Karen Osborne and Ed Cohn are your innkeepers. They are a wife/husband team that moved to Floyd, VA in January of 2006 with a dream. But first a bit of background...

Karen and Ed grew up about four blocks from each other in Highland Park, New Jersey. They went to different elementary schools but met in junior high. Karen was the first girl Ed ever kissed in 7th grade (Karen was a bit ahead of him!). They ran in different circles and didn't really get to know each other until in their early 30s when they met again at a reunion party in their hometown. Karen was living in Wisconsin and Ed in San Francisco at that time. They began a correspondence and Karen moved out to SF to be with Ed in 1987. They married in 1990 and soon moved to Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, where they lived for the next 15 years before moving to Floyd.

Karen and Ed both have very diverse backgrounds. Karen, who started working at the age of 13, has been a counter attendant at Mickey's Doughnut Land, a drug store delivery driver, go-go dancer, a UPS worker, a bartender, and more, but her path led to the study of martial arts, at which she was gifted. She became a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do under the tutelage of a master from Korea and went on to become the national champion in 1980. Soon after, while on her way to the Olympics, she tore 5 ligaments in her knee while sparring thus ending her fighting days. Karen went on to teach self defense to seniors, children, and at West Point Military Academy. During her recovery she began riding bicycle and achieved national ranking in bike racing and competed in triathlons. At the same time, to pay the bills, Karen became a real estate agent with Merrill Lynch. Karen's earthy side never got neglected, as she's an avid gardener and talented cook.

After Karen moved to California she pursued some life-long interests in health, fitness and healing. She became certified as a massage therapist, Pilates trainer and acupressure practitioner. Her interest in spirituality led her to become an ordained minister through One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York and she now performs weddings and other ceremonies . Karen also became involved in shamanism and drumming as healing arts. After moving to Floyd, she completed the training necessary to become an EMT and joined the Floyd County Rescue Squad.

Ed's background is diverse as well. He became interested in cooking at a very young age and started his first vegetable garden in high school. Ed began playing instruments at age 9 and was hooked. In high school Ed joined the choir, became very interested in singing, and pursued it as a career. He graduated the San Francisco Conservatory of Music afterward singing professionally in opera, oratorio and recital. A twist of musical fate turned Ed in a new direction as a founding member of the contemporary a cappella quartet, the EDLOS, for 17 years. The EDLOS made 7 albums and opened for many world acclaimed acts. During this time Ed became proficient as a recording engineer/producer and graphics designer, skills used extensively during his stint with the group. Ed continually pursued his interests in photography, organic gardening, hiking, biking and kayaking on San Francisco Bay.

After Ed quit the EDLOS he took a job teaching music at a private high school in Berkeley, CA. It was during that time that he studied permaculture at the Permaculture Institute of Northern California, now the Regenerative Design Institute.

Karen and Ed both were itching to move into a rural situation - Karen wanting to do animal rescue, and Ed wanting to focus on sustainable living. They also had enjoyed staying at bed and breakfasts over the years and thought it may be fun to operate one since they both love accommodating and cooking. One B&B in California was their favorite as it had separate cottages as accommodations. They had been casually looking at properties in California and Oregon for a number of years, but this was at the peak of real estate prices and things were just too expensive out west. They saw an ad in Communities Magazine for the property in Virginia and it intrigued them, not the least reason being that it was about one tenth the price for an equivalent property in the west. It had a main house and 4 other dwellings used as rentals plus a studio and a gorgeous 25 acres. Though relocating to Virginia was the farthest thing from their minds they pursued their interest in this property. Long story short, things happened very quickly. They made a down payment, visited a couple of times, started their non-profit, Miracle Farm - A Sustainable Living Center/Animal Sanctuary, loaded up the truck and made the move. They opened the B&B in July of '06. It's been a huge change, but Floyd County has many wonderful attributes and has been rewarding in many ways.

About 20 years ago Karen and Ed wrote down their dreams. Karen even drew a picture of the place she thought would be ideal. Miracle Farm is that dream come true - a miracle! They continue to work on the property, adding improvements and building the non-profit. They hope you'll want to come and visit and see for yourselves the "miracle" unfolding here.