Cleaning - Barn Style

One very old teeshirt; One pair rubber gloves; One pair waterproof trousers; One pair wellington boots; One hose and three days of bright sunshine = One clean barn.

There hasn’t been much to say about the barn project in the last couple of weeks. It has been drying, which is taking a lot longer than we thought it was going to.


So after all the emptying came the cleaning. Dust and dirt, spider webs, 20 year old hay and manure and all sorts of other bits and pieces now needed to be removed.

At first I had tried a broom – got covered in dust and couldn’t breathe, tried it with handkerchief over hair, and one over nose and a pair of safety goggles. Still couldn’t breathe and couldn’t see as the goggles steamed up. Gave up trying that day.

Following day I arrived with Henry hoover. This’ll do it I thought. Well it did but it was going to take me a very, very long time. And I couldn’t get the end high enough up in to the roof space. So instead I mucked out the mangers and troughs and other corners of ‘solid’ dirt and went home again.

Third time lucky. The hose with the power nozzle attached. Donned in my very fetching barn washing gear I got to work. Instant success and instantly wet. Never mind I’d dry. I could aim the hose high up in to the corners and blast out the rubbish. There are now a lot of dispossessed spiders looking for a new home.

It took my three days or at least parts of three days to finally clear it all down and get the floor clean too. There was a wonderful smell of reconstituted ‘cow’ as bit came away from the walls and off wood. I would pop outside when summoned for a cup of tea, warm up in the sun and then head back in for another dousing.

But it worked and we now have a very clean, if rather damp barn. The wood is so old and dry that it soaked up the water like the proverbial sponge – that which didn’t land on me anyway!

I hope it dries out soon as we’ve only a month to go and there is a LOT of painting to do.

Statement in support of 'things' in barns .......

From Alex
"I would like to say in defence of the Tractor Barns contents that the items are waiting for their opportunity to 'come back'. The time will come when the demand for Polystyrene and Artex busts of Christopher Wren is such, that I will hold the only one left in private hands and then the wee smirk will be on the other side of whatever it's this side of. The bags of fleece are just that, every good barn should have some, so in that respect we are just doing our duty. There are things on the upper level because otherwise we would'nt need one. It should be noted that we still have a barn that currently only houses swallows in due time. So we are being very restrained in what we store. I am well aware that the abandoned chalet also contains 'stuff in store' which will eventually end up in the swallow barn, but at the moment I am barn rich!"

(Christopher Wren is in the middle of the picture right at the back)

Still emptying the barn

This is the barn at the start of the weekend. Before I could get on with cleaning the last few things had to be taken out and stored elsewhere.

I trundled 18 bags of lime mortar up to the Tractor barn.

I was nearly through when I discovered that the sacks weighed 25kgs when I had thought that they were 15kg’s. A 15kg bag is what we buy our dog food in and isn’t too heavy. I had been thinking that the mortar bags were heavy but had thought that it was just because they weren’t as loosely filled as a bag of dog food. Had I realised that they were 10kgs heavier I would have waited for mum to help. However I was so nearly done by the time I discovered it that – to her relief – I just carried on!

They have been stored on top of several bags of cement…. Set cement so I was pleased I wasn’t moving those!

So now the Tractor barn – so called because the tractor used to live in it, just as well it doesn’t need to now!

– as it is full of things that we don’t quite know what to do with or else we do know but haven’t done it yet.

It was a really fabulous day and I stopped trundling sacks about for a moment to take these pictures, still snow on the tops but you can see just how clear and sunny it has been these last few days.

It really doesn’t always rain in Argyll!

And then finally, taking a well earned tea break on the poshest garden chairs I’ve ever sat in!

The New Project Begins

Perched on top of a hill in Argyll is a farm that has been there for hundreds of years. It once formed the two townships of North and South Leac na Ban. Fourteen years ago my parents moved there from suburbia with one dog, one cat, and, temporarily, two sons to help them move, in two 40ft pantechnicans and three well packed estate cars. Between then and now they have added to the livestock, with chickens, ducks and geese, sheep & Highland cows; several dogs have come and sadly gone, three more cats arrived and the sons moved on to do their thing. The daughter got married and moved from the east coast of Scotland to the west coast and moved nearer and nearer her parents with each house move. Now just 8 minutes drive away she is bossily organising them and the barn.

In the last couple of years Alex and Polly have taken part in the Art Map Argyll project and have had a temporary exhibition of art work set up in the end of Alex’ workshop in the Steading. The exhibitions included work from both Alex and Polly, and the lovely Norman Rae, a local, Tayvallich, artist, who works in oils, (and I snuck some of my craft work ~ cushions, candles, and cards in too!)

Inspired by the success of this venture Alex and Polly decided that this year the exhibition would be open for the whole of the holiday season starting in June rather than just one weekend and rather than use the Steading again they would use the Victorian Barn. For many years the family has discussed the use of this barn and several possible plans have hit the dust. However, the current and seeming to be final, plan is to convert it in to an art studio/workshop.  With three art/crafts people in the fanily it is space that is much longed for.  But before that can happen – planning and permissions and builders all take time to arrange - they decided that a temporary space could be set up and they could gauge how successful it might be.  I jumped on the idea too.  All very exciting ~ but a LOT of hard work.

First it was a week of emptying the barn. For the last fourteen years and for several years before that it has been used for storage.

Many trips to the tip, the second hand shops, several bonfires, and shifting of 'stuff' to other 'home's' has taken place.

It used to be a cow barn and the cow’s names and feed instructions are still chalked up on the stalls.

(Note to self: find out what sort of cows they were! ~ update, 'They were of indeterminate breed'!)

In spite of the dust, dirt and many cobwebs the empty barn is really quite beautiful and interesting.

Raineach checking out all the interesting smells!

Watch out Raineach I might shut you in there, it’s just your size!

  

The evidence of its former life is still in situ:

A wooden feed trough

Iron tethering chains,

some with knots of hemp rope

and farmers’ ubiquitous orange twine

      

Feeding instructions

Hay manger

Horse harnesses still hung over the post with a white (remarkably white) handkerchief

knotted on the end to prevent one from walking in to it.

(If you look carefully you can see a horse with a white blaze down its nose!)

Next job ….. cleaning ……

The canoes 'upstairs' are staying put for now