Why Are Barns Traditionally Red?

(Western Pleasure Guest Ranch in Sandpoint, Idaho.)

Maybe it’s the city girl in me, but I’ve always had a thing for classic red barns.

I find them so romantic. I love my barns old, creaky, and weather-worn. Every time we pass them out in the countryside, I always imagine myself as a muck boot-wearing farm gal… pitching hay, chasing piglets, grooming llamas, milking goats. I think the only thing that keeps me from setting up shop is the fact that I’m not an early riser at all. I’d end up milk...