What a great Barn

When Grammy and I looked at the farm for the first time, it was the barn that attracted my attention and intrigued me the most. It looked so run down and neglected but it somehow had an irresistable charm and warmth. I couldn't help but envision what it would look like with a little TLC. I could just imagine how great it would look painted red and trimmed in white.

It was while I was staring at a picture of the barn that the name "Four Sisters Farm" came to me. I could envision our four daughters framed in the second floor window and hence was born the initial thoughts that led to "Four Sisters Farm". When I was growing up in Western Kansas, rural property was always known by it's family name. You would hear things like "go west until you pass the Johnson place and take the next left." Some day maybe someone will say "go East until you pass the "Four Sisters Farm", (which you will recognize by the great looking Red barn all trimmed in white) and take the next left. That would please me!!

We have already made a barn memory. When we were finishing the deal to purchase the farm, one of our big concerns was that the barn would collapse before we could get it stabilized. Somehow the west wall had come off the foundation and was laying over on the ground. The weight of the barn was collapsing the west side. Once we took possession, it was a priority to try and save the barn. With this in mind, I looked around for experienced and quality help to assist me with this daunting task. I got lucky!! As I looked around for the best candidates, Farm Chick and Grammy were the best (only) hands available. As it turns out, I couldn't have done better and I got to show off my tractor skills to my Sweetheart! We used 4x4's and jacks to raise the roof of the barn. We then used the tractor pull the fallen wall out into the barn yard so it could be repaired. Next we utilized a little southern engineering and made a skid system from 4x4's and used the tractor to push the wall back into place. As a result, the barn is stablized and patiently waiting for Pop and his Crew to work a little magic. Stay tuned!!