Emily Rogalski with the Country View Hometead’s mini pony. (TANYA ROGALSKI PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Growing up, Tanya Rogalski dreamed of the farm life.
Hard work did not intimidate her, even as a child, and baking, raising animals and tending gardens seemed like the perfect life. And now, she is living her dream at her home on East Mountain Road.
Country View Homestead was started this past year by Rogalski and her husband Matt, neither of whom had farmed before.
“Having a homestead has been my dream since I was a little girl,” Rogalski said. “When someone would ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up . . . a farmer was always the answer.”
It was not until recently that Rogalski began working toward that dream. She had spent much of her life raising her children and being creative, selling her handmade home décor and candles while she taught her children. But homesteading was never far from her mind and heart.
“Horses, pigs, chickens and any other animals I could get my hands on was my goal,” she said. “I wanted to grow as much food as possible to give my family and myself a healthier lifestyle. There’s nothing better than cooking a meal and walking outside to your garden and harvesting what you need right out of the garden.”
In 2018 Rogalski started to make that dream come true.
“We lived in an apartment that had five overgrown raised beds in the yard. I don’t think anyone had touched them in years,” she recalled. “That’s when I decided to start growing gardens. I weeded those beds and planted tomato, squash, broccoli and all kinds of other seeds. To my surprise, they all grew! It’s such a great feeling when you start to see those tiny seedlings start to appear.”
Rogalski had a small taste of her dream life and wanted to add animals to their mini-homestead.
Ayden Rogalski and the Country View Homestead pony. (TANYA ROGALSKI PHOTO)
“I contacted our landlord to ask if we could get a couple of chickens. He said no because we were in a residential area and they can get loud when laying eggs, which is very true,” she said. “That’s when I started thinking about getting quiet animals — that’s how we decided on rabbits. I set to building a rabbit hutch out of two large wooden cable spools and some chicken wire. When it was done, we got three rabbits. It was an exciting time for me. I was finally starting to fulfill my dream of having a farm.”
Her excitement was interrupted when Rogalski noticed her tonsils were swollen. It was 18 months into her new venture, and it didn’t end there.
“I went to my ENT. The look on his face said it all,” she said. “Two days later I was having a tonsillectomy. Six days after that, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Follicular Lymphoma. I just kept thinking how ironic it was that I had started on this healthier journey and here I was being told I had cancer at 44 years-old. I didn’t know what my future was going to look like. I did, however, know that this diagnosis was not going to stop me from building my homestead.”
Rogalski’s diagnosis motivated her to fast-forward her plans. In addition to gardening, raising meat became part of the plan.
“The idea was to be as self-sufficient as possible. I told myself that if I was going to die, I was going to do it while living my dream,” she said.
Less than a year later, the Rogalskis purchased their homestead at 412 East Mountain Road. It wasn’t perfect, but it was theirs.
“It doesn’t have as much land as I had hoped for, but it will do for now and who knows, maybe we can find more property in the future,” she said. “After moving in, I hit the ground running. It didn’t matter that it was the end of winter, I wanted my animals. We immediately got hens, meat chickens and pigs. A few months later we added goats and a few more rabbits. Now we also have a mini horse to round out our homestead.”
The Rogalski family. (TANYA ROGALSKI FACEBOOK PHOTO)
A farmstand out front welcomes customers. Rogalski spruced up a shed, adorning it with her country flair, and created raised beds in the front side yard.
“I wanted it to look different than the back gardens. I wanted it to be an oasis,” she said. “There are arches for the peas and cucumbers to climb over. I made my antique water pump into a water feature and added a table and two chairs. We also built, what I call, a ‘frankenfence’ to surround the whole thing. I planted almost all of the seedlings I had growing in my greenhouse in all of the beds and along the fence. I wanted this to be a garden that people visiting the farm stand would love to walk through. They can see where the vegetables come from and know that it’s all grown right here.”
Two years ago, Rogalski began homeschooling her children and the two youngest have taken to life on the farm. The yard is often their school. Rogalski said exploring the woods is a favorite “classroom” and they learn math using real-life situations.
“Science is learned by experimenting and getting hands on. My kids know how to grow gardens, raise animals, butcher chickens and can cook a full meal,” she said. “After this past year, I’d say those are skills that are definitely needed. Our son, Ayden, loves homesteading so much, he wrote a book about the history of it which also includes some of his own experiences.”
Rogalski said she wished she had grown up this way, but her childhood farm was made from toys.
“I always knew I would do it for real one day,” she said. “Now, seeing my kids be so involved and loving this lifestyle, makes me so proud. I know that we are giving them the best life we can.”
Chickens at the Country View Homestead at 412 East Mountain Road. (TANYA ROGALSKI PHOTO)
Rogalski said she doe not know why farming and homesteading were so important to her.
“I’m not really sure why I always wanted a homestead. I just know it needs to be a part of my life,” she said. “It is all I have ever wanted to do and here I am, doing it. Sometimes I go out with the animals, I look around at them, the gardens and everything we’ve built and my eyes fill up with tears. I have such an amazing sense of happiness and gratitude. We built our entire homestead with our own two hands. We started from nothing and just went for it.”
The farmstand offers organically grown vegetables, fresh baked breads, free-range eggs, whole chickens, pork cuts and more. Rogalski also sells home decor items such as signs, wreaths and organic soy candles. Their own honey and goat milk products will soon be added to the growing list of offerings.
“We grow everything right here on our farm so when I say ‘fresh picked,’ I mean I just went out to the garden and harvested it. Doesn’t get fresher than that,” she said.
Country View Homestead can also be rented for several hours for anyone who wants to explore homesteading. Guests can help feed the animals, collect eggs and more. Birthday parties on the farm will be offered as well as classes on raising meat.
Country View Homestead has several flower-adorned sheds and greenhouses on the property. (TANYA ROGALSKI PHOTO)
“My goal for the future is to be as self-sustaining as possible by living off the land and although this lifestyle is a lot of hard work, it is the most rewarding and absolutely amazing way to live,” Rogalski said.
And as far as her cancer is concerned, Rogalski is living life.
“Technically, I cannot be cured. We watch and wait to see if it will rear its ugly head again, but I am happy to say that it has been two years since I was diagnosed and I have yet to need any treatment,” she said. “When it comes back, my body has healed itself. I wholeheartedly believe that it is due to my lifestyle change. Growing and eating the healthiest food I possibly can is a big part of homesteading but working the land and being in nature are just as important. From watching the bees pollinate the gardens to taking Claire [the homestead pony] for a walk and even harvesting our meat chickens that we raised in a humane and healthy way, homesteading not only feeds my stomach, it also feeds my soul.”
For more information on Country View Homestead, its hours and offerings, visit www.countryviewhomestead.com, like their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram.
