Back to the Farm—1
June 28, 2021
Last summer—because of Covid—we were not able to visit my friend Anne’s farmhouse and land in southwestern Pennsylvania. Pent-up anticipation of being there was released earlier this month. What a joyful time. My only regret is that I did not take more photographs. Photos taken in 2019 are here and here and here and here.
1 The toaster has a designated table of its own.
2 The table on the eating porch has some of the many claw feet in the house.
3 When it’s time to eat, whoever is cooking the meal rings the dinner bell.
4 The last time I photographed this bed, the light was different.
5 Furniture moves around from year to year. I don’t remember this chair in this bedroom.
6 Jigsaw puzzles are one of the things to blame for my not taking more photographs.
7 Most garages are not this color coordinated.
8 The farm’s hoses were in fine fettle.
Romancing Reality 
Your friend Anne obviously likes jigsaws. There is a UK jigsaw manufacturer called Wentworth Wooden Jigsaws that make uniquely challenging jigsaws of really high quality which feature ‘whimsy’ shaped pieces and odd shapped pieces so edges are less easy to build! One of their 5oo piece puzzles can be as challenging as a 1000 piece regular jigsaw. I have received a couple as gifts and also given a few as presents. They are really good quality and nicely boxed with cloth bag holding the pieces.
Since you are in the USA, you (or indeed your friend) may never have come across them…!
Best wishes
Mr C 🙂
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June 28, 2021 at 7:25 PM
Thank you, Mr. C. You’re right; I had never heard of the Wentworth puzzles; they have many nice ones. My photograph of the jigsaw puzzles captures a small fraction of the myriad puzzles at the farm. This time we worked one of the many antique wooden ones there. The wooden pieces have a nice heft to them.
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June 28, 2021 at 8:43 PM
I find that jigsaws tend to be more of a winter time activity. The cold shorter days and longer nights lend themselves to staying in with a jigsaw or a book. When the weather is better I am inclined to spend more time with my camera. I recently saw a 1000 piece jigsaw that was purchased from Amazon which had letter codes on the back of each piece! They were coded alphabetically and all the ‘A’s related to one section of the puzzle and ‘B’s to another etc. I guess this is to help if the puzzle is really difficult but until seeing the one I mention I’ve never seen that before. It was card rather than wood and not terribly well made. There was no mention of the code on the box or on Amazon! I think traditional puzzles are best with the exception of Wentworth who have actually come up with a really nice variation. Right that’s all from me.
Have a great week, Mr C 🙂
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June 29, 2021 at 4:49 AM
Thanks, Mr. C. I did. Sorry for this delay in my response. I think you might enjoy a lazy summer-weather jigsaw experience. Coding the puzzle pieces seems like cheating to me.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:00 PM
Yes, indeed the coding does seem like cheating.
I should perhaps give lazy summer jigwsawing a go 🙂
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July 5, 2021 at 4:12 AM
These beautiful photos bring the Farm right back in my mind’s eye. They are lovely.
Sandy
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June 28, 2021 at 7:28 PM
Thanks, Sandy. I hope to take more photos yet.
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June 28, 2021 at 8:46 PM
Fine fettle indeed! I can depend on you to put together a unique house tour. I love the hoses – that image has beautiful tones and subtle colors, and it lands nicely after the one before. What strikes me overall is the careful framing, the judicious eye deciding what to keep and what to exclude. E.g. a generous amount of leg and floor in the first photo and the barest – but absolutely necesary – hint of window and curtain in the fourth. The dormer angle and chest of drawers’ knobs in the fifth, in addition to the light on the floor. Those decisions create a good tension between the obvious subject of each photo and the general atmosphere. Except for the puzzles there is an abiding calm here, just as I remember from the last trip to the farmhouse. I feel you settle in.
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June 28, 2021 at 9:06 PM
Glad you aren’t tired of my hose obsession, Lynn. I certainly can’t put words around why the hint of window and curtain are necessary in the fourth photo; they just are. Happy you agree. Thank you for naming the tension between subject and atmosphere; those “decisions” just happen; I don’t have much to do with them. Something feels right or it doesn’t. As for calm, yes, that’s always been the overriding sense when I’ve been at the farm—except for a few happily rowdy dinner-table conversations. Twenty-five members of my friend’s extended family are descending on the place this week; I doubt it will feel calm then.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:24 PM
It’s instinct, I understand. I’m not exactly thinking about tension or atmosphere when I’m taking pictures, either. Wow, what a nice party they’re going to have! Today we went to the Anacortes Fourth of July parade, a truly small-town affair. There were many wonderful moments featuring little kids, dogs, and older women dancing in crazy costumes. Very left coast. The odor of diesel got a bit overpowering when all the vintage cars and trucks rolled by…then the odor of something that used to be illegal drifted by – what a mix! A mixed-gender Mexican rodeo group that I’ve never seen at one of the Anacortes parades before was incredible – very elaborate costumes and saddles and intensely powerful, high-stepping horses. The women had enormous dresses on a were serious and dignified. There were mermen too, with potbellies, blowing bubbles. What a trip! 😉 The antithesis of the farmhouse experience.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:59 PM
Yes, it sounds like quite a contrast but definitely sounds like fun.
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July 5, 2021 at 11:15 AM
Collectively your pictures give a good feel for this old house. You’ve made me wonder whether our modern houses will seem as old 75 years from now.
Fettle is one of those words I don’t often see, and then only in the alliterative phrase that you used: in fine fettle.
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June 28, 2021 at 9:48 PM
Thanks, Steve. Forgive my cynicism, but I doubt our modern houses will still be standing in 75 years. They don’t make ’em like they used to. I can’t say I’ve ever used the word fettle before. In fact, I had to look it up to be sure I used it correctly: “state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form —often used in the phrase in fine fettle,” according to Merriam–Webster.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:31 PM
I’m a cynic too. Will our country last 75 months, let alone 75 years?
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July 4, 2021 at 10:50 PM
Thank you. Not a long comment, but reflects enjoyment! Hope your visit was as refreshing as the photos.
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June 28, 2021 at 11:22 PM
Yes, thank you, Grover. It was refreshing. Glad you enjoyed these.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:32 PM
Great pictures. A fascinating place. I can imagine how much you enjoyed your stay there.
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June 29, 2021 at 4:14 AM
Thank you. I’m pleased that you can imagine my enjoyment of this place, Jessica. It is a fascinating place.
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July 4, 2021 at 9:36 PM