COHOUSING: Creating Balance Between Independence and Interdependence
We’re almost there…really!
Construction Update
Electricity is on, water is about to be turned on (Thank you, Regional Water Authority!) and we are ready to go.
Our gorgeous 4,500 square-foot Common House is looking good – awaiting bathroom tiles and commercial kitchen installation, but all the needed elements are there, including our pizza-making masonry stove that can’t get installed until the Canadian vendor is allowed back in! (Good thing we don’t need heat in August…but we might need pizza…)
And thank you to the Acoustical Engineering students for all your hard work – we just beat the pandemic by a week or two to complete a formal acoustical survey of the multi-purpose dining room and whether it will need adjustments for dining, dancing, music, game night or whatever else we dream up…we’ll have the “baffles”! (Or at least we’ll have the measurements for the sound-proofing baffles).
Summer Solstice 2020
We had to take time out to celebrate – because that’s what we do best. The longest day of the year prompts the longest celebration we can manage.
And speaking of celebrations – we are delighted to introduce you to our newest members: Kyla & Kevin
Kyla and Kevin found out about Rocky Corner through Kyla’s parents, who thought it would be a great fit for them. So they came for the ride and decided that THIS is what they’ve been looking for.
An adventurous duo, they love to travel (when they’re not locked down), so for now Rocky Corner is going to be the adventure of a lifetime. Kyla & Kevin met when both were doing interdisciplinary undergraduate work (so millennial): he in library science, computers and theater and she in English literature and educational leadership.
When Kevin isn’t studying or working, he is most likely reading, playing video games, hiking, making kombucha and hot sauce, or planning the next adventure for his Dungeons and Dragons group.
Kyla is a life-long Nutmegger & creative writing aficionado. She likes hiking, experimental baking (yay – experimental pizza in our masonry stove!), working on her fantasy novel, and browsing Petfinder.com (so SO millennial) with Kevin in hopes of one day getting a dog who will be oh-so-happy on the farm.
Dreamers & Doers – they fit right in!!
Poem by Richard Wright, 1945
Black Boy
I was leaving the South
to fling myself into the unknown…
I was taking a part of the South
to transplant in alien soil,
to see if it could grow differently,
if it could drink of new and cool rains,
bend in strange winds,
respond to the warmth of other suns
and, perhaps, to bloom.
It’s that time again…to be thinking about our favorite friends, the two-legged, the four-legged and the thousand-legged
Pollinator Pathways started on the East coast in Connecticut to deal with the dramatic decline in insects & bees that has happened worldwide. The goal is to re-plant many native species in swaths throughout the town. Rocky Corner folks will survey our land and decide where to plant more natives.
It so happens that Rocky Corner was a chestnut forest before it was a dairy farm. (Who knew?!) The old farmhouse was largely made of native chestnut. We couldn’t save the c. 1740 house, but Urban Miners (run by Kyla’s dad, Joe) deconstructed the building and saved beautiful chestnut boards boards that we can use again.
As Rocky Corner reinvigorates native species, we’ll welcome the return of diverse plants and pollinators to live amongst us farm-happy folks. Hello milkweed, monarch butterflies, native bees and all their friends.
And speaking of all our friends – furry and otherwise – we want to invite everyone to come see our staged home. Please share our Virtual Open House Presentations every Monday evening on your social media. And don’t forget to mention that – in the spirit of diversity, creativity and community – we are proud to be participating with the State of Connecticut’s Neighborhood Housing Service (NHS) to make some homes at Rocky Corner part of the affordable housing network of CT. A few of these homes are still available (see photos here and the pink box below for details), as well as several of our other 1, 2 & 3 bedroom homes.
All of the homes at Rocky Corner are ADA-accessible with at least one bedroom & bath on the main floor, solid wood cabinetry, maple stairs leading to an upstairs loft, and large south-facing double-glazed windows to maximize solar gain in winter. All have energy-efficient air-sourced heat pumps that provide ductless heating and cooling throughout. You can add optional upstairs dormers, bay windows and porches to maximize your potential in community, overlooking our edible landscapes, orchard, community gardens and pond.
Share us on your social media and call us to arrange an in-person (socially-distanced, of course) or virtual (online) tour of the site and the homes.
Rocky Corner amenities:
- 4,500 sq. ft. common house with large commercial kitchen and dining room for community meals; a massive lounge highlighted by a hand-built masonry stove with bread oven. We have wonderful maker spaces including a woodworking shop, arts and crafts room and future greenhouse.
- Convenient location near New Haven, accessible to Hartford, Waterbury, and other Connecticut locations
- Top-rated school district – Bethany Community School and Amity Regional High School
- Community garden with individual parcels for those looking to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers.
- Ponds, rain gardens, and other permaculture features that we’ll develop over time on this organic 33-acre former dairy farm
- Opportunity to participate in the community organic farm, or create your own farm enterprise.
- Pet friendly (chickens are a must in the farm core)
- Fiber optic Internet service (500 Mbps download and upload speed) to each home, upgradable to 1 gig per second.
- Direct access to Land Trust trails
A few homes (all sizes, market rate and affordable) are available for sale. If you are interested in finding out more, send an email to
welcome@rockycorner.com or call us at 203-903-COHO (-2646). We will have you attend a Zoom info session.
We are also happy to set up private tours of the land and homes, using masks and keeping 6 ft distance, of course.
*Due to Covid-19 all state and local guidelines are being implemented.