Barn Tour: Dad's barn (and his mother's, and her father's...)

Up in the hay mow in June:
These giant wheels were used as pulleys to lift the old hay wagon off the chassis, all the way up to the loft level, where it was pulled over the platform. Then a trip rope was pulled to release all the loose hay into the mow. This wasn't the way to do it anymore by the time my old man was a kid in the 50s.
But let me tell ya...swinging off those big ropes sure is fun. Enough fun to make it worthwhile keeping those giant wooden wheels and ancient hemp ropes around!

Is it creepy and scary in the old barn? Heck yes! It goes a long way to explaining my fascination with the fantasy world of twisted apple trees and haunted houses and all those odd Burtonesque images...
(edit- One thing I need to tell you about, just in case the pictures don't tell you, is what it feels like up there. It was a hot day in June when we put the hay up, but inside the soaring barn, the air was pleasant. There was shelter from the sun's heat, but all those cracks in the boards let in little crossbreezes from every direction. The light is so diffused, also because of the spaces between the barn boards. And above all, the smell of the hay...ahhhhh! This part of the barn is used only for storage- we don't work in there except for putting up hay. But the reward for all that hard work is to climb up the ladder and sit for a few minutes, soaking up the good smell and the light and the gentle breeze.

It's like a cathedral up there. A cathedral for birds.

Me, and my boy, after a hard day's work.
Looking up at the haymow. Check out that big beam overhead.
With a building like this, it's all in the details.


The foundation:
In a bank barn, half of the ground floor is actually underground. Our south facing wall is the open end, while north is built into the hill. This way the livestock get the benefit of the sunlight.
The ceilings in this barn are quite low. Our horses are tiny so it doesn't really matter. When I'm asking people to pay me for boarding their horses though, I'll need more room overhead. Some people have had their cement floors taken out and dug down to get that ceiling height. I don't know if it's worth it financially. Lots to think about.

I wonder if someday I can find one of these that can give me all of this good stuff, but with high ceilings and wide aisles. I'll keep dreaming...
Happy Thanksgiving to my American Friends!