As Julie and I were driving through the countryside yesterday, looking for photo ops in the rare Michigan winter sunshine, we talked a lot about barns. The area we live in has lots of small farms and swamps. Julie thinks Michigan may have the most uninhabitable land second only to Alaska – because of our swamps. Probably isn’t true when we think of the mountain states – but it sure seems like it. I have a fondness for swamps but today is about barns.
When I am in Florida for the winter months (except December) I really miss barns. We have even driven through the southern Florida farm lands and they don’t have real barns. You know, the real barns that are red. I find traveling around the US a lot of fun because I become aware of the different styles and colors of barns. Isn’t it interesting that we assume that real is what we grew up around. Then we start moving further and further away from the familiar and our reality is also broadened.
But it sure is nice to be back in Michigan where we have real barns! If you think your barns are the real thing, just do a post, provide a link in the comments, and prove it to me.
A New Day: Living Life Almost Gracefully 
I like the challenge Pat, but you know I agree with you 🙂
I am also quite fond of natural siding, too.
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Yes – in Ontario there were lots of barns made from what looked like cedar and they didn’t finish them in any way. They aged beautifully.
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I agree, Pat – MI has real barns!
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🙂 And if you and I agree, it must be true!
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And they make such wonderful photographs.
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LOL – yes they do. Maybe I should worry about farmers coming out and requiring payment for photographing them to help with their up-keep. 🙂 We did have one person get really angry at us because we asked if we could photograph his round barn.
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I’m partial to the barns in Vermont . . . attached to the house via secret tunnels and passageways. 😉
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I love them, and am longing to get a photograph of one. They are so beautiful, and tell such a great story about that location. I have seen them connected directly to the house.
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Having grown up in Illinois, I never gave much thought to all the red barns. Then I moved away and when we would return to IL each summer, I looked at barns in a whole new light; discovered a beauty to them. Love MI in the fall 🙂
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I can tell you understand the joy. Thanks, Ingrid.
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Barns and cider mills! I do love Michigan.
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Yes – going to a cider mill and smelling the sweet smell of freshly squeezed apples. How much sweeter can it get – especially if the have freshly fried doughnuts. 🙂
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These are two beautiful barns. I love all barns even the ones struggling to stay upright. I started life loving to play in my grandparents barn, I worked in our Kansas barn, and I garden and farm now in our New Hampshire barn. Barns – they are a really good thing. http://newenglandgardenandthread.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/endurance-weekly-photo-challenge/
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Wow, what a treasure your barn is. Thanks so much for sharing, Judy.
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Nice barns! A book of Norwegian barns is published her erecently.
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The Norwegian barns are absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for providing this link. Everyone who loves barns needs to take a look at these.
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Alas…finding a barn in this area of SoCal is as likely as making a snowman on a San Diego beach…but I would say real barns are the aged-gray color with just a hint of red. 🙂
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I agree – about the aged gray. We talked about aging barns and that is my next post, maybe.
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Oh now this is a truly magnificent barn, Pat. well caught.
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Thanks, Trish. The sun and the barn and the basketball hoop all came together. How could I resist a couple of clicks?
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I still think Michigan has more uninhabitable land than the Mountain states. You can build a cabin in the mountains, but not in a swamp! 🙂
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Good point. There is a difference between not wanting to build on a site and not being able to.
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