“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and freedom.”—Sharon Ralls Lemon
Bill and I rode our bikes to Garrod Farms, family owned and operated since 1893, seeing some wild turkeys cross the road along the way. Garrod’s has 150 acres of vineyards and horse stables. Bill came up with the idea to ride around the Steven’s Creek Reservoir Lake, which we have done many times, and visit the Sunnyvale Rod and Gun Club including the Rifle-Pistol Range purely out of curiosity. Going to Garrod Farms was at first an afterthought. I suggested going there sometime and Bill responded, “Do you want to go now?" It turned out to be the highlight of our 22-mile round trip ride.
Garrod’s brought back some fond memories. One of the six generation of Garrod matriarchs—the late Jane Garrod—was a member of our Saratoga Community of Painters, a plain-air watercolor group back in the late 90s. Jane and her late husband Vince were kind enough to invite us to have our Christmas parties in their wine tasting room.
One experience that stands out is having met the affable Steve (the “Mooch”) Mariucci, the former football coach of the SF 49ers (1997-2002). His wife Gale was a member of our outdoor plein-air watercolor group. Gail invited us to their home one day to paint outdoors, and he had attended our Christmas party at Garrod's. During an elephant gift exchange, Steve and I playfully fought over a nude sculpture that looked like something you would find at an excavation site in Pompeii, Italy. Both of us being Italian, may have been the attraction. I won, and he was a good sport about it. kept the sculpture on the front ledge of our fireplace. I could hear the voice of my late dad, Frank, who was alive at the time, whispering in my ear that it would be worth money someday,” something he typically said about anything he collected:)
On our first order of business at Garrod's Vineyards, Bill and I purchased a bottle of "2017 Two Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon." We spent the rest of the time enjoying the view of the vineyards, overlooking Silicon Valley. From there we visited the gentle, beautiful horses in their stables. It was a very tranquil and calming experience that I have experienced many times throughout the years in other venues.
Postscript: This post is dedicated in memory to Jane Garrod (1918-2014), an artist, storyteller, role model, chef, healer, coach, gardener, conservationist, world traveler, friend to many, and lover of life.
