Out Back #14919

The Story

This overgrown barnyard in summer sits behind an old barn and someone has swung the red gate shut and tied it off. No telling how long ago that actually happened. To me, summer peace is always very calming and I truly enjoyed the slowed down stillness while being here. Being quite a ways to town and quiet here, the only sound was plentiful birdsong and the hum of insects.

Those little creatures were flitting everywhere through the air, particularly the barn swallows diving about catching insects. Nature made those little birds with the forked tails very, very good at what they do. They’re amazing fliers.

Everywhere back in this neck of the woods in Maryland, scenic farmland is everywhere and it’s like driving through one picture postcard after another. It’s always a beautiful meander in the rural areas of Frederick County. I had special access to be here as part of an organized barn tour and drove down a long gravel lane to this retired barn accompanied by a stone farmhouse painted white.

The gravel crunched under the tires and a long cloud of dust trailed behind the truck, a scene repeated endlessly through time I’m sure. Aside from the wood lines, the land around here was mostly in long rows of low June corn, probably leased to a neighboring farmer. Although things and people change, the land is still in use as always.

It took quite a bit of waiting to get this image on account of those fat clouds going over. After walking the property, I settled on making this shot, got the tripod set up, sized things up in the viewfinder and suddenly the good light went out, poof! I ended up waiting for a good sized cloud bank to go over while watching those barn swallows at work. It certainly was a great way to unwind in the quiet. Eventually, the good light returned to highlight the green and gold of the overgrown barnyard weeds, the red gate, and illuminate that big white barn side. The waiting to finally get this image of summer peace was worth it, and I got some of it while doing it.

Location: near Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks