Recipes: Honey-Glazed Halloumi Cheese

honey-glazed HALLOUMI cheese

IMPRESS GUESTS WITH THIS INDULGENT SWEET AND SALTY SUMMERTIME APPETIZER.

RECIPES & STYLING BY SARAH M c CULLEN | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

With a notably high melting point, Mediterranean halloumi cheese makes for a tasty and unique appetizer when fried or grilled. Make it a summer dish by marinating it in local honey before cooking, and serve up the sweet and salty combination as part of a unique, seasonal cheese plate.

honey-glazed

HALLOUMI

2 blocks halloumi cheese 1/3 cup honey, plus more for drizzling Zest and juice of 1 lemon 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, roughly chopped Dash of crushed red pepper (optional)

Cut cheese into ½-inch to ¼-inch thick slices. Stir together honey and lemon zest and juice. Lay cheese slices in shallow dish, and pour honeylemon mixture on top. Sprinkle with thyme and, if desired, crushed red pepper. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, but overnight is best.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sear cheese slices in hot skillet until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Drizzle with honey, and serve immediately on a platter alongside prosciutto, fresh fruit and hearty bread.

pair with WINE

Visit the food blog at invitationmag.com this month for a recipe for Honey-Infused Summer Sangria, also pictured.

AN EARLY 1900s HOME NEAR CAMPUS, REFURBISHED A CENTURY LATER, FEATURES AUTHENTIC DETAILS PLUS STATELY ADDITIONS.

If Walls Could Talk

WRITTEN BY LANIE ANDERSON

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

Charley and Tricia Myers say without hesitation that their fondest memory of their home is the day their daughter was married by the house’s lap pool in December 2012. They still remember the various hues of brown, green, yellow and red from the stained-glass window set at the west end of the pool, reflected on the water’s surface as the sun set behind the bride and groom.

People passing by the house on South 5th Street in Oxford might notice the window, originally from a Scottish church built in the late 1700s.

“In the morning, the light radiates from the window and reflects back on the pool, and it is just unbelievable,” Charley said.

The stained-glass window is just one of several personal touches the Myerses added after they purchased the home in 2003. Charley and Tricia lived in Flowood at the time but traveled to Oxford a lot because their son was a wide receiver on the Ole Miss football team.

“Our son was in school up here at Ole Miss, and we would visit him and go to the football games,” Tricia said. “One day Charley said, ‘This is where I want to retire. When I get into Lafayette County, my blood pressure goes down.’”

A friend told Charley about the house, built around 1908 and located mere steps away from University Avenue and campus. Within three days, they had purchased a home in Oxford.

Franklin and Helen Moak and their children had lived in the home since 1974. Charley, a University of Mississippi alum, already knew Mr. Moak, who had served as dean of the Division of Student Personnel. The Moaks agreed to sell the house for slightly less than offered on one condition: The Myerses would honor the original home

by restoring it rather than demolishing it to build a new home or condominiums.

“It just couldn’t get much better than this location,” Charley said. “The old structure was cosmetically dilapidated, but, structurally, it was sound.”

The couple soon got to work. The house needed new plumbing, wiring and insulation. Tricia was deeply invested in every step of the renovation process from 2003 until 2005 when they moved to Oxford. She drove from Flowood every week and stayed with her son from Tuesday to Thursday so she could oversee the changes.

They wanted to maintain the original aesthetic of the home’s outside appearance as much as possible. All of the windows and sliding doors are original to the home. The heart pine flooring is from the late 1800s and was made by a manufacturer in South Carolina. Wood panels salvaged from the original floor are used in the bathroom near the pool and bar. The original porch wraps around the front and one side of the house, but they did add spindles for safety.

“One thing we really enjoy about the house is the porch because so many people are walking by every morning, strolling their children, jogging or walking their dogs,” Tricia said. “We love to go out there, drink our coffee every morning, watch everybody go by and wave at them.”

Exterior additions include the New Orleans inspired lap pool and hot tub, a driveway and a carriage house, which shelters a white 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud the couple rents to people for weddings. A fully furnished apartment above the carriage house offers extra space for guests.

Inside the home, the Myerses added a master bedroom and large kitchen downstairs. Tricia admires the work of American architect A. Hays Town from Louisiana. Town utilized brick in his designs, and Tricia knew she wanted to do the same in her new kitchen to contrast with the cypress cabinets.

“I loved the brickwork for the kitchen,” Tricia said. “It’s really become popular now, but at the time (in 2003) it really wasn’t something that was used a lot in Mississippi.” Continued on page 30

Continued from page 28

The Myerses made minor changes to the upstairs, which originally had a bedroom in each of the four corners and one bathroom in the middle. It now has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. One end of an attic space was converted into extra storage closets; beyond is a weight room, and a nook with an extra guest bed.

Antiquing has always been a fun hobby for the couple, and antiques from their large collection are featured in each room. Visitors will quickly notice a number of German, English and American clocks throughout the home. Charley has been a devotee of clocks since his childhood. Over the years, he has collected an assortment from different time periods and places.

“All of these clocks are at least 100 years old with a few exceptions, and they are all working,” Charley said. “Can you imagine if they could talk what they would say? A lot of these clocks have come from foyers in banks back in the 1800s. One sat in a garage in New Orleans for 70 years.”

If the home’s walls could talk, they would have lots of stories to tell, too. Supposedly, FBI agents set up headquarters in the basement to monitor the situation when James Meredith enrolled at UM. Helen Moak taught countless Oxford children how to play the piano in the front parlor where the Myerses’ 1929 piano sits today. Governors from around the country, including former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant have visited their home. Grammy nominee and blues artist Cedric Burnside of Holly Springs has performed poolside at parties hosted by the couple.

In the 16 years the Myerses have lived in the home, they have had over 1,000 guests. Now, Charley and Tricia are considering moving into a smaller Oxford house.

“We look back on the time we’ve lived here, and we have absolutely zero regrets,” Charley said. “This is the loveliest town. We realize what we did — took an old structure that had been built in the early 1900s and essentially dressed it up a little bit.”

They will never forget the process of renovating the home and the people they met along the way.

Flower Power

A SMALL, FAMILY-RUN FARM PROVIDES FRESH FLORALS FOR WEDDINGS, FLORISTS AND JUST PURE ENJOYMENT.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

hen Vanessa Jackson W says she’s not a trained horticulturist, she speaks the truth: An English degree from the University of Mississippi offers proof. Still, spend a quarter of an hour with Jackson, who speaks fluent flora, and doubt will creep in.

Words like peony, poppies, anemone, ranunculus, celosia, gomphrena flow off her tongue with the ease of calling her family to dinner. Ask her to spell a flower name and she can do that, too.

Jackson and her husband of 22 years, Jimmy Jackson, own Seven Acres Farm in Mooreville, where, no matter the season, flowers are the order of the day.

Within hollering distance of the highway, well hidden by a stand of tall trees, the Jacksons built the place they’ve called home for 11 years. Their 6.9-acre farm is mostly woods, but just beyond the back door are raised beds that, during the proper season, burst with blooms of assorted kinds and colors. Don’t know your flowers? No reason to panic: Vanessa has the knowledge you need.

Like a seasoned botanical guide, Vanessa, with a bit of help from Jimmy, points out what’s growing in each bed now, as well as what’s been planted there in seasons past. The couple also peppers the conversation with future plans for plantings.

“There are roses and peonies in the front beds,” Vanessa said, pointing to specific cinder block raised beds. “And we have dahlias and tulips — different flowers at different times of year.”

Vanessa attributes much of her love of all things floral to her mother.

“My mom was a very good gardener,” she said. “I helped her as a kid, but I didn’t enjoy it.”

In the beginning, the Jacksons started with a couple of raised beds.

“I just wanted to grow vegetables for our family,” Vanessa said. She and Jimmy are the parents of an adult daughter and two sons. “I scattered some zinnia seeds. But later I decided I wanted to do just flowers.”

At that point, a lot of hard work began in earnest. Because of the hilly ground, much

necessary dirt work was done by Vanessa’s brother, Perry Stegall.

“If not for him, we’d still be working to get things as they are,” Jimmy said of his brother-in-law.

A high tunnel was built to help some flowers to get a head start in growing and also to offer protection from inclement weather. A high tunnel is like a greenhouse but without temperature control.

During the ice and snow in February, the weight of the snow began to stretch the plastic of the tower, which could have caused collapse. Twice, Jimmy had to use a broom to push up on the covering to allow the nearly four inches of snow to slide off.

“We prepare for cold weather but we really weren’t prepared for something like what we had in February,” he said.

Weather is not the only issue that can be a problem for the Jacksons. They struggle with bugs as well, but you won’t find any chemical-laden pesticides or fertilizers on the property — only natural farming methods are used at Seven Acres.

“I make a spray that we use for the pests,” Vanessa said. “It’s a mixture of cayenne, garlic and peppermint. The bugs don’t like it. And we’ve ordered lady bugs before. They help.”

Jimmy, a 1996 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, has a business degree. He’s a longtime independent insurance agent, but he still makes time to help Vanessa at Seven Acres Farm.

“This was a small project started many years ago that turned into a really big project that keeps on going,” he said, laughing.

Vanessa’s vast knowledge of planting and growing flowers has come from reading and studying on her own. Posing a question she can’t answer is close to impossible. She knows when to plant what; she can tell good soil from soil that needs help; she’s even forgiving of Mississippi clay and has found some things that will thrive in it.

Once she’s grown and harvested her flowers, she dries some of them for inclusion in the floral arrangements she does for weddings and other special events. The wedding packages run the gamut, from simple bouquets to the works. She also sells

her flowers to florists, mainly in the summer, and to independent designers. Since she began doing wedding flowers, Vanessa said she now grows flowers with brides in mind.

“I ordered a thousand white tulip bulbs,” she said. “But they substituted yellow. They were beautiful, but they weren’t white.”

The Jacksons also offer a communitysupported agriculture program. If you love fresh flowers but don’t sport your own green thumb, Seven Acres Farm has your back. CSA bouquet deliveries are March through November. CSA shares are sold by the month, with four weekly deliveries each month on the first four Tuesdays. No flowers delivered on any fifth Tuesdays.

Vanessa and Jimmy will celebrate 23 years of marriage in August. Have they found it easy to work closely together planting and harvesting flowers?

“It’s better now,” Jimmy said, smiling at his wife. “She’s the one with all the knowledge. She tells me what needs to be done, and I do it.”

Vanessa may not possess a degree in horticulture, but she’s likely done enough research and reading to count.

“A lot of years ago, even before I got my degree, I knew I wanted to work with flowers in some way,” she said. “But I felt, at the time, that was not the best option. I feel like what I’m doing now is even better than what I imagined in the past.

“Now I not only design with flowers, I also have the space to grow them and enjoy the process of nurturing them as they grow and the anticipation of waiting for them to bloom. And there’s a lot of joy in being able to share what I’ve grown with others.”

WHETHER AS A HOBBY OR A WAY TO MAKE MONEY, BEEKEEPING IS EMERGING AS A POPULAR PASTIME.

The Buzz About BeekeepingThe Buzz About BeekeepingThe Buzz About Beekeeping

WRITTEN BY RACHEL BURCHFIELD | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

ot everyone is fortunate enough to find a passion in life. But there is no doubt Andrew Finch has found his. Finch, founder of Finch Apiaries in Booneville, discovered NNN beekeeping in 2011 and has been hooked ever since. So much so, he says, that his wife has joked he loves his bees more than he loves her.

“I do love my bees, now,” Finch said, laughing through his

Southern accent. “It’s crazy.”

Finch has made his hobby of beekeeping full-time work, and he now runs his own company and manages two part-time employees.

Finch, originally from Florida, worked four years for the Florida

Department of Agriculture as a state apiary inspector (an apiary, for those unschooled in the business of beekeeping, is the location where bees and their beehives are kept) before meeting his wife, moving to

Mississippi, and making Finch Apiaries his full-time gig.

Finch’s company, in part, ships its bees cross-country to places like Gustine, California, a small town in the middle of California that, from the end of January until mid-March, sees Finch’s bees pollinate its almonds. (Interesting fact: According to Finch, 85 percent of the world’s almonds come from California.) From there, the bees head out to the Midwest, to places like Iowa, Indiana and Missouri, and then in the summertime come back to the Mississippi Delta and central Mississippi to pollinate watermelons. In the fall, they pollinate more watermelons in south Mississippi.

How do these bees travel around the country? Finch hires out the transportation of the bees to experienced truck drivers, but the bees are his from his apiaries. He places the bees in boxes with netting, loads them on a semitruck, and sends them on their way to whatever destination they’re headed. Eventually, they make their way back home to Booneville.

“Nobody (else) in north Mississippi puts bees on a semi, straps them down and ships them to California,” Finch said. “People need these pollinators to ensure an adequate food supply, everything from almonds to blueberries and cranberries.”

Finch also harvests honey from his bees and sells it. He finds himself busiest in the spring and the fall, where he can easily clock 70 to 80 hours of work per week. He’s not alone in his passion for beekeeping: This is becoming a burgeoning trend, as both a hobby and as a source of income.

“I think a lot of people, at our roots, want to be farmers and want to grow our own food and have some type of connection to

Andrew Finch of Finch Apiaries in Booneville

Gray Tollison of Oxford

the land,” Finch said. “Beekeeping is a pretty easy way to be able to do that, to grow your own honey and help provide pollination for the environment. A lot of people want to have backyard gardens and eat healthier, and plants like squash and cucumbers do a lot better if there is a beehive in the backyard. It’s something the whole family can enjoy.”

Oxford’s Gray Tollison is not a full-time beekeeper. Tollison, a former member of the Mississippi State Senate for six terms representing District 9, was appointed this summer as a circuit court judge. He has been unwinding through this hobby for three years after taking a beginning beekeeper course.

“It’s just for my own enjoyment,” Tollison said. “The bees do all the work; all I do is try to create an environment for them to do what God made them to do.”

He doesn’t sell his great-tasting honey, but, instead, gives it to his wife, who uses it all the time in different recipes, including bread. He also frequently gives the honey as gifts.

“It’s kind of an escape,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. Working with bees is relaxing, even if I do get stung.”

And Tollison has been stung many times — from on his hand to between his eyes — but, like with anything in life, the better he gets at beekeeping, the fewer errors he makes.

“Early on, I got stung more often, but I learned lessons from experience, making mistakes and learning from my mistakes,” Tollison said. “I like the whole story about bees and how they work; it’s really fascinating to me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but wasn’t able to make time for. I’m finally able to get around to doing it.”

Tollison will tell you that anyone can be a beekeeper, young or old, man or woman. Finch, for his part, agrees. Both men understand the draw to the hobby and to the work, depending on how intense you want to take the craft of beekeeping, and why, following a year in which folks have had more time on their hands thanks to COVID-19, beekeeping is experiencing a spike in popularity. It is an equal opportunity craft, Finch said, all it really takes is the desire to get started.

“‘If I can do it, anybody can do it,’ is what I always tell people,” Finch said. “You just gotta want to. There are some really good videos on YouTube. Get some books, get some bees, and go to work.”

LIVIN G on a PRAYER

A MANTACHIE COUPLE IS NOW AT HOME IN AN “ALMOST” TINY HOME THEY BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP.

WRITTEN BY ABBEY EDMONSON | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

With meticulous planning, benevolent friends and lots of prayers, Rebecca and Bennett Verdon designed and built an “almost” tiny home in Mantachie. The idea for what they now call “RV Farmhouse 2020” began as a drawing on a napkin.

Bennett worked as a truck driver about six and a half years ago. He lost his job after crashing and totaling a company truck, so he later began working at Cooper Tire in Tupelo. Following the sudden change in income, Rebecca and Bennett sold their home to one of their daughters and downsized into a fifth-wheel camper.

“We were in our camper about two years, and I was like, ‘This doesn’t feel like home,’” Rebecca said. “I wanted my space. So, we started looking, and I drew out on a napkin one day what I wanted.”

Rebecca is currently a volunteer at Connect Church in Tupelo, but her favorite job is being a grandmother to her seven grandchildren. She loves to host friends and family any chance she gets.

“My way of loving people was through my home; and when I lost my home, I felt like I’d lost that part of me,” she said. “This project opened that up and gave that part of me back, that decorative side, creative side and hospitality side of me that I felt like was missing.”

The couple received a loan to fund their new project. A quaint pond drew them to the location they chose in Mantachie. Rebecca also loved the availability of outdoor space for group activities. They bought the property in September 2019 and moved forward with their building plans.

Rebecca designed the layout of the new home herself. She wanted a large communal space that was big enough to host gatherings, and she wanted a spacious bathroom with a walk-in shower. The bedroom was optional, thus resulting in the studio-style layout. Continued on page 46

Continued from page 44

Unfortunately, a long rainy season followed shortly after they closed on the land, preventing them from pouring concrete for several months. When the contractors eventually did get the concrete poured and the building up, COVID-19 had already begun spreading across the nation. While the initial shutdown of normal life was a hindrance for most people, it allowed the Verdons some much-needed time to work on the interior of their new home.

Rebecca spent months researching decor details she liked. She said she wanted to go for a “farmhouse style with a camper twist.” Using inspiration from house flippers like Chip and Joanna Gaines, Rebecca saved and filed numerous examples of what she wanted. Inside the home, visitors can find wash-basin sinks, rustic wooden and antique features, a kitchen counter made from a thrifted church altar and many more farmhouse details. The entire process of building and finishing the almost tiny home took around six to seven months, and the overall price tag was $65,000.

“I guess you could say I had champagne taste on a beer budget,” Rebecca said.

Rebecca designed the garage with the future in mind. While it currently houses their old camper, it can be converted into a master bedroom and bathroom with a one-car garage if needed. Rebecca said they could also expand by building upwards; however, they are more than content with the space they have right now.

This project is not a first for Rebecca. She previously flipped a house for one of her daughters after her daughter got married. The only part of the original house they kept during that project was the bare-boned infrastructure.

Rebecca’s favorite elements in her new home are the items donated by her friends and fellow churchgoers. Lumber prices rose right as the Verdons started looking for materials for their walls. A friend of Rebecca’s at church decided to replace the cedar in his house with vinyl. He offered the cedar to Rebecca, and now it lines all of the walls in the home.

Another friend wanted to replace the wooden fencing in their front yard. Rebecca repurposed the wood posts into a feature wall behind the fireplace and a custom vent hood cover in the kitchen.

“I really love the fireplace,” Rebecca said. “I think it adds a lot of character with the turquoises and the grays in there. It accentuates the 10-foot ceilings I have in there.”

Connect Church sold old pews and other items to fundraise for a new community teen room, so Rebecca bought the old altar and installed it as her kitchen island. The words “In remembrance of me” are still inscribed along the edges. The gray countertop that perfectly fit the rest of the kitchen was also a donation from a friend.

Rebecca says she feels very proud of the home she’s created. However, she doesn’t take all of the credit.

“Even when you’re at the bottom of the barrel, you can pray, and God will bring a way,” Rebecca said. “You don’t have to have everything new; you don’t have to have as much stuff. What matters is finding the place where God wants you to be, and to be able to share it with others.”

VISITORS TO ARTIST HENRY CLARKE’S OUTDOOR GALLERY ARE TREATED TO A HEALING TOUR AND A FRESH TAKE ON “GOING GREEN.”

The Moss Hunter

WRITTEN BY SUSAN BALDANI | PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

When you think about moss, if you think about it at all, it’s probably that soft, squishy ground covering you see in shady yards or growing up the side of a tree. Most of the time, it’s not even noticed or appreciated. But moss actually has a lot of benefits — to the environment, to our health and even in art. Yes, art.

Henry Clarke, a master ceramic tile glazer and artist from Oxford, felt that something was missing from his wooden carvings. He wanted to infuse more natural elements into his designs.

“Being out in the woods brought out my creativity, and when I saw all the moss, I decided I wanted to put that in the forefront,” Clarke said. “So, I started putting it on top of my wood carvings, and after that it was off to the races.”

Mosses are small flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. According to britannica.com, there are approximately 12,000 species throughout the world. They grow in damp places and don’t require a lot

of sunlight, preferring the ground around trees and other taller plants. They clean our water, clear our air and prevent erosion.

“What people don’t realize is that moss takes carbon out of the air,” Clarke said. “If you’re in an area with a bunch of moss, you’re getting nothing but clean fresh air which will make you feel euphoric.”

Clarke, who calls himself “the Moss Hunter,” searches for moss all around Oxford and Lafayette County; he’s been at it now for over three years. He’s been known to stop on the side of the road, put on his bright orange jacket and get busy digging up the moss he spotted there. His backyard collection includes fern, tree and toothpick mosses, among others.

The yard is an outdoor gallery; a fairyland filled with wooden creations covered in moss. Among them are a carved head with moss for the hair, mustache and beard; a wooden bench totally covered in a vibrant green moss; and a moss-covered carved man lying on the ground. He sometimes incorporates small ferns as well.

“Children love to run around and touch everything,” Clarke said. “I have some moss that I glued onto little wood animals, and they love that. It looks a little like a zoo when you first walk in.”

Clarke’s wife, Toni Coleman, whom he met while living in New York and followed to Mississippi, supports his hobby wholeheartedly. Coleman came up with the name, House on the Hill Enchanted Oasis, to describe their home and grounds.

“She loves when I’m outside doing my thing,” Clarke said.

Visitors who come to House on the Hill for the free moss garden tours are from all walks of life and of all different ages. Many of them have never been around moss before, and Clarke said they always find it fascinating.

While touring, guests are encouraged to walk on the moss in bare feet. Clarke wants people to be close to the moss, touch it and be able to differentiate between the different types of moss.

He also teaches people how to attach moss to wood using mud, and he will sometimes give them moss to take home, to start their own moss gardens.

At the very end of the moss trail, Clarke created a little beach that he calls Betty Beach, after Coleman’s mother. It’s an allwhite sand beach with a 20- by 27-foot pool.

“It’s like a little lake,” Clarke said. “I want people to get immersed in all the elements of life here. They can feel the sand, get in the water, and then come back and feel the moss. It’s a place of total enjoyment. After the tour, I let them be free to wander around to see what they want. I let the moss take control of them so they can let their minds flow.”

A cancer survivor, Clarke says he is grateful for every day, and that the best things in life are usually free. He strongly believes that the moss, along with spending time in nature and working in his garden, were as much a part of his recovery and survival as his medical team. He notes that Native Americans and the Japanese have been using moss for many years to treat all kinds of illness.

“Since I’ve been playing with this moss, it has taken me now to a whole different level with dealing with nature and people,” Clarke said. “It’s calming, more like a meditation thing now, as opposed to art. One of my goals now is to have people come to the moss garden and meditate and be healed.”

Clarke admits he sometimes gets lost in nature and in his garden. But then again, he said, there is nowhere else he’d rather be.

To visit the House on the Hill Enchanted Oasis, email Henry Clarke at themosshunter@gmail.com, or call him at 662-715-9597.

GONE GONE to the DOGS DOGS

FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS COME FIRST AT SPORTING LIFE KENNELS, A FAMILY-RUN OXFORD BUSINESS THAT BREEDS BRITISH LABRADOR RETRIEVERS AND TRAINS ALL TYPES OF DOGS FOR CLIENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM

O O n his 16th Christmas, Marty Roberts received a gift from his parents that changed his life: a 5-week-old yellow lab he named Jimbob. The two immediately became inseparable.

“He went everywhere with me,” said Roberts, a native of Memphis. “He went to the drive-in with me on dates, fishing; he was with me all the time. He’s the reason I fell in love with training. If not for him, none of this would be here.”

The “this” Roberts referred to is Sporting Life Kennels.

It’s situated nine miles east of Oxford off Highway 6 on an idyllic bit of acreage that also serves as the setting for the home where Roberts and his wife, Mollie, raised their three daughters.

In his office, flanked by Oak, Henry and Cody — three impeccably behaved dogs — Roberts comments tongue-in-cheek about the kennels.

“We have a nationwide following,” he said. “But hardly anyone locally knows we’re even out here.”

The British Labrador retriever puppies bred at Sporting Life — past and future — are often spoken for long before they are born. The puppies have found homes across the United States and in faraway places like British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Peru.

Breeding puppies and training dogs is a far cry from Roberts’ initial career: He was in home building for two decades. He liked it but found it to be up and down. In 2005 he was in Oxford building condos and decided to relocate to Oxford and make a career change.

“So, at the age of 42, I sat down with my wife and said, ‘Hey, I got an idea,’” he said. Continued on page 54

puppy LOVE LOVE

The breeding program developed by Roberts is called the Care Program, and it’s what sets Sporting Life Kennels apart from many other more traditional breeders.

“We don’t keep dogs on site,” Roberts said. “Through the Care Program our dams go to a family living within two hours of our kennels — she gets a family and isn’t stuck in a kennel. And the family gets an exceptionally well-bred and trained British Labrador for free.”

When a dam has her heat cycle, she returns to Sporting Life where she is bred and cared for until time to deliver her litter.

“It’s a win-win,” Roberts said. “It’s all about balance. And it helps us provide very healthy, balanced puppies for our customers.”

There’s a puppy nursery with playrooms where the puppies learn socialization skills and have fun on ramps, swings and tunnels. They’re introduced to new sounds and new textures.

“By the time they leave, they are like little stuntmen,” Roberts said. “It’s cute and fun to watch. What happens is we have really bold puppies ready for their new homes and to take on the world.”

TRAIN TRAIN up a dog

When talk turns to training, it’s quickly clear this is where Roberts’ love lies. Much of his process was learned through reading, and trial and error, and practiced first on Jimbob. Through the years, Roberts’ training techniques have become tried and true. His favorite part of training is when they are young.

“Taking puppies through basic training is great,” he said. “Their minds are like a sponge. It’s exciting to see them learning so quickly.”

In 2017, Roberts launched a two-season television show, “Sporting Life Retriever TV.” The show was based on Roberts’ belief that “behind every great water-fowler is a good dog, and behind every good dog is a story.” To watch, visit sportinglifekennels.com and click the link to the show. It’s on Waypoint TV.

On Sporting Life Kennels’ 42 acres, signs abound that it’s all about the dogs. There are three training lakes, peppered with decoys; two large hay fields; and plenty of woods for training. On staff are dog-loving humans, including trainers who’ve learned from Roberts.

A crew of eight or nine people, in addition to Roberts and his wife, Molly, keep things running smoothly.

“And the university has been a very strong support for us,” Roberts said. “Most of our workers are college students, and when they graduate, they usually have a friend that’s ready to take their place. We’ve been blessed.”

The gun dog training for retrievers is board and train, meaning dog owners leave their dogs with Roberts for four months of training or longer, depending on the level of training. There’s also obedience training, which Roberts and his staff trainers do for medium and large dogs of any breed. This is about a six-week process.

“We often have as many as 40 dogs in training with five of us training,” Roberts said. “There’s also an online training course we developed that’s at retrieveruniversity.com.”

Not only are the prized retrievers trained for the hunt, but also for after the hunt.

“Our mantra is, ‘calm but ready,’” Roberts said, glancing at the three dogs still napping in his office. “They are trained to be intense in the field but then they can turn the intensity down when they’re not hunting.”

Roberts, a lifelong hunter, definitely has a heart for the dogs he breeds, the resulting puppies and the dogs of others he trains. He won’t sell a dog or puppy to anyone who won’t keep it in the house — or allow it to sleep inside, at the very least.

“The connection between dog and human is too relational for the dog to be stuck outside in a pen,” he said. “It’s almost like they have a soul. If I am going to bring them into this world, I am certainly going to find the best home for them.”

Roberts said the only thing he knows for certain is he doesn’t know everything. He never wants to stop learning new things. In fact, he and a partner have recently come up with a formula for holistic supplements for dogs and co-founded Ultimate Dog.

While Roberts was content building houses, he’s particularly partial to what he does now.

“I get to play with dogs all day,” he said. “Still, it’s work. You have to adore dogs; you have to be eaten up with dogs or you’ll burn out. My thing is, everything is hard — being a doctor, CPA, teacher. Choose your hard. I choose to do this, and the rewards are pretty awesome.

“We’ve probably 1,500 to 2,000 clients — there’s a lot of happiness out there,” he said. “And to think it all started with one little yellow lab puppy.”

Learn more about Sporting Life Kennels by visiting sportinglifekennels.com and following them on Instagram and Facebook. Find more information on Roberts’ holistic dog supplements at ultimatedog.com.

StayGold

A CUSTOM PAINTING FOR HER FRESHMAN DORM ROOM BECAME A JUMPING-OFF PLACE FOR THIS YOUNG ARTIST’S CAREER.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY MARY KATHRYN DECKER

When Mary Kathryn Decker, with some help from her mom, created a painting for her freshman dorm room at the University of Mississippi, she had no idea she was about to strike gold.

“There was not a lot of color in the piece, only neutral colors, with some gold leaf added,” Decker said.

The painting created an immediate buzz among dorm residents who wanted to know where Decker had found the painting.

“When I told them I made it, I immediately found myself with requests for 50 to 100 paintings like mine.”

Decker’s summer was spent fulfilling those requests, and when it was time to return for her sophomore year at Ole Miss, her car was crammed full with the paintings she’d done for the dorms of others.

“There was no room in my car for my clothes or any of my things,” Decker said. “My mom brought them to me in her car.”

Her senior year, Decker began creating her colorful heart art pieces, which quickly became as in demand as her first gold leaf painting. Meanwhile, Decker also worked on a nutritionist degree, with which she graduated in May 2019. In June of that year, she married John Decker and moved to his hometown of Tupelo. Continued on page 58

Continued from page 56

An eight-month internship through the University of Northern Colorado enabled Decker to work around northeast Mississippi to garner observation hours needed to become a registered dietitian.

“I was a full-time intern and a part-time artist,” she said.

She finished her internship in March 2020, and her professional path as a dietitian seemed perfectly paved. Then COVID-19 became a part of life and changed Decker’s course.

“I began to transition full time into art,” she said. “The business has blown up; it has been a big blessing.”

The Deckers, who are now parents to a baby boy, moved from Tupelo to her native Madison in February. Her mom, Angel Carraway Woods, and husband Woody Woods, have Canvas Prints & Framing, a sister company to MK Decker Designs.

Though her art is a major part of MK Decker Designs, Decker is required to wear a plethora of hats. She has to be proficient in photography, online retail, communicating with vendors. And there’s even travel for the business.

“I have to be disciplined,” Decker said. “I don’t have the accountability of clocking in and clocking out. There are days my hands don’t touch a paintbrush at all. Every day is really different; that’s why I like it.”

Yes, she even likes the business aspect. Her favorite class at Ole Miss was entrepreneurship.

Decker grew up around art, thanks to her mother, also an artist. Mostly self-taught, she has painted murals for restaurants, done portraits and abstracts. Woods and her young daughter have worked on murals together and also illustrated a children’s book. Woods was also a registered nurse.

“She can do anything,” Decker said. “Her life story is perfect for her and beautiful.”

Decker offered some words of advice to other artists: Be original.

“I would say whether art is a hobby or a passion, stay original, don’t copy,” Decker said.

She follows her own advice, putting her own twist on things she sees that inspire her, adjusting to make them her own. Decker used to do lots of commissioned work, but she no longer has the time.

“We design what we love and what we would love in our houses,” she said.

Most of Decker’s work boasts amounts large or small of gold leaf, which is her signature and adds “a pop of shimmer.” How the gold leaf is applied is a trade secret, and a successful one at that.

As a new dorm season approaches, Decker is eagerly looking forward by working on fabrics and new designs for dorm rooms. After all, her own dorm room at Ole Miss had gone viral on Pinterest. She’s also opened a storefront on Main Street in Madison, where her art can be seen in person. She ships her work all over the country and makes deliveries to Oxford and Tupelo routinely.

“Who would believe that gold leaf painting for my freshman dorm room at Ole Miss started it all for me?” Decker said. “I would not have dreamed this career path for myself. But it’s tailor-made for me, and I really do enjoy it.”