JULY | AUGUST 2019 153

A mere seven miles west of Oxford and down

a dusty dirt road, a lone cabin is hidden deep

within 44 densely wooded acres. After six years

of hard work, this once dilapidated house stands

proud as a symbol of new life.

After being widowed for several years, Susan

Petty began to look for land to build a home. A

friend led her to a parcel of land adjacent to the

sparkling waters of Sardis Lake with prime hunt-

ing acreage. As she rounded the curv y country

road, Susan was barely able to make out the

cabin covered in a mountain of kudzu and over-

grown weeds, but after investigating further, she

was able to uncover a hidden gem. Built in the

1930s, the tiny rough-hewn home had once been

lived in by a farmer and his family but was now

inhabited by various other creatures.

“It was love at first sight,” Susan smiles. The

quiet serenity for which she had been searching

surrounded the home. Much to her friends’ and

family’s dismay, Susan quickly purchased the

property and began to make the cabin livable.

She started the arduous process by clearing the

interior of the rotted floors, walls, and makeshift

room dividers to open the space and to surpris-

ingly reveal a beautiful freestanding brick fire-

place. After working for a month, the excess was

removed, and Susan installed rough-cut pine

walls and floors that she found at a nearby tim-

ber yard, creating a livable space.

Susan and Billy Petty’s home in the woods has come a

long way from a discovery under mountains of kudzu.

The cabin called “The Lazy Cajun” honors Susan’s Louisi-

ana roots and the home’s relaxing porches with numer-

ous rocking chairs to spend a lazy afternoon.

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