Welcome
to
Deer Creek Farm
Alpacas, Miniature Horses and Fiber
503-843-4115 Sheridan, Oregon
|
Deer Creek Farm Alpacas, Miniature Horses and Fiber 503-843-4115 Sheridan, Oregon
|
|
BARNS
|
Deer Creek Farm is located off of Highway 18 between McMinnville, Or and Spirit Mountain. For those unfamiliar with the area, Spirit Mountain is a casino located in Grand Ronde about 15 minutes away. We are located in the Oregon wine country in the northern Willamette Valley and only 37 miles from the coast. This area is truly beautiful and for us, it was love at first sight. When we moved in three years ago, there was only a house and a barn, so every year we have tried to make improvements. There was fencing and shelters to be built, landscaping to be done, and stalls added to the existing barn. Deer Creek Farm is currently home to 23 alpacas and 12 miniature horses as well as 6 llamas, 4 large horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 birds. Raising alpacas and miniature horses is the best of all worlds. Alpacas are wonderful creatures whose presence gives you an instant sense of serenity. Watching their antics in the pasture affords one never ending amusement, and alpacas are also a great choice if you enjoy working with fiber. On the other hand, if you want fun and a lot of interaction, a miniature horse is a great choice. You can play with the miniatures, give them a bath, or hitch them up to a cart for an afternoon ride. Of course for both breeds, there is always the show ring, parades, clinics and other fun events.
When we first got interested in living on a farm and raising livestock, we were told repeatedly about the wonderful change in lifestyle. I didn’t think much about it other than we would be leaving the overcrowded, noisy city for some peace and solitude in the country. I thought about wiling away peaceful hours at the spinning wheel on a lovely spring day in a bucolic setting. Well, obviously, that’s not quite how it turned out, however, I wouldn’t change a thing. Our pre farm weekends used to consist of taking the dogs to the beach, going to flea markets and art sales, wine tasting in Napa, or just relaxing at home. Now our weekends consist of horse shows, alpaca shows, fiber festivals, conferences and seminars, and there are no relaxing weekends at home. Conversations with friends used to be about movies, politics, fine restaurants, and work. Now conversations with friends consist of animal emergencies, worms, the latest disease to hit the livestock world, nutrition, and cute animal stories. There is no more lolling around on Sunday morning, getting up at noon and going to have brunch. On the other hand, there is no being awakened at 8 am by the sound of your neighbor’s load of rock being delivered in the driveway, the kid down the street’s stereo playing rap at top volume, or sirens setting off every dog in the neighborhood. In Walnut Creek, we only had a passing acquaintance with our neighbors. There was no sense of community or caring as everyone was rushing off to the next place they had to be, and they had to leave extra early as traffic was as bad on the weekends as during the week. In the animal word, help is always close at hand. Last year the truck broke down at a horse show, and the President of the club found us a diesel mechanic who would come out on Memorial Day to a motel parking lot to fix the truck. At the same time, Matt was back at the Equestrian Center taking a reserve championship on one of our mares. The truck was soon forgotten and we were celebrating the win. The examples of the kindness of others are numerous to cite. In essence, all those who told us of the lifestyle change were right. It is a different way of life, and one that I wish everyone had the good fortune to experience it. So if you would like to see our little slice of heaven, please contact us and come out for a farm visit. Let’s talk alpacas or miniature horses. Marguerite Dulik and Matt Davern are the proprietors of Deer Creek Farm. To contact them send email to deercreekfarms@earthlink.net. If you would like us to link to you or have questions about the site, the webmaster can be contacted at webmaster@deercreekfarm.biz. |
