Late Summer Banner Photo

We have a new picture of our house on the masthead. It's our end of summer shot. Recent rains cleared out wildfire smoke and haze to the point where we could get a decently clear picture.

Bozeman Deaconess Hospital across the fields.

We rotate the banner pic when the spirit moves. The photographs have been either of our home or views from our property. We have mountains on three sides and hay fields and pasture on the fourth, with town proper a mile and half distant across the fields. The intervening land is owned (and leased to farmers) by the hospital, which is visible in the distance. Someday the full landscape will be developed. 

On the other three sides of home sweet home, it is pretty much what you see is what you get. We are above and outside the city water and sewer service area, so lot sizes need to be large enough to support septic and yield reliable well water supply. The lots closest to home along the three mountain view vistas are already built out; we can see over or around the man made intrusions. Above are views of steep mountains and hillsides, state and federal lands that will never be developed, except for an odd privately owned parcel here and there at densities not greater than one residence every 20 acres.

Red barn and small white barn.

The small white barn with the rusted corrugated sheet metal roof, visible to the right of our house, is on common land, property under the control of our eight parcel homeowner's association. It's land that cannot be built on because it includes the community drain field that services the septic systems on association properties. White barn will stay there as long as the homeowner's association allows, which hopefully will be for the duration. A neighbor says it is an attractive nuisance.  If so, potential intruders should beware of the appeal lest they disturb and surprise the family of skunks which lurks within.

Red Barn Lot with White Barn (lower right)

The red barn is on a lot held back by the farmer who subdivided his land. The fellow who services our irrigation system says when he was growing up he came out our way to camp out with a childhood friend who lived in the farmhouse. He recounts they set up their pup tents, went inside to get some food and returned to discover cattle had trampled the tents. The farmhouse obviously has been expanded and modernized multiple times. There are three other large out buildings on what appears to be about a 2 acre lot.  

Well, that's about it.  We now have our late summer picture. It will stay up until we replace it with a fall scene. This is Montana. That won't be long.  And then winter.  Here's what red and white barn last looked like last then.

Winter Scene, Red Barn and White Barn