Tags
barn, Dairy, Dairy farming, farm, Farmer
The end is near
I have been driving by this farm for some time now. As a matter of fact, I photographed it a few years back for my blog–a shot of the barn and its accompanying farmhouse right before a storm:
Spring storms a'coming
In this past week, the home sitting to the right of the barn disappeared. Its been boarded up for a bit of time now, its occupants no longer in sight. And today, driving to work, I noticed the heavy equipment, sitting in front of the grand barn, readying to demolish it. I stopped the car to photograph it, a darkened rainy morning befitting the days to proceed the demise of what was once, I imagine, a heavy duty, labor intensive, dairy farm. And now, building by building, it has vanished.
I sat in the road for just a bit of time after taking my photos. I felt so very sad. I’m not sure why, exactly. I do not know the farmers who once tended the cows and land here. For all I know, they have sold the property for a lot of money and are living out the retirement of their dreams, somewhere very warm. No, it is not necessarily the farmer for whom I grieve but, rather, the farm itself. For all the farms and farmers who disappear each week, as they can no longer afford to keep their bills paid and stay ahead of the game.
I feel a soap box coming on. I hit the backspace button. Goodbye barn. I’m glad I got a few photos of you. Dream of better days.
Frames of Reference 
I feel the sadness also when I see things such as this happening. I’m saddened when a farm goes away. I also wonder what stories it can tell.
I also feel it when flying and looking down at large housing developments and warehouse complexes with semi-trailers parked around them. For those I’m saddened because a part of nature is being altered, the plants and wildlife that shared that space now must change, move on.
And better days will come!
I’m sure you see a lot of things from the air everyday that are very telling, things most of us don’t get to see–probably better that way. I’m not sure what it is that has fascinated me about this particular barn when we moved here, but the people were still living in it when we first came to this particular area of the county to live. I’ve watched the place just fall to pieces. Anyway, yes–I hope–better times to come. Have a good week.