barns | one_local

I saw my first ‘barn art’ cheerfully hanging years ago in an older gals’ barn. She invited me to horseback ride with her once she observed I knew a few things about horses. Being a Clarke County horsewoman that rode with the Blue Ridge Hunts, not any ‘ole yahoo would be riding with her or on her horses. It was a joy and delight when she invited me to join her.

Many visits were spent before she invited me to call her by her first name or go horseback riding with her. Really, the only reason I was able to meet her was because of her massive grapevine laden with grapes and a mutual friend.

She was interested in giving her grapes away. Our mutual friend thought of me. Sometimes friendships take a while, don’t they? A fine friendship grew between me, a young mother with five rambunctious children and a lovely older woman who enjoyed life with her husband, dogs and horses.

It was her stable where I first saw barn art. Cute, hand painted signs about horses and dogs of course.

I do not have a photo of the first ‘art’ we hung in our barn years ago, painted by my daughter. I left it there when we moved. I’ve often wondered if it is still there.

Our barn here is much larger than the old one, so I have had great fun hanging my ‘art’ in it. Won’t you join me on a little tour?

*Brass Harness bells hang by the tack room door.*

*Mom read poetry to us as kids. This line is from* The Man in the Moon, by James Whitcomb Riley. *One of her horses name is above the poetry—*Boomerang.

*Mom, a twin herself, had two sets of twin girls. This line from the poem,* The Twins, by Henry S. Leigh, we *knew nearly by heart.*

*Mom raised Miniature horses. She had much art, such as this one, in her barns.*

*No barn is complete without flowers* *or…*

Thank you for joining me.

Cobwebs happily flutter in the gentle breeze in all the corners of the doors, stalls, and rafters; dust seriously collects in and on every available space; hay and straw are strewn all over the floor like children’s lego blocks; and surely not to forget all the poo deposited in the four corners of each stall. Why would anyone want to clean one of these messy, dusty ‘ole places?

Cobwebs hang and happily flutter in every corner!

Hay and straw cover the floor like children’s lego blocks.

Suppose it is confession time for this PFO. There is no time like time spent out in the barn. It does not favor any season of the year nor time of day. Anytime of the year is a wonderful time to be out in it, and every hour has it’s own specialness. The smells, temperatures, and critters all vary during a day. Several of the critters were put there by this PFO. Others appropriated it for themselves, seeing it very fit for raising and feeding their family. One must be very still and quiet to catch a glimpse of those that have adopted it as their home, for they keep to themselves, and come out only when all is either dark or quiet. As God would have it, they are a benefit to the ecosystem of the barn. The barn swallows eat pesky, biting flies, as do the spiders. The black snakes eat the mice. They also add to the overall mess! But it is nothing a hot cup of coffee and pre-breakfast homemade biscuit cannot handle.

A hot cup of coffee and buttered homemade biscuit can handle any mess in the barn.

Certain sounds and smells are unique only to barns, and a well-kept barn always has the sweet smell of fresh hay wafting in the air. Horses stamp their feet impatient for feed, cows moo softly as they saunter in, the chuckles are busy working in the manure piles (good Chuckles!), the baby birds are chirping high up in the rafters for more, more food from busy parents.

It is a dusty, dirty satisfying job. Being a good steward is important. Visitors to the farm go away with a good or bad idea of farming and how this farm is run. The goal is to send them off with a smile, knowing these animals (and farm) are well cared for.