It doesn't take long to find old barns in our area. In fact, since they are a favorite subject of mine, you'll probably see more farm/barn posts in the future. Since many of the smaller dairy farms have been replaced by the mega dairies, you'll see a lot of once-thriving barns that are collapsed, barns that are in bad repair, and barns that are still barely standing. Barns were kept warm by the heat of the cows in them, so once the dairy herd is sold, there's nothing to keep the barns warm, thus the freezing and thawing, broken foundations, and the ensuing collapse of the barn.
I doubt that the above barn was actually used for cows, unless there were just a few. it looks more like a storage for grain and hay. Not sure about that.
In our case, our dairy barn is still standing but needs repair. Although most people like the idea of preserving the barns, once the barns are repaired they only cause property taxes to increase and provide no additional income. It's difficult to talk a farmer into putting money into something that's only going to cost him more money in the long run.
I've been meaning to get a photo of this barn for quite a while. It seems that whenever I'm ready with my camera, a car or truck or pickup is right behind me. But this day last week was perfect. Everyone else stayed home, it seemed, so I had the road all to myself. The photo above is the same barn as the first photo, just taken from a different angle. I've always liked that sloped roof.
Old Milk Bucket
Has Seen Better Days
Just look at that patina! ;-)
Milk Can
You'd pour the milk fresh from the cow into the bucket, and when that was full, the milk would get poured into into the milk can and kept in a cooler, usually a concrete rectangular tank (like a bathtub for the milk cans,) which was filled with cold water to keep the milk cool until the milk truck from the creamery came to pick it up. Cold water ran through the tank to keep the cans as cool as possible. This was before the advent of the stainless steel bulk tank, of course, which had an electric refrigeration unit and an agitation paddle to stir up the milk.
Just a few of the artifacts from the bygone era of the small Wisconsin dairy farm.
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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Treasure Box Tuesday and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage) and Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above and Rurality Blog Hop and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot
