Autumn Welcome

An old fashioned porch … the kind with a swing and a couple of rocking chairs … decorated for the fall holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving … the kind of scene that has a familiar warmth, even if you’ve never been there in this life.  It’s a nostalgic image of welcome that speaks of home and family and love and comfort, of dressing up for trick-or-treating and of the smells of roasting turkey with all the trimmings.  You can almost hear familiar voices calling your name …

This particular porch is actually the front entrance of the Juniata Crossing Mercantile in Everett, Pennsylvania. It’s currently a lovely shop filled with seasonal decorative items for the home as well as THE best scented candles to be found anywhere.

Built about 1818, the structure originally served as a tavern and stagecoach stop. The building exterior is constructed of river rock hauled from the nearby Juniata river, while the interior boasts twenty-six rooms and nine fireplaces. It’s hospitality drew such famous guests as Abraham Lincoln, P.T. Barnum, and Jenny Lind. From its origins as a tavern and stagecoach stop, Juniata Crossings has served as a speakeasy, country estate, antique shop, and at present, a country mercantile.

Just think of the stories these walls could tell!!

Original photo taken with the Nikon D300 and the 18-200mm vr Nikkor lens in October of 2010. Some edits in Photoshop CS6 then a complete hand-painting of the photo in Corel Painter 2015 for a classic warm and painterly feel.

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A click on the image above takes you to my website where you can purchase fine wall art as well as fun gift items, for yourself or friends or loved ones.

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