What is Carousel Acres? It’s a 15 acre horse ranch north of Brooksville, Florida, that I call home.

To Begin…

I live on a horse ranch, complete with a ranch-style house, barn, shed, fencing and pastures for my three horses. It’s a long way from where I started, but the story of how I grew up in Queens, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, will have to wait for another time.

When I started this Website in 2019, it was to build an author’s platform. In other words, my Website was intended to give readers and other interested parties a chance to connect with my writing. Of course, I didn’t have any books to sell at that time, so it became a series of blog posts with information about writing. Most of what I shared was based on research or experience I gained as I worked on my manuscripts and searched for an agent to guide me into the publishing process.

Fast forward through 2020 and 2021, which is the best way to think about the years of the pandemic, to my current situation. I’ve learned more about how to approach building an author’s platform. It turns out, it’s about more than sharing writing tips. While I will continue to provide insights into the writing and publishing process as I learn them, I want to give you a glimpse into my life. So I’ll start with Carousel Acres, where I spend most of my time.

Getting to Carousel Acres

As part of the downsizing process to prepare for our retirement, my husband and I had moved into a two-bedroom villa in a gated community. The place was very nice and the landscaping was all handled by a management company, but it turned out to be a very transient community with hauling trucks and moving vans in the neighborhood almost every weekend. And it was boring!

I boarded my horse about nine miles away. The drive from the villa to the barn got worse every day, because of the rapid growth in the area. Spending time with my horse was becoming less fun because of the time-consuming and frustrating commute.

About then, a good friend who lived on a horse property in the county to the north of where I lived sent me a real estate posting. I fell in love with the look of the house, but then read that it included 15 acres of land. “Are you trying to kill us?” I asked my friend. She laughed.

I didn’t show the listing to my husband right away. The house was listed “as is” and clearly noted that a new roof was needed. But I had fallen in love with the blue ranch house and its white-railed front porch. So one evening I mentioned the listing to my husband and he said, “Let’s look at it.”

First Impressions

We drove north into the country and met our realtor at the property. Our expectations were not high. We’ve bought and sold a number of houses in our marriage, and I trust my husband’s opinion when it comes to what realistically can be changed, remodeled, or upgraded. This place had a long list of things that needed to be done.

The owner told us that at one point she had 18 horses on the property. She had raised Thoroughbreds, but was down to two older horses on the over-grown property. She advised us that when it rained, water and dirt would run through the barn. We thought the barn had a dirt floor, but it turned out there was a concrete pad under all the sand.

The condition of the house and property didn’t scare us, as we’ve been through many remodels. We calculated our expected expenses for big ticket items like replacing the roof, installing new kitchen appliances, and adding a new air conditioning/heating system. The place would need painting, cleaning, and electrical work. We made a low offer based on all the work, and to our surprise, the counter-offer was very reasonable. We signed a contract for my dream house.

Hurricane Irma

I won’t bore you with the nightmares we had during the financing process. It’s enough to say that we no longer bank with the same financial institution.

Finally the closing was scheduled for September 11, 2017. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma arrived that day too. Our closing was postponed in advance of the storm, and the entire time the hurricane winds were blowing, we wondered whether the many trees on the property we were about to buy would fall and damage the house. Fortunately, they did not, but they did leave fallen branches all over the place. And there was no power in the area.

We closed on September 15, even though we had no power at the house. September in Florida is brutal. High heat, humidity, and mosquitos. Despite all that, we started cleaning and painting our new home. Without power, the well pump didn’t run, so we had to bring in bottled water. There was no power for lights so we had to leave before sunset because it was very dark without lights. Our daughter was a tremendous help with the painting. She advised on bold colors, rather than the neutral colors that I always picked. When the paint went on the walls, the house started to take on a new life.

It was a glorious day when the power was restored. The old, still-functioning air condition system kept us cool as we prepared to move our furniture into the freshly painted house. On September 25, we moved in. We were home!

This Place Needs a Name

It took us awhile to get through our “to-do” list. We used quite a few contractors to do most of the work. One important item remained. This place needed a name. There was a sign post outside the front gate, but no sign. We found a local sign contractor who was happy to take on our small job.

I have always loved carousels (again, great topic for the future). The pastures make this property larger than many in the area, so the combination of Carousel Acres seemed like a great choice. The sign contractor set to work and sent me multiple options. We finally settled on one and within days it was hanging in front of our new home. Visitors are welcomed by our Carousel Acres sign before they enter our gate.

In the future I’ll be starting a newsletter, in it I’ll provide details about the animals we share this property with, including the horses, cats, deer, racoon, birds, and more. Our welcome sign let’s you know you have arrived at a friendly place. Leave a comment if there’s something you’d like to know about Carousel Acres or my writing.