I guess it’s a good thing we’re hunkered inside today for a
rainy, cool day.
It’s giving me a chance to finish up details for publishing my third book on Amazon. More on that – more than you’ll likely care about or want – when things get a bit more finalized.
It’s giving me a chance to finish up details for publishing my third book on Amazon. More on that – more than you’ll likely care about or want – when things get a bit more finalized.
I did manage
one golf outing this week, to a mom and pop sort of course in the neighboring
state of Connecticut. The course has a brook that runs through the whole property,
(I’ve left plenty of balls in it during my visits there) and there is usually a
whiff of cow since this is farm country. But I enjoy the ride, a good half hour
away past fields and old white houses. The farm stands along the way offer corn
and peaches, and soon apples. We’re nearing the end of summer and in
Connecticut that means it’s time to gather another crop.
In Connecticut
they’re ubiquitous, the barns. You even see them on the way in to Bradley International
Airport. (Which sounds very impressive, except I’m pretty sure the only
international flights are to and from Ireland.) They’re often laid out in the
fields as though posed for a photographic study on angles and perspective.
According to
Wikipedia, tobacco has a long history in this area, starting logically enough
with the Native Americans. This being America, it was soon commercialized and
during the Civil War the Connecticut Valley produced over 10 million pounds of pipe
tobacco a year. Now the area is renowned for its shade tobacco, named for the
fabric tents over it, and used as cigar wrappers.
I always find
the barns (actually referred to as “sheds”) fascinating at this time of year,
when the side slats are pulled up so the hanging leaves can be air-cured.
Cool info , the slatted airing shed is a marvel! Might rather be used for drying lavender and cannabis than tobacco but who am I to say, I quit smoking cigars at the age of thirteen when i smoked...one.
ReplyDeleteA nice outing for you, going a bit stir crazy here . Our state has had another surge so staying at home is the thing!
I find barns fascinating and often very beautiful as well. The raising of the side slats is new to me - it sounds like a heap of work - but what an incredible new perspective on the barn.
ReplyDeleteThe tobacco barns I remember in Maryland had no sides, and the drying racks were well inside. A man I knew converted barns to houses, and one he used for his home had a sort of central core and then an enclosed balcony structure for the second floor. The damn thing looked like a T, if you can visualize it. He was offended when I referred to it as a tobacco barn. But he never offered an alternate description.
ReplyDeleteI like that barn you showed drying tobacco.
So that's how they do it! I had no idea side slats could come up like that. Thanks for sharing this with me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI just typed a lengthy comment and then accidentally deleted it before publishing it. So, I'll just say I'm keen to hear about your publishing and all the details that go along with it! -Jenn
ReplyDeleteBeware what you wish for,Jean. But as soon as everything seems set, I’ll fill you in.
DeleteI had no idea the barns could be opened like that. What a great way to airdry things that need it.
ReplyDeleteThese have always fascinated me.
DeleteI never thought of Connecticut as a tobacco-growing region. I remember seeing old drying barns as a kid riding with my parents through the Carolinas, sitting out in the middle of tobacco fields. They were very picturesque! (In fact, I wish I'd taken pictures of them.) Congrats on completing your book! Hope the publishing goes well!
ReplyDelete