"You will never find time for anything. You must make it." --Charles Buxton

One Thing Leads to Another

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Our family moved to Oregon in 2005 and settled into suburban life. Two young kids, a nice house, a few pets, everything you could ask for. Soon afterward, Bob met a friend who wanted to make wine in his garage. Bob was “all in.” As a lifelong wine lover and science nerd, Bob was keen on learning the intricacies of winemaking. This weekend hobby turned into a full-blown passion. Lots of toiling labor and missed family time later, Seven Bridges was born in 2008. Today, the fruits of Bob’s labor have paid off. Seven Bridges Winery wins awards from experts and accolades from a growing list of members.

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Although I appreciate wine, I can’t drink it. It doesn’t agree with my system. But I do love the setting for winemaking: bucolic, peaceful farms dotted with hearty grapevines, incredible scenery, and occasionally, farm animals. Even after we added another child to our brood, we often visited wineries. Bob got to deepen his understanding, while the kids and I got to experience the wide-open beauty of rural life. Unbeknownst to Bob, his love of wines awakened a new passion for me: farms and farm animals.

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Deprived of pets in childhood, I became a full-fledged animal lover in adulthood, even working as a vet tech for a while. With a menagerie of pets at home, Bob made me sign a contract agreeing to no more animals. So I never imagined owning chickens and ducks, not to mention llamas and horses. And most especially sheep. But our frequent winery visits and country drives led to a Pinterest feed full of farmhouses, country living, gardening, crafting and every kind of farm animal.

 

One glorious day, Bob mentioned that he rode his bike past a property that had a vineyard and a “for sale” sign. I grabbed my keys and told him to drive. That tiny crack of permission from Bob opened a floodgate that he could not dam back up. That property ultimately did not come to be for us, but dozens of properties, 4 offers, and 1 last chance later, we landed at this diminutive farm.

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And so our next chapter begins ...