End of Summer

I am coming to the end of a season, in more ways than weather. While the fall breezes are beginning to tickle at the edges of the intense summer heat, our time at The Ranch is coming to a close, also. Our new build is finished inside! We are moving in this week! After nine months of being in a transitory state, I think we have birthed a barndominium!

Before and After

You might remember, we began with a metal barn on 29 acres. Steve took walls apart, designed a new floorplan, and we secured a contractor to get this project underway. We chose this site because it is six miles from our son’s family. The acreage gives “room to breathe,” and be close to nature. Interior photos coming soon!

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Since November 2018, we have lived in a log home at the 85 acre ranch on the northwest side of Waco. (If you missed those adventures, scroll back and read the blog.) It has been the perfect Artist Retreat for me with access to almost daily plein air painting. And, I have more than 50 or so new paintings and studies from this place.

I’m in the process of revealing these new paintings in a special online art show on this website! Also, many of them will be featured in my space at the Brazos Fine Art Show, to be held at the Waco Hilton, November 8-10. All paintings are for sale!

The end of a season is usually welcomed. Most of us are glad to pack away summer clothes and get out sweaters. (Most of us are just as glad to pack away those sweaters when the warmth of spring rolls back around. ) Yet, there is something melancholy about coming to the end of a season. And while my knees are ready to live on one level again, and I am eager to bid the outside laundry room goodbye, I will miss the sunrises over the pond, the surprises of wildlife strolling by, the shade of the front porch swing and the ever present hospitality of the Covington Family, the owners of the Ranch.

With gratitude, and a bit of anxiety, I close this chapter and look forward to what’s ahead on Red Gate Road. —Melanie Stokes

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