Hobby farm
Thursday October 10th my
wife Shirley and I awoke to a day sparkled with sunshine against a bright blue
sky. From experience we knew the leaves over Carson Pass would be at their most
colorful. So off we went on our fall pilgrimage to Nevada. Living in the mother
lode is so rich with color. Each season brings a new color. Many people believe
California is nicknamed the golden state because of the 49ers but I wonder if
the nickname refers to the “Golden Hills” of California.
I couldn’t help but feel blessed as I
dove to my interview for this month’s story. I was driving through yellow
valleys with house after house having magnificent white fences. Behind the
white fences were animals ranging from horses to goats and of course dogs. The
animals were grazing on the golden grasses that come with fall. Still in the
midst of the gold there were patches of green. At the end of my journey I met
with the owners of a dog family.
Dog families like mine consist of four
dogs who get pampered more than my relatives when they come to visit. Dog
families consist of an Alpha dog (usually the older male) and his pups chasing
after the various wild animals, deer, squirrels and turkeys that share these
hills with us. In this case the dog family consists of various colors and sizes
of collies that had joined a hobby farm.
The dogs were a natural to this farm.
They once lived a stone’s throw away down the road until the owner lost their
home to foreclosure. The people whose farm I visited (they wish to remain
anonymous) were natural caregivers to the dogs. They own a hobby farm
consisting of several acres of land. The dogs have the run of the farm
including sleeping on the furniture inside the house.
The farm is home to more than a dozen
goats, a mule, a donkey and numerous other animals who come to visit. The Collies,
vary in color and style from a blue merle rough collie (long coat) named Silver
Bullitt to a smooth blue merle named Braveheart. All have been neutered because
the owners have no desire to become breeders. They merely wanted to give the
dogs a good home. There is also a rough coat tri headed white and black collie
named “Buddy.”
Collies are herding dogs. So the farm is
like heaven to them. The goats tend to think otherwise as they really aren’t
that fond of being herded but on a farm everyone has to adjust. In addition,
there is a Donkey named Taco Belle (not a misspelling) who just prefers hanging
around eating hay.
The collies all run to the fence to
bark at passing cars of which there are few as the farm is on a country road.
While I was there I noticed more than one car slowing down to observe the
collies at full stride. To a collie lover, such as myself, one of the more
beautiful sights in the world is watching a collie at full stride their coat
flowing with the wind. These collies are no exception, being well groomed. Combine
that with the fall colors of grasses, trees and white fences and its straight
out of a Terhune novel. Terhune was a writer and owner of Sunnybrook farm back
in New Jersey. He is perhaps most famous for his story : “A dog Named Lad”
which was made into a movie starring Carroll O’Connor (All in the family) and Angela
Cartwright, (Lost in Space).
During my visit, I toured the farm with the
collies close behind. The breed loves to be with people. The farm is completely
off the grid and while it doesn’t have the lush green fields of Terhunes
Sunnybrook it does have the golden hills of California. For a dog lover in
general and collie lover like myself I was in heaven for a few hours during my
visit. Then as I drove my car toward the gate to leave the dogs escorted me
out. It was hard to say good bye but I will be back.
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