Making Eye Statements: A Barn of One's Own

"Inside a barn is a whole universe, with its own time zone and climate and ecosystem,
a shadowy world of swirling dust illuminated in tiger stripes by light shining through the cracks between the boards. Old leather tack, lengths of chain, rope, and baling twine dangled from nails and rafters and draped over stall railings. Generations of pocketknives lay lost in the layers of detritus on the floor."

- Carolyn Jourdan, American author.

As I have mentioned before in this blog, I was born on a farm in Eastern Ontario and lived there for the first twelve years of my life. I loved our barns - they were such great places for hiding, playing, risking, and pretending. Carolyn Jourdan's evocative words capture so much about the magic of a barn.

In my teenaged years, after I had become a 'townie', I discovered the barn paintings of the American artist Andrew Wyeth, which for me always carried a feeling of truth and integrity. My favourites: "Christina's World" (1948) (link); "Hoffman's Barn" (1959) (link); and "Barn and Trike" (1948) (link).

My dear friend Lindi Pierce has recently re-ignited my interest in barns. Lindi is wise about a whole universe of things; her blog, "Ancestral Roofs", (link) unites her passion for "the built heritage of Ontario" with her gifts for elegant writing and architectural photography. A delight to read.

She has featured many barns in her "Ancestral Roofs" postings - and she inspired me last week to go roaming with my camera to discover some barns of my own. What follows is a visual essay featuring barns on Casey Road, Old Highway 2, and Highway 62, all within a few kilometres east and north of Belleville. Alas, many of them have seen better days.

So, with a tip of the hat to Carolyn Jourdan, Andrew Wyeth, and Lindi Pierce, here are my barns. Enjoy!