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Life Of A Barn | Ohio Farmland

For someone who grew up on a 1/4 acre plot of land in Connecticut, the idea of someone having 500 acres at his disposal was a bit beyond my comprehension. When...

For someone who grew up on a 1/4 acre plot of land in Connecticut, the idea of someone having 500 acres at his disposal was a bit beyond my comprehension. When I first started visiting the nation's farmland, I'd see these amazing old dilapidated barns just being left to collapse under their own weight. My thought was always to why the farmers would just leave them there not bothering to repair them. There would often be another much newer barn sitting close by already being used while the old one comes down at it's own pace.

It finally occurred to me that with hundreds of acres of land to use, why bother tearing down an old barn to make room for a new one. Just look to the right or left and set up on a new piece of land. A completely foreign thought to a person whose childhood home sat closer than a house's width away from the neighbor's.

There’s real grace and beauty to the whole life and death process through which these buildings go. Farmers aren’t concerned with fighting for every square foot of space. They’re concerned more with productivity and functionality of the land and their tools. Buildings, such as barns, are meant to serve a purpose as long as they stand. Plain and simple.

Even the silos are left to come down on their own.

I love how this barn looks as if its being pulled into the ground by the growing vines.

The above three photos are from the same barn. Interestingly, from the outside all looks to be crumbling and out of use, but the inside is used year-round to house the harvested hey from the fields near by.

As I passed this picturesque farmhouse I noticed what looked like a new foundation being built just on the other side of the red barn.

Of course, there are barns that are constantly maintained as well. I’ve been driving past the above property for at least ten years and it has always looked impeccable.

 

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