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| The big barn (#1) originally stored hay for local dairies |
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| 2 greedy piggies by the 2nd barn |
There is scant reason why after 2 years, I have barely peeked through the doorways of the two massive barns at Flown Piggies Farm. But friends can grant courage. I have new friends, and today Sue called, asking if she and her husband Nick could come by. The main goal of their visit being to pick up windfall apples. They have many tame deer at their Port Townsend home, and they feed apples to their greedy
piggies deer. The semi-pet deer can gobble their way through a full bag of store-bought apples in one go, so free windfall apples is as much a windfall for the humans as for the deer.
Most of the apples taken were sourced from the massive apple tree in the cottage back yard. It is lush with flowers, veggies and other raised bed and pot type planters all of which is the work of Barbara.
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| Barb's incredible lush garden |
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| Sunflowers, hollyhocks, nasturtiums and what-not grow abundant |
When several bags of apples were collected and stowed away in their truck, Sue asked if she could explore the barns.
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| Alleyway between Big Barn (left) and 2nd Barn (right) |
The first thing everyone suggests on seeing the barns is selling the wood. Reclaimed old barn wood goes for good prices. That was my original plan, but the barns are kind of nice to look at, but more important, if the big barn was taken down, a lot of UGLY cement and what-not would be left to get rid of. I'm guessing the profit from selling the wood would go toward getting the barn's footprint into decent shape. I don't think it is worth the hassle. Anyway, I keep hoping some barn owls will move into the big barn rafters, making it the world's largest nesting box.
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| Looking up in the Big Barn |
Big Barn has old electrical wire hanging everywhere (no power though, thank heavens), a couple of old stalls that last were used as chicken coops, and spots I think were once part of a dairy office. There is a lot of cement areas which would just be hazardous if the barn were to disappear.
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| Nick and Sue |
Now it was time for 2nd Barn to get some attention.
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| 2nd barn, in better shape than Big Barn. Note Great Blue Heron on ground to the left |
Second Barn is where we have stored cardboard that we intend to use to line planting beds in future. I told Sue the area (below) the western side of the barn (left) is a large stall. Sadly, the metal roofing over the stall is no more. However it is nice to know if labor ever comes available again in my lifetime (don't ask) if a new metal roof goes up there, the stall would be a good home for livestock (Mini-donkeys? Alpacas? A riding horsie for moi?).
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| Touring ruins is Sue's jam, so she enjoyed rummaging around the buildings |
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| Lots of deer hoof prints in the 2nd barn floor |
There are many deer hoof prints inside the 2nd barn. Suspect lots of deer bed down in it, just as they bed down in the tall grass around the barns.
Second barn with a little work, i.e., replacement roofing, could return it to working order - for whomever buys this place after me anyway!
Sue enjoyed touring the old buildings and said it reminded her of old homesteads she had explored when living in California. Before she & Nick left, I encouraged them to pick apples and pears for their own consumption. This year, the fruit ripened more than a month earlier than last year - quite the shock, but maybe with the warmer than normal summer ought to have tipped us off on quicker ripening of the fruit. One of the pear trees already has fruit getting beyond ripe, but the other two aren't quite ripe as yet (whew!). Ripeness of Flown Piggies Farm's many apple trees is all over the place, from over-ripe to hard-as-rocks. I think it is time to buy a dehydrator and get some fruit leather going, don't you think?
