the historic Old Fort Niagara, which dates back to the 1700’s. In between, there are many wonderful little towns like Wilson, Lewiston and Hartland-as well as acres of grapes, apples, peaches and other crops. If you’d like to bring some of this unique Niagara County heritage into your home or office, click on the photo above or follow this link to our Americana and Rustic Country section in our shop: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633112.
Another Barn
I have loved this farm for years-as a kid, we used to go fishing nearby, and I always looked forward to seeing this farm when we drove by. It’s on a nearly 90 degree bend in a road, so it makes a grand statement when you come around the corner! This is a working farm and bed and breakfast. It’s nice to see that some of the original barns and farms in western New York are still in use today! If you’d like to add this beautifully kept barn to your home or office decor, click on the photograph above or visit our Americana and Rustic Country section in our photography shop here: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633112 .
Norwegian Fjords
These beautiful tan horses are among the oldest breeds in existence. Directly descended from the Tarpan horse, the ancestors of the Fjords can be seen in cave paintings! The hard working Fjord makes a good light draft horse, although they can be a bit on the stubborn side. Their size makes them more manageable than the larger draft breeds, such as Clydesdales. Our photograph was taken at a farm festival, and the team shown was working in a field along side much larger horses, turning the soil with ease. Available on a variety of items from mousepads to framed prints, it makes a great gift for horse lovers or anyone that likes a bit of country in their decor! Click the above photograph for items featuring that image, or follow this link to our Farm Animals section featuring more horse photos: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2979606 . Or, visit our country & Americana section for draft horses at work in the field: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633112 .
Antique and Vintage Tractors
Tractor shows, farm festivals and pulls all stand to show that even though times change and the vintage tractors might be gone from the fields they are certainly not forgotten! The evolution from horse to tractor was huge-but the changes in the tractors themselves is amazing. These tractor
photographs are symbolic of the machines that many associate with country living, simpler times and open lands. As farms turn into subdivisions, antique tractors become lawn ornaments on the land they once worked. Bring home a bit nostalgia today with one of our vintage tractor photographs!
Click on one of the photos above to view items featuring that specific image, or follow this link to view our Rustic Country and Americana section which features several tractors as well as other rustic country images: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633112 .
Boer goats
Boer goats are traditionally meat goats. They are kept in many places as pets however as well. Goats in general are great pets if you have some space for a pasture for them. They are curious and friendly, and make great 4H project animals for kids that don’t have the space for the larger farm animals such as calves and horses. Goats are also easier to transport and easier handle for smaller children. They are a petting zoo staple across the country because of their easy going natures and voracious appetites-they never seem to turn down the pellets offered in the little hands of visitors! We have a variety of products featuring these adorable little guys and gals in our shop’s farm animal section. If you’re looking for a bit of country farm for your decor, or even a Christmas ornament for a goat loving friend, you’re sure to find it here http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2979606 (or click on the photographs above for the designs featuring those photographs).
Barns-An American Icon
Once these huge wooden structures dotted the rural landscape of a preindustrial America. Now, fewer and fewer of the original wood barns remain. Used for animals, equipment and food storage as well as early billboards, they were an important part of life on a farm. Many of the early barns are built of hand hewn lumber-some beams even have the bark left on (cosmetics weren’t important here). These iconic structures are falling victim to wood boring powder post beetles, carpenter ants, rot from water infiltration in cases of neglect-and progress as former farmland is turned into house developments. Even farms that remain in use are replacing the old drafty structures with newer steel ones. Some places have begun grass roots efforts to save the salvageable barns before they are gone for good-and some have decided to at least save them in photographic records if they can’t save the structure. Barns are symbolic of American history, rustic country living, and a simpler time. If you’d like to add one of these bits of Americana to your decor, click on the photographs or follow this link to our “Americana and Rustic Country” section in our photography shop: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633112
Niagara county-more than Niagara Falls!
This forgotten corner of New York is more than it’s famous falls. This Western county borders Lake Ontario to the north and the Niagara river to the west, although it is usually over shadowed by it’s southern neighbor, Erie. Sadly, rapid development is quickly depleting it’s beautiful farm country, but there are still some fantastic open fields and orchards in the northern portions. These orchards are rooted in the history of the area, and make a spectacular show of white and pink in the spring as they fill the fields with showy blooms. Fortunately there are communities like Somerset that are establishing themselves as “right to farm” communities that will help protect the heritage of this beautiful place. A springtime drive through the northern portion including Youngstown, Wilson, Newfane & Somerset will amaze with it’s fields full of trees in full bloom. Fall brings apple festivals that give a nod to the heritage of this great little corner of New York. If you are traveling to the area in spring, be sure to take a drive through orchard country! Click on the photograph of the orchard in bloom if you are interested in bringing home some of the beauty of the area, or click here for a link to a section in our photography shop dedicated to flowers: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2688373
