We have an old farmhouse and an old barn. They both deserve respect.

When we moved in, we put up a Pole Barn to keep the animals out of the elements, wind, rain, and ice. For money-saving reasons, I think (I’m not sure) we agreed to let the builder put up a big plastic window to shed some light on the South wall.

It was a big mistake, and we both regretted it. It looked out of place and time, and it was.

The plastic violated the integrity of the barn, and we both winced at it as we drove up the road towards the farmhouse and every time we came out into the pasture, which was every day more than once.

We just figured doing restoration of the pole barn and removing the plastic would be too expensive.

I got stubborn about it this Spring. I said we have to do it if we can afford it. It had become a big deal for us.

Then along came the Amish, eager to do this kind of work for minimal money. They build many wooden things and know how to do it efficiently, quickly, and inexpensively. And you get to have a horse grazing and whinnying in the backyard.

Mhelon agreed to do the work – remove the huge plastic insert, saw the wood inside, and replace the hole with freshly cut barn wood.

We also agreed to frame an old window in the barn’s attic. The animals will get solid protection from the wind and light in the daytime.

The Amish have no phones, so they must go to their farm and leave a message. A day or two later, the horse and cart arrived. Whelon wrote out an invoice, and we agreed to it. When he’s done, he leaves; he doesn’t want to bother us by knocking on the door, so we return to his farm and pay him there.

The charge was $295. He did a great job.

(From the inside of the pole barn)

We were pleased to see this new, barn-like change to the pole barn. The barn has its integrity back, and we feel we have honored our rich and enduring farm history.

We asked Whelon to return and replace some of the wood in the pole barn gane, which the donkeys started eating during the snowstorms when they couldn’t go outside and forage.

It is always an honor to keep the farmhouse well-maintained. It feels good.

I wish we had a lot more money to do it perfectly, but we are keeping up and are very proud of the place. I was grinning all the way up the road today.