OLD BARN № 096

Of all the barns in my collection, I find that OLD BARN № 096 is one of the most unique. While its basic structure is similar to others, the façade of the building is what really captures attention! When this barn was constructed, the walls were probably all wood. Most wooden barns weather to a dark gray color, but this one is decidedly lighter than usual. I think the light-gray wood is especially beautiful and wonder what variety of tree it came from, to have weathered to such a gorgeous light shade.

Then, as the wood became compromised by the elements over time, the landowner nailed strips of sheet metal in their place, rather than replacing the wooden boards. I'm not sure why he did that, but perhaps he had a surplus of sheet metal, or maybe he found some that was cheaper than wooden boards...?!?!? So, now there are dark strips of metal among the wooden boards. Some of those bits of sheet metal have rusted and the rusty water from rains has discolored the wood in some places. All of that adds to the charm and mystique of this building!

This barn is definitely part of a working farm, at least a part-time working farm. There are other barns and sheds on the property, which will be featured at a later date. I didn't see any livestock, nor any plowed fields for crops, but there are definitely some enormous pastures where hay is grown, mowed, and rolled into giant bales for sale.

Some people like to see the original pics I made of the barns. In this case, there's not much difference between my original pic and the finished, edited pic. Very little processing was required on this one, a happy circumstance! My original photo is shown, below:

There's a funny story behind this barn... It's situated along a sleepy little two-lane country road without much traffic, so I stopped my car in the middle of the road and snapped the photo from my car window. I usually try to have little-to-no contact with anyone when I make my photos. This time, though, the landowner was close by and noticed me, so figured I would compliment him on this lovely barn, and it might remove suspicions about why I stopped in front of his property. So, I shouted out my car window, "That's a beautiful barn you have!" He responded by saying, "I'll sell it to you!" I chuckled and said, "It won't fit in my trunk!" Then he replied, "Come back with a bigger car!" 😂