Rumours and Discoveries
A newspaper column from 2019.
At some point in our lives, we must make decisions based on our capabilities, our wants, and our needs, especially in the later part of our lives. This happens to be “That Time” for two farmers who happened to have jumped into farming big time, over forty years ago.
To start with, all that farming and busyness had put a lot of strain and taken a toll on our outbuildings. There is something that stirs my heart when I look at the old barn, the chicken house, and the old driveshed. All have been here for I have no idea how long. It seems to me that we owe it to this farm to try to preserve what was here when we started. It is too late for the original house, but we can still preserve the used buildings. Buildings that have been a huge part of the farmers who farmed this land before us and have been with us every step of the way during our sometimes-crazy ride.
These buildings have seen it all. The good, the bad, the unbelievable, the expected, and my least favourite, the unexpected, during farm life. They have stood strong through weather that changes from season to season and the “now”, which has been difficult to predict. They have ridden out most everything that has happened, as best they could. It was up to us to try to help them through whatever was thrown at them. We did our best.
There have been many repairs to roofs. Those high winds are the most unpredictable. One year, shifts in structure from high winds and when the earth shook for whatever reason pushed our barn six inches off its foundation. Yes, we have seen it all. Wear and tear from animal use. Pigs that loved to root up cement floors, and cows and horses who loved to chew on wooden supports. Raccoons and squirrels, along with a variety of other critters, have played havoc in a never-ending need to make these buildings their homes. Broken windows that were constantly replaced and a radio that blares rock music constantly to keep the coons from doing more damage. In some strange twist, the country music seemed to welcome them. I tell you this as my observation only. As the farm got busier and we slowed down a bit, the repairs were set aside. This has left it till now to do the catch-up.
Well, all these repairs cost money, sometimes a lot of money. That is why you see all those barns fallen across the countryside. Unless you own one of these barns, you honestly have no idea the cost to keep them up once they have gone too far. We decided that now was the time to do more to keep our buildings standing.
This brings me to the part that seemed to have started the rumours of my husband (fondly known as My Hero) and our retirement from farming, and possibly a sale coming up. Yes, it is true that “My Hero” did retire from his off-farm job, but, apparently, that had people think that we were going to move. We even had offers to buy, but the rumours of our retirement and move to a condo are greatly exaggerated. We love it here and love the work that comes with farming.
Now that My Hero is no longer rushing off to work, that is the main reason that we are now able to do the work that has been put off. A “slow down” is fine, but I think we both need to keep busy. It is who we are.
Well, to pay for those repairs, we decided that we would sell our accumulation of forty years of “stuff” that sat in the barn. After all, the floor needed to be redone to hold the equipment that we need to keep inside from the weather. Farm auctions have always been a welcome thing for us since the beginning of farming. Now we think, who really needs three old ploughs.
This process of selling has exposed us to how our farm world is perceived by others. The people we have met in the process have verified just how blessed we are to have these old buildings and the lifestyle we have. When someone who has never been inside a barn has their face light up and say how beautiful it is, you know you are doing the right thing.
Almost everyone who had visited our barn had a story of what would happen to the item they were buying. It probably had to do with this farmer (me) asking what they would use it for. I am a very curious person and am attached to most everything on this farm. It was nice to know where it was going and what it was to be used for.
There were young farmers just starting and many homesteaders. There were the artists who could see the vision that we had for a piece of metal or wood but, never had the time to do it. There are so many stories that I would need a book to share them all. The most humorous sale, for sure, was the young couple who bought four one-gallon glass jugs from us. He later sent a photo of those jars filled with pickled eggs.
This process has exposed us to a host of friendly, amazing individuals and stories. If not for this process, we would never have discovered.
Grace Vanderzande