Columnist
The prettiest barn in Nevada County occupies the corner of Highway 174 and Meadow View Drive only five minutes from the Brunswick basin business district. This iconic red landmark originally housed the goats from Nightingale Farm and other small animal operations. The barn is situated in a lovely valley, rich with water from the surrounding hillsides, in rainy years. The land sat empty and untilled for many years appearing along the road as if it were waiting for just the right farmers. In 2020 the land and barn became the home of Peardale Farm.
Rob and Cathy Chase, partners in business and life for forty years, moved to Grass Valley in 2014. After three decades of winters on the East coast, their homesickness for California finally got the best of them. Among other careers, Rob had owned an organic farm in Connecticut while Cathy ran a marina.