[Preliminary Thoughts: X]
You can measure the age of a farm by the number of its outbuildings.
You see, barns get beat up and farm houses get dirty: you can’t age a farm by the the condition of those buildings. But a farming family—or anyone that takes growing food seriously for a while—needs ever increasing space to store things. Big things like machinery and small things like new hand tools. Dirty things like a tractor and clean things like harvesting baskets and lettuce green labels.
If you look around a hundred year old farm, you’ll likely find a small building for every decade it’s been producing nourishment for the world. A milk parlor, a tool shed, a pump house, and a lean-to for hot summer days may be among them.
Size and shape are two variables that matter when planning an outbuilding, but so are orientation to the sun, materials, and location.
Where and how one builds an outbuilding often determines whether their great grandkids will play make-believe in it’s shade at some point. That’s a tall order. And a lot of responsibility.
I look forward to reflecting on the nature of farm buildings in the coming year, what they tell us about our foods systems, our values, and our beliefs about the world. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
