Photo by Jack Graham/O-R
Sandra Brown is quite upfront with people inquiring about staying at her bed and breakfast in rural western Greene County: Don't expect fancy amenities and you may have to dodge a few wayward chickens on your way to the front door.
"I make it very clear that this is a working farm. There are no heart- shaped hot tubs here," Brown said from her nearly 100-year-old farmhouse in Holbrook, about 13 miles west of Waynesburg.
The 62-year-old Pittsburgh native owns and operates So'Journey Farm, a hybrid business of sorts that acts as part tourist attraction, part artist haven, part eco-friendly farm.
Antique furniture outfits most of the rooms in the large farmhouse, and Brown's own art pieces, intricately woven rugs, decorate the walls and floors. Outside, guests of the So'Journey Farm find beautiful views, peaceful surroundings and perhaps a little creative inspiration.
They won't find many television sets or modern technological distractions. Instead, the guests are encouraged to take in the beauty of the area by hiking the woods or fishing for catfish at the one-acre pond on the property.
"You can't help but feel it when you come to this area – how beautiful the stars are at night, how quiet it is and the animals are a component of the experience," Brown said.
The beauty of the area motivated a few poems and paintings. Several guests have given Brown their farm-inspired work, and Brown collects these musings in a guest book dating to when the bed and breakfast opened in 2006.
Artists can also partake in one of the rug-hooking workshops that Brown holds at the farm. She has taught the craft for about 25 years, but she usually travels all over the country to hold her classes.
A few years ago, Brown decided to move her workshops to a place in the country and have the students come to her. She camped in Greene County in the early 1990s and loved the raw beauty. So, she uprooted her life in suburban Pittsburgh and purchased a four-bedroom farm near Holbrook.
"I decided (four years ago) if I don't do this now, I never will. I lived most of my life in Pittsburgh. I had a sweet home in Edgewood. I went to the symphony; I went to Europe," Brown said. "It was great, but it was nothing like watching calves being born and getting fresh eggs everyday."
The farm became a way for Brown to combine her passions for cooking, art and sustainable agriculture.
Brown uses environmentally friendly farming techniques, where the uncaged chickens roam freely, the beef cattle eat only grass, and pesticides and chemical fertilizers are shunned.
The result, Brown said, is higher quality and healthier food, which is the basis for all meals that Brown prepares for guests staying at the bed and breakfast.
Chickens on the farm are free range, not cooped up in tiny cages, so they naturally graze everywhere on Brown's 45 acres. The animals often walk within a few feet of guests who choose to hike the property.
Because of this activity, the birds lay eggs that are unlike what are found in the grocery store. "They have almost a completely different color because they have so much more beta carotene and (vitamin) B12 and all the other good stuff in there," Brown said.
People seem more than willing to pay a premium for the food items, which also includes a large roasting hen that Brown raises in the summer.
Kevin Paul preaches the benefits of sustainable agriculture through a demonstration farm, the Tally Hollow Farm, near Spraggs. The government-funded project aims to teach local farmers how to make their farms profitable as well as environmentally friendly.
"We try to promote the model as a way to make money, but certainly, the environmental (benefits) are a nice side effect. We encourage people to keep their carbon footprints low because that's mainly where your costs are," Paul said.
Brown spent most of her life in an urban environment, so learning how to farm was not easy and involved a lot of trial and error. Neighbors, whose families have been farming for generations, have been an invaluable resource.
I was completely ignorant, but if you pay attention to the animals and observe them, in no time at all, you will be able to anticipate what they need," Brown said. "You just have to ask for help and my neighbors have been more than willing to pitch in."