A few weeks ago I was with a friend who told me her ultimate dream is to ride on a dogsled. I immediately thought of the farm near us that has sled dogs. When we first moved here I would see a guy out in a field flying on his sled behind ten happy dogs. And I still hear his dogs every so often, all howling together and barking. It can be really loud!
My wheels began spinning even as she shared of her lifelong dream.
So yesterday I got in the car and drove over to this nearby house with the sled dogs. I turned up the long drive and walked up the front door. I rang the doorbell and was greeted by an older woman who clearly wondered what I was doing at her doorstep.
“Hi, I’m Becca,” I began. “I live at that farm right there with the red barn.” And we both looked out over her lane, across a white field, right to our place. It looked very pretty from there. “Sometimes I can hear your dogs, and I even remember a few times seeing your dogs out in the field with the sled. And I wondered if you ever do workshops or give rides to interested folks who would love to experience dog sledding?”
I looked behind her and there were big picture frames filled with pictures of dogs in harnesses. This clearly was her thing. She told me that they used to do exactly that. Next to our field, in fact. But they have now sold most of their dogs. They have just four left, and three are too old to pull a sled.
Bummer. I guess that idea is out. But it was a real joy to get to know my neighbor Judy. She told me that the sled dogs were a retirement hobby, just for fun. And I filed away that idea as one of the best retirement ideas I’ve ever heard. What a fun lady. She even offered to ask around and see if any of her friends would be interested in coming to our farm to lead a workshop, with rides in the field.
These sorts of rabbit trails are not uncommon for us. Rory and I always have our ear to the ground for interesting topics, intriguing instructors and creative ways to use our farm. Our end goal, then, is to be able to share all of this with any other interested souls out there.
For years we have been discussing all the workshop topics we could cover on our farm. We have a great and always growing list. And this is where we could use your help! We recently created a survey of possible topics. Would you take a moment to tell us what most interests you? We would be very grateful.
And who knows? Maybe one day we’ll be able to add dog sledding to the list.
