For the first month or so of walking the Lucky No. 13 site I was overwhelmed by the views.  There is beauty in all directions, and sometimes that makes the siting of things challenging.  Fortunately I’ve had a year to do a very thorough site analysis, and over time have come to understand the sun, the wind, the feeling of things, and how we want to live on this piece of earth.  I’ll share that process as we go, but for now, please enjoy these photos and allow yourself to get acquainted with the lay of the land.

looking north to Lyons, CO

looking east over Foothills Reservoir

looking south over the ranch to the Flatirons

looking west up into the foothills (where we live now)

[I’m standing in the middle of the property while taking these panoramas, and our boundaries are defined by the jack viagra cheap fence you see in the distance.]

I like to name my projects.  Like naming an animal, a car, a drawing or a painting, anything dear to you, there’s something about personalizing things at this level that creates a stronger connection and bond.  I try to allow the things that resonate with me about a particular project to be the things that influence the naming.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes, well…I stick with [insert last name here] Residence.

Lucky No. 13 as a name evolved naturally – I’m not even really sure when I decided that this would be the official name of our homestead project, but at some point I just started calling the land Lucky No. 13.  And it stuck.

I knew that I wanted a logo to accompany this project through its development, and invited my friend Allison Bozeman of BirdDog Press to visit the property with me so that we could talk ideas.

Fortunately Alli knows me well, and we’ve collaborated on lots of fun graphics projects, so when I told her I wanted something a little western, a little mod, something that spoke to the fusion of industrial and organic that I like to achieve in my work,

and something unique, she didn’t look at me like I was asking for the moon.  Thank you, Alli, for creating a fun and fabulous logo for Lucky No. 13!

I’d like to introduce you to a little slice of heaven, my little slice of heaven, to be exact.  One year ago my husband and I purchased six acres in Boulder County, and here today I’m starting a project journal that chronicles the design and construction of our homestead.   It is my intention to share the process with you, a journey that includes the design and construction of a house, a barn, a studio, a landscape, many gardens, and most importantly, a place for all my dreams (and animals!) to live.  No pressure, right?

[this photo is of an historic structure that stands on the ranch immediately adjacent to our property]

Why the Lucky No. 13 reference in the title of this post?  The legal description of our property is Lot 13, and boy oh boy is it lucky.  So I’ve named the entire project Lucky No. 13.  It took years of looking, researching, and riding bikes

along the back roads of Boulder County before we stumbled across this property.  I look forward to sharing our adventure with you, and welcome questions and feedback as we go.  In the meantime, happy 2012 and best wishes for a *lucky* new year!