a barn razing

This weekend our little barn went down. This actually was a building next to the big barn that was burned before we moved here. I'm not sure what it housed back in the day, but we loved it for its character, its history and the charm it brought to the farm. Unfortunately, it just wasn't safe. We couldn't let kids go in there and we had no purposes of our own for storage or any other use. So after two and a half years of helping us make pretty pictures, it was time to go down.

On Saturday, Rory's dad came and they moved mountains. They spent the morning emptying out the pole barn (not pictured) as well as this barn, driving truck loads of things to a temporary spot on our farm or to the garage. The kids got to ride along in the cab of the truck, which as you can see below, is about the greatest thing on planet earth. Everyone was having a jolly time. And so much got done. In the afternoon they pulled off the leaning roof that was already partly off the building. I've been waiting for that to happen for a long time and it was fun to watch.

Sunday the weather warmed up and we got a new crew of helpers: my folks, our friend Derrick and his son and our pastor's son. Derrick and Rory took off as much barn wood as possible, and the boys pounded out the nails.

My dad was on the inside pounding boards from that angle. And my mom made brownies and kept everyone hydrated while watching my kids. I took pictures...and a nap. I've got some pregnancy stuff going on and was happy to watch the work being done.

We saved as much barn wood as possible. We have a couple of ideas for its use, and it will be fun to bring it back in new ways.

Once all of the barn wood was removed that we could safely remove, it was time to pull it down. The actual event was quite exciting...to watch a tractor pull down a building that size is pretty awesome. But the more I watch the video the more sad and sorry I am for the building. I am the queen of personification anyway, and when it falls, it just looks defeated. I understand it is just a building...but I'm good at adding in an extra dose of emotion where I feel it is needed. Especially when I'm pregnant.

In the end it did go down. As Rory said, "by the hands of two pastors, a computer programmer and two eleven-year-olds." At some point this week we will have quite the inferno on our hands. Derrick told me I should call that blog post, "barn a-blazing." I'll keep you posted.