Barn Charm - An Illinois Farm in June

Back in June, my family and I drove to Chicago with my mom so we could visit my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. Livie, by the way, had a BLAST with her cousins!

As Andrew really likes driving when we go on road trips, I let him drive; during that time, I was able to snap some photos using the Instagram app on my iPhone as we drove along I-80 and I-88.

Here's an Instagram photo I was able to take of a farm in western Illinois (it may have been while we were still on I-80 heading east, or it may have been just after we got on I-88 heading east).

I love the two (partially) red barns side by side, the fluffy clouds, the farmhouse, green crops early in the season, and the two birds of prey circling overhead.

"Barn Charm" is hosted weekly by Bluff Area Daily. Please click on the "Barn Charm" button below to view the rest of this week's fantastic "Barn Charm" entries. (The link-up will be available later this evening).

Barn Charm - Another Living History Farm Barn

Wow! It's been a while since I last posted, hasn't it? I guess the summer has really gotten away from me. I've been trying to keep Livie busy, and in doing so, I've been completely unmotivated to write or do anything creative (aside from using my Instagram app on my iPhone). I've hardly even felt like reading, and that is SO unlike me.

Or maybe it's just that I've gotten to used to having a break from academic reading and writing (or any reading and writing) after an unexpected semester off from grad school. Ah, well. I'll get back into it.

I do, however, have quite a few barn photos saved up, having taken a number of barn photos throughout the spring and summer - whether traveling within Iowa, or in Illinois - for the sole purpose of sharing them with "Barn Charm," even though I've not felt like getting on the computer to post anything lately.

Anyway, here are a couple photos I took with my Instagram app. These were from Memorial Day weekend when we were in Urbandale, IA. This was our second family trip to Living History Farms, and again, it was over Memorial Day weekend; seems like this may become a new family tradition - going to Living History Farms on Memorial Day.

It had been a rainy, obviously overcast, and somewhat chilly day when we visited. But I got a couple cool barn shots, anyway. (You can see my other barn photos from this same trip if you click here and here.)

This wonderful, huge red barn was in the 1900s section of Living History Farms. I just LOVE red barns, and this one is certainly a handsome one, don't you think?

Livie loved going in this barn only to find that there was a horse eating hay in his stall.

By the way, I love that Livie is in her bright yellow rain gear (rain jacket, rain pants, rain boots) and her bright yellow is such a great contrast against the red paint on the barn.

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Barn Charm - Williamsburg, IA

This photo was taken over Memorial Day Weekend, 2013. It was another one of my "drive by" shots, using the Instagram app on my phone.

This barn and farmland are just outside of Williamsburg, IA, on the north side of I-80. (You can click on the photo to see a larger version.)

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"Living History" Farming Photo

Yesterday, I'd posted a "Barn Charm" entry from historic Ushers Ferry Historic Village in Cedar Rapids, IA, which we'd visited for a Girl Scout activity last Friday evening. Today, I thought I'd share another Instagram shot from that same visit.

I thought this was a cool color for a tractor. (I love blue.) It looks well-used. It was hooked up to a hay-rack which was used to give a group of  Girl Scouts and their adult companions a hay-rack ride.

Red Barns, Blue Sky, Barn Charm

Here's a farm with lovely red barns. It's somewhere east of Anamosa, IA. I think it was roughly 20-25 miles east on Highway 151.

I used the Instagram app on my phone and captured this "on the go" shot as Andrew and I were driving back from a field trip with Livie's first grade class; we'd gone to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, IA. If you're ever in the Dubuque area, I would highly recommend visiting this museum/aquarium. This place is a big hit; children especially love this place.

(Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Please visit the rest of this week's "Barn Charm" entries (hosted by Bluff Area Daily) by clicking the "Barn Charm" button below:

White Barn

Here's another barn located somewhere between Des Moines and Coralville, IA. This photo was taken about a week before the first day of spring. I used the Instagram app on my phone. (I don't remember which filter I used.) It's another one of my "on the go" photos I took out the car window as we were speeding down going the speed limit on I-80.

(You can get a bigger view of this photo if you click on it.)

Please visit the rest of this week's "Barn Charm" entries by clicking the "Barn Charm" button below:

Brown Barn Charm

I haven't been blogging much lately, so it's nice to jump back into it by participating in "Barn Charm" with my version of being creative. 

Here's a farm somewhere on the south side of I-80, somewhere in between Des Moines and Coralville, IA (we were heading east). It was about a week before the first day of "Spring" (though it seems winter's still holding on tight in Iowa).

This is one of those "on the go" photos I took out the (grimy) car window using the Instagram app on my phone. (I don't remember which filter I used.)

(You can get a better view of the photo if you click on it.)

Please visit the rest of this week's "Barn Charm" entries by clicking the "Barn Charm" button below: 

Barn Charm - Coralville, IA

Okay, I took this drive-by photo last week on my way home from school (Nov 28th, I think). It's in the Coralville, IA area, just north of I-80 and just east of the I-380 interchange.

I've always admired this barn. Sometimes there's a chestnut horse in the pasture. I didn't see him (her?) on this particular day.

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Barn Charm - On the Road

This photo was taken with the Instagram app on my iPhone. It was just about dusk, Tuesday November 20, 2012, heading west on I-80, somewhere between Iowa City and Des Moines.

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Rural Iowa, Rural Thursday

Okay, here's a quick post for "Rural Thursday" - and by "quick," I mean I'm letting a photo do the "talking," because . . . well, as they say, "a picture's worth a thousand words," right? (And since I've got to read thousands of words today, I'd best lay off writing thousands of 'em.)

Rural scene, Swisher, IA, October 21, 2012.

"Rural Thursday" is co-hosted by A Rural Journal and Two Bears Farm. Please click on the rooster button below to view the rest of this week's "Rural Thursday" entries:

Instagram Barn Charm

I know I've been away from Under the Desert Sky for a long stretch, but I've been so swamped by my school work this semester - more so than any other semester thus far.

While taking a break from the books this past weekend, Livie and I went back to Bart's Farm and Pumpkin Patch so Livie could have another pony ride (which they offer on Saturdays and Sundays in October). Plus, we needed to get a couple more big pumpkins. 

Anyway, while we were there, I thought I'd take a couple more photos for "Barn Charm" since I haven't participated for a while, and I really wanted to get another blog post up!

But since I hadn't taken my camera with me, I used my iPhone. And to make it a little more interesting than your average "phone photo," I used the Instagram app.

So here are my two "Barn Charm" photos from Bart's Farm: 

Main barn, view from pumpkin patch.

Another barn on the property.

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More Farm Photos - Rural Thursday

Okay, I saved a few of our farm photos (from our pumpkin picking/pony riding trip to Bart's Farm) for today's "Rural Thursday."

You may recognize the view of "Bart's Farm" from this past Monday's "Barn Charm." However, in this photo, I had Livie posing next to the barn (near the straw bales).

Of course, Livie HAD to get a pony ride (or in this case, a horse ride, as this guy was a couple hands too tall to be a pony). She loved the Palomino, and picked him because it looked like a Palomino Appendix Quarter Horse I used to have.

 The farm wouldn't be complete without some chickens! Livie LOVED these chickens because they were "bock-bocking" like chickens! Haha! (What else would they do, right?)

 Livie and I took advantage of this photo opportunity - there was an "autumn scene" all set up in the front yard of the "Bart's Farm" family house. When we got home, Livie helped me decorate the photo with PicMonkey. 

And, of course, Livie went crazy with the PicMonkey decorations on this photo. She's posing with a couple of the pumpkins we'd gotten from Bart's Farm, plus the awesome orange mums I'd gotten last week (and the sucker she'd gotten after her pony ride).

And yes, that's a spider plant holder (made out of metal parts)! We'd gotten it a few years ago at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market, and usually put it out every fall; this was the first year I'd actually remembered to go out and get some mums for it. 

Rural Thursday is co-hosted by Two Bears Farm and A Rural Journal.  Please check out other "Rural Thursday" entries by clicking on the "Rural Thursday" button below: