Tucked in a valley in Bluebird Park in Ellisville is the Reinke Barn, moved from its original location west of Clarkson Road on Manchester Road. Originally built in 1905 for Henry Reinke, laborers came from the communities of Sherman and Glencoe to help build the barn. It could originally hold two horses, six cattle and…
Tag: Barns
The Sheep House, Rural Pike County
The owners of this property have moved next door to a modern house, and left the original homestead standing. The sheep, and possibly a few goats in the far background, have now moved in. Down the road is the barn.
Family Farm, Deer Creek Township, Illinois, March 2023
I woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground, which I was not expecting at this point in the season; apparently the same thing happened in St. Louis. It was very, very cold out, to say the least. But the sky was clear and blue in the morning.
The Château of Chenonceaux
Sitting aside and crossing the Le Cher River, the Château of Chenonceaux is easily one of the greatest achievements of humans carefully adapting the built environment with the natural environment. Instead of trampling on the natural world, the renovation of what had been an old Medieval fortress was transformed into a residence that worked with…
Hameau de la Reine
Easily our favorite stop in the grounds of the Trianon was the Hameau de la Reine, or Queen’s Hamlet, constructed on the order of Queen Marie Antoinette. Despite centuries of slander, Marie Antoinette was not a clueless ditz who pretended to be a peasant girl in her Barbie hovel playset. In reality, the Queen’s Hamlet…
Twin Silos
The question arose when we viewed the entrance gateway to this new development: was the name obtained a priori or a posteriori?
Family Farm, Deer Creek Township, Illinois, June 2022
I took a short trip up to my family’s farm east of Peoria and the crops were just starting to mature out in the fields. I didn’t expect to find these flowers growing so big on the north side of the old ice house. And the tree that is just about dead seems to have…
Around Woodford County, Illinois, June 2022
I went around and looked at some of the towns northeast of the family farm. I started with Eureka, the county seat of Woodford County. I could have sworn I had featured the courthouse before, but apparently not. Got to love the bank where they filled in the windows–who needs natural light when there’s amazing…
Corn Crib and Tree, Cooper Road
Something about this abandoned corncrib and this copse of trees drew me to photograph the group as I drove east down Cooper Road near my family’s farm. Surely there is a backstory behind why this building is left behind, and who planted the two trees that now are standing by the road. I’ve also long…
Dawn, Family Farm, Deer Creek Township, March 2022
I woke up early and caught the sunrise coming up over the fields to the east. The fields are fallow for now, but in a month or two they will be brought back to life.