Old Man Saffold's Barn

Winter is coming, and the weather up here will freeze, so make sure you get yourself over to Old Man Saffold's Barn before it's too late, my Mom warned me again. She was always concerned that I would freeze to death out in the woods all alone. She looked at me one more time and told me she would see me there, and I had better not be the last one coming through the door because once Old Man Saffold closed the barn doors, that was it. I smiled again, said yes, ma'am, one more time, and then I released my grip on the limb of that old northern pine tree and took off in flight to seek out my latest adventure.

I'm a Tyto Furcata, but most folks refer to me as a Barn Owl. My Mom and my friends call me Andy. My most favorite thing in the whole wide world is flying through the woods. I love to explore, and because I can fly, I get to see something that most others can't. Whenever I get tired, all I need do is find a tree limb and land. That's my second most favorite thing to do, sleeping in a tree! Anyways, this will be my last adventure through the woods before Winter comes because it's safer and warmer in the old barn, and besides, Mom expects me to be there.

Speaking of the barn, every year, Old Man Saffold keeps his barn doors open for us animals that choose to live in the woods. He stocks it with plenty of food and water that we like to eat. When the days start getting shorter, and the first frost comes, the word goes out in the forest that he will be closing the doors soon, and he won't open them again until the Spring. So if you plan to stay inside where it's safe and warm and where there's plenty of food and water, then it's time to pack up and head that way.

I scan the trails through the trees, and I can see they're already packed with all sorts of creatures, all headed to the barn. Most are young families with babies, although there are some seniors in the mix too. Many single adults choose to weather the Winter in the forest, and that's fine if you don't have a family to look after, but after having spent one brutally cold Winter outside with my Mom, I don't ever want to do that again. Nope, I think I would rather hang out in the barn, make new friends, play, sleep and eat without the worry of freezing to death or becoming the next meal for a starving animal that is larger and meaner than me. I continued flying all the way to the river's edge and decided to turn back. I could see the clouds in the far-off distance, and they looked threatening.

On my way back to the barn, I flew closer to the trail and reminded folks to hurry along and not dilly dally lest they arrive and find the door closed and locked. That was the one rule Old Man Saffold had. Once he closed the barn doors, he didn't open them again. Old Man Saffold claimed it was because he was concerned for the safety of those inside, and that may be, but those of us who knew him knew those old barn doors were rickety and challenging to open and close. And the older he got, the more difficult it became. Some of the older, wiser animals also knew there would come a time when Old Man Saffold might not be able to open or close the doors. Then what?

What if that time happened over the Winter, and we were all stuck inside? How would we get out in the Spring? What if it happened next Winter? How could we protect ourselves from the bitterly cold winds and snow that was sure to come? Many of the wild animals were already discussing this amongst themselves when word went out there would be a mandatory meeting in the old barn tomorrow night. By then, everyone should have arrived, and Old Man Saffold should have closed the doors for the Winter. The topic of discussion would be to come up with a backup plan for opening and closing the rickety old barn doors when the time came that Old Man Saffold could no longer handle it.

I arrived back at the Old Barn and found a place beside my Mom on the sill of the transom window overlooking the barn doors. Most folks could see a good way from this location, but barn owls could see much further. Mom swears she can see me when I turn back over the river. I don't know about that, but I'm not gonna question her. I've tasted her stern looks more than once in my short life. So Mom and I sat there and watched everyone come down the road to the barn. Soon it would be nightfall, and we would rest before Old Man Saffold made his way from the house to close up the doors for the Winter.

All through the night, creatures and critters kept coming. It was the most we had seen in some time. Everyone was respectful of others and tried not to wake those who were sleeping. In the Old Barn, we were all equals. No one was better than the next. It did not matter what species you were or what color your fur was. All that mattered was you didn't impose your will on others, and you didn't intentionally disrespect someone. If you did, the elders had a process to deal with these things, and punishment was swift and sometimes harsh. Fortunately, there never seemed to be a problem because everyone quickly realized the alternative, so they worked together to ensure things ran smoothly and efficiently while we were all inside the Old Barn.

I must have fallen asleep because I opened my eyes to the bright sunshine shining on my face. It was considerably cooler outside, and there was frost on the ground. There was also a long line outside the Old Barn doors as critters continued to check in and enter the premises. I decided to stretch my wings, so I took a quick flight around the inside of the barn and saw it was nearly full. Then I took another short flight around the outside of the barn, and I saw Old Man Saffold getting into his wagon. I figured it wouldn't be long before he arrived here to close the doors.

I found my Mom and told her, and she instructed me to hurry and warn the others who were still in line to get inside. She went to the doorkeepers and warned them too. Soon, everyone in line was hurridly rushing inside the barn. Old Man Saffold pulled up in his wagon just as the last family of wild geese managed to slip inside the barn. Mom was perched back on the transom ledge, so I joined her there, and we overheard Old Man Saffold tell his mule this might be the last year he's able to make the trip down to the barn. He was getting too old. The mule nodded in agreement and snorted it was time.

He walked over to the barn doors and looked down the dusty path leading from the Old Barn to the river and saw no one else trying to make it to the barn, so he turned again and slowly began pushing the doors closed. In an instant, both doors were closed, and then we heard a loud thunderous boom as the latch to the doors swung shut, locking the Old Barn doors until the Spring. Mom and I watched as Old Man Saffold climbed back up onto his wagon and rode back up to the main house.

When the doors closed, everything went dark, and there was some confusion for a little while. Then some of the elders (those who've been coming to the Old Barn year after year) began lighting lanterns and opening small windows to allow the daylight inside. Before long, it was comfortable. One of the beautiful peacocks shrilled really loud to get everyone's attention, and as soon as the chatter quieted down, she announced that everyone would be given 2-3 hours to settle in, then there would be a roll call, followed by job assignments. Everyone was expected to work over the Winter. There would be jobs for everyone ranging from housecleaning to preparing meals to watching the babies to learning new crafts. In other words, there would be minimal downtime during waking hours, and everyone would be expected to be busy doing something.

There was some more chatter, followed by another loud peacock shrill and still another announcement. This time my Mom spoke. She said there would be a special meeting of the planning committee to devise a plan to keep the Old Barn operating after Old Man Saffold retired. This time there were murmurs and looks of concern. Before my Mom could speak further, another voice spoke up. It was a human voice. The voice of a young girl. Everyone grew very quiet and looked in the direction of the voice. Stepping from the shadows, a young girl of maybe 15 years walked to the center of the Old Barn. She was wearing overalls and boots and a straw hat just like Old Man Saffold wears. She announced she was Old Man Saffold's granddaughter, and if the animals allowed her to, the Old Barn would open and close as usual for as long as she could do it.

Her offer was met with stone-cold silence. How did she slip in here undetected? What all did she hear? Can she be trusted? How old is she? Finally, there was a loud cheer from the animals. She smiled and left out a side door that the animals were previously unaware of. When she exited the Old Barn, she was met by her grandfather, Old Man Saffold, who said, "Well, what did they say?" She replied, "I think they like it, Poppa!"