Photography: Gribble Barn, Swallows & Whitewash

I was recently working out in a rural setting. While motoring down a back road, I saw this large barn with a faded design on the front end. I decided I would head back there soon and yesterday my wife and I made our way there as part of an outing to capture some images.

There’s a sign on the barn that calls for saving the Gribble Barn, which was built in 1907. I find interesting, the historical perspective on what is a valuable historical treasure. I don’t dispute the worth, just the timeline. The past several weeks I watched the Tour de France. One of the reasons I so enjoy the coverage is the heli footage of the castles and estates built in 1400 here or 1600 there.

I know it is all relative, but the reality is settlers didn’t really arrive in numbers to construct substantial structures until the 1850’s in the Oregon Territory. So Oregon historical treasures seem quite new in comparison to Euro treasures, but they are what they are…especially when people want to tear them down. So here are a few photos that I took to show texture, height, contrast, rustic and the invasion of barn swallows.

“When the paint initially dries it is uncured and has almost no strength. It takes up to a few days, depending on climate, to harden. It is usually applied to exteriors; however, it is traditionally used internally in food preparation areas, particularly rural dairies, for its mildly antibacterial properties.

Occasionally it is colored and used on structures such as the hallways of apartment buildings, but it is not popular for this as it can rub off onto clothing to a small degree.

In Britain and Ireland whitewash was used historically, both externally and internally, in workers’ cottages, and still retains something of this association with rural poverty. In the United States, a similar attitude is expressed in the old saying: “Too proud to whitewash and too poor to paint”, with the connotation that whitewash is a cheap imitation of “real” paint.” (Wiki)