When a family outgrew an adobe home, they built another one, only bigger. Or, they built a wood frame home. Sometimes a combination of the two styles seemed the better choice. More often than not, they abandoned the old adobe. These homes stand silent vigil as the seasons came and went. Cattle scratch themselves on against the mud walls, wearing them down. A family adobe can last for 100 years and longer, watching the family it sheltered grow larger still, and as time passed, it saw new homes arrive on the land. Manufactured homes of all shapes and sizes. Finally, when the metal roofing gives way to the west winds, it is the beginning of the end. The wood rots, the roof trusses collapse, and finally all that is left are the walls. Eventually the walls erode and the mud bricks return to the soil. Soon, all that remains is a bump in the pasture. When the roof goes, so does the casita… and like us all, sooner or later, returning to the soil.