Can you hear the soft swish swish of the milk as it foams up in the bucket? Cows shifting in their stanchions, the radio on some station that plays old tyme waltz music...sure to soothe the cows so they will give more milk. The calves in the calf pen bawling for their mothers who are being milked and the milk replacer filled bucket with the fake nipple is no substitute for four pointed leaking tits of a full udder, the calves head butt the bucket. The sound of a fresh cow pie hitting the gutter. Plop...and plop is better than a squirt. The sound of urine splashing into the gutter, it sounds like water but you know it is not. The barn cats are meowing and the Banty Roosters are crowing.
The barn the hub of a family farm.
Only the memories of sounds and smell remain.
Far Side
We have a lot of barns that look like that here too. They used to be tobacco barns. My grandmother had one next to her property that I always thought was haunted by a horse when I was a kid. Araignee
ReplyDeleteI remember those days as my mother's cousin was a dairy farmer. It is so sad to see this happening.
ReplyDeleteBess and Bob lived there. Bess and Bob were horses Grandpa use to have. the rule in the barn was you were to never run in front of them. I still have a vision of a cousin being lifted in the air by one of the horses who grabbed him by the hair when He forgot that rule.
ReplyDeleteAnd so goes a way of life that meant something. I wanted nothing mor than to get away from those places when I was a kid....no..on the high end of 50, I long to go back to those simpler times.
ReplyDelete...and how you didn't dare stand directly behind 'the girls' after they'd been out on fresh pasture...and coughed...splatter!
ReplyDeleteMilking cows used to be my favorite time of day when I was a young adult and helped out on a dairy farm. I got a free meal if I helped in the mornings and came back and washed the bulk tank out later.
Your post made me feel nostalgic. It's always sad to see the old houses and barns disappear.
ReplyDeleteAwwww.... what a beautiful blog entry today, Connie. It was a summary of many things our world has long forgotten. I will think about this post all day. Love, Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteThat was a really nice word picture you painted of that old barn. Thanks! z;-)
ReplyDeleteWell said! The barn in the picture is so beautiful! Love these old barns. I would add the sight of the farm cats and kittens begging for some milk and a child swinging on the swing in the barn...…..the three legged stool......salt block......work horses......So many wonderful memories!
ReplyDeleteA poignant post, especially considering the downturn on dairy farms lately. I have fond memories of visiting the local dairy farm as a kid and your post brought back the memories, pretty much as you described.
ReplyDeleteoh those old barns..... I love that hay loft door :)
ReplyDeleteIt must be nice to recall the past like this. Not sure I would like the odors, though. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI just spent the last 2 hours looking through your blogs. Amazing. Feels like I knew Chance. I know, it hurts real bad when a best friend dies, no matter the number of legs they walk on. Give your husband my regards. I look forward to checking in on the blog from time to time. I even linked it to mine!
ReplyDeleteI have a strong suspicion you must have grown up on a dairy farm! I can almost smell those smells and hear the life going on in the barn. A way of life I am not at all familiar with. Such a sad looking barn, a blessing the owners aren't around anymore to see it.😞
ReplyDeleteYou brought that dairy barn to life! We had relatives who had dairy cows and I could vividly remember the sounds and smells you described. It is sad to see an old barn collapsing.
ReplyDeleteThat was a haunting reminder of days gone by. That way of life is quickly disappearing.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
You aptly described my memories of the dairy farm where I grew up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great description! I went through all of this. Yes, putting my head against the big belly was part of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd Red...the smell of the cow with your head against it.
DeleteHaunting. I sense animals and people when I visit old homes/barns. So sad to see beautiful buildings fall down.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful piece of writing. We only had a small, two cow sized barn, but I certainly do remember all of those sights and sounds and smells.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written. We didn't farm, but our neighbor had the biggest barn in the county (to my 6 year old eyes) and I would play in that building while keeping a wary eye on the irate pig that patrolled the farm.
ReplyDeletePoor old barn, sad story. My cousins had a dairy farm and I grew up there with the sounds and SMELLS. And yup, the radio was always on because farmers said it helped the cows relax and let their milk down. Not sure if that’s true.
ReplyDeletePoor old barn won't last much longer. I was raised on a farm and all the sights
ReplyDeleteand smells were/are familiar to me. I can't help but remember too how dangerous it was to stand behind a coughing co with the runs.
I hate to see those old farms fall apart and old houses too. I would they should give them away to people who need a home before they start falling down. Poor people need fixer uppers! I know I did when I was young and trust me, I fixed up plenty of them! I'd still love an old farmhouse fixer upper!
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to see the old barns. This is a beautiful, poetic piece of writing. It takes you back and gives a clear picture to those that have not been there. This is a beautiful post. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThere is something about old barns
ReplyDeleteSo sad.
ReplyDeleteVery nice in it's HAY DAY...:)
ReplyDeleteYour words were very poetic Connie, and brought back so many memories. I remember having to leg-rope our old house-cow because she would always lift her foot and plonk it down into the bucket when I had almost finished milking her.
ReplyDeletePowerful post....
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful remembrance of old farm and barn days. Thank you for that well-written piece. So sad to see that old barn falling apart. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMakes me feel like crying to read this. Looks like that was a big beautiful barn at one time. I would move today to an old farm place with a barn.
ReplyDelete