From The Innkeepers

July 2022 Blog
It Takes a Village to Care for the Inn- A Blog written with a Grateful Heart

Having passed the Summer Solstice and having been blessed with the extended length of these summer days, we have been spending a lot of time being outside caring for the land. From weeding, mulching, and watering the gardens to rebuilding the brick border of the Labyrinth, it has been a busy summer indeed. Usually the three of us undertake all of these chores on our own, but some things are just not within our scope of tools, brute strength, or abilities. This month I am reflecting gratefully both on those things we can do to make this a beautiful sanctuary in nature, and those things that are out of our reach. One goal of this season has been to begin restoring the West woods trail of the Inn. Over the years it had gotten overrun by woody stemmed ferns and was difficult terrain to pass through. Lacking proper, and might I add very expensive, equipment like a brush hog mowing machine, Pat and I attacked the job with a weed whacker and battery powered mower. 2 weeks later, we have completed the south to north leg of the trail which is about a third of a mile long. It doesn’t seem like a huge accomplishment, but to us it was really big to get that done. I love our west woods. To me there is something magical about them, and I love spending time there, and was happy to clear the way so this part of the land would be accessible and enjoyable again. I am grateful for perseverance and the endurance to complete the restoration and usability of this portion of West side trail.

Some of our other woodland areas needed a lot of help this year as well. Earlier in the year, during a storm, we lost a huge Poplar tree on the trail coming up from the Labyrinth Meditation Garden. To the rescue comes our neighbor Pete Alley with his huge trusty Stihl chain saw. A few hours later, between his cutting it down into smaller manageable pieces, and my helping to clear it out of the way, the trail became passable again. Pete is also a retired auto mechanic/technology professor from Ferris State University who helps maintain our Ranger utility vehicle that gets us around on the property. 146 acres is a lot of territory to cover, and we wouldn’t be able to do that as easily without his maintenance advice and help. I am grateful for everything he so willingly does for us.

We have also been trying to over the years clean out the outbuildings of the Inn. Many things were left here by the previous owners as well as things left over from the reconstruction. Every year in June, our township has a waste recycling day for larger items. Over the last several years (yes this has been a multi-year project) our neighbor Elery Barnes has helped us by coming over the day before the event and filling the back end of his trailer, or one year even a dumpster, with everything from leftover pasture gates from when this was a working farm, to old windows circa 1950 from the old farm house. His help generally comes with a huge smile and sometimes a corny joke or two, and often some sage advice, that makes working side by side with him both a learning experience and a fun thing to do. But our best and most memorable Elery story however is the night he came to our rescue and captured the bat that had gotten into the house through the garage. Thankfully, guests were not here, and he was able to quickly grab it off the wall with a towel while the 3 of us, squeamishly and gratefully stood by in the adjacent room until the coast was clear. Needless to say, we are very grateful for Elery.

The other half of the Barnes duo is Annie. She is an extraordinary farmer who brings us gifts from the work of their hands and the abundance of their land. This week for instance we were given quarts of strawberries. Earlier in the spring we enjoyed salad greens, garlic scapes, and copious amounts of wonderful asparagus. Every year we look forward to the seasonal progression of fruits and vegetables she shares with us. We literally have farm to table happening from across the street. Annie is a virtual font of farming knowledge, and readily gives advice on lots of stuff like how to quit choking off our rhubarb patch because the orderly gardener in me laid down landscape fabric to help deter weed growth. Needless to say, we are grateful for Annie.

Switching gears here, earlier this week when we were working on the Lake Trail, once again we found the trail impassable. Half of another huge Poplar tree just split in two, and of course the broken off half landed right across the trail . To the rescue again comes Pete with his chainsaw. This being only half a tree, and mostly the top leafy part it was what was laying across the trail, it was not as difficult to remove. He made short order of it in an hour or so, and then Pat and I cleaned up the debris. But once again we were grateful for Pete and his willingness to quickly help us take care of things to make that trail usable again for upcoming guests.

So, as I think of our life here in the past months and years, it is with a grateful heart for those around us. The quality of our lives here would certainly be diminished without them. Surely you have people in your “village” surrounding you and making the quality of your life better than it would be if they were not a part of it. So this month take time to say “Thank You”, and
show your appreciation to those who affect the quality of your days in a positive way.

May you continue to be blessed.
Gratefully,
Marcia, Pat, and Sharon
Keepers of the Rustic Gate