Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
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Rick and Laura Steere moved to Ridgeway from upstate New York last summer. Since then, they have been putting together Infinity Acres Petting Ranch. The ranch combines the couple’s love of animals with their desire to teach people, especially children, about caring for them. Here, the Steeres are shown with one of their goats. |
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Infinity Acres Petting Ranch in Ridgeway is sort of a land-locked Noah’s Ark.
It is home to llamas, a miniature pony, goats, sheep, a pot-belly pig, chicks, ducks and a couple Canada geese. One of its alpacas was a hit at this month’s Fast Track trade show.
And then there is a registered miniature donkey, dubbed “Cha-Cha.” Known as a Mediterranean, the donkey was bottle fed and “thinks it’s a dog,” explained owners Laura and Rick Steere.
Cha-Cha is brownish-grey in color and has a distinctively shaped and darker-colored cross on its back. It is said to be the type of donkey Mary rode into Jerusalem, Laura Steere said.
The Steeres bought their farm and began moving to Ridgeway last summer. The petting ranch, which will offer youth day camps this summer as well as tours, grew out of the couple’s decision to raise alpacas and llamas and sell their hair as a retirement business.
It also fits their passion for helping children. While in New York, the Steeres worked with children in Special Olympics, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Rick Steere retired from a nuclear plant in New York, and his wife is a registered nurse, now working at Rich Acres Elementary School in Henry County.
They were living in upstate New York, but when they visited friends in Patrick Springs, they fell in love with the area. They found its climate less harsh than upstate New York, and they also found 50 acres with pond. Everything for the ranch fell into place.
Sort of.
“We looked like Noah’s Ark, coming down highway (Interstate) 81” with trailers and trucks loaded with their animals, Laura Steere said.
The couple made 14 trips, 680 miles one way, to bring their animals to their new home, Rick Steere said.
Because the farm had not been used as such for a few years, other than rental space for a couple horses, Rick Steere said there was much work to be done.
The couple set about restoring or installing fencing, building barns and other enclosures and making other changes such as painting the chicken coop various shades of purple.
“This is a labor of love ... a work in progress,” said Rick Steere. “We call it a ranch because the only thing we harvest here is hay.”
The Steeres hope others will share their “labor of love” and develop a passion for and knowledge of the animals on their ranch.
Visitors are greeted by Zenna, a 14-week-old Great Pyrenees dog, the Steeres’ “guardian angel.”
When fully grown, Zenna “will defend our alpacas against even a coyote,” Laura Steere said.
A small wading pool in the gift shop doubles as a temporary home for new chicks and ducklings. The Polish Crested chicks have black bodies and gold feathers on their little heads.
“They will have this poof of white feathers on their head,” when grown, Laura Steere said. “They kind of look like Phyllis Diller” when mature.
When first hatched, chicks and ducks are covered in body fuzz. Their eyes and ears are open and they are able to drink, eat, move and fend for themselves, Steere said.
Not so for a three-day-old parrot. With no body covering and closed eyes and ears, this baby does not even resemble its parents.
“When it’s three weeks old, we’ll take it from the nest and hand feed it with a syringe,” Steere said. “That will make it friendly.”
Friendliness is about the only thing the Steeres demand of their animals. It is important for the animals to get along well with visitors and, most importantly, with youngsters because the animals are used to impart understanding, respect and a sense of responsibility to visiting children.
Youth day camps will begin the first week in June to teach youngsters how to respect and care for the animals.
The weekly sessions will be limited to 10 children of all abilities aged 7 to 13, and will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Activities will include hands-on training with each animal and lessons on its history, nature, unique qualities, diet and safe handling.
Youngsters also will learn haltering, leading and other basic handling techniques for llamas, alpacas and a pair of Percheron horses, named Mercedes and Benz. Mercedes is the older of the pair and is expecting her third foal in June.
The day camp will cost of $125 a week per youth, and tours of the ranch cost $5 per person. Visitors are welcome but are advised to call first at 956-5683 or 358-2378. |
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