Thyme In the Country appeared in the October/November 2014 issue of Organic Hudson Valley. A direct link can be found under Links to Articles.

Approaching Thyme In the Country, a bed and breakfast run by Mary Koch and her husband, Bill, is like driving onto an old-fashioned farm. For travelers looking for a country escape, the establishment offers all the many amenities expected, but in such a way as to avoid the excessive waste that usually results from travel.

Mary and Bill opened Thyme In the Country through a few serendipitous events, along with a little help from the watchful eye of their observant son. The bed and breakfast is located in Hudson, New York, and offers a reprieve where guests can relax and not have to worry about leaving a carbon footprint. They run the establishment on the philosophy that the different things involved in running a home create circles and the more connected the circles are, the less waste created. That, in turn, is better for the environment because there is less human impact. After your stay, you may even leave with some new ideas for cutting waste in your own home!

The couple bought the home before being transferred to the DC area, so they decided to either sell it or fix it up. Mary decided to fix it up and began working on it with her son. He started to notice the connection between the workers and the amounts of energy used as well as the resulting waste. After pointing it out to his mother, she began to scale back.

“We got a cow and that got rid of the lawn mowing guy because the cows ate the grass,” she said. “We saw how much work it was and we decided to make it our work.” They also saw that travelers were looking for farm stays and places they could visit where they could learn about farming practices and living more sustainably. It became something the Kochs incorporated into their home and business. “In a nutshell, it started because of the grass,” Mary said. “The grass led us to make our own soap. We also have pigs because we have a lot of extra milk and pigs thrive on milk.” Pigs have a lot of extra fat and that fat gets turned into soap. This cycle is typical of most of the farm. “Our garden is the heart of our property,” Mary added. “We have a large herb garden. We do a lot with herbs.”

Mary was brought up by an organic mother, which is where she first noticed the idea of connecting circles. “The circles start to connect and if you can connect the circles, the place starts to make sense and have more meaning,” Mary said. “My mother and father made their own compost.” For Mary, doing the work to practice an ecologically friendly lifestyle is a really important aspect of being organic. “There are a lot of reasons we should walk the talk,” she said. “Everyone has their own definition of eco-friendly. In my mind, I want to leave the planet better than when we got here. With five children, I was very conscious of the footprint.”

Keeping that in mind, the Kochs have implemented ways of doing things around their bed and breakfast establishment that don’t leave any permanent scars on the Earth. “If there’s a fire, it’s not going to pollute the air when it burns down,” Mary said. “The best houses just disappear into the soil. We use as little plastic as possible. We don’t use plastic in our garbage cans.” While they do use plastic to store food, Mary is quick to point out, “We could always be better. We don’t feel we’re the best. We’re not bragging. We’re always trying to do things to make those circles close more and more.”

Mary Koch is passionate about living in a way that helps improve the world. “Every time you use something, just think about your grandchildren. Is this really going to be good for the future? Plastic is not good and getting rid of plastic in your life uses a lot of oil.”

Mary gives great advice to her guests as well. Visitors ask about eco-friendly practices that they can take home with them “every day.” Some of her suggestions include eco-friendly air-conditioners, bathtubs, which reduce stress, an outdoor shower, a composting toilet and a clothesline. “When you hang your clothes on a clothesline, there isn’t much ironing,” Mary said. “Also, they smell better and look better. They make your whole room smell good.”

One aspect of running a green, ecologically friendly bed and breakfast that Mary particularly enjoys is people who come and stay that are also heavily involved in living green and eco-friendly lifestyles and give her advice.

“It’s getting kind of trendy to be eco now,” Mary said. “In my mind, I worry about people who are doing eco-friendliness for an economic reason as opposed to be eco-friendly themselves. The responsibility is not a financial thing or a business feature. It’s more a donation to society. It’s more like a gift. That’s where people should be coming from when they’re choosing a place to stay.”

Mary finishes with a statement that is applicable to not only ecologically friendly practices, but other aspects of life as well. “Community is part of the world and making it a better place.”

Suggestions For Greening Your Home:

-Reusable cloth napkins

-Reusing plastic bags

-Making your own ice cubes

-Using fallen wood to make furniture (reclaimed lumber)

-Employing local artisans, which cuts down on usage of fossil fuels

-Growing your own vegetables and lessening use of chemicals in your garden