Sense of Place: Dry Creek Red Barn

Old barns are common along roadsides in Sonoma County, but I never tire of the character and beauty they add to the landscape. Many are no longer in use. Seemingly held together by nothing but peeling paint, their roofs sag and the walls bear holes big enough to accommodate all sorts of critters. Yet somehow these barns manage to keep standing.

I like to think they’ve grown roots, like the old oak trees from which they were built, that each is digging ever deeper into the soil in order to prop up its increasingly frail frame. This red barn along Dry Creek Road complements the season’s earthy browns and greens now that recent rains have washed away most of autumn’s warmer tones.

For more information about Healdsburg-based Artist on the Road Richard Sheppard, visit theartistontheroad.com.