Tired structure seemed to lean

	The building had obviously been quite handsome in its day. But years of harsh Iowa winter winds and glaring summer sun had beat down on the barn until its red paint had been slowly chipped away, revealing the old wood panels now aged a silver gray. The tired structure also seemed to lean a bit, as if it needed a strongly-mixed nightcap followed by a good snooze.

	Maggie followed Uncle Pete into the building, careful to step exactly in his footsteps, not sure what was lurking elsewhere. The barn's central room opened up to a high ceiling, punctuated with slightly dilapidated lofts on either side. Shards of sunshine pierced through holes in the roof's shingles, illuminating small sections of the barn's firmly-packed dirt floor. A long metal frame built into a large concrete slab lined the sides of the barn under each of the lofts, and a narrow trough was built behind the slab, stained with what looked like… However, the air was surprisingly sweet. Not the offensive odor Maggie assumed she would encounter, but instead a pleasant, almost invigorating smell that reminded her of mown grass or bouquets of flowers. She breathed in deeply and sighed. They stopped near the other end of the barn, and Maggie gladly pulled on the galoshes over her tennis shoes after Uncle Pete motioned to do so. More...

	1. own Christmas trees 2. race cars and house 3. vroom, vroom 4. Uncle Pete