PORCH POSSIBILITIES

A couple of months ago, my colleagues and I enjoyed a little retreat in the woods near Potts Camp, Mississippi. We met at Silver Ash Ranch, where we enjoyed about thirty-six hours of serious bonding and problem solving. The out-of-the-way location was perfect for our purpose. It was also perfect for sleeping.

We rented a converted barn at the ranch, complete with many beds, a great kitchen and, to Mary Beth's dismay, a mouse. To my delight, however, the barn also had a sleeping porch, which is where I decided to lay my head for the two-night trip. It was already starting to turn cold in the evenings, but I was ready to settle into the Mississippi night, held in only by a metal roof and some screen. I can't remember a better night's sleep. I was immediately convinced that I need a sleeping porch of my own.
When we bought our house, it came with an unfinished addition. I guess you could call it a porch, but it looks like the previous owners were intent on walling it in. Lucky for us, they didn't finish the job, so we plan to make good on my inspiration and turn it into screened sleeping porch one of these days. So far, though, the unfinished back porch has served as my studio. Scratch that. It was my studio. Don't get me wrong. It has served me well, as evidenced in the photo above. But then I got distracted, and it got ignored (the last time I made some paintings, I set up shop in our dining room). Today, you wouldn't even recognize it as a studio. It's evolved into a cluttered catch-all space. Just yesterday, it caught some cats.

Yep, today our back porch is a temporary home for our two new farm cats. We received them as a parting gift yesterday, when we paid Lisa and her goats a visit. There's a longer story there, but I'll save you the details. Suffice it to say that my studio is anything but a studio these days.

That ain't all bad, though, since Kurt is close to fishing up the new studio. I realize I haven't offered an update on its construction in a good while but know that I'll be feathering my new nest real soon. And then, as soon as I'm all moved in and the clutter from the old studio gets moved out, the very real possibility of a new sleeping porch awaits.