We started sleeping outside because our house insisted.

Three weeks after we closed escrow on our rural retreat, a major storm brought flooding and landslides. The flooding engulfed the house and landslides closed the road. We were able to hike in to view the damage after a few days, but it was two weeks before we could drive in with tools to start repairs. The water had receded but nothing had dried out. The house stank. We started tearing out paneling, insulation and carpet to get down to undamaged framing and sub floor.

No matter what the damage to the house, the setting was still wonderful. We moved essentials so we could stay for days at a time. The bed got as far as the open covered porch. We parked it there intending to move it inside once we got the house habitable. The house was unrepairable, but it took us several years to accept that. During that time we slept outside so close to Deadwood Creek that we could hear salmon struggling though the riffles on their way to spawn.

We built our new home farther from the creek, both to protect the house from flooding and to protect the creatures in and near the creek from us. The house is solid and smells just fine, but a prominent feature is a porch for our bed. Sleeping outside is a pleasure we could not give up. Fifteen years later we still enjoy falling asleep to the sounds of the owls and frogs. We can even still hear the creek in the winter when the water is high. Thank you Old House. We needed to be pushed outside.