Paquet Farm Sketches

"Flower Trike"
Paquet Farm
Barre, Vermont
5" x 7"

"Barn Door"
Paquet Farm
Barre, Vermont
5" x 7"

As the day draws closer for the Paquet Farm Centennial Celebration on July 24th, I couldn't resist pulling out photos from my June visit to the farm and doing a few small sketches. Many members of the extended family and local towns people gathered in early June to clean and paint the barn, accomplished in a single day. In the course of the cleanup, Valerie found this old tricycle, which I recall Gary's younger siblings riding. The handlebars are gone and the right back wheel is tilted at an angle, but what better way to use this memorabilia than as a planter! That lovely sunny day in Vermont added such sweetness to this scene of the freshly painted barn and the little flower trike.

The barn is very large and housed many milking cows. In the middle of the front of the barn are large double barn doors leading to the hayloft. I remember the hot summer days and nights of haying when the trucks would back up the ramp and the crew would unload and stack the hay. On the day I visited in June, the freshly painted door looked festive with a pot of flowers and afternoon shadows.