The Barn

Once upon a Saturday, a group of friends met in bustling downtown Shackelfords, Virginia, for lunch. Afterwards they drove down some winding roads to property--which includes an old farmhouse and numerous barns--that's been in Big Hair Envy's family for many decades.

Then after Chesapeake Bay Woman realized she could walk all over the property and take photos without fear of legal ramifications, she came to the conclusion that she'd died and gone to heaven.

The End.

Now for the Epilogue, in which we discover that eerie similarities in barn doors can establish a blood kin relationship, particularly if one says so has a vivid imagination.

The shot above from Big Hair's family property is of the beautiful barn, a gorgeous old tree and a very, very vexing sign. While nobody was looking, I stuck out my tongue and thumbed my nose at this sign, because we had Big Hair's permission to be there.

We could go inside the barn, snoop through old boxes wander around the house, and loiter to our hearts' content. These No Trespassing signs were powerless to do anything to deter us. (Insert the sound of evil laughter here.)

Now we've arrived at the part of the post which provides pictorial evidence that Big Hair Envy and I are kin, even if we can't establish an actual family link, and even though nobody has ever emphatically (or ever) stated that barn door similarities prove kinship.

The barn door above is from her grandmother's property. Note the weather-worn red paint; the cracks in the door, and the vine forking out like veins over the woodwork.

Now compare that to the shot below.
This is the upper-level door from my grandparents' old barn, which now belongs to my parents. This barn is right next door to me, but about 30 miles away from Big Hair Envy's. Notice the weather-worn red paint; the cracks in the door, and the shadow of the walnut tree which forks out out like veins over the woodwork.

The only real difference between the two photos, aside from the obvious location, is the lighting.

In conclusion, based on the fact that we both had grandparents who owned red barns with almost identical doors, Big Hair and I must be kin. You won't find these sorts of scientifically-based assertions anywhere else on the internet. This is pioneering genealogical research at its best. Barns can establish kinship.

Just remember, you read it here first.