The barn was so much a part of life on the dairy that it was taken for granted.\u00a0 Every day\u2019s activities began early as Holstein cows lined up outside the barn to be milked.<\/p>\n
There was a brief quiet time in the middle of the day.\u00a0 By 4 PM spotted cows were standing quietly waiting for the afternoon milking to begin.\u00a0 They lined up on the walkway east of the barn.\u00a0 They stood in the same order day after day.\u00a0 It was a mystery how they knew and remembered their place.<\/p>\n
The barn had a tired look as if too much life and work had passed through its doors.\u00a0 It was gray, gray siding, gray shingled roof.<\/p>\n
It faced south.\u00a0 Summer breezes passed through screened openings.\u00a0 Hinged flaps were dropped down in winter months.\u00a0 The other walls were solid with doors on the east and west.<\/p>\n
There were eight stanchions inside, four on each side of steps up to a walkway behind them used for filling the feed boxes.<\/p>\n
More steps led to the feed room at the back where feed was stored.\u00a0 There was a large square mixing box in the center.<\/p>\n
A center door on the south opened onto a covered breezeway leading to the milk house.<\/p>\n
A large mesquite stump sat like a large stool in front of one of the screen openings.\u00a0 The top was worn smooth by years of bodies sliding on and off as someone visited with my dad as he moved and adjusted the milking machines.<\/p>\n
It is all gone now.\u00a0 As I stand looking toward the barn site, I can visualize how it once was.\u00a0 Now what I see is a row of houses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The barn was so much a part of life on the dairy that it was taken for granted. Every day’s activities began early as Holstein cows lined up outside the barn to be milked. There was a brief quiet time in the middle of the day. By 4 PM spotted cows were standing quietly waiting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[226,224],"class_list":["post-795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-early-days-to-1955","tag-dairy-barn","tag-old-barn"],"yoast_head":"\n