This is my favorite photo of the barn, even though it’s far in the distance.
This photo was taken from the first upper pasture. I came out here one day, in advance of moving in and with the previous owners’ permission, to walk some of the fields and inspect fencing as I made my plans on where to unload animals. Unfortunately, I discovered a lot of fence repairs needed in that field and had to knock it off the list as an unload location for the cows. It was still warm then, and I thought they would enjoy it for a few weeks, but they had to go straight to the rear barn yard.
The barn was built in the 1890s and is a dream barn to me. The previous owners told me they had considered tearing it down. I was shocked. Luckily, they didn’t do that. I can only assume they were considering it because of the maintenance costs coming up on the barn. The roof looks like it needs some attention in particular. Otherwise, the barn is in sound condition. Some boards seem warped and aged, of course, but that is part of the charm. This barn looks like it has a lot of farm life left in it to me as long as the roof and other crucial elements are maintained.
I’ll be breaking up the barn tour into a few different posts, like the pasture tour. There is a lot to be explored in the barn, and I haven’t even had a chance to explore it thoroughly myself. There are also all kinds of unidentified (non-flying) objects, and I know some of you can help!
As you face the barn, there is a large sliding barn door. To the left of the sliding door, the lower area of the barn encases the stalls on that side of the alleyway. The higher side of the barn to the right holds the hayloft.
When you slide back the door, there is a gate with a chain and latch to hold back animals even with the door open. (Well, it would secure a horse or cow. I can tell you it doesn’t secure sheep or goats! That could be solved by adding woven wire fencing to the gate, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet and it’s not critical for now.)
The alleyway runs down the center, with stalls on both sides.
There is a door in the back that opens to the rear barn yard. I have it temporarily barricaded with several items because the lower end of the door is too high. Goats and sheep could slip under the door and out to the rear barn yard (which is not secure for smaller animals). I can move everything and go out that door if I need to, but there are two outside gates to the rear barn yard as well, so for now while I have sheep and goats coming and going in snowy weather to the stalls, I’m leaving it barricaded. Eventually I’ll do something to fix it.
The barn is lighted throughout, with electric outlets, and there is a water faucet (in addition to the two faucets in the front barn yard) right in the alleyway that is “disabled” (in a manner of speaking) because the previous owner’s horse knocked the faucet down. When I start getting my milking room ready, I’ll have that redone because the faucet is right outside my proposed milking room (which I’ll be showing you in another post).
In this post, I’m going to bring you into the “office”–which I think is really the tack room, but calling it the office entertains me for some reason.
I could set up a little desk in there and bring the goats in when they need chastised. Daily. And write bills out to the chickens for pooping on the porch. Put Glory Bee on the naughty list. And count sheep.
Inside, there are all kinds of tools that were left behind by the previous owners. Shovels and rakes, a pitchfork, a hay hook, clippers, a trimmer, even an old horse shoe. (I don’t know if the trimmer works.)
There’s also a chain saw (?) and I don’t know if that works either. And what is that thing to the right of it? It has a tall handle.
There’s a basket hanging on the far wall with what looks like horsey stuff.
There’s this other thing and I don’t know what it is. (Not the trimmer, the other thing.)
There are some gasoline cans and kerosene cans and a heater. Those three cans are empty.
But this kerosene can is mostly full.
And, of course, the bladder tank is in here.
The room could use a little cleanup, and I still need to go through it all and figure out what everything is used for, but it’s a handy nook.
More barn tours coming up as I show you the stalls, the storage area (with some interesting left-behind items), and the hayloft.
Banjobetsy says:
Suzanne: That thing with the long handle can be used in a garden to pull up weeds in between your rows. You push it down into the ground and then “twist” it. It breaks up weeds or whatever else you want to get rid of somewhere else! Not sure of the “official” name, but we’ll call it the twisty weed eliminator LOL!
I love your place……
BB
On January 11, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Richelle says:
Well, I think I can help you with some of the unidentified objects!
The first, with the blue handle and the twisted thingies is a cultivator! Very handy for your veggie plot. You push the twisted part into the ground, then turn and wiggle the handles and pull upwards, repeat. Gets rid of weeds and makes your soil loose!
The other object, next to the trimmer, is an attachment for a long pole pruner. Used for branches that are too thick for the scissors attachment. Usually comes with a pole with a slit in the top end where the attachment should be inserted and clicked shut.
Greetings from Spain!
On January 11, 2012 at 12:33 pm
JOJO says:
:happyflower: Suzanne, that tool with the blue handle is used in the garden to break up the ground and work the dirt, I have one and they work well to loosen pre-dug soil–just twist away! It is one of those things that you can appear to be having so much fun, someone watching will want to try it! 😆
On January 11, 2012 at 12:34 pm
perry says:
I see you have answers to the questions already. i use the “cultivator” in my flower beds to mix stuff up when I am putting in new beds also. The tree trimmer looks like a short version or maybe it is just the tip you attach to a long pole. Used for trimming trees around here, but I have to get someone to do it for me. You sure have a lot of projects planned. Looking forward to the journey.
On January 11, 2012 at 12:41 pm
wanda1950 says:
EEK!!!! Turn that horseshoe the other way–your good luck is spilling out!!!!
On January 11, 2012 at 1:05 pm
SanAntonioSue says:
:bugeyed: Ooooo, Suzanne! The calamity! The horse shoe! All of your luck is running out! Please, quick, nail it over your front door with the ends upward to keep good luck at home!
On January 11, 2012 at 1:05 pm
caprilis says:
I can’t get over how much good stuff the previous owners just left for you! Very cool!
On January 11, 2012 at 1:07 pm
CATRAY44 says:
Love it!
On January 11, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Blyss says:
Yup… I was going to identify the objects, but was beat to it, and was going to tell you to QUICKLY turn that horseshoe points up, and turn your luck around!
Isn’t it somewhat ironic that a HORSE knocked over a WATER faucet, you have had WATER problems and the HORSEshoe is letting all the good luck drain away? Hmmmmmmmmm!
On January 11, 2012 at 1:15 pm
NancyL says:
The others beat me to it! The horseshoe, the horseshoe, woman! Get that turned around quickly so it will HOLD your newfound good luck instead of spilling it out! I can’t answer the questions – they are all alien objects to me.
On January 11, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Barbee says:
Hi Suzanne, a bit more about that digger thing with the crooked tines: If it is like mine, the shape of the tines were engineered to be just right, so they would work the soil by jabbing it into the soil then twisting it back and forth. It used to be advertised on TV as “The Claw”. Some college aged young men were helping me put in a broken flagstone terrace with creeping plants between stones. First we had to remove vegetation then work in a large amount of amendments before we could set the stones then plug in the plants. We were working with shallow soil on top of a vein limestone, figuring it out as we went. Using a tiller was out of the question, because the stone would have broken the tines. The fellows told me I needed one of those “Claws”. I’d never heard of it and didn’t know what they were talking about. They explained, and told me where to buy one. Three young men took turns working that thing, for about a week twisting that thing left and right. They built up their shoulder and arm muscles for sure. I don’t know if this link will work, but this is where I found it.
https://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100051614&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&MERCH=REC-_-product-1-_-202605474-_-100051614-_-N&locStoreNum=8918
On January 11, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
I fixed the horseshoe!
https://chickensintheroad.com/dailyfarm/mystery-solved/
On January 11, 2012 at 2:05 pm
GaPeach says:
The thing with the tall handle that has a claw on the end is for getting weeds out of the garden. You put it on the weed and twist it and it pulls up the roots of the weed. The other thing you asked about is a tree saw. You use it to cut limbs that are just a little out of your reach. Looks like they left you a ton of great stuff. :shimmy:
On January 11, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Dottie says:
WOW !!! That didn’t take long! One hour from the first suggestion to fix that horse shoe and you were already posting that you had it under control. You are going to do just FINE with your beautiful new farm.
PS: The shoe looks good by the front door.
On January 11, 2012 at 2:23 pm
ibnsgirl says:
Love the barn! I don’t comment much, but I know what some of this stuff is, so I hope it helps.
The basket of horse stuff is….just that, a basket of horse stuff. The wormer (Ivermectin) does not look too dusty (so it is probably not that old), but I would throw it away. I don’t think it is supposed to get cold. And you don’t have a horse yet, so start fresh when that time comes. I am not sure what the black thing is from this angle.
The blade on a stick next to the trimmer is a branch trimmer for trees using the saw part. It is probably retractable (or at least most that I have seen are). They are not exactly easy to use, working way up over your head like that, but it is better than climbing the tree.
Hope that helps.
On January 11, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Chic says:
Suzanne that’s one handy dandy barn you have there….what a far cry from what you had to deal with before! I loved your other farm but this one is set up so much more conveniently with the barn and fenced pastures (once the fences are fixed) and so much more usable land. I smile every time I see your barn. I feel a little sad because we had a barn here on our little farm but a spark caught the old shingle roof on fire and it burned down. Oh well…at least we have a few other buildings to use. Enjoy your day! :hungry2:
On January 11, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Blessings says:
As others have answered over the garden object..I would like to add IF the weather gets VERY cold..and your afraid the heat tape isn’t enough to keep the water from freezing you HAVE a heater to keep the area warm…:) Go online and check Reddy Heater website to learn how to properly use the heater…It could be a life saver during a snow storm..
~~peace & love & joy & blessings~~
On January 11, 2012 at 4:44 pm
dgkritch says:
That horseshoe appears to be a handmade hose hanger.
Looks like on the wall is where it’s intended to be so I guess your “luck” is improving already….you hung it in the right place!
Beautiful barn and what treasures!
On January 11, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Sheila Z says:
The trimmer/weed whacker, chain saw and anything else that needs 2 cycle oil mixed with gas should be drained for the winter. Check to make sure that has been done or you could do damage them.
On January 11, 2012 at 6:18 pm
easygoinglady says:
Wow, how wonderful that the former owners left you so many tools that are needed for your new endeavor. Just in these pictures alone are hundreds of dollars of tools that you would have had to buy.
They might have forgotten to tell you about plugging in the heat tape for the plumbing, but I am sure that was accidental. In the big picture, I would say you are still ahead :yes:
On the tank you had to replace…well some years ago I did a complete remodel on the basement, including carpet. Just two weeks after it was all finished, the well tank sprung a leak, the bottom had rusted out of it. So, its just one of those things that happens. By the next time it happened 10 years later, i decided to just replace it myself, after all it really is just simple plumbing. So we went to Lowes and purchased it and installed it..All good! …well till the next time, lol
On January 11, 2012 at 6:53 pm
MousE says:
Nice tour, and I am so glad you got your plumbing sorted out!
:snoopy:
On January 12, 2012 at 12:08 am
bonita says:
Suzanne: I bet one of the gasoline cans is for gas only, and the other is likely for the gas/oil mixture needed for chain saw et al. Both will smell of gasoline so I’m not sure how you tell which is which. .
On January 12, 2012 at 3:50 am
Flowerpower says:
Suzanne, I think the barn just makes Sassafras Farm. My goodness they left you a lot of good stuff didn’t they? Possibly if the horse shoes stay up holding all that good luck you might find a cash stash someone long ago hid there. Wouldn’t that be nice? Fingers crossed. I bet there may be civil war stuff scattered over those hills too. Metal detector! :happyflower:
On January 12, 2012 at 8:21 am
LK says:
I love my garden claw. I really didn’t know how easily and effortlessly it made my work become in the herb garden until I used one. I am glad that I got it. You have a treasure in that thing.
As far as the horsey stuff, did you know that you could use that brush (or even a stiffer one if you can find it) to brush down your cow? We do that as the cow eats her chop before every milking. It takes off the loose hair that might otherwise fall into the milk pail and we have read that it helps relax the cow so that she gives more milk. We even brush over her udder. It took her a bit to get use to, but she loves it now! Nothing like eating candy and getting a full body massage to boot each morning! lol Often while milking is being done, she will relax so much that she falls asleep, :cowsleep: (hey this fits well here) then wakes herself up with a jump! It is pretty funny! She will do this a couple times a milking some mornings.
We would love exploring all the stuff they left behind. If you find that you don’t need some of it, we would be willing to take some off your hands! 😆 Kind of hard to send it over to us online, though. Enjoy your stuff.
On January 12, 2012 at 9:57 am
rasclay says:
I love the barn! I am a little aged and warped myself and that’s not always a bad thing 😀
On January 12, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Runningtrails says:
That’s a great barn and they left you a great assortment of useful tools too!
On January 12, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Remudamom says:
No, no, no. That is not an office, that’s Morgan’s future tack room. And if she turns out to be anything like every horse owner I know, she will fill it up. So hands off, Mom! 8)
On January 12, 2012 at 9:41 pm
sherib524 says:
luv the barn. enjoy alot of your pics. I finally got to comment. with your help, it was possible. thanks again.
On January 13, 2012 at 9:05 pm
motherbear57 says:
I love reading about your adventure. There are a few things I can identify, the funny thing with the twisted tines and the long blue handle is a sort of manual rototiller, you plunge it in to the ground, step on it if you need and sort of twist out; it breaks up the soil and helps with weeding when your plants are already in or when you want to plant something in a certain spot. The other thing, that’s by the trimmer is a pruning saw. It’s usually on the end of a long pole so that you can get up high in a tree without needing a ladder. I have also seen them with a pair of trimmers attached to the end of the same pole. I was also thinking about that bladder tank of yours. There are some really good High Density Foam that are dipped in fiberglass and fire retardent on the market. They are sold in different thicknesses and have R values. They can be cut with either knives or with power tools, we use them to construct showers up north. Anyways, you could get ahold of some of this ridged material, it builds like wood, and screw them together, put a hinge on one of the sections so that you could construct a lid, and fully encase that tank. It would provide some additional storage space when you didn’t need access to the tank itself. Could work good for this place. :wave:
On January 14, 2012 at 2:31 pm
motherbear57 says:
edit: High Density Foam Building Boards. sold up to 4″thick. Rigid coatings on them.
On January 14, 2012 at 2:40 pm