Day 281 - An urban farm

The Neill farm that fronts on McLaren Avenue in Fredericton's North Side is one of those charming little oddities about this capital city. At some point in the past, this farm was just one of many in this area but today, with the slow growth of this town, the Neill Farm is an agricultural oasis in the middle of a great deal of development.

In this photograph, I tried to capture that fabulous tree and the beautiful farm house while framing out the city that's encroaching on all sides. I think I did a good job of it. This looks like a traditional farm with no real surprises. But what you don't see in this shot is the new subdivision that has been built just outside the frame to the left, the older neighbourhood that borders the farm just to the right of the house and the completely developed area that separates the front of the farm house from the Saint John River probably a kilometre away.

We were introduced to the Neill Farm when we first starting looking to buy a house here in Fredericton. Our agent talked about how much it added to the neighbourhood but warned that, as time goes by, more and more of its land might be developed. It's an amazingly beautiful relic of times gone by and I hope it remains for a long time to come.

On a photographic note, check out the difference in the colours between the top and bottom photos. I'm impressed with how much deeper the blue of the sky and the green of the lawn became in the lower shot simply because I upped the shutter speed a little, allowing in slightly less light so that today's bright sunshine wasn't able to bleed some of the colour away.