I'm back from 2 days of standing on a barn roof in a little river town called Berry Ky. My rope and I took a beating. I'm so sore I can hardly get up from a chair. My rope is soaking in the laundry tub. I felt like getting in there too. A hot tub would be sweet about now. I couldn't believe how crudy the water was from all the rust and aluminum oxide. I never use my Gri Gri when I'm climbing but it was almost ideal for the barn job. It let me move up and down quickly and made the job go quicker. I just parked my truck off to the side of the barn and tossed the rope over the roof and used the racks or bumper as an anchor. Some ones crop of Burly tobacco was stored inside and now and then I got a strong wiff of it. The smell takes me back to days of my youth spent in the tobacco fields. It once ruled in Ky. Now it's production is seriously cut. That barn once held 3 times what was hanging in it. Work aside, It was nice to drive around backroads I hadn't been on in years, see things changed. old houses gone, new ones. After the work was done, my Uncle Tom rewarded me with my pay and a monster house jack,a fence stretcher and a sledge hammer head. Tools are always cool even if they are a bit used.
I always take a minute in front of his house to admire the view. You can see all the way to Cynthiana from his front walk. His house is exactly where my grandfathers log cabin once stood. I remember it still. It was used as a barn when I was little but I remember the giant fireplace, the loft and the old organ with all the knobs. I think Uncle Tom still uses the well. The water tastes good to me. My brother I hadn't seen more than twice in 5 years just happened to be there when we pulled in. It sure was nice to see him. He gets sent all over the country doing radiation control and was on his way home to Georgia. I spent the first night at my little sisters house not far from the barn. Her kids are building a house where her husbands grandfather's house once was. It's a fine spot. At night you can see the lights all along the horizon all the way around. I woke up before dawn and saw what I think were turkeys down in the field. At breakfast my brother in law was grumbling about the crows and buzzards sitting on his barn roof. They were eying the scraps from his deer kill. Said he missed a big buck the day before.
I'm interested to learn how to butcher one. He was going to do that today but I knew I would be back here by then. He showed me once a better way to clean fish. I haven't forgotten it. I suspect he will have drank himself in an early grave before I learn how to butcher a deer, if I don't quit rock climbing and spend more time down home. I think I'll let my rope drain awhile and make some hot tea before I go back downstairs and string it up to dry in the laundry room.
