Distance Hike

So my friend Mr. Bill was desperate to get OUT of the house and yard to do something different.

I texted him Friday morning and said I was still going for the 3 mile hill hike at about 1pm if he cared to join me.
He replied that even though it was cold and windy, he'd go.

We kept our distance from each other and I took him on the tour of our hills, valleys, and creeks. We crossed our little creek and he inquired if it ran down to join Readscreek and I found myself explaining our 'watershed' to him. I also told him that the locals, the old locals [as we are old ourselves] called Readscreek ... Blackbottom.

When we got to the old logging road above the Back Valley he stopped and stared and was in awe. I asked him if he wanted to go down and walk along the stream and he said YES!
I informed him that we would be doing some stream hopping and rock jumping. He said fine.

I remarked that all the balance activities we did in CrossFit really applied well to light jumps over rocks to criss cross the creek. Plus the steep hillsides were excellent leg and cardio workouts.

Bill asked me how the heck I didn't get turned around in this vast 'wilderness'. I said at first I did but that was 26 years ago and I'd been exploring this acreage ever since I'd moved to the area. I felt like I knew every rock and tree. I certainly knew just about every trail made by the 4 wheelers and the deer.

When I guided him to the edge of the largest ravine/dry run on the land and had him look down he simply just stood there.

And all he could say over and over is 'Wow!'

He went on about what a great place this was to explore and I reminded him that it still was private property but the owner let me have free run of the place and in a way I felt like it was my own playground/backyard. Especially since I've been exploring this land and mine for all these years.

This was a very safe way to socialize and practice social distancing. We didn't have to drive in separate cars to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, and we could maintain our distance and walk right out back, so to speak.

I had another person ask me if she could come over and go with me. I'm not sure about that. She has 5 children.
I'm certainly going to think long and hard about it.

I want to be polite but also safe. Open air hiking is encouraged but I think now they are recommending no one outside of your household.

That would just mean...Charlie and I.
Oh and Sven.

Things feel surreal.

This old barn...and....

This is the original file as it appeared 'in camera' and the down load. The sepia color was a touch darker, but nothing else was changed.

I do love this place and next time I go by it, I need to have a long lens with the 720nm filter on it.

It is a farm that has been around for about 100 years, that is what the last owner had told me. The only access to this place was by an old rickety bridge. I wish I'd had the forethought to have photographed it years ago.

The bridge had survived all of the floods since it was built but those floods of 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2015 gave the owner pause I guess and she moved out to somewhere else. Last year, the 2018 flood took the bridge and as we like to say "disappeared" it. The LP tank to the house was found 1/2 mile away. However the barn never suffered damage other than what Mother Nature has done to it.

The place sits empty now. I don't see any animals grazing on the land and I suspect that any fencing that did exist has been washed away.
Last year huge wrapped round bales landed with the flood waters all along the river and into the Readstown Park, looking like monstrous marshmallows that had been dropped by a giant. [Wow, what a fun opportunity that would have been to photograph also!]

Anyway I digress.
I've taken a lot of photos of this barn and farm over the years and decided to try it in Infrared.

The blues that appear after a channel swap were really neat. The branches, trees, and grass around it had a very dull yellowish color to it which I didn't like.

I felt this needed a vintage treatment.

I like it so much better this way. I could have added some old film scratches but decided to leave well enough alone.

I need the zoom lens next time or a better angle to capture the old farm house and the barn in the same frame.

I feel sort of awkward pulling over and parking then walking along the side of the road with the camera. Perhaps I shouldn't feel that way. But I imagine someone driving by and wondering what that Crazy Person is doing!

Awkward. I'm facing my next challenge in photography Saturday morning. I was invited by a CrossFit friend to come and take photos of her family. I told her that I wasn't very experienced in 'people' shots and didn't have a studio or fancy lights.
The worst that can happen is that she doesn't use anything I take. So I put on my big girl panties and decided to try it.
Yes, I have done a few weddings, but I'm a basic person and like candid shots best.

We shall see how this goes!