As the world mostly turns....

Its last days were peaceful....

The barn finally collapsed three nights ago, heavy with some rain and a little snow, and then finally that night blown by a bit of wind...A few of us heard the sound in the wee early morning hours before dawn. Others of us slept through.  

We had at first wanted to save the barn. It took a few years to face the fact that we didn't have $100,000 or so to rebuild the entire back wall, take off the existing roof, rebuild much of the roof support system, and then put on a new roof, not to mention that every window needed to be rebuilt and so on and so forth.

Once we faced the fact, I tried next to interest the "We BuyOldBarns" folks, but it was too late. They could see from my photos that much of the wood had rotted out and no matter how hand-hewn it was, it wasn't something they needed to deal with.

So then this year, we have all been so aware of living right next to a huge dying relic from the past. It has felt sort of sad and it is a bit of a burden. It is part of what makes my husband feel overwhelmed about living here. It's a huge sagging reminder of what we cannot accomplish.  

So it's actual collapse three nights ago was something of a relief; kind of like waiting for someone on life support to take their last breath. The funny part now is that we are making maple syrup outside right next to the barn, (and yes, burning some barn wood in the fire!) and it is still gasping every so often, with creaking shifts downward.  

So while the rest of the world turns, mine is sagging slowly down to earth.