Barnstormers

 No, not that kind of barnstormers-not the kind of barnstormer who does tricks on the wings of airplanes. The kind of barnstormer who visits barns as part of a fundraising event for the Frederick County Landmarks Association.

This was the 18th year for the Barnstormers event, but it was only recently that Ward and I heard about it and decided we'd give it a try. Each year, they feature a different set of barns, and last Saturday, we toured eight different barns in the northern part of the county. At each site, there were at least two artists painting pictures of the barns. The artists don't know which barns they will be painting until that morning. At the end of the day, they sell their paintings. 

We had no idea what to expect, but these were all barns on working farms. They were not restored historic barns or old barns that had been made into event venues. These were "real" barns that were sometimes cluttered and smelly or needed a paint job. Some were over 200 years old, but had been fixed when needed with modern materials. I loved seeing the real thing because it reminded me of the farms I grew up around. 

This 1950s International Harvester pickup in the above barn was getting as much attention as the prize bull that was housed below.

Most of the barns were built on a stone foundation.

Each barn had a couple of docents who talked about
the construction, use, and history of the barn.

These girls were churning butter in the upper part of one of the barns.
We had some on crackers and it was delicious!

The whole area was beautiful, with rolling farmland and mountains in the background.

We really enjoyed our day, especially after the rain cleared up. We hope we can do it again next year.

Now onto other business. Ward and I are leaving tomorrow for a two-week vacation to Alaska with a stop in Seattle along the way. I'm not sure if I'll be able to check in here until I get back. In the meantime, here is my exercise update. I didn't quite get a whole week in before the trip. I plan to be active on this trip, but that's not the emphasis. Our intention is to see beautiful scenery and visit with old friends.

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Thursday, June 12, 2025

Line Dancing: This is a beginner's class at the gym where they teach easy line dances. I like this class because I feel accomplished in it, as I generally catch on to the dances okay. However, I stayed for a bit today to attend the more advanced line dance class immediately following this one, and the dances were more complicated with less instruction. I'm not quite ready for that yet, but maybe someday I will join Ward in the more advanced class. I got a very good aerobic workout today.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Strong and Balanced: This was a good overall workout that focused on strength training. For warm-ups, we went in a circle around the room. I liked doing something different from standing in one place and doing most of the exercises. I went up a pound with the weights today with no problem. However, this class is not overly strenuous with a lot of reps. It was a good all-body strengthening class.

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Free Day: Today, we went on a tour of barns. There was walking at each barn, but we drove in between stops. I didn't do anything strenuous all day, but I got almost 10000 steps (9,600) by the end of it.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

LIIT: We had a very enthusiastic substitute for this class today, and I worked harder than I have in a long time, both with weights and aerobically. I went back down in weights because I know this class would be more intense than Strong and Balanced. I did most everything, except for the squat and walk exercise. My knees just couldn't take it. Luckily, it didn't last too long. 

Now back to packing. Until next time...