Red Barn, Early Morning

From time to time, I like to explore subjects and places on multiple occasions, for no other reason than because they are there.   One of those is a weathered, but beautiful red barn on Texas Highway 29, in Jonah, Texas.   For several years, I passed the barn on my travels between Taylor and Georgetown.   Alas, with a two-lane road and no shoulder, the only way I could photograph it was to enter the property.   If you’re from around here, you probably know that’s not a good idea, particularly if you’re toting large cameras.   The farmhouse near the barn appeared to be vacant.  Finally, last spring, I noticed a truck parked at the house and pulled in.   As it turns out, the house and barn are lovingly taken care of by Thomas Webb and his wife, Darwa.   Mr. Webb gave me a green light to pull in anytime I wished to photograph the barn.   Since then, I’ve been by here a few times.  A while back, after a rain shower, a lovely rainbow presented itself in the sky, making for a nice photo.   The photos you see here were taken a few days ago, just after the sun had risen.  Morning’s golden light presented a nice palette.   Barns are special.  When growing up in Texarkana, my parents and I would often travel 16 miles down Highway 59 to what mama called “the country,” where my great-uncle Harry Bradley, and his sister, my great-aunt Bip, lived.   They were mama’s aunt and uncle, the siblings of my grandfather, Carl Bradley, who raised 8 children, mama included, just down the road, on another farm.  Pappy Carl died when I was a little boy, his wife, my grandma, Willie Bradley, died before I was born.  When Pappy Carl passed, Uncle Harry, rather than let Carl’s unpainted old home go to ruin, dismantled it, with help from my great uncle Russ, and moved it to his farm, 2 miles away.   So Uncle Harry ended up with two barns, one recycled from mama’s childhood home.   The final photo shows Uncle Harry, by then in his late 80s (he was with us until the age of 97), plowing in front of one of the barns.  I’m not sure if that’s the original barn, or the one built from mama’s house, but let’s just say I love barns.   The little red one in Jonah will surely merit another visit or two.  I wrote about this for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.