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My extended family bought 50 acres together, and we've discovered the many joys of country life.
April/May 2004
By Robin Wright
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Ricky Wright
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My extended family bought 50 acres together, and we've discovered the many joys of country life.
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That rooster was dead. I was still shaking, I was so mad! Instinctively protecting his hens, 'Ole Roost' had spurred the once too often, and I decided it was time to call in the hatchet man. A few minutes later, Dad came driving up on his four-wheeler, hatchet and fishing net in hand. It wasn't pleasant, but the job was over quickly. When my clad handed me the headless villain, the look of shock on my face made him smile as he said, "Remember, you're the one that wants to live off the land."
Yes, it was true. For years I had talked with my parents anti my sister about all of us buying land in the country, building houses, growing gardens, hunting and fishing, and being able to help each oth er. Now, as I stood watching my father drive away, bloody bird in hand, I realized I was living my dream — the good, the bad and the ugly.
PUT UP OR SHUT UP
I'll never forget the day my dad and brother-in-law walked into my office with serious faces, closed the door as if there was a problem to discuss and sat down in the chairs opposite my desk. We all worked together in a building-supply business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"Put up or shut up," they said. And, as both men grinned at me, it began to sink in that this was good news. "We've found the perfect piece of property, only 30 minutes from the office," they told me. "Fifty acres of fenced pastures stocked ponds, a nice house, two barns and two beautiful homesites."
It was an easy decision. The property was so perfect that we could hardly wait to move. Within a matter of days the purchase agreements were signed, and moving plans began to take shape. My parents would move into the existing house, and my sister and I would each build a new house on the property.
My husband, Ricky, and I sold our house quickly and bought a trailer to live in while building our new home. After settling into the trailer, we began buying old building materials with the goal of building a new house that truly looked old.
It took us two years to finally move into our new home, which is about 2,800 square feet in size and constructed of many recycled materials. We used antique pine and cypress lumber, oak flooring, antique light fixtures and claw-foot tubs — anything we could get our hands on from old buildings that had been torn down. We love being able to reuse things instead of throwing them away, but we also just love old houses. The wood in our house isn't flimsy or full of formaldehyde; we wanted those big, thick pieces.
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