Last week I packed up my saddle, boots, helmet and hunt attire and headed to Virginia with 6 other members of Red Rock Hounds. For 5 days we were hosted in grand style by the Oak Ridge Hunt Club in Afton which sits in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
On Wednesday 5 of us met up in Chicago for the last leg of the trip; I came from Sacramento, Lynn, Angela and Pat came from Reno and Liz came from LA. Thanks to Preston we had a pile of Southwest complimentary cocktail coupons which we put right to use as soon as the plane lifted off.
At Dulles we found a nice young man with a luggage cart that took on the challenge of getting our mountain of luggage to the rental car lot. We tossed everything into a mini-van and off to the mountains we headed…..until we got to the airport exit and realized we had no directions and the map we picked up with the rental car did not have a big red star next to Afton. Actually, Afton wasn’t even on the map. A quick call to Preston and a search on Mapquest got us out of the airport. Then Page Turner who was going to be Liz’s and my hostess for the next several days provided us with more detailed instructions.
Many hours and several more calls to Page later we arrived in Afton…in the dark. As we climbed the mountain up a dirt road in the late night thoughts of “Deliverance” came to mind. But we couldn’t have been more wrong. What was to follow was a wonderful 4 days of southern hospitality in the most classical sense starting with our accommodations at Page’s lovely house nestled in the trees at her Creekside Stable.
Thursday was a casual day at Tea Time Farm, Rita Mae Brown’s stunningly beautiful farm and where the Oak Ridge Hounds are housed. And the Oak Ridge Bassett Pack. We had an energetic walk about with the Bassetts. Those pups are just the cutest!! After that we met Rita Mae’s “house hounds” and feline family. Of course, with the latter I was in heaven and got to fulfill my “kitty fix” for several hours. I kept my camera busy taking pictures of the variety of kitties, including Rita Mae’s famous co-author, Sneaky Pie Brown. You’d think I’d be happy enough taking pictures of FieldHaven kitties!
After a Thursday evening dinner with a number of the other folks coming into town from other hunts we went to bed early. An early start to our first hunt was planned for Friday.
Liz and I rode with Page to Friday’s fixture. Along the 45 minute drive we got a fabulous tour and narration from Page, a lifelong resident of the area. The day was overcast with warning of the rain predicted for Saturday. Upon arriving at the hunt we got our assigned horses from Lynne Beegle. Also, joining us there after arriving Thursday evening was Jane and Cathy – more Red Rockers! I was mounted on a pretty little mare named Belle.
The field was huge – about 60 horses in total with well over half in first field led by Sue Satterfield as Field Master. MFHs Rita Mae Brown and Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds as huntsmen led us on a 2 hour hunt through the 1,000 acre farm, Cherry Hill owned by Anne Fortune Henderson. The foxes were quiet that day but we did get a few short runs and the footing, terrain and jumps were great. A huge pot luck hunt breakfast rounded out the morning.
On to the afternoon’s adventures. We all piled into the mini-van and headed to Warrenton for the Horse Country reception for hunt photographer Jim Meads. A short stop at Saddlery Liquidators in Haymarket netted all of us some more luggage for the return trip.
The Horse Country party was fabulous! We met so many incredible people, including the delightful Jim Meads who had been signing books since 9 am that morning. He later told me he didn’t wrap it up until after 10 pm that night. My best friend, Sarah Boudreau, who lives in Norfolk joined us there and for the rest of the weekend.
We didn’t arrive back in Afton until 2:30 am – Sarah and I in her car and Liz and the rest of the Red Rockers in the mini-van. We woke up Saturday morning to a steady rain – the day’s planned activity of a Bassett hunt on foot was definitely not going to happen.
Just so we didn’t have to leave Virginia saying we hadn’t seen a fox, one of the Oak Ridge regulars showed himself to us as we were driving up the driveway at Tea Time on Saturday morning. He posed so beautifully in the middle of the pasture then hopped up on some hay bales to pose again for my camera. Tally ho!
A lazy day hanging out in the Oak Ridge clubhouse then a fun trip to a couple of wineries and a brewery set us in the mood for the catered dinner and silent auction that evening. Without a doubt, Jane netted the most unusual, if not the highest selling, silent auction item – an aged mounted deerhead. What she wanted with that we’ll never understand but maybe she just wanted to rescue him from the rubbish can which is where he may have been destined had not anyone else been brave enough to bid. Then came the discussion of how she would get him back to California. Certainly not in carry-on baggage with those antlers! The decision was made to have him mailed.
Sunday dawned spectacularly. Bright blue skies, crisp fall air and the leaves very near their peak. We hunted from Tea Time Farm with Rita Mae and Lynn once again our huntsmen (or should I say huntswomen). If I liked my Friday horse, Belle, I loved my Sunday horse, Bourbon. Lynne Beegle of Brookhill Farm gets my vote for Best Livery!
After another lavish hunt breakfast we settled in for some downtime in the afternoon and that evening before making an early start to airport in the morning. Back to reality…..
Click here for a link to my photo album from the weekend. And here for a great NPR podcast on hunting with Rita Mae. (click on the little blue arrow in the upper left corner of podcast screen)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Have You Heard of XYZ Rescue??
We get a lot of calls from people wanting to rehome their cats – especially in these economic times. People are having to move and, realistically, most rentals do not allow pets. Or, it just isn’t convenient to take their pet where they are going. It gets wearing to have to explain to people that our space is limited and it may be quite awhile until any shelter – not just FieldHaven – has space for their “really wonderful cat”. Of course, many people wait until the last minute and they have to find a home “by this weekend” or some other unreasonable time frame.
But we do also get calls from people who are truly trying to do the best by their pets. These are the people who are looking for alternatives to giving up their pets – or if it is absolutely not an option to keep them, they are keeping the pet’s best interest in mind when searching for a new home.
Yesterday, I got a call from a young woman who really is trying to do the best by her cats.
She, along with her husband, 2 year old toddler and 2 cats have found themselves living in a very small apartment. She made the difficult decision to rehome her cats, thinking it was best for them because of the very close quarters. After many phone calls to rescues and shelters she found a rescue within a reasonable distance who said they would take the cats even though they are “full”.
In spite of feeling greatly relieved to have found someplace for the cats, she didn’t feel quite comfortable with the arrangement so she started calling other rescues and shelters around the greater Sacramento area. Was anyone familiar with this rescue and would it be a good place for her cats? I give her full credit for being a responsible, caring pet owner and making sure the place she was taking her cats would be a good one.
I had never heard of the rescue she mentioned and a quick google search turned up nothing. Several things she said raised red flags but the show stopper for me was the fact that the woman who ran the organization would not let her come see where the cats would be. Something about animal control was on her case and she didn’t want them to know where she was! The whole thing smelled – and probably quite literally if my caller had been able to go the rescuer’s place – of hoarding.
I gave my caller some advice for her kitties. One being that, even though things are tight where they’re living and maybe it’s a pain to keep everything orderly with 2 cats and a toddler underfoot, these kitties are much better off staying with her than going to any shelter – even a cage-free one like FieldHaven. She admitted she was feeling guilty about the cats not having a lot of space to roam. I pointed out that it was a lot more space than a 2-foot by 2-foot cage in a shelter. And, yes, litter pan cleaning in a small apartment is tough but diligently cleaning a couple of times a day will keep that under control.
At the end of our conversation I really think my caller is going to make an effort to keep her cats – she seemed to really care for them. After all, she had made a great effort in trying to validate the rescue who had agreed to take them. I gave her great credit for that – we wish every caller cared so much.
But we do also get calls from people who are truly trying to do the best by their pets. These are the people who are looking for alternatives to giving up their pets – or if it is absolutely not an option to keep them, they are keeping the pet’s best interest in mind when searching for a new home.
Yesterday, I got a call from a young woman who really is trying to do the best by her cats.
She, along with her husband, 2 year old toddler and 2 cats have found themselves living in a very small apartment. She made the difficult decision to rehome her cats, thinking it was best for them because of the very close quarters. After many phone calls to rescues and shelters she found a rescue within a reasonable distance who said they would take the cats even though they are “full”.
In spite of feeling greatly relieved to have found someplace for the cats, she didn’t feel quite comfortable with the arrangement so she started calling other rescues and shelters around the greater Sacramento area. Was anyone familiar with this rescue and would it be a good place for her cats? I give her full credit for being a responsible, caring pet owner and making sure the place she was taking her cats would be a good one.
I had never heard of the rescue she mentioned and a quick google search turned up nothing. Several things she said raised red flags but the show stopper for me was the fact that the woman who ran the organization would not let her come see where the cats would be. Something about animal control was on her case and she didn’t want them to know where she was! The whole thing smelled – and probably quite literally if my caller had been able to go the rescuer’s place – of hoarding.
I gave my caller some advice for her kitties. One being that, even though things are tight where they’re living and maybe it’s a pain to keep everything orderly with 2 cats and a toddler underfoot, these kitties are much better off staying with her than going to any shelter – even a cage-free one like FieldHaven. She admitted she was feeling guilty about the cats not having a lot of space to roam. I pointed out that it was a lot more space than a 2-foot by 2-foot cage in a shelter. And, yes, litter pan cleaning in a small apartment is tough but diligently cleaning a couple of times a day will keep that under control.
At the end of our conversation I really think my caller is going to make an effort to keep her cats – she seemed to really care for them. After all, she had made a great effort in trying to validate the rescue who had agreed to take them. I gave her great credit for that – we wish every caller cared so much.
Monday, October 13, 2008
FieldHaven Hosts Fundraiser to Honor Firefighters
This past Saturday FieldHaven volunteers rolled out the red carpet for the community! I am, once again, in awe of the dedication and energy of this group of people. Led by volunteer, foster mom and "drill sargeant" Penny Dougherty, the volunteers had FieldHaven ready for a party in first class style.
The gardens surrounding the Cat Trailer were flourishing, the Cat Trailer itself was spotless, the kitties content and well-groomed, the food scrumptious, the information booths welcoming and the grounds organized for a great party! You are all inspiring, generous souls. Thank you so much.
Here is a link to photos of the event: http://albums.phanfare.com/5299533/2846916
And, here is an article submitted to the local media:
Friends and Neighbors of FieldHaven Honor Firefighters
In spite of the cool, windy weather about 200 people attended a community fundraiser at FieldHaven in rural Lincoln on Saturday evening. The event, organized by the volunteers of FieldHaven Feline Rescue honored the firefighters and other emergency personnel who fought the Gladding Fire on Labor Day September 1.
The fire began near Gladding Road and, fueled by strong winds, quickly covered 5 miles of Lincoln before being brought under control near Virginiatown Road, just east of FieldHaven. Approximately 960 acres were burned, destroying or damaging 16 homes and outbuildings.
Helen and Harley Hutchinson, who lost their home, attended the fundraiser on Saturday evening.
Special guest, Lindsey Bostick Duerst, daughter of Fire Captain, Warren Bostick, sang the national anthem.
More than $3500 was raised at the event on Saturday evening. Ongoing donations are being accepted in a special account for the Gladding Fire Fund set up at River City Bank in Lincoln.
Firefighters from several Placer County agencies attended the event and received accolades from everyone for their diligence and hard work to bring the fire under control. Without their dedication and expertise the fire could have easily been a much larger disaster.
Placer County Animal Services also attended to educate attendees on disaster preparedness for pets and livestock. Because of the rural location of the fire, many animals were affected and PCAS coordinated the efforts to evacuate and shelter the 4 legged victims.
A special animal guest was Flame, an orange tabby cat found near Gladding Road several days after the fire. He was taken into custody by PCAS and was hospitalized for nearly a week with severely burned feet and an eye injury. To date no one has come forward to claim Flame. He is now completely recovered and, as of Saturday, has been transferred to FieldHaven where he is available for adoption.
Please visit http://www.fieldhaven.com/ for more information.
############
Joy Smith
joy@fieldhaven.com
916-434-6122
In spite of the cool, windy weather about 200 people attended a community fundraiser at FieldHaven in rural Lincoln on Saturday evening. The event, organized by the volunteers of FieldHaven Feline Rescue honored the firefighters and other emergency personnel who fought the Gladding Fire on Labor Day September 1.
The fire began near Gladding Road and, fueled by strong winds, quickly covered 5 miles of Lincoln before being brought under control near Virginiatown Road, just east of FieldHaven. Approximately 960 acres were burned, destroying or damaging 16 homes and outbuildings.
Helen and Harley Hutchinson, who lost their home, attended the fundraiser on Saturday evening.
Special guest, Lindsey Bostick Duerst, daughter of Fire Captain, Warren Bostick, sang the national anthem.
More than $3500 was raised at the event on Saturday evening. Ongoing donations are being accepted in a special account for the Gladding Fire Fund set up at River City Bank in Lincoln.
Firefighters from several Placer County agencies attended the event and received accolades from everyone for their diligence and hard work to bring the fire under control. Without their dedication and expertise the fire could have easily been a much larger disaster.
Placer County Animal Services also attended to educate attendees on disaster preparedness for pets and livestock. Because of the rural location of the fire, many animals were affected and PCAS coordinated the efforts to evacuate and shelter the 4 legged victims.
A special animal guest was Flame, an orange tabby cat found near Gladding Road several days after the fire. He was taken into custody by PCAS and was hospitalized for nearly a week with severely burned feet and an eye injury. To date no one has come forward to claim Flame. He is now completely recovered and, as of Saturday, has been transferred to FieldHaven where he is available for adoption.
Please visit http://www.fieldhaven.com/ for more information.
############
Joy Smith
joy@fieldhaven.com
916-434-6122
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