There are so many barns that dot the Palouse landscape, it is impossible to have a favorite one. Each one has its own character, color and condition. Another factor are the crops themselves. When it is growing season or the harvest, all barns will look better for it. This is a photo from my first visit to the Palouse and this barn became one of my favorites. I was attracted by its layout from this angle showing the growing crops and its latticed back.
Fast forward to my last trip there in May. My once favorite barn was a shadow of itself. The main reasons? Even though we were there during the growing seasons, there was nothing but bare soil. Crop rotation, low wheat prices or late planting of crops are often the cause of this. The other reason was related to that latticed roof. It had collapsed on itself and is likely not to be repaired. Another casualty of the weather and lack of maintenance. The Palouse has a way of doing that to barns. We spotted no less than five barns that had either disappeared or became little more than rubble. That is one of the benefits of photography. It remembers things as they were.