Red barn, Ramona, CA

We found this delightful red barn on our visit to Ramona, CA. Isn't it wonderful? I LOVE red barns. My parents' 10 acre horse ranch in Vista, CA had a red barn (we never had horses on it...it was just a weekend getaway!). My dad actually re-roofed the entire barn! I don't have any digital photos of it, but I'll be sure to get some this summer! I always compare all the other barns I see to that one on Little Gopher Canyon Road near Vista, CA.

Wind mill and blue sky~~SkyWatch Friday 042409

On our way to Ramona last week, hubby and I came across this lonely windmill and ranch entrance. Not exactly a barn, but in "barn country"...i.e. Ramona. It was a beautiful, crisp, clear spring day...not a cloud in the sky! But the sky was full of wonderful Southern California sunshine! Quite a change from the beginning of the week, when we had cloudy, stormy skies and even snow in our local mountains. SkyWatch Friday for April 24, 2009.

Thursday challenge~~signs~~ 041609

Not exactly pics of barns, but SOMEDAY I hope to have these on a barn structure! Signs! All kinds of signs! These are on our fence out front of our house, but not up on the ranch where we board our horses. Hey, they work for me! We have two mustangs, two quarter horses, and 1 thoroughbred~all rescues! Our tree trimmer, also a horse owner, loves our signs and talks about his horses while trimming our trees! Thursday Challenge "Signs" for April 16, 2009.

Barn? Sort of...That's My World 041409

This delightful barn(?) is located in Sky Valley, CA. I've driven by it and admired it for years. Out here in our desert, we don't really need traditional barns. Instead, most ranches have the metal roofs over their corrals for shade protection. But, this little barn(?) is quite functional. One side stores hay and the other side stores the various rakes and shovels needed for corral cleaning. Isn't it cute? That's My World for April 14, 2009. I'll try to get some better photos today when hubby and I drive back there to check out some other ranches.

Utah barn, 2007~~Scenic Sunday for 041209

Hubby and I LOVE to travel to Utah and we usually do so in the summer. In 2007 we visited St. George and took day trips from there. On one of those trips, I spotted this barn and horses nearby. Scenic Sunday for April 12, 2009

Lonely tree and blue sky~~Skywatch Friday for 041009

This dead tree was at the red ranch in my previous post. The ranch is now empty and deserted, the trees are all dead, and I'm sure it is scheduled for demolition in the future. What a sad story. Skywatch Friday for April 10, 2009.

Red ranch, Palm Desert, CA

I've lived in Palm Desert over 33 years now and it wasn't until this year that I even saw this red ranch. It is right off Interstate 10, off the Cook Street exit! I only happened to finally catch a glimpse of red one morning as I was driving to school and I couldn't WAIT until the end of the day to return and take some photos. It turns out the ranch is now empty and deserted, abandoned like so many homes and ranches these days. But, what a life it must have had! It had a huge house (two stories), a pool, a large garage, and some kind of shed. Imagine it in its prime! WOW! There is a mobile home park across the street now and I imagine the property is now zoned for commercial development, since it is only a block away from a very busy freeway interchange. I found a discarded doll and some childrens' toys on my visit. What a sad commentary. I wanted to document it while it is still standing because my next visit, it COULD be gone! Rather than start with my barn photos, I thought I would pay homage to this wonderful red ranch. Enjoy the photos. It may not be around much longer.

Welcome!

Welcome to my newest blog, southwest barns. I wanted to devote a blog JUST to barns and maybe ranch buildings. Where I live, in Southern California, we don't always see barns anymore, but...just once in a while...one pops up and I rush out to photograph it! Living in the desert, most horse people do NOT have barns, but, up in the mountains, people do. I was thinking about limiting this to Riverside County, but since hubby and I frequently travel to both Arizona and Utah, I decided to call it "southwest barns", since I'll be on the prowl for barns in those states as well.
So, come on in, take off your shoes, and visit for a while! Welcome!