All Must End

Our new home

After nearly 13 years the Bossy Hen Homestead is officially closing down. June 1st we sold our home in Sidney N.Y. and relocated to the small town of Caroline which is only minutes from Ithaca N.Y. located in the Finger Lakes region.

I have known for some time that this blog post would eventually be written. As I'm sure you can imagine I have rolled it over in my mind many times trying to find the right words for something that has been so important to my physical, spiritual and mental health for well over a decade. I was able to pursue a number of interest with the full support of my wife on our small property on Orchard St. I raised backyard chickens, quail and rabbits. I was fortunate enough to explore beekeeping at the Muddy River Farm Brewery. As my confidence grew along with my gardens I was able to reach a personal goal and blog for the well known Mother Earth News Magazine and the long running GRIT Magazine.

Bossy Hen provided a sanctuary for me when I battled serious health issues such as trigeminal neuralgia and Lyme disease. Simply sitting among the blooming flowers and the swaying stalks of corn provided momentary respite. The ever growing orchards and herb gardens were instrumental in my struggle with mental health issues. Knowledge, laughter and silence were shared with my children among the dense tomato plants and skyscraper sunflowers. I cherish the memory of our old beagle drinking in the scents from our early gardens.

During financial hardships and layoffs our farmette not only put food on our plates but provided me personally with a sense of purpose and utility. There was a sense of pride that is difficult to put into words when a gourmet meal was served when there was little money in the bank account.

That small urban farm was a platform to venture into market gardening and CSA farming. Our entire family took crops to the local food shelters and gave fresh organic food to single parents struggling to make ends meet. We shared conversations with our neighbors and exchanged tricks of the trade with one another.

 It was heaven. It was ours. Now, it is a memory I shall always cherish. I do not know which direction my love for food and earth shall take me in my new surroundings but I do believe that just like Bossy Hen Homestead it will be exactly what I need. I thank you for reading all of these years and look forward to sharing new stories with you in the future.