The Barn is the Best Place to Be

Returning to my childhood farm in Minnesota

I spent a few days at the beginning of my vacation with my Dad on the farm where I grew up.  It’s always good to return home.  The pace of life is slow there now.  My Dad is 91 years old and retired.  The house and barn hold many memories for me.

Open door to the old red barn

Latch to the barn door

Worn barn door and metal latch

“Life in the barn was very good — night and day, winter and summer, spring and fall, dull days and bright days.  It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm, delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, the love of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory of everything.”
     — from Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

West side door to the barn

Interior of the barn, now used for storage instead of cows

Light filters into the hayloft through holes in the siding.

Hayloft

Barn door and hayloft stairs