How we got our name

When we first moved to the homestead in March 2010, it was snowy and cold and there were very few signs of life. As the spring progressed and the forest started to wake up from its winter slumber, the first songbird to arrive was the hermit thrush. We both love the hermit thrush, its song is a beautiful harmonic melody that sings through the summer woods all over New England. However, despite the ubiquity of their song, it is rare to see them (thus their name).  The particular thrush that landed outside our cabin in early April seemed completely oblivious of our presence, if not outright friendly, hopping within yards of where we stood gawking, and revisiting us every few days. When it came time to choose a name for our homestead, the hermit thrush came to mind for many reasons-- for one, we liked the alliteration-- secondly, our cabin and land are up a steep driveway, tucked away and hidden from view akin to a hermitage-- third, we both love to play and listen to music and the hermit thrush sings one of the most musical birdsongs of the avian kingdom-- and fourth, hiking, backpacking, traveling and living outdoors in the wilderness are activities that were primary in our lives before we came to homestead, and this little migratory bird that lives in deep woods and travels half way across the world each year seems wonderfully emblematic of our love for nature and exploring the wild.