The Ice Storm

We were lucky compared to places further south, where the ice storm led to widespread power outages from fallen branches and trees.  Here there is only 3-4 mm of ice on the branches; we received mostly sugary snow and ice pellets, about 4-6" worth, a challenge for the snow blower to handle, because it's so heavy, but much better than ice!

Never-the-less, the pines out front had a serious coating of ice - not enough to break branches, but hanging heavily down.

Numerous twigs like this silver maple were coated, usually on the east or upper side, but not too heavily.

The birch out front had a coating of ice that made it look like a heavy frost.

And the old dry lilac seeds caught the ice in lumps.

 

The 6 foot tall ornamental grass was bent over right to the ground.  All in all, although we just stayed home today, we got off lightly.  Hopefully the rest of the week will see nicer winter weather return - and hydro repairs completed quickly where they're needed.

Busy Weekend!

A busy weekend getting things ready for Christmas, so I thought I'd just post three different pictures I've thought of posting, and link to three different memes.  Check out each group to find other photos from around the world.

 A striking reflection we saw in our travels this summer.

 One of the chipmunks that lives in our old stone fencerow.

 An interesting pattern of fences just down the road to town.

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 And 'Saturday's Critters'

And:

Snow, Sleet, Freezing Rain and Ice!

It's all forecast this weekend.  A very unwelcome blast of southern air is blowing through southern Ontario and eastwards to the Maritimes, disrupting our nice winter weather and bringing the threat of a major ice storm.  Travel plans are cancelled for many just before Christmas.

On the other hand, we have a couple of beautiful sunny days in December, and LOTS of snowfall.  This is one of my favourite corners to watch for a big snow drift which forms as the wind drops down off the hill.

Just around the neighbourhood the pines have been loaded heavily with the white stuff, nice if you get it against the background of a blue sky.

 Spruce catch the snow just as well; these just down the road.

I caught this maple still holding on to a lot of its leaves beside a cedar rail fence along the lower valley road today.

The snow has been piling up on our back deck.  I missed one day of shovelling it and 4 more inches were added to the 6 inches already there, the snow curled over the railing.  We have a glass railing, so I use small hawk silhouettes to prevent the birds who come to the feeder from crashing.

The whole yard has been looking white.  On the level it's 18-24" deep, great for snowshoeing.  And I heard today that the new trails for cross-country skiing are open.  I need to get out more!

But this was what I followed home today for quite a distance.  A day misty with snow and fine ice particles, and the plows out in full force keeping the main roads open.  The worst freezing rain is forecast for tomorrow; here's hoping it stays a little further south and we just get snow!

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The Magic of Mortise, Tenon and Pegs

Looking back now I feel I was very ignorant of how old barns were built, but reading Radojkovic's book 'Barn's of the Queen's Bush', I realized that the most important part of the barn construction was the part you can't see.  These are the hidden mortise and tenon joints, and the pegs that hold them in place - all hidden from view except for the ends of some pegs.

     

These photos illustrate a mortise (the cut out slot) with the tenon of a beam still in place, and a beam with a tenon on the end.  I had to go back and look for these, because inside the barn itself these do not show.  However, part of a barn extension out back fell down, revealing these ones.

These two illustrations from Radojkovic's book show different mortise and tenon joints, one with a peg to secure it and one for the bottom corner sill joint, that would be used in barn construction.  These were what clued me in to look more closely at the photos of the barn I had taken.

The two beams attached to the post in the centre of this picture illustrate what was done.  Both beams are tapered to form tenons on the end, and slots were cut in the upright post.  These are part of the east bent that was put together lying flat.  Then two pegs, which you can see the ends of were driven in to secure them.  The entire basic timber frame of posts and beams is connected with these types of joints.

In this picture, extending higher on the same post, you can see the ends of 5 pegs altogether - the two near the bottom, one holding the upright post to the upper cross-beam, and two holding the queen posts to the upper beam.  The one on the left actually sticks out a bit.

Here's another location where you can also see the ends of five pegs, one holding the beam that enters from the right, two holding the beam extending toward me, and two just barely visible holding the upright to the top beam.  Again one of these pegs sticks out a bit, showing a tapered end.  You can't see the mortises or tenons of course, 'cause they're all inside the post and beams.

Even up under the roof where the queen posts are holding a purlin on which the roof rafters rest, there is a visible peg holding the joint together.  This peg sticks out nearly 6".

None of the smaller diagonal braces in this barn are pegged, but there are notches cut out to hold them, known as 'shoulders', and probably a small mortise and tenon joint inside.  In this photo you can clearly see the obvious broadaxe or adze marks on the post, and what I believe are saw marks on the smaller brace.

I doubt that many of our children's generation have ever seen a barn raising, a huge one-day event held to get the timber frame up in place.  The foundation was probably built the year before, and all the posts and beams gathered and hewed flat with a broadaxe or adze.  The framing crew would lay out the posts and beams in the right pattern flat on the floor, cut all the mortises and tenons, and fit them together, pegging them for security.  All the girts and purlins would be cut in advance with mortises and tenons ready as well.

The work of a barn-raising is to raise the bents to stand upright, and then to manhandle the purlins and girts into place to hold them together, pegging the joints are they are fitted.  The mortise and tenon joints and the pegs are the magic that keeps it all together.  After the big event the farmer, relatives and friends would finish all the roof and sides of the barn in the coming weeks.

I did see a barn- raising once, as a young child, when two barns were destroyed by a tornado.  We drove by a few weeks later and a huge crew of men was rebuilding both barns!  This photo is from the cover of 'Barns of the Queen's Bush', with full credit for what I've learned to Jon Radojkovic.

Inside the Barn!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the neighbour's on the farm to the west welcomed me to come and take pictures of their barn.  When I saw it was being repaired, last July, I got over there immediately, knowing I'd be able to get some pictures inside without the usual gloom of an old barn.
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First, let me give full credit to Jon Radojkovic and his great book 'Barns of the Queen's Bush'.  Since I've taken these pictures, and tried to understand what I was seeing, his book has been my inspiration, and the source of the diagram reproduced below.  (The 'Queen's Bush' was a large area including much of today's Grey and Bruce Counties between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, first opened to white settlers in about 1850).

The picture above is the barn as they started to repair it.  Much of the siding has been removed from the back and the side, but they didn't need to replace the front which was in quite good condition. It still has the old roof sheeting.

At first glance, looking up inside the barn it was a jumble of posts and beams I could make little sense of.  All the smaller diagonal beams make the picture complex.  You can see here they have removed the roof sheeting, and part of the side wall.  The afternoon sun shining in lit the 100+ year old wood beams with a golden glow.

This is the large open centre aisle of the barn, where the hay wagon could drive directly inside for unloading.  The floor under this aisle would be reinforced to take the weight.  Here the 'walk-in' door is a smaller door inset in one of the big swinging barn doors.  Putting the big timbers you see here together is the big challenge in building a barn that will stand for 100+ years.

Construction of these barns was undertaken by travelling framing crews who knew how to put a timber frame, or 'post and beam' frame like this one together.  Posts and beams were notched and joined in a pattern known as a 'bent', while lying flat on the barn floor.  During the barn raising these 'bents' (it would take 4-8 for the typical barn) would be raised by a combination of men pushing with metal pointed poles or 'pikes' on one side while a team of horses pulled from the other.  The ropes from the horse team would be routed up through a pulley on the top of a very tall 'gin pole' to get the right angle for pulling.

If I'd known more about barn construction when I took these pictures, I might have taken them somewhat differently.  But beyond the hanging tire swing and pile of old hay, this is the east end of the barn.  The two vertical posts (and a third out of sight to the right), and two horizontal beams, with their diagonal braces, make up one 'bent', a section of timber framing as illustrated above.  If you compare this photo to the diagram above, you'll see that the pattern is almost identical, except that our neighbour's barn only has 3 vertical posts instead of 4.  Otherwise, the diagonal bracing is exactly the same.

If you take another look at the centre aisle, I'm standing between the two central 'bents' marked by the posts and two big horizontal beams. This barn was fairly small, and only had 4 'bents'.  At the top of the front posts, which stick up above the top horizontal beams, a large cross beam known as a 'purlin' joins the four 'bents' together.  As far as I could see, this was entirely one very long squared timber, nearly 60 feet long, connecting all four 'bents'.  Here you can see the notches all cut for the base of the rafters.  Below it in the wall on the right and left are two shorter horizontal beams, tying the 'bents' together, and known as 'girts'.

Here's another view of the back wall, showing the 'purlin' and 'girts'.   The left third of this picture is the end of the easterly 'bent' with its corner post and two beams.  On the right, the two 'girts' and the 'purlin' at the top coming toward me, tie that bent to the one just out of sight to my right.  All the roof rafters rest on the 'purlin'.  All the diagonal beams are simply braces to give horizontal strength in a wind.

At the upper end of the barn, the two larger diagonal posts mounted on top of the horizontal beam of the 'bent' are known as 'queen posts', a common method for framing the roof of barns like this.  The upper smaller horizontal beam is a collar tie, tying the two 'queen posts' together.  You can also see the remains of a small decorative hole near the peak that probably also provided some ventilation.

This is another 'queen post', on one of the centre bents.  As you can see, it is supporting another 'purlin', or horizontal beam for roof rafters to rest on, about halfway up the slope of the roof, with the appropriate diagonal braces for strength.

Much credit again to Jon Radojkovic for the diagram and all I've learned about timber frame barn construction in preparing this post (and tomorrow's).  But the unseen magic is yet to come - the mortise, tenon and pegged joints that hold this barn together.  Make sure you check back tomorrow to really understand what's going on here!

P.S. Sorry for all the 'content' in this post, but I've become really fascinated by understanding all this.  Hope you enjoyed it too.

Re-used and Restored Barns

Among the 14 barns down our road I mentioned yesterday, 7 are still standing.  Two appear to be unused, but the other five are either used for agriculture, or have been restored by rural non-farm owners.  I've been fascinated by this pattern of change for years, ever since I spent time in my uncle's barn when I was young.  So here are the five barns, and some reflections on the changes going on in the rural area.

The largest farm operation is this dairy farm, with a much expanded set of buildings.  I've been told that they no longer milk cows, but focus on raising dairy calves for the industry.  I'm always impressed by this well-cared for farm every time I drive into town. 

It's notable that farmers with farms like this probably farm much more land than their own home farm.  So even though half the barns down this road have disappeared, almost all the farmland is still being farmed - either owned outright by neighbouring farmers, or rented, either from retired farmers or rural non-farm residents.

Also down the road is a typical Grey County beef farm,  This appears to be a small operation, and I suspect not large enough to provide a full-time farm income.  Like many around here, this farmer probably has a job off the farm, and harvests his hay and tends to his cattle in his spare time.  Still, it keeps the land in agriculture.

I like seeing cattle anytime; these ones were huddled near the hay pile when I took this, their winter supply of hay wrapped for protection in the field behind them.  They look like Limousin cattle to me.  Across the road is a herd of Aberdeen Angus, and around the corner, some Charolais.

Then there are the barns that appear to be owned by rural non-farm owners.  These barns have been repaired, and are obviously being cared for, but I don't know how much they're being used other than for storage.  Still, keeping them around adds to the rural landscape.

I've often heard that once cattle are no longer kept in a barn, the lack of warmth lets the frost into the foundation, and it starts to deteriorate.  Siding comes loose, and roofing may need repair too.  Barns like these need regular maintenance to keep standing.  This barn got new siding a year or two ago, and a new roof recently too.

Finally, this is our neighbour's barn, just repaired this summer.  Most of it has been resided, and there's new roofing.  I had asked them if I could come and take pictures, but didn't know they planned to have it repaired.  When I discovered that I was able to get a lot of interesting pictures of the interior barn structure before the new siding went on.  That's for tomorrow.

The fate of barns around here lies partly in the changing technology of the hay harvest.  I'm old enough to remember cutting hay with a hay rake on my uncle's farm, gathering it loose, and loading it into the hay mow with the big fork that plunged down into the hay load from the rafters.  That's why these barns were built as they were, to provide a big hay mow upstairs above the cattle, with a drive in for the hay wagon. 

Then square bales took over, but they were still stored in the barn for protection.  Now that the big round bales have taken over, there is little need for the upper part of the barn at all.  Often barns are therefore replaced with larger one-floor barns for livestock, and a separate building for hay storage, as in the first picture above.  In other cases the bales are wrapped in plastic and just stored in long lines outside - no need for a hay barn at all.

I'm not sure that this huge change in the rural landscape is either good or bad; it's just the pattern of what happens over time.  Someday perhaps I'll write a bit about the increasing specialization of the southern Ontario landscape and farms, as we continue to move away from the former small mixed farms to large and small but specialized modern operations.  In the meantime, enjoy the rural countryside.

Disappearing Barns

I was struck again the other day as I drove into town at how many of the older barns around here are disappearing.  Just along the two concessions we drive to town, over only about 6 years, 5 (and a half) barns of 14 have been removed.  It's a big change in the landscape of the Beaver Valley region.  As the old barns aren't needed for cattle or storing hay, they are neglected and disintegrate over time, or are actively removed.

This is the 'half' barn that's left among the 14, standing forlorn along the road, a collapsing relic of a farm long ago.

This is the only example where I was smart enough to take a before picture, this one a year and a half ago when the front portion had already begun to fall in.  It only took one or two big wind storms after this to bring the front half down.  If you compare the photos carefully, you can figure out the portion that's still standing - for now.

There are also at least two older barn foundations, of barns that disappeared in the decades before we moved here.  My wife has said she'd like me to build a barn foundation in the backyard as the setting for a garden.  I'm no longer into moving rocks that size!

The barn that stood between us and the silos blew down in the local tornado of 2009.  We were here then, only a couple of miles away, and didn't even realize there had been a tornado until we heard the news.  It left a swath of destruction 36 km. long.

Just a year ago two farms along the road sold, and three barns (along with all the fencerows) were removed.  One stood in the centre of this picture behind the maple tree.  This year the fields were all planted with corn or soybeans, from one end to another.

One of the other two barns removed stood in the centre of this picture, behind the grain bin.  Even the two silos were removed here.  Now I wish I had taken some of those 'before' pictures!

And finally this barn, just around the corner from our place, came down in a severe wind storm about 3 years ago.  I took this picture and then noticed the remarkable pattern of stone blocks in the foundation.

All these barn foundations were probably built by itinerant stonemasons who knew how to cut granite and limestone boulders into rectangular blocks - an art now largely lost.  Undoubtedly the farmers provided the hard labour to support the stonemason.  Here he took the time to line up the limestone (lighter) and granite (darker) blocks to make this unique diagonal pattern.  I've never seen it elsewhere, but maybe I should start looking more closely.

Tomorrow - the five barns that are still in use or have been restored.

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