We are Sadie Grove Farm. We are a progressive family of four who decided to give up our mid-century suburban Sacramento home to pursue our dream of owning and running a farm and non profit. Our vision is to cultivate a space where animals can live out their forever days being loved and nurtured, children can roam, learn, explore, connect and find grounding, and all people can have access to farm life and equine activities.
Melanie is a child clinical psychologist in private practice in Midtown, Sacramento. In addition to her camps, she merges the farm and her clinical practice to bring the therapeutic benefits of the farm and animals to clients in need of emotional support. Taylor is an accountant for the state pension fund and does executive coaching. Bridget is an animal and nature loving 6th grader at a Waldorf school and Gianna is an 11th grader who can be found skillfully throwing rifles, flags, and sabres in color guard.
We have been here for three years now, slowly cultivating this dream into a reality. We witness children flourishing into their authentic selves every day through the magic of nature, affirmation and acceptance, child directed free-range play, and the many gifts of animal connection. Our intentionally directed therapeutic, art, and equine activities, as well as the carefully crafted culture of hard work and giving back to the animals who give us so much, help to push them just one more step on that journey.
In Loving Memory of Sadie Lady 2008-2022. Our farm is named after Sadie, my Pekingese Poodle and my very first baby. She was the result of the very first scary grown up decision I made to take responsibility for another life. Four years later, I made the scariest decision yet; to bring a human soul into the world (enter Bridget). Three years after that, Bridget and I were in the car listening to the folk song Shady Grove by Doc Watson. We first heard the song in Bridget’s baby music class and it had quickly become a rally song, of sorts, for me. I was struggling with my divorce and feeling stuck so far from my family, daydreaming about a simple country life making jams and sipping lemonade barefoot on a wraparound porch. I did my best to marinate in that vision in my imagination as a single mom in the city and shelved the realization of that dream for another day in the very distant future.
Bridget and I sang the folk song as we drove along together and I realized she thought Doc Watson was singing “Sadie” Grove. She thought the song was about our pup and wondered aloud if Sadie knew there was a whole song written just for her.
Some time after I met Taylor, he and I were driving through Petaluma on our way to the coast and I was admiring the farms, reminded of the time when my heart ached for one to mend its break and create and envelope of “home”. I told him, “someday I want to own a farm and call it Shady Grove.” He said, “Okay” with a shrug and a slight smile. As the farm started to become a reality, I remembered the name but it didn’t feel quite right (probably because it’s in Wilton and not particularly shady, nor a grove, really). But Sadie Grove! It was always Sadie Grove! I asked Taylor, “What if we named it Sadie Grove instead?”, and explained why.
“I think we have to; it’s perfect”.
