The Barn Bridge
Once upon a time there was a strong and proud barn bridge made from heavy stone and solid wood. It was built in 1858 and every year the farmer and the horse pulled the haychart up and down the bridge to store the hay for winter.
Then one day, a new barn was built with a new modern technique for hoisting hay. The barn bridge no longer had to carry the weight of a man, a horse, a chart and the hey. It was left untended and as time passed by the bridge started to crumble, rotting away in the rain and snow.
Don’t worry old bridge - we will bring you back to life.
Ah, the barn bridge…
An arena with a most significant meaning in Norwegian cultural history. The first kiss, a playground, a place to be grumpy and to cry alone. The perfect place to pose (also with your dead moose). A good spot for your wedding photo! The place where you got the opportunity to show that you were hard working and strong. A hang out spot for both humans, cats and supernatural creatures. A practical entrance to the second floor of the barn. An important part of the overall look of the farm.
Of course we have to restore it. We feel incomplete without one.
What remains today of the original barn bridge is the dry stone wall foundation.
But, it’s in bad shape, has collapsed in the front and is partially covered by moss and grass. First of, we have to remove the vegetation, then the foundation has to be documented, picked apart and finally re-installed. We might also need some new stones. You see, over time people have picked some stones for other purposes. Quite typical for any stone ruin. The original stones are gathered from a rockslide just a few hundred meters from the farm so naturally we will scavenge stones over there.
We are very lucky to have a lodger who is a professional dry stone wall worker. He is quite the expert in the field and has been doing this kind of work all around Norway on many different stone ruins for a decade. And guess what? He wants to help us!
When the stone foundation is back in shape we will start working on the timber construction using thick logs of core wood from slow-growing pine trees. This kind of wood is much more solid and resistant to rot and insects as it is filled with resin. We managed to find a local sawmill that can deliver this material in the correct dimensions. Lucky us again!
And since we are mediocre carpenters we have decided to hire professionals, specializing in old timber building techniques.
We will watch and learn. And prepare for all the kissing, posing and hay-transporting. And we will work on finding a dead moose to pose with.
To be continued!
XoXo Galadriel
PS: Since we don’t have a barn bridge to pose on or in front of THIS is the result of our wedding picture. Just look at how incomplete we feel.
