states of decay in the park

Last weekend we went to a few locations in the park that we had been to a few times before.
As the years progress, the dilapidation of the farmsteads continues to increase.  I wasn't thinking about doing a comparison or else I would have tried more to take similar photos/perspectives.

Many of these structure are unsafe, so I never recommend going inside to take pictures. Most of the doors and windows are so wide open it's possible to get a good shot without endangering oneself.

Lennington Farm

May 2011

See-through barn but the structure is still (barely) hanging on

March 2015

Most of the barn has collapsed.

Smith-Birchenaugh Farm

May 2011

Now (2015) the windows and door are all boarded up. Not as pretty!

March 2015

Evidence of a fire.

Marie Zimmerman Farm

2013

2015

Most of the bottles/jars are gone now. Only this row and a few on the windowsill remain.

Running in front of my camera.

house and barn in NJ side of the park

Sometimes I forget that I have this blog. Other times, I remember but don't have anything to post.

On Sunday we went to an old house and barn on the New Jersey side of the DWGNRA. I don't actually have much information on these structures except that they used to be residences. I'm not even sure if I could find them again on my own; they were hidden at the end of a long, overgrown road.

A few crocuses peeking out from the dead grass.

   

The barns.

 Apparently the people who used to live here used one of the barns as a haunted house. Or at least, that's what I hope all these decorations are for.

The other barn.

 

 To be honest, I didn't take too many pictures during this trip. Hopefully I'll post more as the weather improves.

sunflower power

So I've been to my fair share of corn mazes (or maizes), but never before this year have I been to a sunflower maze! It was overwhelmingly beautiful. We went towards the end of the day, so there weren't too many people around and the weather was cooling down.

path through the maze

non-conformist 

Fractals and patterns appear everywhere in nature and they are one of my nerdy interests. I think part of what I find so beautiful about sunflowers is the fact that their golden ratio is acutely visible.

This recurring pattern that exists in everything from pine cones to clouds to the veins in our bodies helps me believe that there is an order to the universe  (which also might be an ever-increasing Fibonacci sequence). Anyway, Nova has an episode about it if you're interested.

Was it something I said?

 

*facepalm*