Where's Wilton?

 On our way back from a visit with nice folks near Harrowsmith the other day, we were enticed by the profile of this barn down a distant side-road, the back way into the village of Wilton. Such a tall barn, such a unique barn colour - great roof lantern with windows - terrific view, tricky getting up there. The red hay barn is slumping a bit, but has character, with what looks like an equally tired old-style conveyer parked outside.

Page wire fence (albeit attached to iron stakes) completes the bucolic scene. Now, just a bit of green and work can begin.

The house on the other side of a row of tall spruces was likely the original farmhouse, a lovely stone with ashlar corners.

I like the touch of subdued barn-red on window, door, roof and verandah trims, like the concession to fancy of a plain farm wife on her way to a community supper. The French windows along the simple verandah, and the unusual tall narrow windows in the tiny matching gables (paired on the side elevation) make it very appealing.

But what I love most is the setting, and the stone. Oh the stone. The countryside round about is graced with numerous old limestone quarries. The earth's cross-section reveals rich deposits of creamy grey fine-grained limestone that make the mouth water. They look soft, and malleable, like giant marshmallows. Eighteen to twenty-four inches deep (tall?) would be my guess, and fractured along such regular vertical lines that masons must have been able to "pull them off the shelf" and build with minimal trimming and shaping. Home Depot, you didn't invent building supply depots.