The Great Outdoors

The Weather

Spending time outside on the acreage is different from being in the city. Come prepared so your stay is much more comfortable.

Things to consider are:

• Sun protection. Bring sunscreen and long-sleeved T-shirts and hats.

• Overheating. Limit being outside at the hottest times of the day and dress lightly.

• Dehydrating. Bring your water bottle and drink as much water as you can.

• Strong winds. Sometimes the winds get strong. In these cases, avoid the forested area since branches and trees can fall down.

• Dry air conditions can cause irritation. Consider bringing lotion, eye drops, and cough drops.

• Please bring allergy medication to limit the effects of allergies to dust, plants, pollen and animals.

Animals that may bother you:

• Ticks, mosquitos, house and biting stable flies. Make sure to bring and use insect repellant. Tuck your pants into your socks to avoid ticks and check daily for ticks on your body.

• House mice and bats do live on the acreage grounds. Let them be. They are part of farm acreage ecology. Do not put out poison. It will kill our Great Horned Owl. If you encounter a bat, please do not touch it.

• You may hear unfamiliar animal sounds.

The Grounds

Some areas on the acreage should be avoided. We will point out those areas when we tour the acreage at the beginning of your stay. In short, the following areas are to be avoided at all times: landfill area, drain field, and drain pond.

Feel free to visit the forest area. This is our wind break that keeps us more comfortable during the winter. This area has parts of fences, barbed wire, metal posts, etc. Please pay attention where you step. Closed toed shoes are recommended.

We grow brome grass in the pasture to feed our animals in the winter. Feel free to roam the meadow. We ask you to stay off the grass right before we mow our hay grass.

We started with prairie reconstruction in certain areas of the acreage. We encourage native plants to grow. This is a slow process, so please be considerate of these areas.

At times you might encounter rusted iron parts that previous owners left behind. We recommend being current on your tetanus vaccination.

Petronella Barn

We keep several farm animals in the barn. We have two horses: Lucy (brown draft cross) and Stauci (dark brown and white paint), two goats; Sage (white and brown) and Rosemary (brown), lots of chickens, and barn cats. Please do not feed or pet the animals without permission of the owners.

Feel free to pick up any eggs you find and place them in the fridge. The horses are kept in a drylot and pasture. The fences are electrical and sends small electrical shocks through the wire. Please don’t touch these fences!

Gates need to stay the way you find them either open or closed.

There is no smoking and no open fire allowed in or close to the barn. When weather conditions permit we can enjoy a campfire. In case of fire alerts, no fire nor smoking can take place.

Most of all we encourage you to enjoy our acreage and explore the eleven acres!