North Royalton Ohio

NOTE: Some dates listed are flexible. Other dates are possible. Let us know what works for you. If you need to fill in dates, contact us! We are often able to be flexible with our travel plans!

For sitters who are new to us, for the first sit we like to start with a shorter duration before long term when we go overseas. This is to ensure the sit is a good fit for us AND you. So if you are interested in long-term sits with us, please let us know when you might be available for a week or two for a first-time sit. We can usually be flexible, so if you have dates you need to fill in we can often find SOMEWHERE to go!

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We are Lisa and Gary. Gary is a third-generation brick and stone mason. Lisa is an attorney with specialized training in international environmental/ marine law and governance who is also pursuing her PhD. We also run a small organic self-serve farm market on our property, specializing in eggs from our flock of free-range, organic-fed chickens, seasonal organic produce, and raw honey.

We both share an interest in being good stewards for our planet and its critters--wild and domestic! We travel frequently for pleasure and work related. Some trips are long weekends, some a week or two, and once or twice per year we are overseas for two-three months each.

This sit may be better suited to a couple to share chores; however we have had single sitters who managed fine.

In exchange for sharing our special home and property, our ideal sitter couple would be:

*Reliable, stable, responsible, dependable, trustworthy,, no drama, and good communicators with a deep love and respect for animals, wildlife and nature.
*No potentially conflicting variables or unsettled situations (work or personal) that could disrupt your care commitment. When we are away (especially overseas), we cannot easily and quickly come home if you need to leave.
*You should enjoy quiet living, being alone on property, being content to spend a lot of time on property with opportunities to explore, etc. for shorter durations during daytime and anytime after dusk when chores done for day. We also can try to make arrangements for local coverage to put chickens away on special occasions when you want an evening out.

The ideal candidate is also a person/couple who are experienced in and enjoy light livestock working farm sits. Experienced with chickens and cats, not afraid to get a little dirty, fit enough to keep chicken house clean, ability to (learn) hot tub care, live cleanly and gently in our home, able and willing to adapt schedule to farm chore needs (am and pre-dusk, avg 2-4 hours/day), willingness to be at property bulk of time, desires long-term (2-3 month) sits when needed (Unless you prefer to be one of our shorter-term sitters), and is interested in repeat stays.

We are focused on developing an ongoing relationship with a few different ideal sitters/couples. If you desire to come and stay in the Northeast Ohio area on a regular basis for family, work or fun reasons, even better! This allows an ongoing relationship to be developed--both between the humans and the non-human animals! We are even open to scheduling our ongoing travel around these special sitters' plans/needs with advance notice and in the instances we are able to do so.

You are welcome to share in the bounty of our organic garden for personal consumption if in season and you help tend to it for sales at our on site, self-serve market.

Although you will stay in our home when we are gone, we do have space to park a RV on our wooded property if needed/desired..

*Guests/visitors not allowed without prior discussion, virtually meeting them and our consent.
*No smoking or illegal substances allowed on the property.

OUR HOME
We have the best of both worlds being located on 11 wooded acres in a lovely home with a stream and wildlife,

We are on the edge of both suburban and semi-rural areas, 8 miles away from Cuyahoga Valley National Park (7th most visited National Park in the U.S.) and its activities/features, 25 miles away from Cleveland culture and Lake Erie beauty and activities: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Flats, Severance Hall (home of the world famous Cleveland Orchestra), University Circle, Cleveland Art Museum, Playhouse Square and SO much more!

Our home is very comfortable, with covered front porch, back deck with hot tub spa, back patio with fire pit, rec room with wood burning stove and second kitchen, basement pool table and workout area with stationary bike, treadmill, inversion table, etc.

High speed internet for home based work.

Weekly housekeeper provided.
Grass cutting and snow plowing services provided.
Utilities provided.
*Transportation needed. Can be discussed.

Exciting perk offered to ideal sitters with whom we develop an ongoing sitting relationship! Ask us about it!

SIT DESCRIPTION
*This is a small-scale farm sit. In addition to our two cats and one fish aquarium inside, we have 60+ chickens who free-range outside during the day. Minimum farm duties include daily morning (8-9 am) and early evening (pre-dusk) chores in sun, rain, or snow, so your schedule must be able to accommodate specific chore times. You need outside work clothes, boots, are okay with cleaning chicken poop from roosting areas and using pitchfork to turn/change bedding for longer stays. and don't mind getting a little sweaty or dirty.

*Light repair of farm stuff (plastic fencing, feeders, etc) if needed.

*Our two cats get homeopathic oral drops with a dropper in the morning 6 days per week (they are used to getting this and will allow you to do once they get used to you). One cat, Clarence, gets an inhaler treatment morning and evening every day. This involves holding a rubber device over his nose and mouth and squirting one spray of medicine and holding while he breathes it in for 10 breaths. Clarence is used to getting this and will allow you to do it no problem once he gets used to and trusts you.

*We run a small-scale self-serve organic market from our property year round. Customers can come from 9am until dusk daily. They serve themselves and put money in a kiosk by the garage. You just need to keep the frig stocked with clean eggs (and produce if in season and agreed upon), get the money at the end of each day and keep a simple tally sheet of sales. A bell will ring inside the house when customers pull in (Usually from 0-4 times daily). There is complete privacy for you inside the house and in the back yard and back property.

Responsibilities include:

CHICKEN CARE
* am and pre-dusk chicken care, out in morning/in at dusk
* Rooster turn out--this involves picking up our lame rooster and putting him in his outside pen and bringing him in if it rains or inclement weather. Our roosters are friendly to humans, with a young one in training now.
* Keeping chicken feeders and waterers full
* Cleaning roosts and laying boxes (this involves scraping chicken poop into bag with tool, work clothes, we provide gloves)
*Replace chicken house straw monthly (this involves shovel, wheelbarrow, work clothes--only on multi-month stays)
* Egg collection--this sometimes involves reaching under chickens (they don't hurt!) and bending/kneeling to reach lower nests
* Washing eggs and keeping self serve market fridge stocked with eggs (year round)
*Additional market stocking open for discussion

CAT CARE
* am/pm cat feeding, playing, snuggling
*am homeopathic oral drops for both cats and am/pm breathing treatment for one cat
* scoop cat litter box daily--change, add litter as needed
* monthly nail trim (we will teach you if you are not experienced)

FISH CARE
*lights on/off, feeding, adding water to tank and tank cleaning for longer stays,

PLANT CARE
* plant watering
*Organic garden care and stocking/take down of self-serve market on property open for discussion in season--Share in organic produce for personal consumption if helping to care for garden

HOME CARE
* collect mail, take out trash
*empty dehumidifiers as needed
* twice weekly hot tub spa maintenance (training/instructions provided)

Will meet ~3-5 days prior to our departure (for first sits--shorter advance time for subsequent sits) to introduce each other, demonstrate and teach house and farm routine, and answer questions.
Detailed reference manual provided with emergency contacts..

We are listed on other house sitting sites and have testimonials there from prior sitters. We can share these with you as we move along in discussion.

We think you will come to love our home, property and animal friends (almost) as much as we do!

If interested and you think this is a fit, please get in touch and we can schedule a video conversation to more properly 'meet' and talk details.

With appreciation,
Lisa and Gary