Guest House, Part 5

written by

Sandra Ressler

posted on

June 13, 2023

I've been telling you the story about the guest house we've purchased, and I've given you some farm history leading up to the  "why" of this project.  If you want the details so far, you can read the previous blog pages:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.   This whole thing ended up being a lot longer than I thought, but I promise, today I'll finish the story!

As I said last week, you can see that various family members have owned various parts of the farm over the years, but it's been in the family since 1893...130 years.  We'd like to see that continue as long as possible!

Then, in January of this year, we were blind-sided by tragedy...Marita's husband passed away unexpectedly.  This was a very difficult time, especially for her, of course.  But God has a way of bringing joy out of pain.  The silver lining for Marita is that she found a house close to her daughter's family in Canton (about a half hour away from us).  This house is perfect for her...it's small, several doors away from her grandchildren, and even has a playground and fenced in back yard.  (This picture was taken in February for the realtor listing.)

Marita'a-backyard.jpg

This meant that she needed to sell her farm property.  Like I said, we'd like to keep it in the family, and no one else was interested in/able to purchase it at this time.

One of my dreams has been to have a guest house/short-term rental/Airbnb property of some kind.  I enjoy doing hospitality projects.  I've actually been researching tiny house plans, thinking it would be fun to put one out in the woods and use it as an Airbnb.  That was a "maybe, sometime, out there in the future" kind of dream.  But when this all happened, I did some very fast research on various aspects of the project and decided to run with it.

So there you have it...there are really 2 parts to the "why" behind this venture:  the desire to keep the property in the family as long as possible, and my hospitality dream.

I will keep you posted over the next month or so as we do some renovations and get the property prepared for guests.

More from the blog

Maple Syrup in October?!

Maple Syrup in October?!

You know how some people do "Christmas in July" events?  How about maple syrup in October?!  Actually, I'm told it IS possible to make syrup in the fall...any time the weather fluctuates between freezing and thawing, sap is drawn up into the tree and can be harvested.  Apparently the yield (amount of sap/number of gallons of syrup) is not as good, and also the flavor is not quite as good, but we don't have experience with that. Obviously we aren't there yet weather-wise...it's still too warm.  And no, we aren't tapping trees in the fall!  But last spring, we saved bottling time during the busiest sugaring days by filling a 40-gallon barrel to use later.  A few days ago we opened that barrel and bottled the syrup.  So it felt a bit like sugaring season.  And that maple aroma when you walk into the sugar house...I never get tired of that!! Grade B Maple Syrup This past spring we ended up with a bunch of end-of-the-season syrup that we felt was not up to our flavor standards (we have a reputation to protect!) so we weren't planning to sell it.  However, we have since realized that we can make it available as "Grade B" syrup. A few years ago the USDA changed the grading system for maple syrup.  The new system has four Grade A syrups: Grade A Golden:  Delicate taste Grade A Amber:  Rich taste Grade A Dark:  Robust taste Grade A Very Dark:  Strong taste This was done because many people were confused by "Grade A" and "Grade B", thinking that Grade A was a superior quality.  In reality there is no difference in quality, only in texture and taste.  So it's more a matter of personal preference. While the official grading system has changed, many people still refer to "Grade A" and "Grade B" syrup.  Grade B syrup, typically produced later in the season (when sap has a lower sugar content and more microbial activity), has a darker color, bolder flavor, thicker viscosity, and increased minerals.  It is often used in cooking and baking.  Grade B syrup is hard to find as a retail product because much of it goes to bakeries and such.  We now have it available while supplies last.  You can order it here.

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Elm Run Farms

  • 16808 Burkhart Road
    Orrville OH 44667
  • 330-317-7283