In a past blog, I talked about that heart horse or dog. What about that heart house? Although in some respects it is inconceivable to me, I am selling the amazing barndominium I built not quite 4 years ago. However, my needs have changed. In fact, my entire life has changed. My beloved barndo is built in a state that is too cold in the winter. I want to ride year ’round, and now I have an amazing partner to ride with me. My home is where Alan is… not a physical residence.
So many amazing conveniences
We have purchased a beautiful log cabin in Drake, Colorado. We will share space with a myriad of wildlife. In fact, a neighbor just posted a photo of the yearling bear that visited her home multiple times recently. However, we don’t even have a barn erected, much less one that we access through an interior door. It doesn’t have an indoor/outdoor dog room and run, with an automatic waterer. If the dogs get skunked (which sounds quite possible given what I have read on the neighborhood chat), our beautiful cabin doesn’t have a dog shower.
Most notably, when they have to go out in the morning (or the middle of the night!) we have to get out of bed to make that happen! No more hearing the dog door open and slam shut as they come and go at will. We have tried, but have been unable to come up with a way to add a dog door to the Drake cabin.
The farrier was here recently. I was busy packing and dealing with the guys who were preparing my grandfather clock for a road trip. It was easy to check on the farrier… just poke my head out the door that leads to the barn. Our new mare apparently hasn’t had shoes on for a while… she was a stinker. Mostly, “ear-ing” her worked, but briefly, we resorted to the twitch. She was fine for her front feet. She is not lame and has no arthritis. She’s just stinky about her back legs. Too bad for her, she needs to adjust to getting shoes reset regularly. The Rocky Mountains are aptly named!
The Fiver and the LQ
Alan and I just returned from taking our fifth-wheel trailer (the “fiver”) to Arizona, where we will spend the winters. Clearly, that won’t have a dog door! Actually, the dogs did fine in the trailer, although they struggled to find room to lie next to our bed at night. The girls also had to share a dog pillow! Arizona this time of year was hot, dry, and a bit windy.
Compared to the conveniences of the barndo, our time in the Living Quarters trailer this fall will make the “fiver” look like a palace. We plan to spend 5-6 weeks in the Ozarks and the Midwest, watching the leaves turn colors. Our LQ has no bump out. It is up close and personal living. But… my home is where Alan is. And we will be doing what we love, so what’s not to like about our plans? I will absolutely miss this beautiful place, but so many exciting things await us. Truly, we hope to rebuild the house portion someday, perhaps with a smaller barn.
In a future blog, I will post the MLS listing of this home that we love so much. Not one single person who has ever seen it has not been blown away by it. I built it for me. I was actually quite surprised at the response I have consistently received from others. For people with horses and dogs, it is a dream. I had built several homes and barn setups in my past life, so I had a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. This place makes animal husbandry a breeze. It is no maintenance, with a metal roof and siding. It is a perfect size… plenty of living space, but nothing extraneous to clean. The decor is horsey, through and through.
I will miss it, very much…
(Past blogs about the barndo: Living in a Barn(dominium)! and Barnndominium Life Part Two)
