The Farmers

 

 Maggie 

It has been quite a life, and if mine were a calendar, I am approaching the 4th quarter in early October. In so many ways it is easier now than ever because I am simply living life, not building or striving for anything​. I was born in Mount Vernon NY and raised in Westchester County. I was a late in life child and my parents were Depression-era WWII people. Nothing was wasted and the skills of a handmade life were quickly imprinted. Gardening, sewing, cooking, mechanics, plumbing, and carpentry were all skills my parents demonstrated to some degree. If not, my father called a sibling or in-law. My mother was stoic to a fault and loaded with common sense. I wish she lived to see the woman she influenced. My father was kind and quick with a joke. I wish he lived to see me appreciate him.

In 1987, my family was involved in a fatal car accident that instantly killed my mother and left me badly injured. Learning how to walk the planet and carry my weight authentically has been my greatest lesson that I am forever grateful. 

I was married with 2 young sons when I first walked this land in 1994. I knew I was home instantly and my relationship to this land that I steward has been the ultimate albatross of my dreams. My sons raised here were conscious of our relationship to the land that gave, and took, so much from us.

In 1996, I came out as a lesbian and have lived that truth openly since. I became a nurse, both emergency department and critical care areas, and married another nurse. As a trauma nurse in training, I met Victor Borghi and his lovely wife Joan. He was in his 80s and in a logging accident. He yelled at us forcefully with 8 broken ribs and I knew we were going to be friends. Vic taught me his lifelong skill of beekeeping and Joan passed on wax rendering and candle making to me. It was a time I cherished as I was handed down skills of bee care long forgotten by most.

Kelly and I were married in 2007 with our friends and children standing for our union. I am stepmother to 3 amazing women that came to my spouse through the foster care system. We are a family in the most untraditional sense of the word that simply works.

In 2015, Kelly moved here full time and we became Honey Pot Farm. We live our way through solutions and opportunities from problems that have yet to be strong enough to divide us. I am blessed to live beside a strong woman as we create our handmade, small batch life. My life here is more than I ever envisioned for myself. The present is everything I want and indeed the sunset is pretty wonderful from this vantage point.  

 

 

 Kelly

Hi I'm Kelly - born homesteader, wife, mother, registered nurse, and co-owner of Honey Pot Farm. I grew up raising all of our food, hand milked cows before and after school, and churned the cream into butter during the evenings. I learned how to preserve the fruits & vegetables we raised from my mother. Though she is now 87, she continues to small batch can.

I have always wanted to be a nurse, and this past March was 41 years in nursing. My professional career took me all over the country, landing on Vashon Island, WA for 12 years. This is where I became an adoptive mom to 3 beautiful daughters, opened a restaurant and catering company, and became aware of beekeeping from friends who had a small apiary for a few years before I met them. I had a small vegetable, herb, and flower garden, and thought the bees would help with the pollination. This is where I learned small scale beekeeping. My father also became very interested in the bees during a visit to WA. I sent him his first hive for Fathers Day one year.

I moved back to the Berkshires in 2004 with the girls after my father became ill with Parkinson’s. I met Maggie in 2005, and we married in 2007 combining our 2 families. 

We began keeping bees in the Berkshires, and when the youngest girls were in college we decided to consolidate to one house, which is now lovingly called Honey Pot Farm. It’s home. The land feeds our bodies and our souls. You can take a deep breath here, all the way down to your toes.

I began making hand balm when we had an abundance of wax capping and my hands were a mess. I shared my balm with medical colleagues who also struggled with chapped, cracked hands and feet, and my parents with fragile skin.

We’ve developed Honey Pot Farm to be right sized for us as we age. We love sharing our handcrafted life with family and friends, new and old.