The Grackle



What's a Grackle you ask? For one it's the name of this very beautiful and well crafted tiny home. This house is named after the Great-Tailed Grackle that is famous or even infamous to some in Texas depending on who you are and where you live.  They are notorious for their aggressive feeding on scraps found in grocery store parking lots and around many food trucks that are very popular in the Austin area for sure.  Known also for their wildly different sounds, people either love them or hate them and many bird enthusiasts love them.  Much like the Sea Gull to many visiting beaches on the Atlantic Coast, they've been known to snatch food right from your hand, and many appreciate their beauty.  There are several species of Grackle found in the southern United States and Mexico and the owners of this tiny house were inspired by the bird while visiting Austin, Texas.

 Melissa and Scott designed and built their gorgeous home with Liberation Tiny Homes. It's a 32-foot gooseneck build and has many great stand out and unique qualities. The outside is done in black matte metal and features planks of cedar that have been charred using the ancient Japanese art of shou sugi ban.  The gooseneck which is the living/lounge area also features a garage door that opens to the outside and allows for lots of natural light.

 From the picture above, you can see that right from the moment you open the door, the home is very inviting.  Scott has been busy playing lumberjack as he now has to prep firewood for the beautiful free standing wood burning stove.  Also pictured is the galley style kitchen decorated with lots of different types of cactus, which really helps to add to the Southwestern feel of the home. The dark rich wood looks really nice with the black cabinetry. You can see more of the Southwestern flare in the bedroom with the duvet they have chosen and the soaking tub looks like it is straight out of a spa.

Scott and Melissa have been living in their tiny home for several weeks now and say they "already love the freedom it provides".   They told us "they are adjusting to life in a tiny house like a grackle to an HEB parking lot (loving it)"! In case you didn't know, HEB is a grocery store chain in central Texas.

They are both local and from the Lancaster area.  Scott graduated from Millersville University and YTI and studied Industrial Automation and Robotics Technology.  Melissa also graduated from YTI with a degree in Information Technology.

The couple shares their tiny house with their two dogs, Bug and Badger. One of them can usually be spotted looking out one of the top windows when the couple is away.  Monkey, who is their cat also lives in the house and we are told they all love sleeping in the loft and lounging in the gooseneck.

They two are currently here on a short term lease and are enjoying walking their dogs around the ponds and hanging out with the resident ducks who've recently returned. However, they have big dreams of taking their tiny on adventures to the West Coast, hoping to live in many different states. Like many, Scott and Melissa have been inspired by the minimalist lifestyle and fell in love with the tiny movement.  They really enjoy having fewer possessions to care for, so they have more opportunity to create experiences. 

The Grackle is a great inspiration to those wanting to build a tiny house, it is unique, has a creative design and shows off a different type of layout for someone looking for something different in their build.  So it seems, that we've had a small migration of the grackle, straight from Austin, Texas to Elizabethtown, PA, it may just be one grackle, but we're glad it's here.

























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