Old Barns & Windows in Time

Me ‘n Barns

I have a thing for old barns.
They speak to me of my childhood… and of the old West, where I might have loved living. Except for the bathroom situation. Wouldn’t have loved that, no. In fact… ix-nay on the athroom-bay deal! I’ll stay where I am. 😉

But I digress. This old barn just outside of Zion National Park in Utah made me – nay, forced me – to take its picture. With its perfect stormy day lighting, it peeking out from the trees, half swallowed up by time and trees… it covered just about every visual flash card for the ravages of time, the old west, being left behind and well, I willingly took the bait.

Gram & The Bear

I grew up with horses… and summers at my Grandmother’s ranch. Rena was a true frontier woman. She rode horses and did pack trips into the mountains well into her 80’s. Used to drive a horse and buggy to town… and back in the day carried a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.

I remember very clearly the night a bear came to visit. I was never sure what it was doing out there, exactly… only that she told my sister and me to stay in our room and not come out till she told us to. She then dug into her closet, pulled out a huge pistol and disappeared down the stairs. We heard a gunshot a little while later and eventually my uncle came up to tell us it was safe to come out. No details – you didn’t share that stuff with children in those days. There was just this sense of an ominous danger, passed.

Needless to say, I NEVER crossed my grandmother! But she was fair, square and loved us girls and that was enough. I adored her and her pioneer spirit.

Her Gift to Us

She left this reality selection at 103 years old. She fractured her hip gardening (Gram raised much of her own food all of her adult life)… and I think it was just too much work to come back from it. But she left us girls with a powerful sense of “can do”, a rowdy old west attitude of our own… and a love for old barns.

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Want Prints?

You can purchase many of the prints that you see here on my blog over on Karen Hutton Photography. I publish the basic sizes, but if you need dimensions beyond what you see contact me! Many more are available. 😉