I bought a barn. An old, run-down horse farm. A dilapidated place with board-rail fencing of peeling paint, rotted wood – absent in most places. Metal roofs covered with rust and filled with holes – causing the areas they were intended to protect to suffer. Piles and piles of horse manure that surrounded the main barn like a manure moat. And so much goldenrod that all things existed under a light dusting of gold.
The Heavens are as deep as our aspirations are high.
– Henry David Thoreau
A place that – when shown off to my friends – ensured bursts of laughter or a sad Eeyore-like commentary about the decades (and money) that it would take to make all of the much-needed improvements.
But I didn’t care – I was in heaven. I saw everything thru rose-colored, or in this case, goldenrod-colored glasses. For me this was my little slice of heaven. Complete, absolute bliss.
This is where the story begins. Starting from a point of naiveté and idealism. Completely ignorant of power tools, maintenance or repair. And with no money to hire the experts to do the work for me. Along the way I’ve had many trials and many errors but man did I learn – more often then not – the hard way.
With so much left to do, and so much more to learn, all of which I want to share with you. In hopes that, regardless of what your slice of heaven might be, you’ll believe what I believe.
Zena Moze – A Woman Can