If you've been here long, you know that our goat barn burned down some time ago. My sweet 4-H girls and their parents came over the next weekend and helped us pile up the burned metal and debris. Other than giving a trailer-load of the flat-est metal to a friend, the junk sat there untouched for nearly 2 1/2 years.
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| The barn after the fire. We tore it all down and piled it in a corner of the yard. |
They filled three of the trailers with barn metal, burned items, and metal junk. They found two snakes, a lot of scorpions, and several large rats while they worked.
The fourth trailer was filled with pieces of pipe and other metal items that we've been wanting removed for years. When we purchased our land here at Oak Hill, it had been abandoned for some time and was a wreck, to say the least. We've been cleaning it up ever since moving here, and had several piles we've been anxious to get rid of.
Now we need to pick up the burned wood and melted plastic junk from where the detritus of the barn had been piled and level out the ground with the tractor. I want to plant a tree where the goats are buried, perhaps a redbud. I will no longer be reminded of that awful day every time I walk out the door.
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My hope is to inspire you, and to encourage your homesteading plans and your dreams of a
Oh Kathi what great news to find someone to take all that metal. A redbud tree sounds like a great memorial to the goats.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle. This has really lightened my step.
ReplyDeleteWhat a long-awaited relief that must be!! I'm so sorry for your loss. I think the redbud sounds lovely, I hope it will bring back happy memories of your old herd whenever you see it. <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Rose. It has been such a relief. It was way past time for it to be dealt with.
ReplyDeleteThat was so nice of them and I bet you were glad to get it taken care of.
ReplyDeleteWe were! Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to have gotten rid of it at last! And yikes - snakes, scorpions and rats??? Our property was pretty clean to look at when we bought it but every single time we dig we find buried kitchen things - pieces of plates, pieces of glasses, pieces of serving ware. It's so strange. And, of course, with the chickens pecking and scratching so much they uncover all kinds of things in their area. We never know what the day will bring!
ReplyDeleteOh my word! That makes the cleaning I still have to do look easy!
ReplyDeletePlease drop by!
Blessings,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Staci, we've dealt with a little of that too, but not to the extent that you have. Mostly it's old rusty tools. Chickens are great at unearthing things, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteLaura, there's nothing like comparison to make a job look easier, right? :-) I'll come visit in a minute...
ReplyDeleteIt must be such a relief to have those bad reminders gone. A bit of tidying does a body good. Enjoy the new space.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Daisy. It's a new start.
ReplyDeleteI've only been following your blog for about half a year, and hadn't heard about your tragic barn fire until this post. Although it was two years ago, I just want to express how sorry I am that it happened to you and your lovely goats - I can't imagine the horror and pain you must have gone through. It must be such a great relief to have the ruins of the barn finally taken away. A redbud tree sounds like a beautiful tribute to your past herd.
ReplyDeleteAnni, thank you, that's sweet of you to say. As we continue to pick up the plastic and wood debris, every so often we recognize something and it is still sad, but we are glad to be getting this all cleaned up and be able to move on.
ReplyDelete