!4-Lancaster Farming, Sati
B‘
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
We’re getting antsy.
Maybe that’s because winter
has seemed so long and intense
this year.
There’s been ice cover on our
ponds since late November.
That’s almost unprecedented.
Snow has covered the fields
and farm off and on for many
weeks, nearly melting away com
pletely some time ago, then get
ting a repeat layer of ice slicks
and white piles of fluff. That’s
actually been beneficial, provid
ing an insulating coverlet blanket
to fields and plants against
freeze-drying winds and root
heaving cold.
So when I walked into the
house after milking one recent
evening, and realized that, even
in the unlit house, it was still
light enough to see objects, I felt
some silent, inner rejoicing.
When daylight is stretching to
that length, we can be sure that
winter’s back while not quite
broken is at least wearing out.
And with the impatience of
the family 5-year-old, I, too, am
wondering when the grass will
turn green again.
On closer examination, a little
of it already is. At sheltered spots
around the yard, protected by
buildings or slopes, tiny, perky
shoots are pushing up from clus
ters of dried and matted grass
residue. On a few south-facing
corners of the flower beds, daffo
dil bulbs have poked their dur
able noses out from under the
leaf-mulch covers. And a neigh
bor’s willow trees are already
turning that tantalizing soft-gold
shade of imminent leaf-out.
Still, if there was a shred of
doubt that winter harsh edge is
being worn down, it
was dispelled by the
annual return of some
special outside visitors.
Their reassuring
calls coincided with a
morning of warming
temperatures last
week, on a day hinting
more of late March
than mid-February.
Pushing bales down
through the hay-drop
to the heifer pens be
neath, 1 fled that job at
first sound of the over
head calls to dash out
side.
Two dozen Canada
geese were winging
overhead, honking
with what sounded
like the sheer joy of
being alive. And
headed north,
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Moments later, I spotted more
in the meadow below the house,
some poking around residue on
the cornfield, others rooting
through grassy spots melting out
from snowcover around the
ponds. And one pair was stand
ing in the middle of the big pond,
at the spot where the nesting “is
land” is normally located. Or
was before it broke loose and set
tled just under the water level
about the time the ice began
forming on the pond late Novem
ber.
The pair waddled about for
lornly, as if in search of the fa
miliar water-level, wood-pallet
nest base, which we have been
unable to repair because it's been
frozen in solidly for months. Had
I thought it might have eased
their minds, this wildlife land
lord would have dashed to the
pond that very moment with
apologies and promises of repairs
at first full thaw. Guess they’re
getting impatient, too.
Later that morning, several
more seasonal harbingers spotted
our fields. Handsome in their
white and gray outfits, the noisy
seagulls must have come looking
for worms wiggling up out of the
ground as the snowmelt saturat
ed their hibernating burrows.
Accompanying Derra Dog on
her nightly meadow walk a few
evenings later, I made a startling
find about another visitor stirring
around the meadow. As we put
tered along the distant side of
one of the ponds after dark, my
right leg suddenly plunged knee
deep into the ground, almost
pitching me on my face.
When those groundhogs
crawled out of the holes a few
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Bed And Breakfast Seminar
COLUMBUS, Ohio People
who like interaction and are
looking for an alternative source
of income may want to consider
starting a bed and breakfast busi
ness, said Ed Smith, natural re
sources specialist at the East Dis
trict office of Ohio State
University Extension.
More and more people are tak
ing weekend vacations to the
country, and they often want to
stay at a bed and breakfast.
“With some research and a
modest investment, a bed and
breakfast could become a suc
cessful full- or part-time business
for the right type of person,”
Smith said. “The most successful
bed and breakfast owners like to
entertain, cook, show off their fa
cilities and interact with people.”
Smith and his wife, Ann, fami
ly and consumer sciences and
community development agent
at the Muskingum County office
of Ohio State University Exten
sion, have been teaching bed and
breakfast seminars in Ohio and
surrounding states for a number
of years. They also have written
a publication on starting a bed
and breakfast.
The Smiths will be the fea
tured speakers at a seminar, Es
tablishing Your Bed and Break
fast Business, held March 1-2 at
Marietta College in downtown
Marietta, Ohio.
The seminar is for any
one interested in starting a
bed and breakfast and for
current operators looking to
sharpen their skills.
said Eric Barrett, agricul
ture agent at the Washing
ton County office of Ohio
State University Extension
who helped develop the
program.
Many bed and breakfasts
have started with a modest
weeks ago to check the
weather, they must have
brought some muskrat
cousins along with them.
But the muskrats didn’t
go back to sleep. Instead,
they’re out setting traps for
hapless farm wives.
Wonder what my hide
might be worth?
investment of $l,OOO to $3,000.
The major expenses are for li
censes, insurance, minor fix-ups
and marketing, Smith said. He
estimates there are more than
500 bed and breakfasts in Ohio.
The potential earnings from a
bed and breakfast range from a
few thousand dollars per year to
several hundred thousand, he
said.
“There are a number of varia
bles that affect the potential
earnings, such as the number of
bedrooms, location, the lodging
charge, and the number of
months the business is open
throughout the year,” Smith
said.
During the two-day seminar,
the Smiths will discuss how to
start a bed and breakfast, mar
keting a bed and breakfast, food
service, hospitality and sources
of assistance. Other topics sched
uled include how to prepare a
business plan and Internet mar
keting.
A portion of the first afternoon
will include a tour of local bed
and breakfasts. That night, most
participants will stay in a bed
and breakfast to get one-on-one
experience talking with the inn
keepers.
The Establishing Your Bed
and Breakfast Business seminar
is sponsored by Ohio State Uni-
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The program begins at 10:45
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one night’s lodging in a bed and
breakfast. Registration is $9O for
one person, $l4O for two people
registering and staying together,
and $4O per person if they are
not staying in a bed and break
fast on March 1.
The number of registrations
with no overnight accommoda
tions is limited because the expe
rience of staying in a bed and
breakfast is critical to the learn
ing experience, Barrett said.
Pre-registration is required by
Feb. 24. For registration and
more information about the
seminar, contact Barrett at the
Washington County Extension
office, (740) 376-7431 or e-mail
him at barrett.9o@osu.edu. Peo
ple who are interested in starting
a bed and breakfast business but
are unable to attend this pro
gram can receive the program
materials by contacting Ed
Smith at the East District Exten
sion office, (740) 732-2381.