A Hunter's Hideout

Mom and I had a crazy idea.... There is a real shortage of lodging in Geraldine.  The closest motel is 26 miles away in Fort Benton.  The owner of Rusty's Bar has opened a cute little B&B next to the bar, but it's only got three rooms.  Every fall this town fills with hunters.  Rightfully so, since we have an abundance of amazing wildlife in this area.  But there is like, no where for them to stay....

 

So ta-da!! Here's the project!

 

 

This old grainery building was built in October of 1962.  The date is written into the concrete floor. I love that they did that! We think it will make the most awesome bunkhouse/ hunter's cabin!

 

 

It's built from stacked 2x4 lumber.  The stacked boards offered enough strength to hold the tremendous weight of bushels and bushels of wheat.  The boards are still in beautiful condition....

 

 

The bunkhouse will have two bedroom areas and a common area with some comfy furniture and a mini fridge, etc.  However for now it is a "dry cabin".  Yup, no plumbing.... so Prairie Granny and friend Jim had another little, necessary project....

 

We didn't really make Jim dig this hole by hand.  We used a little trencher.

 

 

 

If there is such a thing as a cute outhouse, I'd say this one is cute!

 

 

We hope to have this completed by the start of hunting season.  Wish us luck!  I think it will be a very fun thing to have visitors and I hope it's good for the community as well.  If the hunters stay here in town, they'll buy gas here, eat here and frequent the little grocery store.  Let me know what you think!

 

Bye for now,

B

Magic Morning

The rugrats are my alarm clock.  They wake up early and come find me in my bed.  Sometimes I can grab them, hoist them up there with me and steal a few minutes of snuggle time.  But not this morning.  I woke up to both little ones saying, "Uh oh!" and repeating it a few times.  I don't think anything makes a momma move faster than those words first thing in the morning!  I rushed out to find them staring out the picture window in the living room....

The fog was so thick that I had to wait to take these pictures.  We couldn't see anything beyond the yard.  But after a little bit our world was revealed again....

Why does everything seem so magical when there's fog? 

 

 

While I was out in the front yard enjoying the dewy grass in my bare feet, I could hear the horses galloping towards me.  They seemed to appear out of nowhere and galloped past me, back into the mist....



Then the sun started burn it's way through a little more....

I was able to sneak a couple more minutes of magic while the rugrats ate their breakfast....

Then it was time to face the day.

Have a great day everyone,
B

Old Things

I love old things.  It drives my oldest son crazy because he does not understand why in the world his momma scrounges for old, rickety, banged up things instead of buy new shiny ones.  I always hear, "Mom! Why do you like that old thing?!"  I laugh and explain to him that old things have history to them that can't be bought.  I go on and on about the history of this or that and he just shakes his head.

One of my latest "old things" got moved into the house today.  I bought a little table for five dollars at a farm sale a few weeks ago.  It had seen better days.  It was covered in greasy dirt, the nails on one edge had worked their way out and the paint had chipped off to a perfect patina.  I love it!!!  The folks that were moving off the farm had lived there for forty years.  But it seems this table is probably about twice that old.  It's just a guess though.  I imagine that maybe a sweet farmer had built in for his wife to set in the parlor. I can see years and years of beautiful history when I look at it.

A little TLC with an electric screwdriver and the edge of the little table was repaired.  Then I gave it a good scrubbing and it was perfect!

At first I thought I'd put it out on the porch.  But I decided I liked it so much it needed to live in the house.

So I found a little spot next to the couch that looked lonely.  Now it's the perfect place for the phone I got at Pottery Barn that is designed to look really old, but isn't.  The cool thing is, it actually does work! I admit I am a little obsessed with the phone....

My living room at the farm is finally starting to come together the way I had imagined it.  An eclectic blend of old and new.  Western, but not too western.  Know what I mean?  I will be the first to tell you, I am NOT a interior designer.  But I think if we really focus on the things we love, our homes can reflect our lives in a beautiful way.

Bye for now,
B

Porch Time

The weather has been truly amazing this summer.  We have had some heat, but cool days as well and quite a bit of moisture.  The mornings on the farm are such a gift and I'm not even a morning person!
Almost every morning you can find us out on the porch, in our jammies and bare feet.  Me with my coffee of course!

We look out over the critters and listen to the rooster crow.  The little boys get excited when the crop duster planes fly over on the way to the tiny Geraldine Airport. For a few moments everything is perfect.... 

The cares of the day aren't allowed on the porch.  That stuff has to wait until after breakfast....

Have a great day out there everyone.  I hope you all are able to find your own "porch time"....


Bye for now,
B