Anything I tell you about this house is hearsay. What I can tell you is that this was worth the wait. I have passed this house a thousand times and one day I finally made the necessary arrangements to get inside.
My understanding is that a large family by the name of Gutrie lived in this tiny little home. Jill and Reg recall going to school with a tall, quiet boy that lived in this house.
I think Reg and Colton thought that this stop was going to be short-lived and dull and the two of them reluctantly stopped for my benefit. I can safely say that this would surely be in the top 5 of houses we have shot.
This is where I also developed my fear of open wells and long grass! I think what is scariest for me is the fact that Colton was with us and wandered through the area before me. I can not stress enough to be careful. Reg says to me after we discovered it, “I guess we should carry a rope with us too!”
This truly was a diamond in the rough. The home is tiny and didn’t appear to have any indoor plumbing. The doorways were very low, the home consisted of two rooms on the lower level, an awkward staircase ran up the one side of the house right along the window to an area that appeared to be a large open space which I am assuming was more like a sleeping loft. There were remnants of a smoke stack in the ceiling which would have heated the small home.
Of course Colton and Reg ventured up to the loft and discovered a small white bird and a “dead” mother bird in the corner of the house. Of course, animal lover that I am advised them to gather up the babies. Reg found a stick and turned the mother over to discover a few more snow white babies under her except the “dead” mother bird rolled herself back over the babies to protect them. She was playing possum. At first the thought was that this was a family of hawks. The boys came down so that they wouldn’t disturb her anymore but I had to go up and get a photo of this up close. I have seen birds sitting on top of this house on many occasions when I have driven past it so no one was surprised to find one in there. When I popped my head up to floor level and got a look at her she had switched her game from playing dead to regurgitating which we later discovered are two of the common defense mechanisms of a turkey vulture. This was no hawk.
Not a great photo of her but I didn’t want to disturb her anymore than we already had. You can see her snow white baby with her.
At the entrance of this home, just inside the doorway was a small stove which I am assuming the family used for cooking. Maybe at one point this was the stove that was in the center of the home and heated it as well.
The yard had what I am assuming was a small granary, a concrete pad which was likely some sort of garage and a building that had collapsed, just the roof was visible.
A few weeks later on my way to Brandon, Momma vulture was sitting on the house when I drove by. She didn’t stay long and wasn’t thrilled about me and my camera again but I did happen to get a couple shots of her.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 