Sunday, March 6, 2016

Winter Barns

A few shots of barns I've accumulated over the past few weeks and haven't shared yet.  I'm increasingly getting interested in the stories of these barns, not merely the pictures of the barns themselves.  Once the weather is less wintry, I think I'll approach a barn owner or two I know (or some that I don't), and get a bit more detail on these buildings that are such a big part of our landscape in and around the valley.

I just spotted this one for the first time today, though it's on a road I often drive.  Either it's gone up very quickly, or I've been daydreaming as I drove by.  I'm interested in the framing, since I've done a bit of building myself, and the modern framing is such a contrast with the old barns.

It's quite a large modern one floor barn, I presume for a cattle operation.  It's good to see the investment in such barns here in the valley.  This is on a farm property where the old farm house is gone, and there's just a barn, which says a lot about the evolution of modern farming here, farms need to get bigger and bigger to survive.

This is one of the biggest operations I drive by; we see it just as we turn a corner, and I've always been struck by the number of modern silos.  There aren't many farms like this around here!

If you look carefully you can see a dark line of cattle outside on the sunny day, to the left of the main barns, and the right of the modern rounded hay shelter.  They look like Holsteins, and I assume this is a dairy farm.  Those silos enable the farmer to feed high protein feed to the cattle, needed for the milk production.

I don't drive by this one very often, but I've noticed it for years.  There's also no house left here, but the barn is actively used for cattle, which graze in the fields in summer.  The lane was plowed here, and you may be able to spot two pickups in beside the barn.  They must have some cattle here for the winter.

Remarkably, yet another barn where no house remains, but the farm is actively used for grazing.  There didn't appear to be any cattle in the barn this winter though, as the lane wasn't plowed here.

It's a beautiful big old barn, but when it's no longer actively used, I wonder how long it will last.

We non-farming folk drive around and simply see farms of various sorts, and don't realize the complexity of the agriculture that's going on.  Individual farms are all unique with their own stories, and there's an incredible variety of situations faced by farmers on different farms.  I guess these pictures of barns serve their purpose if they get me more interested in understanding agriculture in the valley.

Linking to:

The Barn Collective

23 comments:

  1. Snow surely sets a barn off. In my area fewer silos are being used these day, as they prefer silage bunkers covered with plastic. I like the second to the last photo with the fence and the mish-mash of posts. Thanks for joining this week and please return with more sights from the valley.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Terrific barns. Makes on wonder why the houses were demolished - or fell down. Sad to see the farms are not in the family as in days gone by.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The untold stories of hard work, dreams, wishes, and hope covered in snow on such a beautiful day...

    ReplyDelete
  4. The silos, filled with their own grain, or trucked in, and then fed into the top with a huge boom on a bulk hopper truck? I agree with Marie,... your words are so full of the days gone by, thoughtful and caring,... and wonder if in some cases the farm is now in the hands of a whole new generation of farmers? Holsteins, good sturdy cattle that would handle the very cold winters quite well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. They stand out beautifully in the snow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an impressive barn under construction. The way it is being build is so unusual. I would be curious to learn more about it, too. That big barn complex is huge. That is quite the undertaking. The little white ben against the show is really a beautiful shot. Perfect for a post card. The last one is a bit sad. If it is not used, it is going to fall into serious disrepair and then fall down. We have lots of barns around here where no one lives in the house, but the barns and fields are rented out for cattle grazing. I've never seen the cows going in the barns...some equipment in them, but that is about all.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's great to see new barns being built. You don't see that very often anymore. It will be interesting for you to learn the history of some of those locals barns.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The same thing happens here - farms have to keep expanding to remain viable. However most farmhouses survive, though nowadays are more likely to be occupied by a banker than a farmer. It's interesting to see the wide variety of constructions which exist in your part of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love these old barns and can never see to many of them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello, wonderful barn series. The last one is my favorite, I hope it comes back to life. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think barn profiles would be very interesting, to find out how/why the farmer keeps it going after moving away from the land. Is there such a thing as a barn journalist? I think you're going to become one! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am always drawn to barns. Great shots.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the old barns. It is sad when they die.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love all the barns. It would be nice to know their different stories.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love seeing the silos along with the barns...looks like Iowa.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lovely photos ! I was raised on a farm in Caledon Ont and loved every minuet of it , would love to have a farm now but it is pricey and vets bills for live stock are very expensive so I just enjoy the surrounding farms we have here . The old barns have so many stories if they could only talk ! Lots of the big barns like the one in your post and the large riding arenas hubs company builds and supplies the sheet metal and roofing for them . Thanks for sharing , have a good day !

    ReplyDelete
  17. The first new barn is really large. It is nice to see these barns and farm land being used still.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That looks like a BIG barn going up...love the other pics, too.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The fifth photo is my favorite!
    It is good to see a new barn being built.
    Have a great week!
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wayne just got a new zoom zoom car so we've been taking lots of twisty back roads. Some go through forests and then break out into enclaves of small farms. Right now everything is so fresh and green with all the winter rains and warmer weather. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very interesting variety of barns. Agriculture is a complex business.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello, great series of pretty scenery, barns and silos. Happy Easter, enjoy your new week ahead!

    ReplyDelete