The house on the hill...

So - I went out this weekend and found myself standing at the edge of a property out near the local mall that I had seen from the freeway a few weeks back and decided it was high time I got inside there to photograph it....though I probably should have taken a buddy with me - as once I got inside, I found evidence of habitation via "Will work for food" and "Hungry..anything helps" signs laying about in the bedroom upstairs, with a few other personal items next to the matress on the floor - I just didnt have the heart to photograph those things - but the rest of the place was free game and luckily no one was hiding in the basement to murder me :D Thats always a plus!

The front door was missing and the screen door was broken...it was just asking me to come in... ;)

I stepped into the house very carefully - listening for voices or sounds of people lurking (what DO people sound like when they lurk anyway?? *lurk lurk lurk...*) but all I could hear was the wind rustling the bushes up against the siding so I started taking pictures. This Im guessing was the living room at one time - now home to a soul that would apparently love to paint over the green with a lovely shade of purple paint...




There was plenty of broken glass around to step on too - and I was thankful I had worn my thicker soled boots. I think alot of people have enjoyed throwing rocks at this old house from time to time - as I dont believe I found a single window in the place without some kind of hole in it.


To the left in a smaller room that might have been a bedroom or maybe an additional sitting room, was the only piece of furniture I could find in the place, except for the matress upstairs - sitting facing the window, watching the freeway. With all the accidents that happen right about there, Im going to guess its like watching an episode of "Worlds craziest videos" or "Cops" only in real time - and close enough to hear the tires screeching and the metal bending...


Its been "loved" on alot - as you can see.

From the living room you enter the kitchen to access the bathroom and the entrance to the upstairs bedrooms (there were 2 upstairs) - as well as the back porch where the entrance to the basement lies. I think the house had the same wallpaper in the kitchen that my great grandmother had in hers once upon a time ago...roosters and teapots and things...I had a few "moments" while standing there - thinking about the numerous mason jars filled with canned beets and beans, and more Jam than I could ever imagine anyone possibly ever using in a lifetime, let alone one summer... but thats another story...

This is the view from the kitchen out to the front room.

I was about to step into the bathroom to get some pictures of the old washtub - but it smelled like something died in there - so I figured it would be my luck to turn the corner and find myself staring down some old dead guy sitting on the toilet or something so I decided Id rather go upstairs instead and leave the discovery to someone else...(yeah yeah - too many CSI's again)


I headed up the stairs and felt a little prick of fear run down my spine as I realized I was alone and there could be someone hiding up there - but I made my way up quietly and used what little ninja skills I have obtained from my 8 year old son - and luckily I didnt need to use my "Chuck Norris Round House Kick" on anyone (because let me tell you - its a mean mean round house kick...ok its not, I threw my hip out last time I tried...but THEY wouldnt know that!!)



I found all of the windows up there busted out - and evidence of someone having been hiding from the weather there recently - and felt like I would be invading their privacy (what little they have left in the world) - so I just took a few pictures of the windows, stepped around the various photos and clothing laying around, and tried to get that chunk of lead feeling in my gut to go away as I noticed the 4 different cardboard signs laying around - each with a different plea for help...So I headed back downstairs in search of the basement...



No monsters down there either (thankfully) but I did find some interesting duct work and fun painted animal things on the walls - maybe it had been a playroom at one point...

Im wondering if maybe that was their version of Eeyore...He seems quite content being green though - I think it suits him well. :)

Oddly there wasnt much rust down there - nor alot of mold growth even though it was damp and the windows were all busted out. I was happy to find a few spots of brown on the heat ducts and some old junk in the corner though the light down there was next to nill - and my camera didnt get very crisp images of them.

After my adventures in the basement were finished, I headed back up the stairs and noticed a little shed out back behind the house...

Ill be posting those next. ;)

Corner Lot

Last weekend, my husband handed me my camera bag and told me to go have some fun taking pictures for a while - and so I started to head toward the Cement Factory again and as I neared, I noticed there were actually people working there - so I just kept following Marine Drive for a while until this corner lot caught my eye.

The orange of the truck in front of the buildings drew me in - and I fiddled with this set of photographs in my new Digital Lightroom program introduced to me by a new friend and fellow photographer Sandi Heinrich (you most definatly have to check out her page) and Im loving all the antique filters and variations on photos that I can do now.

I was quite curious why this van was parked clear back into that tall grass and butted up against the building - as it just doesnt seem to really belong in the picture...and Im fighting my "Been watching too many CSI Miami's" urges to check for a body in the back of that thing...BUT anyway - it was the blue of the van against the muted browns in this shot that I loved the most.

I sucked all the color from this shot except the browns and greens - I think its looking almost serial killerish now - fitting in with my "What might be in that van..." worries and I think there was a moment that I even jumped near out of my skin when the very large...very scary looking neighbor stuck his head out of his door and told me to "get away from there!" - even though I had not stepped foot on the property and was still firmly planted on the street - I had every right to be taking photographs that day - but I wasnt too sure the van wasnt his...and Id rather be watching CSI than be an idea for a new episodes plot someday... (Ok Ok ...I have quite the imagination dont I?)

With that little request still ringing in my ears, I walked back to my car and took one more shot of the old Dodge - and it wasnt until I got them home and my husband saw it that he noticed it almost looks like someone is sitting at the wheel...*shiver*

All in all - I think this shot here is my favorite. I wished I could have wandered around back to see the other side as it appeared to have even more moss on that side than the one facing me - but HULK was watching - and I didnt feel like being pulverized on a lovely Saturday afternoon.

PS - I love mossy barns - if you have one and dont mind me walking around it and dont store dead bodies in your vans parked next to them - please email me - I would love to photograph it :)

Row Row Row your boat...

Someone apparently forgot about the "Gently down the stream" part of that song - but you know...I find it way more beautiful this way anyway. I stood there on the bank of the creek for quite a while staring at this thing - The green moss on it was mesmerizing and I love how it's just sort of being slowly reclaimed by the earth...

Cat Tales...er Tails

Ive always loved these things - and when I was little I always insisted that they looked more like Corndogs on a Stick than a cat tail - but I suppose once they start going all fluffy on us - its more comforting to think of them as a cute little animal tail than a corndog on a stick thats been left out on the counter too long...eh?



I never tire of walking through places like this - it's always just a nice peaceful feeling sitting on the edge of a stream - watching the little fluffy bits break free and float away, or watching the cat tails dancing in the slight breeze while the ducks scream at me for daring show up without bread crumbs to fling at their heads...

I dont know...I still think it looks more like a moldy corndog - but its pretty none-the-less ;)

Treasures along the freeway

I saw this beauty sitting just off the freeway, on my way home from a photoshoot out in Blaine a few weeks back. I really wanted to get closer - but the barbed wire fence and blackberry bushes were winning against my not so happy to be stabbed - legs. One of these days Ill get a little closer - but for now, Ill just oogle over all that mossy goodness and dream of our next meeting...

Faces of Decay

I find that sometimes the pictures I take end up suprising me once I get them back home and go through them all. I took a batch of pictures out down near the Ferry Terminal and boat yard a few weeks back and realized that I had managed to find 3 very interesting "faces of decay" while out wandering around...

This old pillar down near the Fairhaven Ferry Terminal just sort of looked a little upset to me...and I think hes way past due for a dental check up...dont you?

I love this ones Spikey hairdo - and I cant for the life of me remember what cartoon it reminds me of but for some reason I keep picturing a dog in my head with a really long face - all I know is there is a face in there and it makes me laugh.

And then we have Mr Grumpy Pants Garbage Can. I cant tell if he looks angry or just feeling "MEH" that day. I think I spend way too much time contemplating the thoughts of inhuman objects ;) but if I dont do it...who will?