Well, the old brown barn ain't what he used to be but he's still an amazing structure. Like the white barn I photographed earlier, this barn and its land was taken by the state for a proposed project that never happened. At some point the state made an offer of ridiculously low rent to anyone wanting to operate it as a working farm and for a while the fields around it were being used and the farmhouse was occupied but the barn was never restored. The house is now empty again, and the barn continues to decay. Next year I hope to photograph it before the brush makes it impossible to reach- there's just too much poison ivy mixed in there to take a chance and go closer. But for now, this old fellow is still a wonderful subject to shoot, with his silo as still as a sentinnel's tower and the plush greenery circling his crusty clapboards like a moat around a medieval castle.
@lisjam1 It is sad Lisabell- especially because it was such a grand structure. @digitalrn Yes Rick, it appears to be abandoned- at least by humans (o: Who knows what little critters and birds call it home now.
@remcogreutink@supergrannie@abigailmarie10 Thank you Remco, Shirley and Abigail for such kind words! Although this area is now protected as a national park, it still makes me sad that the families who had owned these farms for generations were forced out and then unable to have it restored when the proposed project did not go through. Shirley, I think if I had known about that program when my children were younger, we might be farming right now! I guess it just wasn't God's plan for us. There is something about farming that is so appealing!
