The landscape of my life has changed with our recent move to western
Colorado. I am getting re-acquainted with the geography of my childhood.
Today and yesterday, the dog and I went for a ride. While the valley we are
in has grown and seems full of development, I was gratified to
see there are still lots of farms and other agricultural areas left.

Yesterday, we went to the wider end of the valley. Spread out like an ancient
delta, the land is mostly green wherever the life-giving irrigation water is
channelled, dry and dusty desert elsewhere. Old-timey looking farmers were
out on slow-moving tractors, lumbering like some weird kind of modern
dinosaurs in a land rife with real dino-diggings. I was surprised to see some
had already cut their first crop of hay. Though I did see several farmers, I was still saddened to see so many areas being gouged and bulldozed; the old farmers gone or given up, "progress" taking over the land for mini-mansions and subdivisions.

Today's ride took us to the other end of the valley where it narrows up against a
huge and extinct volcano. This end has more vineyards and orchards:
peaches, cherries, apples and the like. The roads are more twisty, climbing
small arroyos full of small rivulets and scrub-oaks, as well as tamarisk trees.
Each road had several farms advertising honey, fruit, vegetables, gift baskets
and other home-made crafts for sale, most "in-season" some year round. I
saw a wonderful diversity of barns, most dilapidated, some with their middles
completely missing, others leaning like drunken sailors looking as if a gentle
push would bowl them over.

Each place where I have lived, I've made it a habit to photograph certain
aspects of the landscape. Some were old homesteads in Wyoming, some were
old signs painted on buildings. Seeing the old barns looking so precarious, I
realised it will be them which I capture first on film, in this my return to
"home." I will honour them with the seeming simplicity and clean lines of
black and white film. If I get really ambitious, I may ask the owners about their
history. Mostly I will just share them with others who appreciate the history
and stories they seem to tell.

Thanks,

kat