Oak Hill Farm came under our care during the summer of 1995. We do not consider that we "own" the 120 acres of vertical landscape in the foothills of the White Mountains, but rather that we have been entrusted with the care of the land and are bound to work with the gifts, energy and direction it gives us.
When we came to Oak Hill Farm, Art brought with him twenty-six sled dogs. He had founded Washington Kennel in 1987 near the coast of Maine. Art and his son, James Melanson, trained and raced 4-dog and 6-dog teams in sprint competition. Besides training and racing, we also bred several litters of Alaskan and Siberian Husky pups each year. The kennel has shrunk as the dogs (and their owners) have become older. It was an emotional day when we decided to let our two Moody sleds go to mushers Julia Bayly and Penny Gray. Ted is our last remaining husky and he turned 14 in October 2007.
Sue came to Oak Hill Farm from Reading, Massachusetts, bringing with her a curiosity and aptitude for working with the bountiful medicinal herbs found in the forests, fields and gardens here. She laughs that she can create teas, tinctures and salves from green things her former suburban neighbors were trying to eradicate from their lawns.
Together we have added High Acres Maple Syrup to the property, as well as The Cottages at Oak Hill Farm.
Three annual public events take place at Oak Hill Farm:
Maple Syrup Weekend is celebrated the weekend of the fourth Sunday in March. Our sugarhouse will be up and running and we serve a pancake breakfast in the heated barn on both Saturday and Sunday.
New Country School in West Baldwin holds their fundraising event called "Women Helping Women" in May. It is a fun day of workshops focusing on wellness, enrichment and crafts.
The first weekend in December, we host the Tripptown Craft Fair in the barn.
In our "spare time", we tend to the forest, the maple sugarbush and all the usual chores rural living brings with it. Sue is also a shamanic practitioner, herbalist, author, reporter for the local newspaper, and is studying watercolor painting with artist, Kit Linnell. She has always been a collector and re-connector of people and in that capacity has brought together classmates from the Wellesley High Class of 1964 and campers from Labor Day Weekend at Geneva Point Conference Center and Camp Yo Aunta in Winthrop, Maine. Art's career as an oil tanker captain will probably be one of the books written at Oak Hill Farm.
Sue has passed her one-year anniversary as a breast cancer survivor.
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| On February 13, 2008 we welcomed our grandson. Art spent time handcrafting this cradle while we were waiting. He added an etching on the bottom that says: "This is to rock your world." | |
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