Folk art hideaway on Ranger Station Road

They’ve been living down the road from Little Horse since the mid-1980s, when they bought a beautiful piece of land here in Park County. They started with a log cabin kit, and in the decades since, have made their home into a model of sustainability and beautiful art. I’m talking about Barb Lane and Reed Arnold—the same husband-wife team saluted in my earlier blog, With a little help from my friends. They apply the same work ethic to their creativity with folk art, which graces many spots around their cabins, greenhouses, and other small structures on these wooded 40-some acres. I’ve visited a number of times over the years, each time enjoying newer pieces along with their older work.

Today I joined Linda and Jane, a visiting friend, in taking a walk through the land with Linda’s dogs, Hop and Belle, who of course had their own priorities, most filtered through their sensitive noses. Ours were focused on casual strolling and gazing at the art—beautiful, often playful, and arranged with care. Barb and Reed were both off the land today, so these photos will not include them, but you’ll have a chance to enjoy their work as you stroll along with us online.

Near the gate, you’ll see this sometimes-kinetic structure: two bicycle wheels adorned with painted wooden animals.

With these driftwood birds, nature does just about all of it. They reminded me of the Deborah Butterfield horse sculptures, which I saw last week at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

A few yards down the road is their newest addition, the still-incomplete spider web, made of stripped and varnished aspen branches. A spider piece may be added soon.

Off in the distance, if you glance right, this structure appears in the trees. Walk closer and you can enjoy the fantasy critters. Barb and Reed use recycled materials as much as possible. The painted curvy wires hanging from the log are bed springs.

Approaching the house, you’ll see one of two porches draped with mobiles, antlers, artfully-placed stones from the artists’ many collecting excursions. The chicken wire structure hanging in the back was done by a friend.

More stones, arranged with a practiced eye.

In back of the house, off to the right, is my favorite structure—a bottle house. The light and warmth are amazing, and I know if I lived there, I’d make it my morning meditation spot. In the door window photo, I tried to catch the painted horses behind the coyotes, but managed to capture only some reflected colors.

And of course, there’s a bottle tree, which caught the mid-morning light today.

Walking past the bottle house and down an incline, we reached a clearing. To the left is another bottle-enhanced aspen-branch structure. There’s a bench in front, which Jane found was a perfect spot for reading, as Linda and I strolled on, keeping an eye on the dogs.

Nearing the main greenhouse, we stopped taking photos, as we decided to take up Barb and Reed’s standing offer to help ourselves to produce in the greenhouse and raised beds. To give you an idea, here are two photos from a 2014 visit. We left with a modest helping of peas, chard and a few carrots. 

We walked back to the entrance. The dogs, panting and looking a bit tuckered from their adventures, joined us in the car, and minutes later we were back at Little Horse. Wanting to relive our tour, I uploaded these photos and wrote this blog. I hope you enjoyed the stroll.