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Shaker village barn part 2…. in which I converse with my people.

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We spent a lot of time in that beautiful barn.

 

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And if you were paying attention during that riveting pig video in the previous post, you noticed some rather strange background noise…

 

 

Not what you expect to hear while trying to tiptoe through the cow pies, but it was fascinating all the same.

“An installation that offers visitors an immersive musical experience featuring some of the Shakers’ oldest melodies or, as they called them, ‘solemn songs’. (Solemn songs are textless melodies – without harmony or counterpoint – used in early Shaker worship from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.)”

“An integral part of the rural landscape, the two wooden silos, erected in 1908, stored feed corn for livestock. While many wooden silos across America have succumbed to disrepair or suburban sprawl (they haven’t been built since 1942, when fiberglass silos were introduced), the two at Hancock Shaker Village stand tall as ‘silent sentinels,’ beautiful icons of the culture of rural preservation and farming in America.”

 

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Moving on, we headed outside.

 

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Where the husband found an old implement he had to play with….

 

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And I found my people next to the manure spreader.

 

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Some were sunbathing…

 

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Others were hanging out with turkeys.  (No, I’m not talking about the husband.)

And we’re walking…

 

 

Clearly I missed my calling, and could have been a poultry manager in an earlier life.

 

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The next barn wasn’t nearly as impressive….

 

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But the husband still managed to ignore the do not touch signs and get into trouble.

 

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There was an old car…

 

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An an old sign.

 

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An old building…

 

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Which housed the old store…

 

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As well as an old living room…

 

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With an old television.

 

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I can’t imagine watching Game Of Thrones on that. Heck, the dragons would only be an inch and a half tall.

 

 

Where’s the fun in that?

 

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Entering another workshop building we found….

 

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A giant cider press.

 

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The weaving room.

 

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The broom room.

 

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And the basket room.

If they used it, they made it.

A society of Friends, remember? No sex. They had plenty of time on their hands.

And as we were leaving?

 

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We met an employee who’s sole job was to care for chickens.

Sit on a bench, in the sun, and pet a chicken all day.

I am totally qualified for that position.

Sign me up!

 

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Chicken duly met and petted, we left Hancock Shaker village with a finer appreciation of the simple things in life.

 

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Community…

Hard work…

Fresh air….

Chickens!

But not celibacy.

I don’t need that much simplicity….

 

25 thoughts on “Shaker village barn part 2…. in which I converse with my people.”

      1. I’m sure you would poke someone with a long sharp stick if you had her job and someone tried to take your chicken.

        by the way…..do you eat chicken soup?

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  3. I thought it kind of quakers who liked to dance – shakers. That’s kind of true as they went nutso in their religious services. One of the earliest churches were women took the lead.. Now there is only two left they are open for leadership positions. We just need to find someone who can ‘shake’ loves chickens can learn how to work a cider press..

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  4. Thanks for the tour. Fabulous photos!

    Here is how a tour like that would end for my wife and I.

    HE: We have to come back here.
    SHE: Maybe we wouldn’t need to if you had spent your time looking at more than just one thing.
    He: Yeah, but I didn’t finish.

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