Second Sunday of March 2020

As I write today it may sound like I am doing a downer on Dad.  I am not trying to make it sound like that but if it does try to read beyond the words.

The barn, it was so much a part of our life as we grew up on the farm.  Of course it was meant for the cattle and it served them but it was so so much more.  It was so full of memories as the wild fire swept across the creek bed and destroyed the entire farm in the early 80s.  That was where we carried the kerosene lanterns out to hang on the nail as we milked the cows.  That was where Dave and I played tag on the beams above the calf pens.  That was where the water tank OFTEN over flowed and we paid the price!  That was where we shot baskets in the hay barn.  The basket consisted of a 5 gallon pail with the bottom cut out and the ball was a rubberized ball about the size of a baseball.  That was where we squirted milk into the mouths of cats as they sat waiting for drink.  That was where you entered the barn in January and the aroma of cattle, hay and other smells greeted you as you opened the door.  After walking in the fridge air the warmth of the cows greeted you like a good friend.  AND it goes on and on.

I post this picture because it is the perfect example of "a picture is worth a thousand words".  So what do I mean by that.  Well here is what it tells:

• The hole in the barn is access to what was the hay barn on our farm.  As you can see Dad just cut a huge hole in the side of the barn and moved the cut out wall to the side.  Oh my that tells a lot.  In about 1955 or so a tornado went across the farm and leveled our garage to the north of the house.  After that we had NO garage on the farm.  We did park the Ford tractor in the shed but that was it.  All the antique machines sat outside as did our car and truck.  The hole in the hay barn part of the barn was Dad's way of making a garage.  Not perfect by any means but I guess it worked!
• There is a large gas tank by the side of the barn.  That location is where we would drive the hay rack to and pitch the hay into the hay barn.  Why the gas tank THERE?  

Our gas pump stood near the driveway as you drove into the farm.  That was where we parked the Ford and the M as we needed gas.  BUT sometime in the 80s the underground tank started leaking.  Was it a good idea to fix it?  Well the easy thing was to buy a new tank and place it by the barn.  Perhaps it was the best option I do not know but it certainly was Dad's way.  Of course at the time there were no cattle so the hay barn was not used anymore.  In talking to Dave he said an old car that he had stored at the farm was in the hay barn.  I certainly told some of the story of how the farm went from old to antique!

• If you look at the picture carefully you can see that there are broken windows on the side.  I do believe they were there when I was growing up!  
• You can see an old car and the back of our combine.  I am guessing that they were just parked there and were no longer used.  
• On the right side of the picture one can tell that there is no fence.  Growing up that was our barn yard where the cows came at night and stayed in the yard all winter.  In the winter we would open the gate that was just beyond the tank there and pitch hay over the side of the hay rack.  Later on when Dad hired a hay stack mover.  The stacks were on the other side of the barn and we no longer did the hay rack thing.
• The pole by the barn, that was an easy shimmy up to the roof.  Walking on the roof to the other side which faced west was a favorite activity of mine.  There I would lie on my back and dream.  Little did I know what was in store for me as I became an adult!
• I would be remiss if I did not mention what is NOT in the picture.  Just behind where the car is was the basketball hoop and backboard.  I THINK Ronald  helped Dave and I build the wooden backboard and put it up.  We then attached a hoop and again, I think, Ronald gave us a net for the hoop.  MANY games of horse were played there.  It was there that I won many games and was the hero.  Mind, I played against some of the best players ever and I always won but then when you are playing against players who exist in your mind it is pretty easy to WIN!  I would say that is where I perfected my shot which served me well in high school.  I would also say that is not where I perfected my dribbling skills as rocks, stones and grass do not lend themselves much to dribbling skills.  That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.  
• I will end my rambling today by saying that for the most part the memories of growing up are GOOD.  Was Dad a farmer?  NO  He was a hunter and a photographer who eeked out a living on a farm that had seen better days long long ago.  There was NO plan or desire to make things better or to make a lot of money.  The intent was to live and do the things that one enjoys.  In some ways I can not argue with that BUT.  It is with much sadness that I say the farm no longer existes and is no longer in the Lee family.  I am not sure that is good or bad but it is what it is.  If one wants to drive past Rollof and Hazel's place (which no longer exists  as well) , cross the creek and drive north a half mile all you will see to the west is a grain field with No clue as to the farm of the past.  If you continue north to the lake you will not see Bert and Eleanor's farm as well.  That is now part of the Wild Life Preserve.  If one were to draw a line from the lake five miles to the east, where there were 7 farms in the 50's there is now TWO.  One can say that is progress or one can say that is the death of the family farm as we knew it decades ago.  Where farms of 200-400 acres were we now see farms of 3 or 4 or 5 times that much land.  

Enough for today.  I enjoyed my FP in an extra way today as I do not play tennis today so I took the liberty of adding a small pour of Bailys this morning.  It certainly added to an enjoyable morning!