New Barn

 The neighbors are getting a new barn.  

It is reminiscent of the old barn that stood in the same spot 80 some years. 

As you can see a Border Collie is in charge and greets people coming and going.

Here is the blog post about the Old Barn.

Far Side

Old Barn

 I believe the barn was built in the late 1930's or early 1940s by the Lemon family ( a brother to Far Guys maternal Grandmother (Clara Almeada) lived there his name was Loren Lemon and his wife was Florence Graham Lemon.

My parents purchased the farm in the spring of 1952 when my Dad returned from Korea. 

Me and the barn in about 1953 or 1954.

Ten years later in 1964.

Me, my other baby brother and my baby brother in 1964.

I have taken a number of photos of the barn over the years. 

November 2021...I wondered if the barn would make the winter if there was heavy snow so I took a photo. 

May 14, 2022  It made the winter but began to sag. 

Last week the wind storm that we had finally got the better of the barn.

June 25th 2022. 

Yesterday we watched as the barn came completely down.  The barn held lots of memories for me growing up on the farm. Mostly good memories of hard work.  My earliest memory is loose hay stacked on a wagon ready to go into the hay mow, and of course the Banty Roosters chasing me. 

Far Side

Lilacs and a barn

 We are headed into a heatwave, high temperatures and high humidity for a few days.  We are thankful for central air conditioning.

A barn nearby, new people live here, we have not met them.   I heard a rumor that they have homes all over the world.  Who really knows for sure.   They have an asphalt drive now, it used to be dirt....before driveways it was a pasture.   Times change.   I wonder what Henry would say...he used to be the caretaker of this property...he and his coon hounds and cages of rabbits that lived near the barn. 

Far Side

Fall

 Fall as in the first day of Fall and a fall-en barn. 

Somewhere in my photo archives I have a photo of this barn when it was not a pile of boards.  Maybe someday I will hunt for it.  

We had a good first day of almost Fall, I worked on odds and ends all day...laundry, organizing yarn after a huge box arrived,  organizing some craft supplies to take to the craft retreat...Far Guy worked on woodcarvings and we went to the Transfer Station (garbage) together.  Saw three deer going and the same three when we came back...and they are not real afraid of us...either they were real hungry or used to us. 

No hard frosts here yet....but it was chilly yesterday morning.  45 F or 7 C eh!

Happiest of Birthdays to my friend Cathie who lives in Texas! 

Far Side 

Old Barn

We went to Menards, everyone wore masks and kept their distance. 

We always look for this old barn along the road.

One of these days it will be a heap on the ground. 

We got almost everything on our list...a birdbath, umbrella for the patio table, a flexi hose and solar lights...possibly a few other things may have jumped into the cart! 

Youngest daughter Jen got her 2nd vaccination ( Moderna) on Thursday...she is feeling tired and not quite herself.  Son In LawAndy and Grandson Adam had their first shots (Pfizer) on Friday and are feeling just fine.

I did not get a haircut...there was a three hour wait and all check ins beyond that were not available.  Everyone must have wanted a haircut! 

Far Side

Another one biting the dust

Barns that held cows to be milked and fresh hay in the haymow.

 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 sweet smell of silage and the smell of long ago summer hay mix with the other smells that are not so sweet in a barn. 

The barn the hub of a family farm.

It's back now broken and it's side caving in.  The animals it sheltered from harsh Minnesota winters are long gone...the farmers are long gone too.

Only the memories of sounds and smell remain.

Far Side

The farm and a new puppy

The curve in the driveway to the farm where I grew up.

I remember when the Lilac bushes to the left were really small. We could walk inbetween them. In fact every morning we would head out the door around the corner of the house, through the lilac bushes into the ditch and up on the road and down the lane to catch the bus.  In the winter we had to go the long way around. The driveway was about a tenth of a mile long.  On the right where the Jack Pines are there were just a few Jack Pines and a row of Lombardy Poplar.

The barn. I need to take some more photos of it from different angles as I have a project in mind. Not that I need another hobby but I saw a new art form that I want to try.  I should probably hurry with the photos as sooner than later this barn will collapse.

The real reason we visited the farm.  Meet Annie the thirteen week old Border Collie from Montana where her parents were both “cattle dogs” she has a good home on the farm with some beef cattle to herd and a whole bunch of little kids to spoil her.

She got bored with us.  She has a sister named Lily who is a Boston Terrier…who will be the one in charge.  It was fun to see this Border Collie puppy. 

Chance watched from the back seat of the car…we only unload him when it is necessary.  He had a good view and barked as we drove away!

Quilt Barn in Wisconsin

I love old barns especially “Quilt Barns.”    I snapped this photo last November someplace along the Interstate in Wisconsin…not sure where…east of the Cranberry Bogs.

When ever we see a Barn with a Quilt square I like to get a photo.  The  Quilt Barn movement began in Ohio and has spread to other states.  Minnesota has some in the southern part of the state.

Barns are disappearing from our countryside, soon they will just be photographs in a museum.

Photo Bucket List: Mail Pouch Barns

Recently when we went to Indiana I had several things on my photo bucket list.  A Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn was on the top of my list. Ron( Brother In law) found me a couple of barns.

Ron is a Fisherman..he knows all the little back roads to the best fishing spots along the Ohio River.

If I had this barn on my property I would trim the trees and put up a bench with a free will donation jar instead of “No Trespassing” signs. 

The little village of Lanesville has the right idea, this barn is in their roadside park.

I have always been fascinated with barns..and these were special barns.  At one time there were over 20,000 barns in 22 states that were painted by the West Virginia Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco Company.   Farmers were paid $1 to $2 a year for allowing the advertisement, the usual colors were black or red with yellow or white capital lettering.  The sides of the barn to be painted with the lettering had to be visible from the road..the rest of the barn was painted any color the famer wanted.  A farmer got someone to paint his entire barn ..what a great idea!  Many of these barns are now historic landmarks.

I kept one eye open for Quilt Barns..I saw only one and the traffic was horrid and the road was narrow..so Far Guy and I did not stop..maybe next time..it wasn’t a huge quilt anyway:)

Lightening Rods

It has been awhile since I have seen lightening rods on a barn. 

 

This big beautiful old barn has three lightening rods and two cupolas.

If you were a farmer, those lightening rods could save your barn from a lightening strike that could cause a fire in your hay mow.  The glass balls would break if the building was hit by lightening.  The lightening would be directed downward following a wire into the ground and the barn would be saved.

Years ago when many people lived on farms, this was one way that they could protect their animals and hay crop..without the barn and its full hay mow..they had nothing and no way to eke out a living.

Not too many barns around these parts anymore..one by one they are falling down.  They are expensive to maintain and repair.  I will take their photos while I can:)