Post GANA goldendoodle breeder
We sold our farm with great reservations and moved to Asheville NC. It was time. Time to retire, time to enjoy life, time to destress from being a breeder. Breeding goldendoodles for 18 years has been one of the highlights of my personal life. I feel such a feeling of accomplishment. I can never get enough of being around and involved with goldendoodles. We love our new home with the French Broad River in our back yard. Frisco loves to run into a flock of 50 Canadian Geese and watch them all fly into the river. Calhoun sits quietly and wonders why Frisco bothers. They will be back on the bank by the time we leave. The boys go everywhere with us. They go to restaurants, walks in the River Arts district, Saturday mornings at the Asheville farmers market, and Community gatherings. Everyone knows Calhoun and Frisco. They have made lots of human and dog friends. They have adapted very well to living in a neighborhood.
There are things I miss. I miss sitting on my front porch and listening to the leaves rustle. No cars, no neighbors, just quiet. I miss the puppies. The tiny warm bodies coming into the world was one of my favorite times. I miss watching them grow and imagining their lives and all the joy they would bring to their families. I miss my daughter and grandchildren being within 30 minutes away rather than the two hours they are now.
What I dont miss is not having any friends living anywhere near us. Not having any kind of entertainment like restaurants or concerts, having to drive long distances for everything from groceries to a dentist appointment. Asheville is more fun than we could ever have imagined. Yesterday we went to an Asheville baseball game with 50 of our neighbors, today we played pickle ball and will be going to an outdoor concert tomorrow with friends. I love the five miles of hiking trails right outside my door and stopping at the farm in our neighborhood for fresh vegetables. I especially love having the river in my back yard. I can hear it night and day and it is lulls me to sleep every night. I enjoy having a neighbor stopping by for coffee and going with 30 other neighbors to help with habitat for humanity. Its taken me two years to get my yard producing flowers and a few vegetables but now its beautiful . The wild life around here is wonderful. There are of course beautiful black bears that go wherever they want along with eagles, bobcats, turkeys, and deer. Rick and I just love it here. There are five miles of walking trails, 90% in the woods that I can access right outside our door that I walk on most days. The only thing that could make this any better would be if half of my children and their families didnt live so far away. But we all make the effort to get together when we can. Rick and I go to the YMCA three times a week, walk the trails and stay super active.
So life is better than good. We love where we are and three weeks ago we welcomed a new goldendoodle into the family, Boone. Wow, you forget how much work a new puppy is but he is sweet and tries to be good!
I want to thank all of the people that have Fountain Falls puppies and dogs. Please stay in contact. I love hearing about these guys and how they are doing.
Lynne Whitmire