Just what's in that old barn?

People tend to say that the setting of our old farmhouse looks like a postcard......the cypress, oak and pecan trees add to the idyllic nature of the setting but that great old barn has a lot to do with it as well......more than 100 years old, knocked down by Hurricane Dora in the 1960's and pulled back up by three tractors and a farmer and his sons...it has a great history and is intriguing to guests to say the least. But, the last thing it is is safe to explore!

No one's been up in the loft areas for many years...and we traipse with caution through the lower level using only certain parts of the barn ourselves following our farmer's example....There are a few places inside this barn that have been shored up for storage purposes...the old mule stall that we use for our lumber and lawn chairs is one example and the workshop of the old farmer across the street is another....photographers love this old barn....our friend John Binkley took the photos below in January of this year.......this old tractor still works and the old farmer across the street pulls it out to plough and prepare his large garden......

Photography by johnbinkleyphotography@yahoo.com

Our farmer across the street allowed us to use the mule stall for our storage needs.....and gave permission to keep anything interesting we found buried under the years of muck.....we found at least one treasure of value:

2004 - We found this old vase in a rusted out hanging planter that had been thrown into the stall years ago....I took it and put it in a corner of the front porch - on the porch floor because I didn't trust the rusty hanger to hold its own weight...I trained ivy to grow around the hanger.... and there it sat through the hurricanes of September of that year, through the howling winds of winter and the dust storms of the off seasons until............

2007 - Our project for the year was to strip and paint the front porch's bead board ceiling and rails and paint the concrete floor......I moved the hanging basket and it fell apart allowing the vase to roll across the porch floor.....I moved it to the back sidewalk.....taking a break from painting one afternoon I watch HGTV American Flea Markets....or something like that...and just as the show ended the narrator said something to the effect of you never know what you'll find at American garage sales and flea markets, maybe an old vase you pick up for ten dollars that is actually worth hundreds....like this Made in USA McCoy vase.....

I ran out the back door, picked up the little vase and re-read the bottom...you guessed it...McCoy, Made in the USA right on the bottom....its the Dove and Cherry branch....! Still haven't had it appraised but its now safe inside the house!