Tara's Meadow

About the Homestay

• Welcomes
• Males
• Females
• Couples
• Families
• Students

Tara's Meadow home is an “old fashioned cabin in the woods”, a quiet bed & breakfast on beautiful Beaver Island. It adjoins Tara's Meadow nonprofit retreat and educational center, with 20 private acres of forest and meadow. We have access to lakes and trails, marshes and nature preserves nearby. You host Seamus (who resides with you on the premises) is an official tour guide for Beaver Island! He can be contracted for hikes or driving tours of the Island’s history and nature sites, or he can simply point you in the right direction with a map. Seamus occupies a bedroom upstairs on a separate floor from the private guest bedroom downstairs. He is sensitive to guests needs for privacy, but also enjoys socializing if this is desired.

OUR BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUELY-DESIGNED CEDAR HOME features a lovely private guest room downstairs (photo) with simple, comfortable living facilities. As you climb the spiral staircase you enter our "in the round" loft and meditation space upstairs, where you can sleep beneath the circular cedar ceiling with the cupola overhead (see photo.) Upstairs also features a half bathroom and balcony deck (see photo) extending out in the soft green light of the forest for your use. Visitors and pilgrims can stay either upstairs, or downstairs in the guest bedroom (see photo) in our quiet forest home. The more adventuresome can choose the solitude of our new 20' geodesic dome for simple rustic "glamping" out in the Meadow (see photos.)

THE BEAVER ISLAND ARCHEPELAGO is composed of ten small islands that peek above the fresh waters of northeast Lake Michigan, far enough from the mainland to be environmentally distinct and relatively well preserved. An abundance of natural life thrives: 19 mammal species and hundreds of fish, bird, insect, and plant species all supported by a remarkable variety of beaches, forests, wetlands, and other habitats. The large inhabited Island contains 6 inland lakes and representations of every ecosystem in Michigan. And on the biggest island, Beaver, stands the great lake's largest settlement - a year-round community for seven generations, distinct for its relaxed pace, quality of life, and resilience.

OUR UNIQUE WILDERNESS HOME provides our guests a respite away from the tumult of “civilization” and those electronic devices that so distract and tether us on the mainland. We have only sounds of the breeze in the trees, the occasional calls of coyotes, spring peepers, sandhill cranes or barred owls to awaken us. We provide a landline for your calls, but your home-base is a quiet space free of cell-phones, televisions, or the internet. Guests can travel to the nearby airport, or drive 20 minutes into the charming Island town of St James on Paradise Bay, to use the free wi-fi services and computers at the library or the Community Center.

BATHROOMS, SLEEPING QUARTERS We have a full bath for your private use downstairs adjoining our kitchen, living room, and guest room. Couples will enjoy the privacy downstairs of our guest bedroom, with its queen-sized bed for two, closet, dresser, and beautiful birch tree window view. You also have a separate private entrance/exit to the forest outdoors. The living room area and kitchen downstairs are shared space with your host, but can be arranged to be used just by yourselves when cooking. Families often love to add the upstairs “tree house” meditation room for their children to sleep “in the round” beneath the circular cedar ceiling with its cupola and skylight overhead (see photo.) We provide comfortable mattresses upstairs on the oak floor for sleeping up to 4. It comes with a half bathroom and a deck overlooking the forest.

GEODESIC DOME We also have a geodesic dome (see photos) at a distance from the house that some folks enjoy "glamping" in. It has a fold down futon couch/bed for sleeping, ample additional space for folks who bring sleeping bags and air mattresses, a sit-down latrine, and delicious hauled-in well water. It is a wonderful private space just a 5 minute walk from the main home.

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