In the Morning Sun

Several posts ago, I devoted some time to sharing a drive we did on the Johnson Mesa when the clouds were so low, we were driving thru them.  Well, the drive this day was in the bright sunshine!

Circling Birds

There’s something about the circling birds near the deserted homestead that makes the scene feel forlorn, even in the bright sunshine!

 

Fenceline

On this day, we explored some of the dirt roads that lead to various homesteads or ranch pastures.  For this image, I got out of our Jeep so that I could capture the lines of both the dirt road and barbed wire fenceline as they both wind off into the horizon.

Meadow Graveyard

On one of the dirt roads, we passed a very small graveyard in a meadow.  It was fenced it, and there didn’t seem to be many graves in there.  Well, actually, a more accurate statement would be there weren’t many visible headstones in it.  As you can see, it was very overgrown.  It was the gate with the cross on it that drew our attention.

Old Barn Window

On our way back from our morning adventure, we passed an old barn half falling down.  I just love the look of the weathered rough wood and the reflection of the ground in the window glass.  I’m actually sort of amazed that the glass was still in it, unbroken!

Enjoy!

Wildlife on the Mesa

In addition to the great scenery and deserted homesteads on Johnson Mesa, we also saw some wildlife…..

 

Speed

When we were starting out, we saw a deer just of the side of the road, sort of walking casually in the brush.  When he realized we were approaching, he quickly turned and ran.  I managed to capture him, and from the blurred scenery behind him, you get an idea of how quickly he accelerated!

Watching Deer

Here you get a better idea of what this little deer looked like – he paused and just watched us from further away from the road.

Curious Antelope

As we drove along the mesa, we came across a herd of antelope.  I thought they looked particularly adorable when they hesitated and watched us watching them!

Mama Deer

Back to the deer again – this time a mama deer stopped and watched us with a couple of her little ones……

Mama Leaps

…and then took off gracefully leaping over a fence…..

Baby One Leaps

….followed first by baby #1…..

Baby Two Leaps

…and then baby #2!  I just love the white tails flipping up as they sailed over the fence!  What was amazing by all 3 of them was that they did these leaps from almost a standing position!

Enjoy!

 

Yesterdays

We drove along Johnson Mesa on the morning of the low clouds.  The clouds created a sort of yesterday feel to whatever we saw.  And, there is a history of Johnson Mesa that dates back to the 1880’s.  Elijah Johnson was the first white settler on the mesa, and he pastured cattle there.  In the late 1880’s, dissatisfied railroad workers and coal miners settled there, and before too long, the entire mesa was filled with homesteads, each of about 160 acres.  However, due to the long cold winters, and an influenza epidemic, the population dropped, and kept dropping.  Today, no one lives on the mesa, altho some ranchers spend the summers here, tending to their cattle.  In fact, as we drove up onto the mesa, there was a gate stating that the mesa would be closed off during “inclement weather” – I think that means winter!  But, for now, let’s take a look back to yesterday…..

House in the Meadow

This was the first house we came upon.  As I peered thru the trees at the house to get the best view of this old homestead, I decided the best way to show off this treasure was to convert the image to a black and white image, with a paper texture to add to the vintage feel of the scene.

Along the Fence

As I mentioned above, some ranchers allow their cattle to graze on the mesa.  It’s getting close to the end of summer, so these cattle will be making their way down to lower pastures soon.

Down the Road

The road seemed to always be coming up to meet us out of nowhere, due to the low clouds.  Again, this image, taken on a whim, reminded me of driving off into…….I don’t know what.

The Old Farmstead

This old farmstead seemed to be one that may be used thru the summer.  I’m guessing that due to the horses that were kept in a pasture close to the old cabin.  Again, I converted this to a black and white image with paper texture added, but then added back a bit of color.

Lonely Life

For this image, I left the image in color, but enhanced the moody feel of the low clouds.  It adds a very lonely feel to the scene, and considering how few homesteads there are on the mesa, that feeling is probably close to the reality of life on Johnson Mesa.

Old Homestead

In this final image, I processed the image without any vintage touches.  I liked the texture on the deserted cabin, and any vintage effect obliterated that texture.  In this image, you can see the clouds are beginning to lift (that’s why you can see another mesa in the background), altho it’s still a very moody morning.

There’s more to come from Johnson Mesa, so……

Enjoy!