The “Fernhill
Line-Up” waiting for something new to happen! (photo Susan Trow)
Our last “What’s New” was uploaded at the end of August
2006. Had we known that Roslyn would get her American Championship a
month later, we would have procrastinated a bit longer! So, here are some
highlights from the past two years...
Am. Can. Ch.
Fernhill’s Roslyn – A new AKC Champion September 30, 2006
Roslyn’s
show career was interrupted with a litter by Ch. Fernhill’s Atticus in April 2005 and a litter by Thistleglen Neville before he was
exported to Australia. In 2006 Roslyn emerged from motherhood to take
Best of Winners at the Mid-Atlantic Deerhound Association Supported Entry
on September 30, 2006. This 5-point major finished her AKC title. She
accomplished this title with two 5- point majors, a 4-point major and
then this final 5-point two weeks before her 6th birthday ....
that’s our girl!
Am. Can. Ch. Fernhill’s
Roslyn finishing her AKC Championship with a 5 point major at the MADA Supported
Entry two weeks before her 6th birthday.
Of the Foothills – a visit from Ron
Gordon October 21-22, 2006
In
October we had a flying visit from Ron Gordon. Ron is the son of Charles
Forbes Gordon (“Of the Foothills”) who owned one of the most remarkable
Deerhounds to ever course game. Born in British Columbia June 30, 1923, Spey Of the Foothills hunted “prairie
wolves” (coyotes) and deer in Canada until 1925. That year, Charles took Spey and his dam Sheila hunting in Africa. There
they hunted gazelle, antelope and other game in South and East Africa
until 1926, when Charles had his right arm mauled by a lion. Sheila died
in Kenya, but Spey returned
with Charles to Scotland and was used on red deer as well as starting a
short show career. In 1927 he went to Crufts, and then at the Scottish
Kennel Club show in Edinburgh under the eminent Deerhound Judge and
breeder, Harry Rawson (“Saint Ronan”) Spey came 1st in both the Novice
and Graduate class winning two of the Deerhound Club silver spoons (Below right). In addition to
bringing his father’s photo albums to share, Ron very kindly presented us
with Spey’s silver spoons,
which was a great honour. This is a Deerhound that coursed fast game on
three continents, and we are proud that our Deerhounds (and just about
every one else’s Deerhounds as well!) can be traced back to this very
influential male.
 |
Left: Charles Forbes Gordon
with, from left to right...“Maida of Bridge Sollers” (who was a
litter mate to “Ch. Tragic of Ross”), “Sandy” (“Bambino of Bridge
Sollers” lying in the foreground) and Spey. At the time he was in running form,
Spey weighed 78 lbs, was 30 inches high, and girthed at 32 and ½
inches. Below: Spey at Hopedale, Morayshire, circa 1930. Spey died in 1933.
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|
 |
The
story does not end there. Although Charles’ health prevented him from
owning and hunting Deerhounds ever again, it was to Charles Gordon that
Kenneth Cassels turned, on the advice of James Cummings, when Kenneth
felt compelled to revive competitive coursing with Deerhounds in
1953. It was through the contacts
of Charles Gordon that Kenneth found an estate on the Dava moors that
allowed the Dava coursing meets for Deerhounds (and later Salukis and Deerhounds)
to be held starting in 1954. In those early days the coursing competition,
with the prize of the “Dava Quaich”, included coursing red deer, until
hunting deer with dogs was banned in 1957 in Scotland. For almost fifty
years, Deerhound coursing at Dava stood out as the single most important
competitive event available for understanding the nature and structure of
Deerhounds at work.
The
story of Charles Gordon and Spey is provided in more detail in the SDCA magazine The Claymore November
– December, 2006 (pp. 26 – 18)
Christmas 2006 A time to think back, to think
ahead and let our friends know (even if it is just by email), how much
they enrich our lives.
Fernhill’s
Javelin GCG JC x D.C. Nightwatch Islay Mist D’Lux SC LCX– a Janet Porter litter (d’Lux) born December 28, 2006
We were delighted that Janet Porter (d”Lux Deerhounds)
decided to use Fernhill’s Javelin (co-owned
with Soso Whaley) at stud with Misty and on December 28 2006, 5 boys and 3 girls arrived. Our stud fee puppy,
co-owned and residing with Javelin and Soso, is a lovely male called Fernhill’s Huntly d’ Lux, shown
below (Left) at 9 months ... and
by 11 months (Right) he was a Best Puppy in Group winner at
the Worcester County Kennel Club, December 1, 2007!
Our interest in Janet’s litter stems from the lovely parents
and a most interesting pedigree which combines some judicious Beardswood,
Foxcliffe, d’Lux bloodlines with a bit of Fernhill in the mix as well ...
Below is a three generation photo which shows Janet’s two from this
litter with their dam and grandsire.
Below
Left to right: Darlene Minor holding Ch. Foxcliffe Quiddich (bred by Cecilia &
Dr R Scott Dove) and co-owned with Darlene and
Charles Minor, Quiddich being the sire of Misty who is shown in the centre with Mary Snow, and on the
right is Janet Porter holding Highland
Fusilier d’Lux and Heatherdale
d’ Lux (Javelin X Misty).
Fernhill’s
Vanguard x Fernhill’s Amelie – a Fernhill litter born March 20, 2007
Surrogate whelping? What could be easier than a litter of
two ... especially when you decide that the dam isn’t going to have
puppies at all, and you send her back to her owner after the due date
comes and goes. Fernhill’s Cailean
Adair and Fernhill’s Mary
Electra Buchanan started their lives on March 20, 2007 on Sharon and
Michael Whitcomb’s divan after travelling back and forth between Fernhill
and Montreal in utero several
times. Fortunately their dam Fernhill’s
Amelie had no whelping problems and Sharon and her husband Michael were
left to clean up the mess, then chauffeur Amelie, in her whelping box, back
to Fernhill a week later with “the Girls” in a picnic basket, champagne
and lots of laughs on how we were fooled!
The
Girls have landed!!
 
The Girls developed beautifully and it was wonderful to have
their new owners Barb and Len Yaroski who selected Cailean, and James Forrester who was promised MEB, visit frequently and watch
them grow.
Above: Fernhill’s Cailean Adair at 10 weeks owned by Barb and Len
Yaroski, Oshawa, Ontario
Above: Fernhill’s Mary Electra Buchanan at a 10 week photo shoot, owned
by James Forrester and William Forster, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
Island.
Mary
Electra Buchanan (MEB) is an “Island Princess” as she joined James and Bill on the Turks
and Caicos Island (TCI). James visited often and then in August flew MEB off
to her new world to live with two “Potcake” buddies (Island aboriginal
dogs) Eric and Vicky. So began a series of hysterically funny “updates”
from TCI accompanied by photos that vicariously took Sharon and Michael
Whitcomb (Amelie’s owners), Barb and Len Yaroksi (family through sister Cailean) and us, through the
antics of MEB and her further development, her favourite toys, her length
of stride, her epicurean cuisine, her weight, her toys, and every aspect
of her life as an Island girl. James Forrester has related his
experiences in owning a Deerhound on a tropical island in “The Princess
and the Potcakes” The Claymore May-June,
2008
Below: Fernhill’s Mary Electra
Buchanan at six months at her home in Providenciales, Turks and
Caicos Islands (photo James Forrester)
Thistleglen Neville x Aust. Ch. Ardtalamcu Embers – a Jocelyn Thompson (Ardtalamcu) litter born April 6, 2007
Meanwhile our friend Jocelyn
Thompson, who imported Thistleglen Neville (Ch. Thistleglen Leeds x
Ch. Fernhill’s Thistleglen Tenille) from U.S.A. to NSW Australia in early
2006, made the mistake of sending us pictures of her litter whelped on
April 6, 2007 out of Aus. Ch. Ardtalamcu Embers (Aust.Ch. Innellan
Carpet Knight 1618214 x Aust.Ch. Nelungaloo Flitter 2100035217). We
ended up bringing back to North America two from this litter: Ardtalamcu Mojave Man and Ardtalamcu
Nootka. This was only possible because of the incredible kindness of a SDCA Club member in Los Angeles, Heather Harris, who volunteered to
pick up Mojave at the LAX airport, get his rabies shot so he could
enter Canada, then transhipped him to Toronto two days later where we
picked him up. After four days of travel from Australia crouching beside
this huge wooden box with the Canadian customs official peering over our
shoulder, all of us wondered what we would find inside. On unwiring the
crate, a beautiful golden Deerhound climbed out, placing his front legs
on my shoulders, he nuzzled my hair and licked my face. The Customs officer
beamed and said ... “Boy! is he ever happy to see you again!” While it
was a relief to find him so unstressed, we were totally astonished to discover
later that absolutely nothing fazes this fellow. He has never met a
person and dog that he didn’t like or a situation that makes him nervous.
However, by the time all the bills were paid we decided to share Mojave with Lucy Ivanoff, and Nootka with Julie McPhail and Susan Trow. Syndicate
ownership, the ultimate in binding friends together!
 Mojave at 13 weeks Mojave at 5 months
Above: Ardtalamcu Mojave Man 7 months old at Fern Hill
Our Ardtalamcu Nootka co-owned
with Julie McPhail and Susan Trow, lives with Julie and vicariously
through pictures with the rest of her owners.
Below: Nootka pictured at 6 months. Below: Ardtalamcu Nootka pictured at one year
 
The Scottish Deerhound Club National
Specialty - April 26-28, 2007 Fontana Village North
Carolina
The Scottish Deerhound Club of America National gathering of
the clans for Deerhounders took place in North Carolina in 2007, a mere
two days drive with our pack: Roslyn,
Lyric, Vesper, Vanguard jammed into the minivan. There haven’t been many missed Specialties since Barb’s
first in 1970. It is such an unparalleled opportunity to connect with
friends, catch up on news, see how the dogs you admire in pictures
actually interact with you in person and how they feel and move, and time
to check out as well, another generation of youngsters.
Since North Carolina is optimistically somewhere between
Ontario and Texas, we caught up with Julie and Duncan McPhail who came with their daughter Madolyn, Ch. Fernhill’s Azure and Fernhill’s Valor of Big Sky, and
their Ch. Highlander’s Zoe Cameron
d’Lux, dam of our Astrid and Anica. Valor warmed up with placements in the Futurity and Sweeps and then won the 12
– 18 month class (Below right).
He added that win to his show record of a Best Puppy in Match and a Group
3 from the 9-12 month puppy class at an all breed show. It was a thrill
to see Maddy start off the parade of champions with Azure (Below left). She worked hard during the week handling for Julie and Barb and won as
well the impressive Best Junior Handler award (second year in a row!). Maddy
ended up as # 1 Jr. Handler in Scottish Deerhounds for 2006 and 2007 and
Barb was very fortunate indeed to have Maddy help her out during the
Specialty week!
 
Azure in 2006 placed in the ASFA coursing top 10. At this year’s SDCA National, he came in
2nd in the Open stakes (1 pt off of the first place winner who went on to
get Best in Field) in AKC coursing. He has a Group placement and it pleases
us that he is both a good lure coursing and show Deerhound. He ended 2006
by getting his third invitation to the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship
because he was in the top 25 for Scottish Deerhounds.
Above: Ch.
Fernhill’s Azure at 4 years
There were lots of fine
performances at this Specialty. Soso Whaley’s Fernhill’s Javelin (Am.Can. Ch. Pyefleet Niall x
Fernhill’s Dulcinea) was entered into more events than you ever knew
existed. He came 1st in the 4-event All Round Hound - but don’t ask what
all the events were as Barb was frantically trying to collect him from
various competition rings so he could participate in the Bred by
Exhibitor class. He also came 1st in the Rally Novice, 2nd in
a very tough Bred by Exhibitor class, and 3rd in the LGRA Racing
in a field of 31 entries.
Below: Fernhill’s Javelin straight racing
Tagging along with Javelin was his 4 month son Huntly. Below is the dynamic trio enjoying Fontana, N.C.
We were pleased that Fernhill’s
Lyric did so well. Barely over 2 years old, and in the time honoured Fernhill
tradition of taking a long time to mature, we knew that he really wasn’t
ready for such a big event. Nevertheless, he did his sire Ch. Fernhill’s
Atticus and dam Ch. Fernhill’s Roslyn proud by topping a class
entry of 35 males to take Winners Dog.
Fernhill’s Lyric (2 years and 2 weeks old) at the SDCA
National Specialty (photos
by Susan Trow)
Other highlights included seeing
the breed’s top winning Deerhound of all time, Ch. Thistleglen Margot (Ch. Thistleglen Leeds x Ch. Fernhill’s Thistleglen Tenille) adding a
SDCA National Specialty BIS to her roster of awards. Also, the lovely “Rosie”
(Ch. Lehigh Verona) daughter of Ch. Fernhill’s Intrepid was a worthy winner of a very competitive Veteran Bitch class (7 to 9
years) . There were class wins and placements in the Futurity, the
Sweepstakes and Regular Classes by Fernhill’s Vanguard, Fernhill’s
Vesper, Fernhill’s Vesta. Our new Champion, Roslyn received
placements in the Brood Bitch class in the Futurity and Specialty and got
pulled in the Championship Class. Our thanks to Joan Giles, who handled
her so beautifully (below).
By the time we hit the brace class Roslyn was thoroughly fed up with five days of travelling and
showing .... when the team class rolled around, we decided to pass rather
than endure more withering looks from our matriarch. So ended a
beautifully organised, thoroughly enjoyable National Specialty
Fernhill’s Lyric and dam Ch. Fernhill’s Roslyn in the
brace class.
We headed off for the two day
drive home scrunched even more like sardines into the van thanks to Lyric’s enormous “haul” that included the huge silver tray known as the “Lasting
Legacy for the Boys”. It wasn’t until Joan Giles, the SDCA trophy chair
called a year later in April 2008 , that we found out that this lovely “Lasting
Legacy for the Boys” was a Challenge Trophy that had actually been won
outright by Lyric’s grandsire Ch. Fernhill’s Turbulent Indigo in
2001. Three wins by Fernhill males bred and owned by Barb clinched this.
The first Fernhill male to go Winners Dog at a SDCA National Specialty
was Fernhill’s Caliban (owned by Sheila Matheson) in 1986 at
Amherst, MA. However, the trick in retiring a Challenge Trophy is to
breed and own the winner, so in
1994 at St. Louis MO, with Fernhill’s Wyvern placing Winners Dog and in 1998 at
Carlisle PA with Fernhill’s Torquil and then in 2001 at Vergennes
VT with Fernhill’s Turbulent Indigo, we technically retired this
Winners Dog Challenge Trophy. The other trick to retiring a Challenge
Trophy is to remember the AKC challenge trophy rules. Since these are not
exactly the type of bedtime reading that keeps us enthralled, we missed
that 2001 retirement opportunity by not realising that Fernhill males actually
had retired it. It took Lyric’s win in 2007 (and Joan’s “guess
what” phone call) to wake us up to the fact this huge silver tray was
“ours”. Since polishing silver is
not our forté and such a historical piece really deserves to stay with
the SDCA, we decided to re-donate the trophy to the Club as a perpetual Winners Dog Trophy that now
will be known as “Fernhill’s Lasting Legacy for The Boys”.
It’s a pity there isn’t such a trophy
for Reserve Winners dog. On verifying Joan’s calculations we had our own
trip down memory lane and realised that Fernhill Deerhounds had won
Reserve Winners dog at SDCA National Specialities four times as well. Starting
in 1980 at Poughkeepsie, NY with Gwent’s Trefor O’Fern Hill, then
in 1987 at Palo Alto, CA with Fernhill’s Taliesin the Raven, in
1992 at Leesburg VA with Fernhill’s Wyvern, and in 2000 at Merrimac,WI with Fernhill’s Torquil .
Fernhill's Logan of Jeffcairn J.C. (Atticus x Roslyn) x
Ch. Sindar Sea Poppy – an Allyn Babitch (Sindar) litter born
May 17, 2007
By May, the family expanded again when Kris
and Bayard Smith’s Fernhill’s
Logan of Jeffcarin sired a litter with Allyn Babitch’s Ch. Sindar Sea Poppy. This is a
litter to watch and we had hoped very much to get a puppy. Logan (Winners Dog at the 2006 Western Regional Specialty) is a
multifunctional Deerhound, very close to our ideal (Richard won’t forgive
him his costume class prowess). “Poppy” is a daughter of Ch. Jaraluv
Kempthorn out of one of my all time favourites, Ch. Windshift Bramble.
Below: the many faces and facets of Logan...Super Dog extraordinaire!!
The Finnish
Deerhound Specialty, Tampere, Finland - August 4, 2007
An invitation to judge
the Finnish Deerhound Specialty in Tampere on August 4, 2007 proved to be
one of those unforgettable life experiences; not just for the wonderful
hospitality that I received but because there were truly so many first
class specimens of the breed represented in the entry of almost 70
Deerhounds. My judging notes are provided at: http://koti.mbnet.fi/shkk/nayttelyt/2007/deerhound%20specialty%202007.doc or email us at bh@fernhill.com for a PDF. The focus of these comments are not individual
critiques of dogs, but rather a discussion on some common structural
issues in Deerhounds that seem prevalent throughout the breed in all
continents that I have visited as well as some of my thoughts on their
significance and their relationship to husbandry. It was gratifying to have
so many quality Deerhounds presented to me in Finland.
Above: Sweetscot Calvin
Klein (Fin.Ch. Sweetscot Fernrigg x Int.Nord.Ch. V-97/98 Nord V-97
KbhV-97 EUV-97 MV-98 Sweetscot Philadelphia) my Best in Specialty Show ... a beautifully balanced, sound,
well muscled Deerhound that won from the Veteran class. Owned by Virva
Silvasti and bred by Ansa Assinen (Sweetscot)
Above: The “Sweetscot” clan!
It was delightful to have this “family” photo taken of myself with the Finnish
connection all bred by Ansa Assinen (bending over her Kilbrandon Mortimer
x Sweetscot Blair Atholl puppies). Most, if not all of her many lovely
Deerhounds, were descendents of her two North American imports Fin. Ch Fernhill’s Portia at Sweetscot (Ch. Crannoch’s Fenris
O’Fernhill x Fernhill’s Fair Kyla) and Karen Keiffer’s Fin.
Ch. Balnagown Hoodoo (Ch. Christie’s Glen Fiddich x Balnagown Who’s
Foolin’ Who).
Leoch
Fiddich x Fernhill’s Lantana – a Gabi and Oliver Fritsch (Atzberg) litter born August 31,
2007
An eagerly awaited litter planned by Gabriele and Oliver
Fritsch arrived on August 31, 2007. This litter involved a trip to
Scotland by Oliver and Lantana to
visit their chosen sire Leoch
Fiddich (Leoch Ballintuim x Strathdechtn Dava) pictured below at 1 ½
years. Lantana easily popped out 5 dogs and 7 bitch puppies.
 
It was an exciting time watching these puppies flourish
through weekly photos until November when Susan Trow flew over to Austria
to pick up my boy Laska (Atzberg
Laska O’Fernhill) and a female for herself called Atzberg Legacy of Caretta. For a
wonderful collection of photos of this litter see Welpenbilder : http://www.deerhound.at/zucht2.htm
Above: Atzberg Laska O’Fernhill moving out at 7 weeks and at
Fernhill at 7 months
Ch. Christie’s Glen Fiddich x Am. Can. Ch. Fernhill’s Roslyn – a
Fernhill litter born September 21, 2007
Twenty years ago there was
a very handsome Deerhound who made Deerhound history by being the top
winning Deerhound dog, after capturing 9 Best in Shows and a SDCA
National Specialty (Denver, CO 1990). His name was Ch. Christie’s Glen Fiddich (whelped April 26, 1986) and his
sire was our Am.Can.Ch. Crannoch’s
Fenris O’Fernhill F.Ch. Breeder–owners Christie and Joseph Biehl
became good friends over time and we never lost touch even though they
retired and did what clever retired folks do, they moved to Florida. They
were also farsighted enough to have Glen
Fiddich collected and frozen in 1991, something that we always
regretted not doing with his sire Fenris.
Instead, at Fernhill, we line bred on Fenris for this was a dog that was a superb performance
hound, a brilliant show dog and as time has proven to us, a producer of
healthy and long lived Deerhounds... one of those rare individuals that
consistently sired pups that lived to be 12 – 14 years of age.
.
Above: MBIS, BISS Ch. Christie’s Glen Fiddich (Am. Can.Ch. Crannoch’s Fenris O’Fernhill, F.Ch x Ch. Ch. Balnagown My Marnie)
When the Biehls offered us the option of using Glen Fiddich’s frozen semen our
immediate choice was Roslyn who traced back to Fenris through
her dam Camille, but had no
ancestors in common through her sire Ch. Lehigh Urquhart. Roslyn
offered us an opportunity to go back to our early hounds without breeding
“too close”. The only snag was that Roslyn (Below) was by now almost 7
years of age.
Well,
don’t ever tell a Fernhill gal that she is too old to do something!!
Fernhill’s Equinox and Fernhill’s Elegy arrived
September 21, 2007, two miracles of modern cryogenics and much effort by
the Biehls, Richard and Roslyn.
Roslyn, who has always cherished her puppies, was particularly
loving with these two, perhaps knowing that they were very special, and
also her last!
First
ring training... Roslyn to Equinox: “That’s it
son, but remember – head up; tail down!”
Below: Mojave, who couldn’t believe his luck when Roslyn provided him with two animated squeaky toys to cuddle
and care for...
Equinox went off to Florida in early January 2008 to live with Joey
and Christie and become their “little Weed”. Elegy, our bitch pup, is staying here at Fernhill to get spoilt
rotten....who can resist that face when she says “I’m toooo tired to
walk"?
More
than just a pretty face ... Below: Elegy at 6 months. Yes, both pups “self stack”
just like sire Glen Fiddich and grandsire Fen.
 
Above: Equinox facing
down the “water snake” in
Florida (6 months) Elegy stalking the wild asparagus
at Fern Hill (7 weeks)
We
can’t say enough how grateful we are for Christie and Joey’s
farsightedness and kindness. This is a litter like no other litter we
have ever had.
Fernhill’s Camille – a HOUND GROUP
WINNER October 2007 at age 10+ !!
What
whim possessed Alistair Sutherland to take Fernhill’s Camille in October 2007 to the Ottawa Valley show
at Munston, Ontario, given she had only been to one other show ever? We
will never know because in the thrill and excitement of hearing that Camille won the Hound Group we forgot to ask. In the pouring
rain, Camille, easily out-moved all the other hound winners in her
eagerness to get back into the car. Judge Francois Bernier was totally
astonished when he heard that his Group winner was over ten (yes 10+)
years old!
Above: Fernhill’s Camille dam of Tyee, Tillicum, Gabriola, Cameron, Darcy (with Ch. Fernhill’s Torquil)
and dam of Reinagle, Roslyn and Reiba (with Ch. Lehigh Urquhart (“Gordy”), now becomes Fernhill’s oldest Hound Group Winner! Yea - Grey Power! We are very grateful that Alistair
Sutherland’s father Bruce, had so much pleasure from, and took such
wonderful care of Camille in the last years of his life.
Other New Events
In
2007, our great friends Gail and Andrew Lamb together with their daughter
Isla and the magnificent Fernhill’s
Havoc Chace with his sidekick Big
Sky Astrid O’Fernhill deserted Ontario and moved back to Victoria, British
Columbia. This was a real blow to our social circle as Gail, Andrew and
Isla were the focus of our Burns Supper on the great bard’s birthday
every January 25th, our St. Andrew’s parties, and Andrew
served as official bagpiper at many Fernhill and Innisfree Farm events.
We miss them terribly, especially when they phone in February from
Victoria and gloat over the spring flowers while we know that we have
three more months of snow to endure. Gail plans to initiate her
retirement in 2009 with a litter from Astrid, which is really something to look forward to and will
certainly require many trips out west.
Below left: Gail and Big Sky Astrid
O’Fernhill Below
right: Andrew Lamb and Isla, Remembrance Day, 2007
 
One
major change affecting our future was the decision to sell most of our
Highland cattle. Our current herd is the remnant of a hand selected group
made up of blacks, duns, silver duns, yellows and reds. From a cow and
calf purchased in 1973, the herd was built up in the 1980s with a major
importation from the Trossach and Nordesk folds of British Columbia. At
its peak at almost 100 head, Fernhill Highlands were the second largest
purebred herd in Canada. Just before Christmas 2007, all our cows and
heifers rolled down the driveway to a new home in Quebec and we were left
with our oldest dun cow and 7 bulls.
Thirteen
has always been our lucky number and never was there a more providential
day than August 13, 2004 when Susan Trow (“Caretta”) moved to Fernhill
from Quebec. Having such a kindred spirit in our tiny 1850’s converted carriage
shed (Below: a.k.a. “Susan’s
Coach House”) has added a wonderful dimension to our lives.
We
have hiked with our dogs together, gone together to shows and coursing
meets, had our meals together, borrowed the proverbial cup of sugar from
each other, we’ve debated Deerhound performance, conformation issues, breed
history, and shared reading material, laughed together, cried together
and we couldn’t have found a kinder more cheerful companion...
Then
in the Fall of 2007 Susan purchased a new home in Quebec and when the
renovations are complete, she will be leaving Fernhill, likely in June
2008. That will be a HUGE change in our lives and after sharing so many
good times together for four years, we will miss her, Marcus, Mandolin
and Legacy tremendously.
But, some things just don’t change, such as our incredibly
beautiful autumns (Below: the
trail to the pond at Fernhill)
  
Below: That visitors using the Fernhill Guest House are always
welcomed! That even the trees at
Fernhill are in love!
Below: And the hawks continue to soar over the fields of Fernhill
and Innisfree (photos by Nigel Shaw taken at the raptor
banding station on our Innisfree Farm)
Below: The work maintaining two farms never ends ... Richard with
a new “Mae West” silo top that he shingled and is now ready to be
installed on the Innisfree Farm silo
Below: Despite the Deerhounds, the deer continue to flourish at
Fernhill and Innisfree farms
(Photos by Richard from the Innisfree Farm kitchen window)
And
elsewhere, the prowess of Fernhill Deerhounds in the hunt remains
undiminished ... Fernhill’s Linden bringing home some whitetail deer soup bones for Sue Winsor, Bragg Creek,
Alberta
Below: Tony Bennett and his Fernhill’s
Lochiel blasting out of the slips ...
first time hunting the elusive white baggie...
And
then back at home, a kinder and gentler Lochiel with his favourite toys....
Oh
yes, and despite global warming
the interminable winters in Canada really don’t seem to get much
shorter...
 
(Photos
by a shivering Susan Trow)
Regardless....... whether it be rain or shine, sleet or
snow, the “walkies” always take place... see also, courtesy of Len and
Barb Yaroski, Fernhill-A Sunday Jaunt www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohfa7Kjji3U
AND we continue to undertake Sighthound and Deerhound
research ... The Scottish Deerhound: Its History and Preservation is still “in progress” (patience please!)
Recently published articles
include;
>
Fritsch, Gabriele and Oliver, Richard Hawkins (2006) “Deerhounds at
Hunting by Fr. B. Laska, 1898” The Performance Sighthound Journal Vol. 3(1) January /March : 20 – 25; Vol.
3 (2) April/June: 19 – 23; Vol. 3 (3) July/September : 34 – 39
>
Hawkins, Richard (2006) “What is a Sighthound” Dogs in Canada Vol.
97 (9): 25 – 30 (This piece on Sighthound Group classification with
reference to lure coursing in North America was nominated and short-listed
as finalist in the essay category for the 2006 Dog Writers Association of America awards)
> Heidenreich, Barbara (2006) “C.F. Gordon and Spey of
the Foothills” The Claymore November/December
2006 : 26 – 28
>
Hawkins, Richard (2007) “Sighthound Identity” The Performance Sighthound
Journal Vol. 4 (3): 36 – 47
>
Heidenreich, Barbara and Richard Hawkins (2007) “Longevity in Scottish
Deerhounds” The Claymore May/June : 15 – 18
>
Heidenreich, Barbara (2007) “Finnish
Deerhound Specialty August 4, 2007 – Judge’s Impressions” MaSkotti
2/2007 liite: 8 – 12
All
these articles are available as a PDF by sending a request to bh@fernhill.com
Our best wishes to all ... may we be kinder to each other
and tread lighter on this earth in 2008
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