Mary's Meadow at Fernwood Farm Bed & Breakfast

09/10/2026

If I didn't love autumn so much our pool closing would have ruined my day.

I love the heated pool at Fernwood Farm and all the fun summer days spent in and around it! Great memories with the guests, outdoor breakfasts, and leisurely hours floating around, reading good books and napping!

Trees are beginning to change colors and the leaves are beginning to fall.

My garden is producing the last vegetables, although the tomatoes are finally ripening!

Cooler temperatures at night, and the kids went back to school!

The signs of autumn are here but it has been a wonderful summer of 2026!

09/05/2026

And this one! Check it out!

Find a bed and breakfast for sale in the United States (USA), Canada, and the Caribbean. Choose from hundreds of listings or sell your inn on InnsForSale.com today. Also get information on selling a B&B from experts in the field.

09/05/2026

We just went live on these 2 B&B for Sale sites!
Check them out!
Would love to see our Fernwood Farm continue as a bed & breakfast! That would be an answer to prayer. 🙏

Popular 4 room bed and breakfast located walking distance to the village of Cazenovia and it’s fabulous lake. Property is also conveniently close to the Meirs Creek Farm Brewery and its restaurant. Set on 6.25 acres this property has stunning gardens and lawns, views of Cazenovia Lake from the bac...

08/31/2026

Popular 4 room bed and breakfast located walking distance to the village of Cazenovia and it’s fabulous lake. Property is also conveniently close to the Meirs Creek Farm Brewery and its restaurant. Set on 6.25 acres this property has stunning gardens and lawns, views of Cazenovia Lake from the bac...

08/30/2026

Come take a look!

OPEN HOUSE
4023 Rippleton Road
Cazenovia, NY 13035
Sunday, August 30th, 2026
1pm - 3pm

08/27/2026

So now you all know our B&B story and enough about us!
Now it is my turn to ask you some questions.😀😊
Answer all or as few as you want!

-How did you find us the first time?

-What brought you to Cazenovia?

-Your best memory of Mary's Meadow and/or Fernwood Farm?

-Your best memory of Cazenovia?

-Favorite restaurant in Cazenovia or in the area?

-Favorite sightseeing attraction/spot?

-Favorite store in town?

This is the hard question to ponder, but feedback is so important not just for me, but for everything our area offers.

-What didn't you like? Disappointments?

08/26/2026

Karen asked, "Who was your first guest"?

Scroll down to the bottom if you want the answer without a lengthy story to read!!!

Way back in 2009, right after we bought Mary's Meadow, (17 years ago!!!), we settled into the home with the intention of continuing to look for bed & breakfasts for sale after the disaster of "The Battle Island Bed & Breakfast". Mary's Meadow was never intended to be a bed & breakfast. It was a home that I fell in love with and a home we could settle into while continuing our search for an operating bed & breakfast to buy.

So to backtrack just a bit...we found an c.1840 Italianate home in the town of Granby, near Oswego where our youngest daughter had started college. The home was called "The Battle Island Inn Bed & Breakfast". It was directly across the street from the Battle Island Golf course and a few other local attractions that would entice guests to our property. There was a real outdoor movie theatre that still exists to this day!!!!

I didn't love it; in fact it was shabby and I was rather unsure if this was the right place for me to fulfill my dream. But I did agree with Howard that this would be a start since we had never done anything like this before.

Remember, "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps".

The price was right, and the sellers accepted our offer. After accepting an offer for our Long Island home, we filled 4 PODS, and headed north (with our animals, frozen food in coolers, our houseplants, etc.) after the closing to close on our new property the next day. The morning of closing, our lawyer called and said the sellers couldn't legally sell the property to us since they had 2 mortgages, and hadn't paid them off. One mortgage was to The Bank of America, and the sellers believed Obama when he said that mortgage debt had been forgiven. Because they couldn't close on the house, and we legally had "time is of the essence", we walked away from the property. Praise the Lord. He always has His plans for us.

I happily settled into Mary's Meadow and tried to forget the past few months. Life was good! One day Howard said to me, "you know we could easily convert this home into a bed & breakfast".
We could add bathrooms, put a door here....." and so it began!

Our mailman, bless his heart, had a family wedding coming up. Since we had been talking to him over the months we were renovating he asked to let us know when we would open. With so much still to do and finish, we laughed and said in a couple of years"!!!! Be he was in earnest and needed accommodations for his family that September.

We were flattered that he was so interested, and with the pressure on we accepted his request for his family to come and stay.

The night before the first guests were to arrive, the carpenter was still tiling a bathroom, I was setting up the rooms, Howard was painting, but we did it.

From that point forward, word spread and my/our dream came true!

So, Karen, the real answer to your question is... the mailman!

08/25/2026

We have no words for this lovely gift. So grateful for our guests that have become wonderful friends over the years.
😊🥰😊😊🥰🥰😊😊🥰🥰😊😊😊🥰😊

08/20/2026

This question had me in stitches laughing!!!

One of my repeat guests asked, "I literally come for your amazing home-cooked breakfasts, and seeing the menu on my bed is the highlight of our stay!!! Did you go to cooking school, and how do you choose your menu" What is the most popular breakfast you cook?

Seriously, Steve???? While I purport that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I see you take that quite seriously! 😂

No, I did not go to cooking school. As a stay-at-home mom of 4 and wife to Howard I had years of hands-on-training within a tight food budget. I do come from a family that truly enjoys entertaining so I learned more from my grandmother and mother than I could have imagined. It's not just cooking, it's the presentation, the ambiance and making breakfast as appealing as possible. And having guests enjoy my food...well that just makes my heart sing!

Building my menu is fun and easy. Since I am grateful that I can cook-to-order, and not serve continental, I choose my menu based on items that can be made in advance, and even frozen, like my hash brown casseroles. Those do not stay in my freezer for very long! The menu is also practical, choosing things that Howard and I also enjoy for breakfast. As I always say, "nothing goes to waste here, the dogs and chickens love all the leftovers".

My rotating menu assures me that I don't get bored cooking the same breakfasts over and over. I go with the seasons and offer fresh produce from my garden in the spring and summer.

The printed menu serves me well as guests fill them out the night before. If I have run out of something or need a particular ingredient I can make a quick run to the store. 😊

I don't think there is one particular breakfast that is the favorite of guests. It's more the choices one can make within the options. I wish I could figure out how many pounds of bacon or hash brown casseroles in ramekins I have cooked over the past 15 years!

French toast made with authentic challah bread and pancakes based on an c.1808 recipe (receipt) is always a favorite.

The appetizer basket is my way of ensuring guests don't get bored while waiting for their cooked-to-order breakfast to be served. This is where I can get really creative and bake things on a whim also depending on the season. I don't bake gingerbread in the summer, but I do bake blueberry muffins, peaches & cream bread, triple berry scones and many other items that highlight the flavors of the season. As a hobby beekeeper, with lots of honey jars in my pantry, I substitute honey for sugar and add infusions wherever I can!

It seems the blueberry muffins and cinnamon crumb cake are the most popular "appetizer" basket items. I am happy to share the recipe for my muffins with you all. Remember, recipes are just guidelines. Make them your own as I always do.



MARY’S MEADOW/FERNWOOD FARM B&B
BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Grease your choice of muffin tin

3 tbsp. butter
1 c. sugar (can substitute ¾ c. Fernwood Farm honey!)
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ c. milk (I use buttermilk)
2 c. blueberries (fresh during summer months; frozen in the winter months and no need to defrost.)

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat. Add alternately dry ingredients with milk. Mix well. Stir in blueberries.

I like to use my oversized muffin pan so this recipe will make 6 XL muffins. Bake for approximately 38 minutes.

If making 12 regular size muffins, bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes.

*For seasonal muffins (red, white & blue), add 1 cup fresh (or frozen) raspberries and 1 cup blueberries. A capful of almond flavoring is a lovely addition. Try 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts if desired. This recipe is very versatile, so make it your own!

Enjoy!

Keep your questions coming! I am having a blast answering them and keeping in touch with you all. 🥰

08/19/2026

OPEN HOUSE at FERNWOOD FARM ESTATE
Sunday, August 23rd, 2026
1-3pm
Meet and Greet with Eric Burrell - Limestone Creek Properties