Autumn Images

Seen in Christian County, KY

There's plenty of time to take a picture, when following a buggy uphill. They are extremely slow, but I never pass them on a hill, even if I'm in a terrible hurry. I figure that it's better to be a few minutes late than to risk a collision. However, I often see impatient drivers who pass without a clue of what's coming in the other lane.

Tobacco is curing in the barns of Christian County, KY. This old barn, built right beside a back road, is always closed tight, with a "No Trespassing" sign on the doors. When I drove by last week, I was surprised to see its doors opened wide.

This clump of trees in the middle of a Christian County field probably marks an old family graveyard. It's sad that so many old cemeteries receive no care at all, but when the families are unavailable, unable, or uninterested, the burden of upkeep falls on the landowner. Most farmers adopt an attitude of benign neglect, and nature takes its course.

Autumn color in Hopkinsville (KY). Some people around the county have reported heavy frost, but we haven't had a killing frost at our house yet. I still have impatiens blooming, though their days are surely numbered.

And who's that crowding into the picture with the impatiens? Why, it's Sophie, of course, doing her best to be the center of attention. I'm in the process of building an elaborate doghouse for her. It has two rooms, and it's better insulated than our house is! I am not a very fast carpenter, so it's still going to require a couple more days of work. And it's so heavy that I'm thinking we might put it in the truck and drive it to the carport, instead of trying to carry it.

Early Fall in Christian County, KY

Seen around the county during the last month

A nearly-dry stream bed in late September.

Now, the water is probably full of fallen leaves.

A full barn of tobacco, curing
in the fresh country air.

Dad and kids, headed home
from the produce auction

The northern part of Christian County has dozens

(or hundreds?) of small fields like this one, where the

ground is flat enough to farm between hills and streams.
This is corn, drying in the field before harvest.

The shorter flowers are members of the aster family,

and the taller ones are ironweed, as I recall.

Last spring, these were wheatfields.

Now, they're beanfields (soybeans). 

This complex west of Hopkinsville

has about a dozen tobacco barns in it.

The smoke can get heavy when
the barns are being fired.

A horseless carriage, so to speak

Late afternoon sunshine on a 

field of ripening soybeans

The sun is setting much earlier now. 

I saw this gorgeous sunset on my

way home from work one night.

Keely and I went to an interesting moving 

sale at this house in Hopkinsville. 

The seller had lots of cool, collectible stuff.

At the Farmers Market in 

downtown Hopkinsville

Red Barn

Spring and fall views

It's a rare day when I drive past this barn without thinking about taking its picture.  I took the photo above a few days ago, and I took the photo below in the fall of 2009. It looks like part of the barn may have been repainted since the first picture -- or maybe the light was just different.

The fall view is my favorite of these two photos. The sky is much more dramatic, and the background is deeper and more interesting.

Snowy Barn

Photo from early February

Nearly all of my photos for January and February of this year have been snow scenes. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago that I missed posting. I hope I don't have the opportunity to take any more photos like this one until next Christmas or thereabouts!

Old, Empty Tobacco Barns

Common sight in Christian County, KY

Dozens of old tobacco barns like this one can be seen across Christian County, KY. Some stand along roads that are (more or less) traveled. Others can be glimpsed on the back sides of fields and at the edges of woods, where farmers and hunters pass only occasionally.

Some of these aged barns remain in use by tobacco growers, but many of them stand empty year-round. The empty barns illustrate two trends in Christian County agriculture.

•  In the past, every tobacco barn or two might have represented a small farm and a farm family. Today, we have far fewer small farms. More and more, Christian County's tobacco is raised on larger farms.  
• Less tobacco is produced now than in the past, and less barn space is needed to cure the crop.

A 2004 USDA report, "Trends in U.S. Tobacco Farming",  says that Kentucky dropped from 136,000 tobacco-growing farms in 1954 to 29,000 such farms in 2002.

The report gives the following overview of changes in U.S. tobacco production:

The number of farms growing tobacco has declined rapidly during the last 50 years. From 1997 to 2002, farm numbers declined by a larger percentage than in any other 5-year period since 1950. Acreage and production both declined due to smaller quotas. The trend toward fewer larger farms will likely continue, but the future rate of change and location of production will depend on several factors: the impact of the tobacco buyout, U.S. and world consumption of tobacco, and alternative crop and off-farm income opportunities for tobacco growers.

Source: "Trends in U.S. Tobacco Farming", published in 2004 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Tobacco Curing in the Barn

A familiar autumn scene in Kentucky

This barn has tobacco hanging in it, visible through the doors. This is almost certainly burley tobacco, a variety that has light colored leaves; however, dark tobacco is sometimes air-cured also. The curing process typically lasts for a couple of months, It creates a dried leaf that is high in nicotine and low in sugar. When the weather gets a little colder, farmers will be removing the leaves from the stalks, packing and binding them into bales, and sending the finished product to the factory.

Update: This afternoon, I saw a farmer in his pickup truck, pulling a big trailer-load of tobacco stems. So that means that tobacco stripping is already under way.

"Quilt Barn" in Christian County, KY

Quilts and fabric in Kentucky Mennonite country.

This barn stands along Highway 68/80, east of Hopkinsville, KY. The "quilt block" on its front has been there for several years. It was painted, I believe, by a local economic development agency that had a "quilt barns" grant from the Kentucky Arts Council. The quilt barns are supposed to look folksy, promote tourism, and encourage a better appreciation of our quilting heritage and history.

I could be wrong about how this quilt square came to be. It appeared during the quilt barn explosion. Quilt blocks were painted on a few dozen highly-visible barns in several counties, and then lots of barns suddenly had quilt squares painted on them. Property owners liked the look so much that they started quilt-blocking their barns, at their own expense. The quilt barn idea "went viral", as they say on the internet.

I'm don't know who owns this barn, but I do know who owns the sign on its side wall. Mrs. Amman Snyder, a Mennonite lady, had her "Quilts" sign on the barn even before the quilt block was painted on it. She has a quilt shop at her home, about a mile down Highway 1027. When I worked in classified ads at our local newspaper, I helped her with her occasional quilt sale advertisements.

Mrs. Snyder has recently added fabric to her shop. She is responding to published reports that WalMart will soon be eliminating its fabric departments. The Mennonite ladies of Christian County have been regular fabric customers in Hopkinsville's Walmart. They'll need another fabric source if they can't buy it at WalMart any more.

Last year, my Mennonite neighbor Elsie told me that I should open a little neighborhood fabric store. She thought I could put it in the upstairs room of our shed. I entertained the idea for about 10 seconds, and during that short time, I had vivid imaginations of owning dozens of bolts of cloth that no one wanted to buy.

Mrs. Snyder will be a much better cloth merchant than I would be. She knows from personal experience what sorts of fabric and sewing notions the Mennonite ladies want and need. She's open for business to the "English" as well -- her signs on the highway proclaim it.

October Landscape

Barn, beanfield, big clouds

This barn used to be all black, but the farmer has painted it red and white now. I rather like its new colors. The yellow-orange field in the background is soybeans.

Old Barn

One of many old barns in Christian County, KY

The shape of the doors in this old barn is a little unusual. I don't know if the farmer had a practical reason for arching the doorways, or if he just liked the way they looked.

One of the doors has a broken hinge now. I don't understand why the owners of some of these old barns let their doors stand open. It seems to me that leaving the doors open year-round would accelerate the deterioration of the doors and the whole barn. Even the door with the broken hinge could be propped shut.

I can't be too critical, though. I was noticing the other day that my little garden shed really needs a coat of paint. Maintenance does take time and effort.

Fire in a Pile of Hay Bales

Spontaneous combustion of hay

Our neighbor had some bad luck last week with a large stack of big round bales. Apparently the hay was not dry enough when he baled and stacked it. A few days later, the stack of bales ignited.

Our volunteer fire department responded and sprayed the bales with water. The farmer pulled the bale pile apart with a tractor to allow the bales to cool. The smoke from the fire could be smelled for a mile or more, and the bales smoldered for several days.

Hay fires like this are all too common, and they are usually caused by baling and/or storing hay before it is fully cured (dried). The hay can also self-heat and combust if it becomes wet in storage.

The problem is that bacteria and mold grow on wet hay, causing it to ferment and producing flammable gases and heat. Also, as the hay dries, it goes through a natural chemical process called "sweating" in which it releases moisture and heat.

In a stack or pile of hay, the heat from fermenting and sweating cannot escape. The internal temperature can increase to the point that the hay will blacken, smolder, or even burst into flames.

The hay is spoiled even if it just warms up and turns a little brown. It loses most of its nutrients, and of course, livestock prefer not to to eat it.

This sort of combustion can occur in a hay pile of any size. Some of us have seen this in small scale with green lawn clippings or a compost pile.

This farmer lost a lot of hay, but at least he didn't lose a barn. I remember a barn fire that was caused by wet hay bales when I was a child. I was with my mother when she noticed smoke coming from a neighbor's barn and alerted him. The men from nearby ranches gathered and fought the fire, but the barn burned down. (This was on the Ray Ranch at Rose, Nebraska, in the late 1950s or early 1960s when Jay and Martha Hixson were running it.)

Read more on the web:
Cooperative Extension System bulletin "Spontaneous Combustion in Hay Poses Danger"

An Old Barn Falls

I told you so.

Fall of 2007

A couple of years ago, I wrote that I was surprised this barn had tobacco hung all the way to the top in it. I hoped they had checked the old barn's stability before climbing to the top tier with heavy tobacco-laden sticks because the barn was in poor repair.

Sometime after that, an angry man from eastern Kentucky wrote an impassioned comment on that post. He said that falling out of the tops of barns was just part of growing tobacco. I, an ignoramus, should mind my own business because I knew nothing about barns, tobacco, or farming. He added a number of obscenities for emphasis.

He may have been right (I don't know a whole lot about tobacco farming), but nevertheless, the barn collapsed sometime recently, probably in one of the wind storms. Or maybe the farmer pushed it over. Anyhow, nobody will be hanging tobacco in it anymore.

Spring of 2009

A Smoking Tobacco Barn

Firing begins.

Our neighbor's barn is full of tobacco, and now he's firing (fire-curing) the tobacco.

Inside the barn, sawdust is smoldering in trenches or a pit on the barn floor. A pile of sawdust stands ready between the barn and the highway. Hardwood slabs are usually burned along with the sawdust. If you are curious about the process, the University of Kentucky document, Harvesting, Curing, and Preparing Dark-Fired Tobacco for Market (pdf), is a good summary of the science of fire-curing.

Tonight the wind is carrying the smoke our way. We have some windows open this evening, and we can smell the smoke in the house. I don't enjoy the odor, so I closed the windows on the side that the breeze was coming through, and that helped.

Tobacco firing doesn't last too long. In a few weeks, this will be over. Before then, the wind will switch again and the smoke will blow somewhere else.

Related post: New Tobacco Barn
On the web: Image of the smoke-filled interior of a tobacco barn:1

New Tobacco Barn

Tobacco harvest has begun

Our neighbor tore down a rickety old wooden barn and put up this handsome new pole barn last spring. He has begun harvesting his tobacco, and as you can see through the open doors, he's filling the barn.

The following is gossip, because I didn't see it with my own eyes. I heard it from another neighbor. As the tobacco was loaded into the barn and the weight inside the building increased, the soil began breaking away from a corner pole on the opposite side of the building. Perhaps the dirt was not compacted enough after it was bulldozed into place.

When I passed by the barn just a few minutes after hearing the story, I saw a ready-mix truck pouring out concrete at one corner of the barn. I hope that solved the problem, whatever it was.

Buildings Are Not Forever

Get a picture while you can.

Two red barns in evening light

In April, 2007, I wrote a post titled "Two Red Barns on Edwards Mill Road" that included morning and evening photos of a couple of old barns.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to drive down Edwards Mill Road on my way home. I was shocked when I saw that both my red barns had fallen down, sometime during the winter. I don't know if they were bulldozed, or if a bad wind toppled them.

One day this week, I decided to photograph them in their fallen condition. I was too late. The farmer has burned them and bulldozed their remains into a couple of piles. In a year or two, there will be little to suggest that those barns ever existed.

I know they weren't important structures, but I liked them. I'm glad that I have a nice photo of them.

I didn't do so well with another old building. About a year ago, a large farm in our neighborhood was sold at auction. The property included an old white farmhouse with a big front porch. It had stood empty for a number of years.

I had been inside the house a couple of times. It had an old-time floor plan with a large central entrance hall. I'm sure it was well over 100 years old. I had always wondered if the house might be made of logs under the siding.

One night several months ago, I came past that farm on my way home. I noticed the glow long before I knew what was burning. As I came closer, I saw that the old house was on fire. Flames were shooting through the roof. The whole area was illuminated. It was a frightful sight, but it appeared to be a planned burn. The owner was standing by with a bulldozer and a crew of helpers, and the fire department was nowhere in sight.

I wish I had a picture of that old house, but I don't. However, I did happen to find a 1930s photo of a Christian County, KY, house that is similar. Therewith, I must be content.

I hope I've learned my lesson now. This is not the first old building that I should have photographed, but didn't!

All that remains of the two red barns

Kentucky Barn in January

Winter scene: Browns, grays, and a promise of green

It bothers me a little that this barn's doors have been left open all winter. I wish that the farmer would take the time to stop by and close them.

New Barns near Fairview, KY

No old barns here...

The barn on the right was built recently and is already filled with burley tobacco. You can see the tobacco leaves hanging down below the side walls. That barn should have very good air flow with all sides open at the bottom.

I'm not sure what the other barn will be, but I am guessing (only guessing!) that it might be a curing barn for dark tobacco. In dark barns, a smoky sawdust and hardwood-slab fire is kept burning on the barn's floor. As the smoke rises through the tobacco leaves, they are flavored and colored.

These barns are located near Fairview, Kentucky. I think they're still in Christian County, but just barely.

Technorati tags: tobacco barns, barn construction, farm buildings

Two Old Tobacco Barns

Old barns can be hazardous.

This time of the year, many of the old barns along the rural roads of western Kentucky are put to use. They are tobacco barns, constructed with "tiers" (horizontal braces) that support the tobacco-laden sticks.

I shuddered when I saw the barn above loaded with tobacco to its very top. The old barn isn't in very good shape. Its board siding is springing loose and curling up and it's got some kind of problem with its roof (left side.) I hope they checked to see if the timbers of the barn were still solid before they started filling the barn.

I know a fellow who was on the top tier of a barn, laying out the sticks of tobacco as they were handed up to him. The tier broke and he fell to the barn floor, breaking his leg terribly. He is a big guy and he probably shouldn't have been up there, but it does illustrate how dangerous an old barn can be.

Technorati tags: tobacco harvest, tobacco barns, tobacco barn pictures

Finch Started Barn Fire with Cigarette Butt

Be careful with your smokes!

One more reason not to smoke, or at least, to use an ashtray rather than tossing live cigarette butts out the window:

Lit cigarette butts don't cause a "lot" of barn fires but they may cause a few. About 20 years ago I got a call from a man who traced a small fire in his barn back to a bird nest.

A house finch had used a cigarette butt (paper and dried plant matter) to add to the walls of its nest, and apparently it was still lit. It burned about 5 feet around the nest area.

Source: Birdwatching column by Gary Bogue, published in Contra Costa Times, 3/07/2007

Early February

Life in Christian County, Kentucky...

We've had the coldest February of this century, I'd guess. According to my unscientific research on Weather Underground for Hopkinsville, KY, it's been colder than average most days since the 16th of January. It's not that common for us to see ice in the puddles --that's why I took this photo.



These beautiful big oaks grow along the driveway of a big old farmhouse that is standing empty. These trees must be at least a century old -- very possibly more than that. I am not good at identifying the species of oak at this distance, but I don't think they are white oaks because their bark is too dark. Southern red oaks are very common here, so that would be my guess.



These barns belong to a Mennonite farm. The Mennonite farmers here often buy silos that are no longer being used, tear them down, move them and reconstruct them. That works out well for both buyer and seller.



Keeling Hill rises out of the farmland northeast of Fairview, KY, just a mile or two out of town. It's on the southern tip of one finger in a group of ridges. I wrote a little about this land formation last July in the post, "Pilot Rock."




This is the Long Pond of Long Pond Road, I assume. At any rate, Long Pond Road passes over the dam that creates this pond, and there are no other ponds of size along the way. I can never drive by it without taking a photo. (See the pond in autumn in the post, "Seen on Long Pond Road.") It's a lovely place, and I have often wondered whether it is a good fishing spot!



On February 9, 2006, I posted photos of a light snow and wrote about "Happenings in the Night."

Wednesday's Sunrise

Life in Christian County, Kentucky...

This morning's sunrise

The skies were beautifully clear this morning, and the ground was frosty. This old barn is on our neighbor's place, over the hedge and across a couple electric fences from us. We've had a lot of rain, and the field in the photo is muddy. In fact, I nearly sank through the grass and into the mud, just walking across the yard to take this photo.

What do you think? Comments are welcome.