This is a picture of a very typical (for these parts) red barn, dating most likely to the early 1900's. The red paint can be found on most of the old barns around here, those that are still standing anyway.
For example, the barn where I found the shutters and painted them pink on an otherwise boring day (see April archives, I have no idea how to link it and cannot for the life of me focus on the details of learning how), is also this same red hue and definitely built around the same era.
The barn above is located in a field adjacent to a home my mother lived in as a child (one of several, she moved around a lot courtesy of her father who gambled and won some, lost some). It's located on the dividing line between Gloucester and Mathews counties. I have not asked her, nor do I know, whether this was originally part of the property she lived on, but I suspect it is. I have always been drawn to this, even more so now that the roof is peeling back and its vulnerabilities are exposed.
That's from one heckuva storm we had a few weeks ago, one where the house spun violently in circles and I thought for sure I'd find the witch's ruby red slippers underneath the foundation after we landed and I went outside. I didn't. But I did find the Fountain of Youth. It's located on the edge of our property, right near Robert Mondavi's grape juice stand, which came in quite handy for dealing with the storm's aftermath.
9 comments:
What a terrific picture! I'm really getting a feel for life in Mathews, and it feels peaceful, sunny, breezy, serene....crazy at times. I can see why you're rooted there. Love to read your stories. Too bad I don't have any witty comments tonight. Just a bit in a hormonal brain fog. I'll leave the funny to Foolery and tj, who always come through. Peace.
...Aww, I wanna live in Mathews! What a pretty barn - I love old barns... Yeah, you'll need to cover up those vulnerabilities of yours there Miss CBW otherwise you're liable to start saggin' - I'm still talkin' about the barn by the way... ;o)
...And shucks 'kaffy' - I'm funny?! lol...because of that I'll go to bed with a smile on my face. My husband will think it's because of him but lil' will he know...lol ;o)
...Thanks for the pretty picture CBW - it's like the more you talk about where you live the more I wanna live there!
...Blessings... :o)
Kaffy - thank you for your kind words and good luck with that hormonal fog. I can sympathize...
tj - Of course you are funny and of course you would catch the "vulnerabilities" part of the story....there is definitely some dual meaning going on there, although hopefully my vulnerabilities aren't sagging.
At least not in public.
Thank you both for your kind comments. And yes, life here is good. Serene, beautiful and good.
Thank goodness whoever determined that BARNS MUST ALL BE PAINTED THE SAME COLOR (way back when God was a boy) . . . thank goodness he/she wasn't a fan of LIME GREEN.
I love old barns, too. Do you ever go stick your head in for a peek at the rafters? Sometimes I scare up a barn owl.
And to Kaffy -- very kind thing to say, but it's really that I just think inside out.
Foolery, thinking inside out is better than wearing your clothes inside out, which is what I always do.
Also, as a follow-up to this story, I've since learned from my mother that this barn belongs to Eppa Soles. She doesn't think it was ever part of the property she grew up on, but ya never know.
Great picture. I love barns. Yes, they are all red. My mother grew up on a farm. MY great grandmother's propery still has old barns on it. They had tractors and a spring branch behind the house. It is located at Dutton. I loved that old place. It is really old now and almost falling down, It was built in 1800's by my great- grandfather himself, Robbie Strigle. You might have heard of him. My mother could talk all day about that place, but unfortunately, she doesn't own a computer and wouldn't know how to blog if she had one. HA HA!
Cats - yes, I've heard of Robbie as my mother talks about him all the time. And this barn is very close to Dutton.
I'd love to hear your mother's stories.
Hi mom this is your son, why don't you tell about how the barn gave us all the wonderful cats that we have today. What was the number 21?!
Eppa Soles was my great-grandfather. The barn looks familiar but I would need a more specific location/description to tell you if it was his.
Amanda
amandawroten@yahoo.com
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