After spending 3 months in New Zealand during the initial lock-down stages of Covid, Jim and I were a little hesitant to come back to the U.S.
New Zealand is the country that banned assault weapons within a month of a rare mass shooting in 2019. The U.S. has a mass shooting almost every day of the year.
New Zealand closed its borders before they had even one death from Covid. Since then, 26 people in New Zealand have died from the disease. In the U.S., Covid deaths are currently over 600,000.
Yet our good luck overcame our fear. A six-month housesit in Ketchum, Idaho turned into 11 months and we are not finished yet. Neither of us was familiar with Idaho or Ketchum, known for its sunny weather and outstanding skiing.
Since July 2020, we’ve followed the habits of the locals – which is basically….. Get Outside. In the summer and fall, we hiked and biked. In the winter, we downhill skied, cross-country skied, and snowshoed. It’s been glorious. Jim tried fly-fishing in Silver Creek, a nearby world-class trout stream. I tried making pottery, with emphasis on the “tried”. We even got a permit to cut down our own Christmas tree in the Sawtooth National Forest.
That’s my Jim!
We are also caring for two adorable dogs and two “cute as” (a NZ term) cats. They bring structure, joy, and amusement to our days. When you are with your spouse 24/7, it’s important to have other beings in your life – even the four-legged kind.
Ketchum has been the perfect re-entry place for us. It’s super easy to stay socially distant since there are only 1,800 residents in town (plus a bunch of tourists). It is true community bolstered by higher than average education and wealth. But the most important trait of the people we’ve met in Ketchum, which is reflected in the town motto, hangs over the main street in huge letters. The motto, shared with New Zealand, is simply………. Be Kind. That’s it….Just……Be Kind.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking “Are we crazy? Leaving the safe bubble of New Zealand during the Covid-19 pandemic to return the United States?”
New Zealand – the country that extended all visitor visas just because it was a kind thing to do – the country that went from Level 4 lockdown to Level 1 (border restrictions only) in 10 ½ weeks and 22 deaths – the country where two lovely families invited us into their homes and their hearts during the process.
When the pandemic hit, housesitting opportunities around the world instantly dried up. If people were traveling, it was only for a week or so. Still, I scoured the housesitting websites looking for that rare gem. Then I found it – 4-8 months in Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho. We applied for the housesit on a Monday evening. That Thursday, I was on a plane back to the United States. Jim would follow later.
The Sun Valley area is famous for its fly fishing, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, hiking, road biking, mountain biking. Get the idea? Our kind of town. As I wait for Jim to arrive, I have been hiking the White Cloud region. Distance from the housesit – a 2-minute walk! All of these photos are taken on my hikes there or the mile-long walk into town.
This area is also known for its famous residents. Ex-Secretary of State John Kerry, movie actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, and really rich people like Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet have all owned property here. Right now, the most expensive home for sale in this area is $22,000,000 US. It sounds like a lot of money but you do get 15,789 sq. feet (1.466 sq. meters for our European friends). To be fair though, the median price of a home Sun Valley is $758,300, not too different from Seattle, WA, where we are from.
The closest big box stores are one hour away so you won’t find any blue-light specials here. What you’ll find, though, is the best of everything else. In a town of roughly 3,000 souls, you’ll find excellent restaurants, classical music festivals, world-class art galleries, and a 25,000-square-foot performing arts center. For the stargazers, the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve is just outside of town. Who needs tube socks anyway?
For the moment, (during this dang pandemic), most large events are not happening in Ketchum, but that’s alright. There are plenty of trails and mountains to explore. Our temporary home is very comfortable and our temporary dogs and cats are super friendly. We are safe, healthy, and thankful and we hope you are too.
Blenheim Palace in the UK? Where Winston Churchill was born?
No, Blenheim, New Zealand – wine capital of NZ, known for its Sauvignon Blanc. This will be our second month-long housesit for the same family. Jim and I have never lived in smaller towns like this, with a population of 30,000, yet our time there has helped us appreciate small town living.
From the small commuter plane, the neat rows of vineyards, 2,400 acres of them, are captivating. The grapes compete for space with new housing developments on the edges of town. I also notice there are practically no cars on the road but that makes sense. It is Boxing Day, the day after Christmas and businesses (mainly locally owned) won’t be open until Dec 27, or January 2nd or maybe even Monday, January 7th. It’s a work-life balance thing for the Kiwis.
A noir is red wine and a blanc is white wine. This is what Jim and I collectively know about wine. But we don’t come to Blenheim for its oenophilic delights. We come because of Cooper and Queenie.
Cooper is a 2-year old labradoodle and Queenie is a cat – cats are ageless. They come with a delightful house in Blenheim owned by an energetic and gracious family. The housesit also comes with neighbors on either side, who invite us to holiday meals and parties, and let us swim in their pool. The neighbors come from farming backgrounds and know the value of family and community. We like it.
Now, this is a small town experience. You want to pick up some friends at the airport. Although the airport is “out of town”, if you wait until you hear the arriving plane overhead before getting in the car, you can make it to the airport with time to spare. Plus, you can swing into a u-pick cherry orchard on the way back to the house And their cherries are first rate!
Our main housesitting task is to keep the animals happy. For Cooper, that means a walk along the river. Less than a mile from the house, the Taylor River Reserve meanders from town to the hills beyond. Around 5:30 pm, the walking paths on both sides of the river are full of happy dogs and their owners – all off-leash, the dogs, that is. The dogs do what dogs do. Establish a relationship and run like crazy. The dog owners do something similar. Establish a relationship and pick up poo. Everyone has a good time.
Our housesit family now has chickens in the expansive backyard. I think it is mandatory in New Zealand to raise chickens at some point in your life and this is their time. Having been raised in the U.S., we have never raised chickens, but it is easy to learn. You provide them with food and water and they provide you with eggs.
My True Calling
The best part is when the eggs are still warm. It gives me a slightly maternal feeling. But that feeling goes away quickly when I realize how “academically challenged” chickens are. If I spill water while filling their dish, they all clamor for the spilled, now muddy, water rather than drink the cool, clean water from the dish. But who am I to say anything. I can’t lay even one egg.
When we aren’t dog walking and egg collecting, Jim and I like to ride bikes. We ride out of town which means riding 10 minutes in any direction. This gives us the opportunity to see “cool things” like pigs. In fact, we see actual pigs. But what we like best is what we DON’T see – cars. It’s so lovely.
In the mornings and after work, you’ll find many locals climbing the slopes of Wither Hills. This range rises to an elevation of 1,200′ just on the edge of town and is shared with grazing sheep and cattle. During the day, it is blazing hot and if anything caught on fire, you’d be a goner. Signs warn the walkers, runners, and mountain bikers that – The steeper the hill, the faster the fire travels – and equally scary – You cannot outrun a fire.
Putting all that aside, the hills are fabulous for walks of ½ hour to 3 hours. At the top, the land stretches as far as you can see without a single manmade sight. The grazing stock only adds to the charm. When you come upon the sheep, they shuttle off. But the cattle, now, they hold their own – usually next to the water trough. No messing with the cattle.
It’s not all fun and games while housesitting in Blenheim. Every so often, we work in the garden, harvesting the carrots, tomatoes and, zucchini that will become our salad. The juicy lemons grow faster than we can use them. There is plenty growing so we freeze tomatoes for the family to enjoy in the winter.
