Grandma's Barn

by bartermn

6/30/98
I called my neighbor to ask if I could bring the barn to his
basement shop, Olde World Woodworks, a name I've kept through
eight moves with four thousand pounds of tools and building
material. Ricci said come on down.


I have a key to the shop and access whenever I want but I try
to let him know by phone or more often, by e-mail if I know in
advance I'll be needing it. We're not officially open for business
yet even though Ricci built us a web site already. He claims
he was just practicing his html skills. We both have separate
construction business' and often join forces for large jobs.


Gin was just leaving for her walk with Apollo so we shared
the path through the woods to our closest neighbors. I was
carrying the barn.


The barn is a bird feeder I built for Grandma Whalen ten
years ago. It measures one foot wide by two feet long and is six
inches high at the eves. It has a gambrel roof and one side is
hinged for placing fruits or bread crusts inside, a feature that
makes cleaning a breeze. I drilled two inch holes along both sides
and a triangular set on each end. Each window has a dowel for a
landing pad. It's a hoot to see them filled with bird tails.
Attached is a six-sided silo with a shingled cap for a lid. I fill
the silo with sunflower seeds.


I surprised Grandma with the gift one sunny summer day. I
brought a locust pole and my post-hole diggers with me and set it
in front of the picture window before she even knew I was there.
She was a little hard of hearing. I even brought a sack of seeds
for it. I gave the paper bag to Grandma as I kissed her hello.
She laughed with a puzzled look on her face when I told her it
was for the birds. I held her arm as we walked to the feeder.
I wanted to make certain she could reach the silo and let her pour
the seed. She peered through a round window and giggled as the
seed flowed down to the floor, "Just like Lawrence's silo,"
referring to her late husband.


The barn was given back to me when Grandma joined her husband
on that faultless farm in the sky and until last week it had
overlooked our garden from a locust post. The bottom had finally
rotted away and it needed a new paint job. Gin and I debated
changing it from red to green but I won, it stays Grandma's
favorite color. We'll paint our real barn green someday.

SONRISE