Thursday, March 28, 2013

Our Fire Story

As I sit here writing this it still doesn't seem real.
I can remember every detail of the barn inside and out, I remember where every screwdriver and and nail was. I could basically take care of the chickens and goats with my eyes closed. And as much as I don't want it to be true, it is. On Monday March 25 2013 at 8:30 in the morning my big sister woke up to see our barn engulfed in flames. She immediately woke me up and ran downstairs and while opening the door decided it would be a good idea to open it directly into her face and get a bloody nose. While she called 911 I woke up my dad and he immediately ran outside in his underwear (TMI?).. Me and my big sister stood on the porch sobbing our eyes out while watching our barn burn down along with 4 goats (3 of them were little babies) and all my chickens (besides the 3 that were in our basement 'hospital ward" and single duck.

Here is out building set up:

Made by my sister.

The corn crib is the building that burnt down. The side of the tool shed that is closest to the corn crib caught on fire but the firemen put it out. If it had fully caught on fire all of the other buildings would have eventually gone with it (including the house.)

An awesome lady we know was driving up on the highway and saw the black smoke and texted us to see if we were all okay and when we told her what was going on she texted her mom who came over and took me and my lil sis to her house to get us away from all the chaos. She told me this story that one of her daughters told her and I really liked it. 


The story was:

There was once a Chinese man and his stallion got out and ran away, his neighbors said "Oh what bad luck!" the Chinese man said "It is neither good luck nor bad luck, anything could come of this."

A few days later the stallion came back with a whole herd of stallions with it. The neighbors said "Oh what good luck!" The Chinese man said "It is neither good luck nor bad luck, anything could come of this."


One day his son tried riding one of the stallions but got flung off and broke both of his legs. The neighbors said "Oh what bad luck!" And he said "it is neither good luck nor bad luck, anything could come of this."


A couple days later the Chinese Army came looking for all able bodied men to join the army, but since his son had two broken legs he did not have to go.


So basically it was kind of like the barn burning down was bad luck, but the chickens that we had in the basement was good luck.



Here are the before, during and after photos of the barn:








I have been out there several times and there is basically nothing left. I found a few tools and the toolbox. But literally nothing.


You may have realized that I have kept blogging since the fire like everything was normal. It has been a bit of a welcomed distraction. I will keep blogging but maybe just missing a few posts a week.


I am already planning a new chicken pen, and will be getting some new hens. I want at most 10 total.



Thank you so much for all of your support :)









8 comments:

Nicki said...

This is horrible and I am so sorry for the loss of something dear to you as was both the building and the animals. I like your Chinese story, something to remember and certainly worth remembering that this could have been so much worse. It is very fortunate that none of your human family was injured and the fire did not spread.

Take care!

Gina Kleinworth said...

I'm so very sorry to hear of this news. Breaks my heart. Being married to a fire chief- I see this sort of devastation all too often. I know there are no words that will change the situation, just know the shoulder is here if you need it.

Deanna said...

Oh I am so sorry about your loss of a building and your beloved animals. I have never lost anything to a fire but I know it must be so totally devastating. Stay strong and blessings your way.

Serendipityissweet said...

Oh how horrible. I am so very sorry. Thank goodness you were able to get help when you did, but I am very sorry for your loss.

((hugs))

Angela King said...

i just found your blog. i'm so very sorry for your family's loss. how very sad. i'm glad that y'all caught it before the rest went up.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry. I know I can't say anything to make it less painful, but know that my heart is with you.

Lisa Lynn said...

Yolanda,
I commented on your sister's blog, must be. I didn't realize that this was your family's farm and I am so saddened to hear of your loss. It is a heart wrenching story and I'm so sorry.

I hope that your family heals and rebuilds.

Thank you for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop. I hope that others will read this and take special care to avoid this devastation.

Lisa Lynn said...

Thanks for sharing your story on The HomeAcre Hop, Yolanda. My prayers are with you.

See you Thursday on the next hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/04/the-homeacre-hop-13.html

We'll be announcing a new giveaway!