Category Archives: Barns

The Barn Collective

On the road (highway 203) between the cities of Duvall and Carnation in Washington State last Thursday we saw a few barns. I found some history about this farm from 1996.

“The small tragedies that littered East King County were most evident on farms like the one owned by Jake Groeneweg.

Groeneweg yesterday tried to salvage whatever he could of a barn that collapsed, killing at least a dozen of his cows and calves.

This was the first time in the 30 years he’s been farming that he’s lost livestock because of the weather, he said.

“It’s kind of devastating,” Groeneweg said.

Despite the troubles, he’s thankful for his neighbors, and some strangers, who stopped at his farm along state Highway 203 Sunday to help him pull about 50 cows still trapped under debris.

Groeneweg said he easily lost $200,000 in storm damage. He plans to head to the bank later this week to take out a loan to help him through the winter.”

You can read more about it here.

1996 was a devastating year for our family in Washington State, too. Because of a series of unrelenting storms we ultimately walked away from our dream home. The excess of water caused landslides on the back slope. The astronomical repair costs to shore up the land that dropped ten feet at our foundation caused us to ultimately walk away and give our house back to the bank. Our county got a disaster declaration and the money we got from FEMA was a little drop in a big bucket! After living in a couple rental properties we were able to buy a home again and have been happily toiling at this old house. God has been good to us.

Linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveler for the Barn Collective.

Barn Collective

I might have shared this one before and I wonder if it’s still standing since fires are burning out of control in this part of Northeastern Washington.

The rest of my selection are paintings that my Mother-in-Law painted. She grew up in Kansas and taught in a one room schoolhouse in Kansas. I think she saw lots of barns in her lifetime!

Linking up with Tom at Backroads Traveller for the Barn Collective.

We have been getting texts, watching the news and searching for news on the fires that are burning in Northeast Washington too close to our son and daughter in law and their friends for comfort. Because of all the fires raging in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana resources are at their limits. When this northern part of Steven’s county where our son lives called to get help they were told there was no help left to send them. Homeowners have been doing what they can to try to save their homes. We thought our son’s friend’s family had lost their home to the fire that swept through his property but we were happy to learn that the house did not burn down but all their out-buildings a truck and tractor were lost. We will get more details when it’s safer to return and assess all that was lost. This area is in a State of Emergency and are awaiting a declaration as a Disaster Area. It’s my understanding if they get a Disaster Declaration they might be able to get some national help with the fires. This is the worst situation that people who have lived in this area for years and years have experienced.

This is a photo I found on line of the Marble Valley Fire in Addy, Washington. Our son’s friend’s home is on that hillside and our son and daughter in law’s home is about 5 miles away.
I love the prayer a dear friend has prayed for this situation…
“will be praying for Dan and Jamie’s situation — that God will hold his hand over them … keep them safe from the fire and may the fire be blown out by an angelic host .. since everyone else is busy ! “
And I’m also praying for all the firefighters that are probably exhausted and the poor homeowners who have lost everything in this fire. For our son’s friend (who was one of his groomsmen) and his family as they walk about their property and make plans to replace what was lost. Even though their home did not burn down there is probably some smoke issues that need addressing. Praying that the winds stay calm and more help will arrive and that the fires get under control. If you pray could you add your prayers to mine for this area? Thank you!

Road Trip Barns…

Last Sunday we traveled north to Canada for a get-together with friends. These are the barns I took photos of on the way.

Doesn’t the side of this barn look like a face?

I’m linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveller for Barn Collective.

We had a relatively quiet weekend which is very nice once in a while. Our sermon this morning was on ingratitude and why we should practice gratitude in our lives. “Gratitude unleashes God’s love in our lives”. It is important to verbalize your gratitude.

Thank you for all who visit my blog and take the time to comment. I appreciate your observations and kind words!

How did your weekend go?

More Chewelah Barns…

I’m pretty sure these are the last of my Chewelah Barns.

Linking up at the Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller.

Dear and I took a road trip up to Canada yesterday and didn’t get home till midnight so I’m a bit behind the ball right now. I’ll be sharing about our trip soon. While on the road I managed to take some drive by shots of more barns in the U.S. and in British Columbia that I still need to upload. We are cooling down a wee bit today and it feels nice to feel that breeze. Have a good first week of August!

Olympic Peninsula Barns

For the Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller I’m showing barns from the back roads of the Northern Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

On Dear and my road trip to the westernmost tip of the contiguous United States on July 15th & 16th we drove by these barns.

How about a barn converted into a winery?

On a personal kind of farming note of the orchard variety…on Saturday I had to pick apples off our apple tree because they had started falling off the tree on their own in huge numbers. Since I had given my pricey fruit picker to our son for a Christmas stocking gift, no it didn’t fit into his stocking technically but it did fit in the back of his pick-up, I was without an implement that would make reaching the apples on the upper branches easily. I stepped into our newly cleaned out and re-organized garage, the product of my husband’s extra time on his hands since being without a job right now. I looked around and spotted the two 4 paks of bamboo tiki torches that have been waiting for an occasion for many years now. I thought to myself…that could work for picking apples off my tree. I took the lighter out of the top and proceeded to the tree. This new farm implement worked like a charm! I could even snatch two apples with one going down into the reservoir before having to empty them into my apple basket! I was quite proud of myself and my easy apple picking venture!

Have a great last week of July!

Flag Day Barns

Before I show you my barns for this week I just wanted to wish everyone in the U.S. of A. a very happy Flag Day! We are flying our flags in a nice breeze here in the Seattle area today!

The photos of the barns this week were taken in April when we were at our son’s home in Eastern Washington. This was a nice fresh barn type structure for horses in Chewelah, Washington. The next photo was down the road a bit and not so fresh!

I’m linking up with The Barn Collective started by Amy and hosted now by Tom The Backroads Traveller.

Barns ~ Eastern Washington

We saw a good number of barns on our trip to visit our son in Eastern Washington in April and in May. This is one of them.

Tom at The Backroads Traveller is generously hosting Barn Collective which was started by Amy at Rose Street Reflections.

This meme runs from  6PM Central time on Sunday through Wednesday each week. You can post photos of barns, silos, sheds, or any interesting farm like structure.

We have worked hard at this old house this first weekend of June. Our deck is washed down and the patio furniture was cleaned after living in the garage loft all fall and winter. Dear has continued working on the siding on the back side of the house and is getting close to finishing. I was able to pot some plants for the deck, too.

We have had our windows open all weekend with our hot for the Pacific Northwest weather. I managed to watch some Women’s World Cup Soccer, too. How was your weekend?

 

Drive By Barns…

You know how it goes…when you see something that would be cool to take a photo of you are on a direct mission to your destination. No time for stopping along the way. On our way to and back from our son’s in Eastern Washington I took a lot of shots of barns from the highway. If they are a little blurry it’s because we were going 70 and 80 MPH fast!

Close to Ellensburg…

Does covered hay count as a hay barn? These first few I’m sharing are from Central Washington.

Linking up to Rose Street Reflections by Amy for The Barn Collection #30.

We had a great weekend. On Saturday we traveled to Chilliwack, B.C. to attend a wedding. We enjoyed time with seven of the Mennonite Girls and their husbands but we had a total photo fail. None of us got one photo of the eight of us together. Oye! On Sunday after church we enjoyed a pulled pork meal with our Western Washington kids and we watched the Seattle Sounders game together. We had fun cheering loudly together and we won which is always more enjoyable than losing!

Hope you had a good weekend!