All of us loved to climb
the hay bales in the barn and would get in trouble if caught doing it. Papaw (Daddy’s father) would tell us there
were skunks in the barn to keep us out, and after that, my sister Scherri
thought she saw one once, but this didn’t deter us.
Barn similar to what we had on farm
That old weathered barn
with the big double doors drew us in.
Once inside, the rich smell of hay filled our noses and we would run and
climb upon the golden bales and run across them. They were all neatly stacked in rows of varying
heights, some of the rows rising up to the peak of the roof. There was loose hay scattered about the floor
that had fallen out at sometime in the past.
The hay would make us itch and sneeze, but it was a favorite place to
play. We loved to chase each other
across the bales.
On a large nail by the
door, just inside the barn, hung the rope that the men used to tie around the
bales along with the big hook for lifting the bales and a pitchfork or
two. Whenever we needed rope for
something this is the first place we would go.
We would make jump ropes, or tie the rope around two tin cans to make a
telephone. This large ball of rope was
handy for whatever childhood project came to mind. Of course, the twine was off limits, as was
the barn, so we got in trouble if the adults found us in there. Nevertheless, we took our chances and went to
the barn a lot.
