Down the country Lane

There sits a Country House at the end of a country lane

That changed our lives forever

At the beginning of this lane you will see many newly born lambs.  This one will spend the summer on the big mountain.  He wears red numbers on his back so he won't get lost.

 This is where I stop my bicycle...it is always shady and cool.

Next is the old Allred Farm.

I couldn't resist, the photo was a natural.

Farmer Allred has passed on.

Little Lambs are growing up in other places.

And at the end of the lane is the Crawforth  House. 

See the inset?  That is how I found it. 

In my years of working for my clients in the oil business, I spent many days checking mineral ownership records in county courthouses and I also spent many years traveling Highway 89.  A highway that begins in Canada and goes all the way to the Mexican border. 

The house had been empty for more than fifty years.  There were no doors or windows.  Sheep and livestock, pack rats, badgers and squirrels had taken the place over. Yet I still wanted this beautiful old stone house.  I could see the possibilities.  It had just the right amount of windows and the architecture was classic and clean. 

No matter how I pleaded and how I begged the man would not sell it. 

 So we bought a 100-year-old farmstead in the same town.  It had also been neglected. We spent our weekends in the country restoring the farm and lived in the big city during the week. 

Our property had a beautiful old barn and an acre for a large vegetable and flower garden.

In an empty lot, across the street stood an old log cabin.  I bought it for $500.

The sheep had lived in it.

But I wanted it, so we moved it over on a flatbed.

I wanted it for our guests.

We spent many weekends enjoying the country life. We worked hard and we played hard. 

And then one day, four years later, the Gentleman who owned the beautiful but abandoned old stone house, called to say that he was ready to sell it to me. 

We were still living in the big city during the week and didn't see how we could take on the task of restoring another farmstead.

Instead we told our friends that the house was now available. 

I had offered the Gentleman $20,000 he now only wanted $7,500.  One of our friends from the city decided to take on the formidable task.

Renovation Style Magazine, September 2001

Our friend Scott has completely restored the entire property, the main house, the carriage house and root cellar.

The beautiful old stone house has seen many happy occasions and one thing is for sure, the house found its rightful owner.

And when Scott had finished restoring his farm house, Farmer Allred came visiting, sitting on his tallest mule he took off his hat, placed it over his heart and he said

"I came a'calling" 

Now, that is not the end of the story.

Soon I will tell you the rest of the story.  How my saddle, made by the famous saddle maker, Jim Kelly of Cody Wyoming,  changed our lives once again.

Happy weekend to you my dear

Blogging Friends.

Gina

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/