a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Somethimes We Have To Let Go

of our old things to make way for the new. This was a hard decision for us. Dad had built the bull pen and the shelter by hand many years ago. The working chute was wonderful, he had built a ledge to stand on so you could doctor the cows. Sometimes things outlast their usefulness. The old corral had become a danger to stock and man, so after much deliberation, down it came.

We took many before pictures in case our memory starts to fade. We can tell the tales of cutting calves with Dad, when the black bull crashed the fence, when the red bull crushed two gates and how my miniature horses babies were weaned here.
It was like removing a member of the family. No longer can we look toward the barn and see this creation of Dad's mind and the art he applied to the construction.

You can still see the beauty and imagine how grand it looked when newly built.
Do keep in mind it has drooped and dropped and moved a little through the many years of its use.
The deconstruction began.


Sadly, down it came. Bridge ties set by hand, farm milled timber and cedar posts.

Nothing will be wasted. Ties will be used in flower beds, hitching posts and gate posts. The lumber will be trimmed and used to repair the barn. The roof is going to be recycled into a cover for the mineral trough.

And Beverly supervised the Kubota King. We had to level the spot a little since we needed room for a forty foot round pen.

Doesn't look quite level here but it is usable and complete. Not near as pretty as Dad's pen was.

Now, I have no excuse not to work my horses.

9 comments:

Girl Tornado said...

A round pen, how lovely! But I understand the sadness at taking something down that your dad built - oh the memories! Glad you are reusing all that timber. We have some kind of animal shelter in one pasture we need to tear down and it has some grand barn wood we will reuse. I'm hoping we can tear it down yet this year, it's quite an eyesore and there are no memories attached to it, thank goodness. :)

Unknown said...

Its hard to pull down something so full of memories, but its good that you took lots of photos and are reusing the wood.Nice photos. Sarah x

Melanie said...

Awww...at least you will get good use out that round pen, right?

C-ingspots said...

Hi there Gail, the artistry and skill that went into the chute your dad built was amazing. It still looked very solid. I love wood and the structures made from it. It is sad that it had to come down. I would definitely use the lumber in other areas too. It looks like you have some wonderful old dirt roads throughout your property where you could ride your horses. Do you ever utilize them? I would love to be able to come and ride with you. Just might be a little far to travel...
100 or so acres!? Wow!!

Nola said...

I am the same way, hate to let go of anything. And yes, I also save and reuse every scrap available! Your Dad would probably be happy to see the new ways you'll use the old pieces from his work!

Carla said...

Isn't it amazing how fast things are to take apart? Bittersweet...

Rudee said...

I'm sure that was difficult, but at least you'll have bits and pieces here and there to stir your memories.

Anonymous said...

What a sad story. It is tough to let go of things that loved ones owned or built. It is nice that you have photos, and I'm sure the memories will never fade.

Irene said...

I know nothing about farming cattle, so what that pen was for is pretty much a mystery to me, but it did look pretty. The round corral looks good though and very practical and I hope you will use it a lot. I imagine horses being trained in there and can see it now.

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