On December 11 Preston and I and about 15 other members of the Red Rock Hounds from New Jersey to California arrived in Belmont, Nevada. The caravan of 5 horse trailers carrying about 20 horses and more than 40 hounds arrived on Thursday afternoon to warm weather and sunny skies. How the weather can change in just a few short days!
Belmont is a mostly abandoned ghost town right smack in the middle of Nevada. In the late 1800’s Belmont was a booming silver mining with several thousand residents. Today it boasts a whopping population of 7! The town has no phones or electricity. Everything is powered by propane or diesel generator. A satellite phone is available for emergencies. And, I now know firsthand that not even the highest mountain top in the vicinity will produce a cell signal! Talk about getting away from it all.
Amidst the fascinating ruins of stone, brick and wood buildings sits the Belmont Inn and Saloon owned and operated by Henry and Bertie Berg. Henry and Bertie (and everyone else in town for that matter) are wonderful hosts and made us all feel like part of the Belmont Family.
The horses spent the weekend at the Belmont Pack Station. Nick, the owner, has a great lodge and plenty of pasture for the horses. We hunted 2 days right out of the pack station.
The first day we hauled the horses about 10 miles down the dirt roads and hunted our way back to the pack station. The weather was sunny and cool but not cold. We started out by following Master and Huntsman Lynn Lloyd straight up the side of a rocky mountain! Maybe this was Lynn’s way to have everyone “bond” with their horses? After all, we had to put our trust in our mountain goats….er, horses. Grab mane and hang on as we climbed!
The second day we had a Tally Ho just as the hounds were cast. For the better part of the next 2 hours the hounds circled that line around and up and over several mountains. The weather was definitely turning so the game was out and active.
On Saturday evening we had the Red Rock white elephant gift exchange. Lots of great presents with much “swapping” going on but 2 things definitely got the most attention. A wine bottle stopper that featured…..well….legs – let me leave it at that. Then there were those great holiday boxer shorts complete with belled tassels that John Schaefer and Grosvenor Merle-Smith fought over all evening! Grosvenor won out and modeled them quite nicely in the saloon later that night (see the pictures).
Day 3 started at a brisk 7 degrees. But it had warmed up to a relatively balmy 20 by the time we headed out. It was a short hunt that day.
On Monday morning we woke to a beautiful blanket of snow and only 4 degrees. Preston and I were staying in our living quarter trailer which, in spite of running the generator and several heaters non-stop, had ice on some of the inside walls.
After a final hearty breakfast from Bertie we headed out to the pack station to load up the horses and begin the long drive back to Reno. And electricity and cell phones and internet…..oh, yes, back to reality….sigghhh.
Here are links to 2 photo albums from the weekend. The first one is the “full” album of nearly 500 pictures. The second one is a shortened version with pictures mostly of Preston, myself and our wonderful horses, Baxter and Devon. Many of the pictures were taken by Gretchen Pelham, Red Rock member from Knoxville, TN and part-time professional photographer. Please visit Gretchen’s website, Pelham Ponies, for more pictures from the Belmont weekend and other hunting days.
Large album
Smaller album (Preston and Joy)
Showing posts with label FieldHaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FieldHaven. Show all posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
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
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Lincoln Fire
You just never know what turn of events life is going to throw your way.
About 12:30 pm yesterday we saw smoke, presumably from a grass fire. From the look of the smoke it appeared to be nearby. We thought about taking a drive down the road to see where it was but before we could do that we got a frantic phone call from Sharon Jones. The fire was near her house and they were being evacuated. They needed help now. Jann, Preston and I loaded carriers and crates in our trucks and headed off towards her house on Gladding Road. Jen and Courtney were soon on their way as well.
If it were up to the sheriff at the road block on Gladding Road we wouldn't have made it to Sharon's house but you just don't argue with FieldHaven on a mission. We got through. Courtney used the same "don't even try to stop me" tactic. By the time Jen came, she just waved her through.
It took us an hour or more to load up Sharon and Les's cats, dogs, chickens, birds and pigeons. By then the fire was only 20 feet from their door.
As we headed back to FieldHaven we called Wendy and asked her to "phone tree" volunteers. We would need help situating all the animals once we got to FieldHaven. A couple of people mistook the message and thought FieldHaven was being evacuated. No, we assured - them the fire was 5miles from FieldHaven - we were safe. Or, so we thought.
I was riding in with Jann and as we turned the corner in FieldHaven I was brought to tears by the number of cars and volunteers waiting to help us. These people had very little notice and they were there instantly. And, they kept arriving.
With so much help, Penny decided we should put the word out to the public that we could be a shelter for evacuated pets, including horses. We recieved several calls from people needing horses rescued from the fire zone. Several trucks and horse trailers were sent out to rescue those horses.
Shortly after they left the sky to the direct northwest of FieldHaven was looking very smokey.....and closer. I turned on the pasture irrigation and volunteers gathered carriers and crates in the unlikely event that we would need to evacuate. It's like listening the flight attendant say "in the unlikely event of a water landing.......", you think you need to go through the motions of what to do but you'd never really actually have to do it.....
Soon the fire was to the east of FieldHaven. And very close. We could see the flames heading for our neighbor's pasture.
Now, here's where it gets really crazy. A fire official came up to me and said we'd need to evacuate! At that point we had no trucks and trailers as they were all on the other side of town. By the time they made it back to FieldHaven they were followed by several other trucks and trailers.
In no time, the cats were crated and ready to be evacuated. Yes, almost every FieldHaven cat - cat trailer, habitat, Buster's Barn, Roontay, my house cats and some of the outside cats! (we knew the cats outside would be fine).
What an amazing site to see all of the trailers, cats in crates and many, many hands! And, many arms ready for giving reassuring hugs, too.
Fortunately, we never actually had to evacuate - the outstanding firefighters fought the flames back and the iminent danger was passed. But we kept all the cats crated until about 8 pm when a fire official came to tell us we absolutley safe, especially given the fact that all of FieldHaven is irrigated.
Some very cranky kitties were released from their crates and given an extra treat of canned food to smooth their shattered dignity at having been so hastily packed - and some of them paired up with other cats! How humiliating! The horses were fed and put to bed as well.
As we went to bed very late, the air was still smokey and we could see a large barn burning out of control about 2 ranches over. We woke up several times during the night to be sure FieldHaven was still safe.
Here are a couple of articles on the fire:
http://www.kcra.com/news/17366129/detail.html?rss=sac&psp=news
http://www.kcra.com/news/17361140/detail.html
I have much more to tell you about today - I'll post more blogs tonight. All of you fabulous volunteers and friends who were here yesterday please share your stories.
About 12:30 pm yesterday we saw smoke, presumably from a grass fire. From the look of the smoke it appeared to be nearby. We thought about taking a drive down the road to see where it was but before we could do that we got a frantic phone call from Sharon Jones. The fire was near her house and they were being evacuated. They needed help now. Jann, Preston and I loaded carriers and crates in our trucks and headed off towards her house on Gladding Road. Jen and Courtney were soon on their way as well.
If it were up to the sheriff at the road block on Gladding Road we wouldn't have made it to Sharon's house but you just don't argue with FieldHaven on a mission. We got through. Courtney used the same "don't even try to stop me" tactic. By the time Jen came, she just waved her through.
It took us an hour or more to load up Sharon and Les's cats, dogs, chickens, birds and pigeons. By then the fire was only 20 feet from their door.
As we headed back to FieldHaven we called Wendy and asked her to "phone tree" volunteers. We would need help situating all the animals once we got to FieldHaven. A couple of people mistook the message and thought FieldHaven was being evacuated. No, we assured - them the fire was 5miles from FieldHaven - we were safe. Or, so we thought.
I was riding in with Jann and as we turned the corner in FieldHaven I was brought to tears by the number of cars and volunteers waiting to help us. These people had very little notice and they were there instantly. And, they kept arriving.
With so much help, Penny decided we should put the word out to the public that we could be a shelter for evacuated pets, including horses. We recieved several calls from people needing horses rescued from the fire zone. Several trucks and horse trailers were sent out to rescue those horses.
Shortly after they left the sky to the direct northwest of FieldHaven was looking very smokey.....and closer. I turned on the pasture irrigation and volunteers gathered carriers and crates in the unlikely event that we would need to evacuate. It's like listening the flight attendant say "in the unlikely event of a water landing.......", you think you need to go through the motions of what to do but you'd never really actually have to do it.....
Soon the fire was to the east of FieldHaven. And very close. We could see the flames heading for our neighbor's pasture.
Now, here's where it gets really crazy. A fire official came up to me and said we'd need to evacuate! At that point we had no trucks and trailers as they were all on the other side of town. By the time they made it back to FieldHaven they were followed by several other trucks and trailers.
In no time, the cats were crated and ready to be evacuated. Yes, almost every FieldHaven cat - cat trailer, habitat, Buster's Barn, Roontay, my house cats and some of the outside cats! (we knew the cats outside would be fine).
What an amazing site to see all of the trailers, cats in crates and many, many hands! And, many arms ready for giving reassuring hugs, too.
Fortunately, we never actually had to evacuate - the outstanding firefighters fought the flames back and the iminent danger was passed. But we kept all the cats crated until about 8 pm when a fire official came to tell us we absolutley safe, especially given the fact that all of FieldHaven is irrigated.
Some very cranky kitties were released from their crates and given an extra treat of canned food to smooth their shattered dignity at having been so hastily packed - and some of them paired up with other cats! How humiliating! The horses were fed and put to bed as well.
As we went to bed very late, the air was still smokey and we could see a large barn burning out of control about 2 ranches over. We woke up several times during the night to be sure FieldHaven was still safe.
Here are a couple of articles on the fire:
http://www.kcra.com/news/17366129/detail.html?rss=sac&psp=news
http://www.kcra.com/news/17361140/detail.html
I have much more to tell you about today - I'll post more blogs tonight. All of you fabulous volunteers and friends who were here yesterday please share your stories.
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