DAY 29 - Cornfields Are Dry Now

The cornfields are brown and dry now, trees are getting bare. . . winter's a'coming.

DAY 28 - Farm Silos

Three farm silos in Amish country

DAY 27 - Trees Don't Look Like This Now

I shot this picture in September, before the trees changed color. The only green now are the pinetrees, the other trees are on their way to their winter bareness.

DAY 26 - 4-Story Barn

This 4-story barn sits in an open field off of Routes 16 and 60, north of Dresden. The day we were there they were having a big farm show with lots of old farm and construction machinery.

DAY 25 - Out House

This old out house off to the side of a newer garage caught my eye on this farm. I love the little tractor and trailor yard decoration on the retaining wall.

DAY 24 - Old Mail Pouch Barn

This is another of the area's aging barns with the Mail Pouch advertising. This is second generation advertising; look closely, and you'll see the older, faded advertising above the new lettering. This barn is on Rt. 40 East, between New Concord and Norwich.

DAY 23 - Why are so many barns red?

Have you ever wondered why so many older barns are painted red. I did a little googling, and here's what I found out:

If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.

Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?

In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories:

Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.

Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay. Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.

As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.

Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used.

Thanks to http://people.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm for the info.

DAY 22 - Harness racing horse barn

Harness racing carts rest against the horse barn at the Muskingun County Fair Grounds.

DAY 21 - Brownsville barn

Another red barn off one of those little country roads in Licking County. Do you ever wonder why so many barns are painted red?

DAY 20 - Another Amish Farm Complex

This Amish farm complex is outside of Berlin in Holmes county. Many times, Amish farms will have several houses in which families reside -- the patriarchs in the big house, and married children with their families in others.

DAY 19 - Old Farm House in the Fall

Big old farm house in Morgan county -- don't you love the trees!

DAY 18 - Amish draft horses

The day's work was done for these magnificent draft horses on an Amish farm in Holmes county.

DAY 17 - Old Silo

This old silo sits on the edge of a corn field. There's nothing around it but fields. If there had been a barn close by, it's long gone now.

DAY 16 - Better Days

This old barn has seen better days. I'm not sure what that is in front of it -- what do you think??

DAY 15 Old Barn on the Corner

I pass this old barn whenever I drive into town. As I've noticed with alot of old barns in the area, it needs a good coat of paint, some new windows, and other repairs. But, you know, it just has a certain character as it is that paint would erase.

day 14 - Red Horse Barn

This horse barn sets of the road south of Zanesville. There's a little track area in front where kids practice on their horses. I believe it was called Star's Arena, but that sign is gone now.

DAY 13 - What a Sky. . .

Old barn in southern Muskingum County

DAY 12 - Morgan County Barn in the Fall

We took a long ride Saturday into the hills of Morgan county. Lovely, lovely day -- sunny and warm. Fall color is almost at its peak.

DAY 11 -- What might this farm raise?

DAY 10 - Not Too Much Left

What's left of this old barn is on a little country road in Brownsville. I guess it blocked the view of the pond from the house!

DAY 9 - Wash Day

It was wash day on the Saturday we passed by this Amish farm in Holmes County. Their laundry gets hung out every season of the year, even in the dead of winter.

DAY 8 - Fairfield County Farm

I don't know what's more striking -- the barn and red farm wagons or the gorgeous sky!

DAY 7 - Barn with concrete silo

This old barn is on the way to Dresden, home of Longaberger Baskets.

DAY 6 - A Silo or Two or Three. . .

What's a big farm without a few silos. . .

DAY 5 - Adamsville Barn

This old barn is out on a little country road in Adamsville, Ohio. Those are huge round bales of hay behind the barn. Their cows won't go hungry this winter!

DAY 4 - Holmes County Amish Farm

Holmes County in north central Ohio is the heart of Ohio's Amish country. NE Ohio has a large Amish population, too, but Holmes county is better at marketing! This is one of the many, many big Amish farms. It's just outside of Berlin (accent on the "Ber", not like the German city).