Saturday, October 18, 2008

Stuff around the house #5 - the barn


This is a view from the deck in back of my house, on a messy, rainy day a couple of days ago. I found it comforting somehow.

Yes, we have a barn. But no, we are not the proverbial Farmers Brown. I doubt I would enjoy success at that kind of life, being squeemish and all. A day or so before this picture was taken, it was bright and sunny and I was mowing the dreaded grass. Down below the barn, I got to witness a big ol' black snake moving very quickly into the weeds surrounding our little pond (our very own minature wetlands), and even though I'm sure the snake thought he'd been got & was done for, I was the one saying "run away, run away". I don't like snakes. Anyway, a typical farmer type, of the ilk I grew up with in Kentucky anyways, faces snakes, some poisonous, as an occupational hazard. You're out there hoeing the weeds, you're gonna find them. Even though I don't like snakes, I've never knowingly killed one, and I don't really have the desire to.

Ok, I digress. But I want you to understand that just because there is a barn out back doesnt mean I have any idea what to do with it.

It's a nice barn, built into the ground, so the door in the picture is actually the 2nd level. There is a trap door where you can get to the first level, or you can just walk around. The bottom level has 3 large stalls - one stall has two doors. At some time in the past, large animals - probably a cow & a mule - were kept there. We use the 2nd level for storage - it's nice and dry. Tho I keep an eye out for nasty stinging insects when I walk in there. Also snakes, of course.

Next to the farm house is a chicken coop with a "Wild Bird Crossing" sign nailed on it. It's getting a bit overgrown, once the weather gets cooler (that is, once the snakes go away), we'll get out there and clean it out. Its a once a year job.

Behind the barn is a fairly steep hill, which I keep mowed. Then the trees, then a creek, then a hill, then some more houses you can't see because of the trees. What you also can't see, because of the fog and rain, are mountains. Yes, about 1/2 mile away are mountains, and they're nice to look at.

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