THE BARN -- SECOND FLOOR

The clock just chimed 9:00 a.m. It’s 77 degrees outside and 72 in here. I closed all the windows an hour ago. Afternoon temps will likely be in the 90s.

Yes, it gets that hot here at Gilbert. In the old days, temps were usually not more than the low 80s – and the air stirred. Sometimes that still happens. We’ll have a cool breeze on a very hot day.

I’m just in from picking a cup of ripe cherries from the sincere little Montmorency pie cherry tree. I’ve swathed it in netting so that I might have first pick of the fruit. The netting makes the picking task difficult, though.

I also picked a cup of raspberries. It’s not a large crop, but I’m relieved to see that the bushes look healthy. And the berries are large and firm.

Mike and the dogs have been down at the pond where he sprayed the algae – a never-ending process. The dogs just love to play at the pond while he works.

Well – but this is about the barn. I figure that at least some part of the barn was finished by 1898. It’s old and decrepit, but we cherish these old barns for what they tell us about the background of those who built them. And that’s about as much as I know about the subject.

Anyway, yesterday Mike cleaned out the second story of the barn, tossing the scrap boards into the old trailer. After lunch he towed them down to the landfill where they went on the burn pile.

Then I discovered that there was a plan for the second story of the barn – and that plan involved me! Oh, I guess I vaguely knew something about it initially, but somehow this information doesn’t come into focus. 

In the afternoon I was assisted to climb up the makeshift ladder to the second story where Mike had installed his clay pigeon thrower. I’m the chief thrower (stomper).

 

So, from my perch in the upstairs doorway, I (stomped) a few practice birds for Mike while the dogs went crazy. 

 The only finding we might call valuable in yesterday’s clear-out was a porcelain doorknob still attached to a door. Mike tried to remove it with a screwdriver but it was rusted and will require special handling. KW