Sunday, September 27, 2015

A Purple Barn!

I was driving into Flesherton the other day and was surprised to see a barn being carefully dismantled.  And even more surprising, I saw a purple barn and driveshed further north, driving back to Markdale!

This farm has been for sale for awhile, but this day there was a gang of men working at taking it down.  They already had all the outer boards removed.  It appeared that everything was being salvaged.

You could see one fellow walking around on the beams. Hope he's got a good sense of balance!

I've always been fascinated with exactly how barns are framed, with all the joints and dowels and braces and unusual names for different timbers.  You can see a lot of it in this view of the side of the barn.  Probably no nails and it's held together for over 100 years.

But driving down the road, this barn and driveshed was what really surprised me.  I've never seen a barn painted purple before!

This has been done this summer, because I drive this road regularly and haven't seen it before.  I thought they chose a great shade of real purple too!

The sign on the barn says 'Fools Paradise', and the figure painted below & beside it is that of an old-fashioned court jester!

Linking to:

The Barn Rendezvous

*****

Celebrating William

I'll be away from blogging for a few days while we attend two more memorial services for our son William, who died while fighting a forest fire in Alberta last spring.  He was a water bomber pilot.  These services waited until after forest fire-fighting had finished, so those folks could join us.  If you haven't read about William, you can read about him here, and in the posts that follow that one.



22 comments:

  1. There's BIG $$$$$ in old barn lumber!!! I always hate to see barns coming down. Now a purple barn, that new for me, my granddaughters would LOVE it. Thanks so much sharing this week and I hope that you return again. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  2. All too few barns are salvaged, most just seem to become decayed enough to eventually collapse and either left to rot, buried or burned.

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  3. Interesting to see that barn come apart! Wow that purple is an eye catching color! (Maybe it was an oops on sale color)
    Sending good thoughts your way as the memorial services continue for your son.

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  4. I love purple but it clashes with the nearby red surfaces.

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  5. Great post and I love the purple barn! What a great find. Wishing you a happy day and new week ahead!

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  6. My favorite color, and on a barn no less. I wish you well in your travels to honor William, and I am so glad you were able to let me know who he was, a true hero. Blessings to you and yours.

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  7. We have a home nearby painted this color. I wonder if it is a paint made from leftover paints, and thus, very cheap?

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  8. I love the dismantling pictures of the barn and am glad it's being salvaged. The purple barn sure is interesting to see. Thinking of you and your family as you attend the memorial services for William. Blessings. Pam

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  9. Someone is probably going to do something really special with that old barn siding.

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  10. Purple is a very odd colour for a barn!

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  11. Tom is right , there is big $ in old barn boards . Looks like the guy on the rafters has a harness on hubs uses them when doing tall roofs . Interesting colour for a barn , really stands out though . Lovely photos . Thanks for sharing ,

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  12. That is definitely a barn with a different color.

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  13. obviously, i love purple, but a barn painted purple is not really appealing. i am glad i did not miss this post as i would like to wish you well at williams services. i remember reading the story, i remember the images......so sad. i remember thinking how brave you are. i hope the services give you a little closure!!!!!

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  14. Thinking of you both and the others who will be at William's Memorial Service. You shared so much with us in those earlier posts, and to wait so the others can attend, very caring and thoughtful. I am sure there will be tears, but I hope there is some happiness and laughter with all your memories. Purple, what a grand shade for that barn.,

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  15. we get lots of old barns here but mostly they are built of wooden frames and old corrugated roofing. So sorry about your son, sending hugs and plenty of thoughts...

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  16. That is one remarkable barn! It certainly stands out.

    My sincere sympathy to you and your family on the loss of your son. Fire fighting is a hard and dangerous job and your son gave his life to save others. God bless. You are in my prayers/

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  17. Purple bars? Unique, I suspect. I wonder if anyone will ever want to carefully dismantle it. ;)

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  18. Love the purple barn and seeing the care in dismantling the old barn. May there be comfort in the services for your beloved son.

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  19. So tragic to hear about your son. We took the train from Vancouver to Calgary in early June and saw the extent of the devastation caused by these huge fires. Our son is a meteorologist specialized in wild fire, and feels a great responsibility for the safety of the firefighters..

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  20. The man walking on the beams reminded me of my father. My mother always said he must be part cat. :) He bought an old church when we were kids (the same one I was christened in) that was going to be torn down. He pored over his blueprints for many days, consulting with my shipbuilder uncle quite a bit, and finally almost singlehandedly turned the church into a home for us (it took him five years), even doing all the wiring and plumbing himself. The kitchen cupboards were made from the pews. He only had a grade nine education but he had a wonderful mind. All to say, I really enjoyed seeing the barn's structure, and the wonderful shots of the purple barn. I think of your son every time I hear of a forest fire. I hope the memorial brought some comfort. I'm imagining many beautiful thoughts were expressed. Thank you so much for commenting on my blog. If you are still in Vancouver, Bill and I would love to have met up with you and your wife for a cuppa' something and a chat. If not, perhaps, next time. My email is carolcarsco@gmail.com

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