Since I paint or plan to paint what I find around me, either Camp Colegate happenings or scenes from the farms around me, I thought it might be nice to frame them with some rustic barnwood looking frames. I routinely scope out the open back frames at Hobby Lobby when they are on sale, but was very disappointed with the 'barnwood' look frames they carry. While walking eggs over to Todd's one day, I noticed that their old hog barn was falling down. Susan Case had kept her goats in there, so I thought the barn belonged to the Cases. When I approached Susan about my project, she shared that the boundary line is drawn directly through the barn and gave me their permission to retrieve wood. Todd and Nancy also agreed, so oh joy, another project for Bruce on his weekend. Both neighbors advised safety and caution, as old barns are riddled with BIG, heavy, crooked, rusty nails.
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| For several weeks I contgemplated the possibilities of the old barn long past its prime |
We headed over there midmorning. Susan had trampled the grass earlier in the week with her quad to facilitate our access, and Todd had mowed the day before. We had easy access for Bruce's old truck, which concerned me with our lack of four-wheel drive and the saturated ground. We walked around and sized up our opportunities, deciding on the 4-inch boards, which would not require narrowing. We had so much fun, as choosing and pulling our boards was very similar to playing pick up sticks. We didn't have to use our hammer and crowbar at all. We loaded the truck and were home within an hour.
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| Do you see a painting here? |
Our thanks to our awesome neighbors who pull us out of snowdrifts, plow our driveway,
and deliver delightful surprises of food and newspaper articles of interest.
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| I missed the photos of Bruce on top of this pile, retrieving possibilities |
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| There is only one beam like this, and I'd love to think of a second life for this gem |
We were delighted with the absence of bugs and rotted wood. I was curious as to how much a project pulling the nails would be. I couldn't even begin to budge them. Then Bruce took over, and within 45 minutes he had cleaned the boards I staged for him, with no damage whatsoever to the wood. We stored the wood against the garage door wall for the time being. When I clean the hen house this spring (requireing dry weather), I'll also scrub the boards on the back patio, allow them to dry again, then store them in the basement until we get so bored that it's time to make frames. That probably won't happen until the heat of summer or cold of winter.
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| I had 'shopped' for 6 frames, but there is a possibility of 7 - 8 frames - I hope |
