Barn Again

Saturdays are great days to grab Toulouse,

and a camera,

and go

on adventures!

Today we are "barn again"

and on a barn explore!

Actually, the history of BARNS

is quite interesting.

I thought that barns

were just used for storage, or store houses for animals or equipment.

They are really much more!

I did read that they

also served as places of business,

and farm factories,

and barn floors were

great places to thresh hay and grains.

Hay and feed were stored in the lofts

and animals in stalls.

A "barn raising" was a community activity - the barn was the heart of the farm,

and a place

for

dances, playing, prayers

and courting.

Who knew?

San Luis Obispo has bragging rights to

one of only a few octagonal barns

in the country.

It was built in 1900

by Portuguese immigrants.

They are sprucing it up as we speak

to be used for fun events and

educational stuff in the future.

Read about it here!

You can ride your bike by the barn, as it is at the beginning of the Bob Jones Bike Trail,

or if you are a runner,

you can run by it on the City to Sea Half Marathon

(soon to be a full marathon, I hear)

or you can drive by the barn.

Off of Los Osos Valley Road, by Costco and Home Depot is the Froom Ranch

"Nestled against the Ir

i

s

h Hills at the southeast end of Los Osos Valley, today the historic Froom Ranch sits all but obscured behind the bulk of a big box store. The oldest, now derelict ranch buildings date from the early 20th century. The milking barn the only round-end barn in the county originally stood on the eastern end of the ranch, and was later moved to its present location. The larger residence, woodshed, wash room, storeroom, and bunkhouse joined the ranch complex in 1915. Picturesque in setting and appearance, until recently the Froom Ranch has been a popular subject for local landscape artists. Originally swampy Los Osos Valley had been drained early and developed by family farmers and ranchers into prime grazing and row-crop land. Canadian immigrant John Froom came to the valley in the 1880s. He first worked this ranch as a hired hand, leased it in 1890, acquired ownership through marriage in 1904, and ran cattle on its 500 acres until his death in 1929. His son Bill continued the family tradition until his retirement; the new owner, Alex Madonna, agreed to postpone property development until Froom had lived out his natural life on his ancestral turf. The future of the Froom Ranch is uncertain. It stands today as an artifact of changing times and shifting land use priorities, a symbol of progress and of loss."

I think Froom Ranch and it's barn

are really pretty and rustic

and a great place to

take pictures

(Petit's former manager, Cole, and

her fiance, Steve,

took their engagement pictures

around the Froom Ranch and barn

..the pictures were

B E A U T I F U L !

On the road again from

Los Osos Valley Rd. and on to Foothill

you can see this

delightful

pink barn.

Don't know what it's called, but it is kinda pretty.

You can see it when you

hike around

Laguna Lake Park

..the barn is towards the west.

I wonder why they painted it pink?

If I find out

I will tell you later!

The late Alex Madonna, of Madonna Inn fame, I believe

built this double barn.

That's kind of cool

two barns must be better than

one barn.

and below is the barn at one of the few remaining

RANCHOS

in California.

Here's a bit of the scoop on

"Santa Margarita de Cortona Asistencia

This 14,000 acre former Mexican land grant is on of the last of the great Ranchos. The Rancho still includes buildings dating back to the days of the Chumash Indians and Mission San Luis Obispo. It is one of only two Mission Assistencias with buildings still maintained and in tact.

You will see the great rocked-wall barn where priests came regularly by horseback up the grade from Mission San Luis Obispo to conduct mass for the Indians. "

The Santa Margarita barn is really beautiful and is now

used

for

weddings and all sorts of events.

Infact,

Sunset Magazine's Savor the Central Coast

will have lots of really fun events in and around the

barn here at Santa Margarita.

inside the barn is a most spectacular cross..... I can only imagine the feeling that the original

occupants had when the sun

shined behind that window

....

This is another barn at Santa Margarita

Maybe it was a

dairy barn,

and the silo housed food for the

cows.....

And a special addition to this

day of being

"barn again"

......

Ancient Peaks Winery

is at the entrance

to the Rancho.

Travel on, and you, too

can be "barn again"!