Now for an introduction to all of the animals that live here on the farm…….

My crazy, red Australian Cattle Dog MATILDA is now 9 years old. You probably won’t see her when you visit the farm because she really isn’t comfortable with all the visitors being here & honestly, she likes to spend the day sleeping on the couch! She helps me every day with chores though & we go for walks usually morning & night. She is very good help herding the sheep & Flossie when she needs to & makes sure the pot belly piggies march in & out of the barn as they should! They all know when she means business & they get to where they should go with no argument! We also now have YOGI BEAR who is a Corgi owned by my grandsons who will be 2 years old in August. He is fabulous with so much personality & pizzazz! He may be in the Farm Shop with me sometimes or he may be sleeping on the couch with Matilda! Last, but not least is OLLIE, BJ’s golden retriever puppy. He is gorgeous & is such a fun & energetic puppy. He won’t be a year old until November so he still has a lot to learn, but I am sure he will be in the Farm Shop with me sometimes since he absolutely LOVES people!!

SHELDON, our 9 year old cat (she & Matilda were babies growing up together) is doing really well. She lives in the house now mostly & goes out through her cat doors when she likes, but you won’t see her down at the barn because we also have another cat we call PUFFY who was a stray that showed up here over a year ago. She (or maybe he??) lives in the barn & we feed her & talk to her, but she is REALLY shy. Sometimes we will get a glimpse of her in the distance, but she is wild & is not interested in an audience……at all! She is a beautiful, very large cat with a cream colored, long, puffy coat with dark points (like a siamese cat). If you happen to see her in or around the barn please do not chase or run after her. Just stand still & maybe talk to her & that will help us teach her people are friendly.

PETUNIA & PENELOPE are Pot Belly Pigs & are about 12 years old now. They are beginning to show their age but are still pretty happy piggies. They are sisters & are both black in color, but Petunia is smaller & has a little white on her shoulder. Petunia is definitely more vocal also & usually has a lot to say! They have an outside pen as well as inside pen so if they aren’t in one place you can see them in the other. 

FLOSSIE COW is our favorite cow to have in the Livestock Barn. She is so photogenic & accommodating with our visitors! She is 13 years old now & doing very well. She is the most tolerant cow, standing quietly for pictures with babies up through grandparents! She loves to be petted & sometimes will even give ya a friendly lick!! We don’t think she got bred last year so we are not expecting a calf from her. She has a couple of daughters in our herd who are friendly & will have calves with them who may be in the Barn so you can see a baby calf close up. You’ll just have to see who’s in the Barn when you visit!

As many of you may know, we lost AMY, our Miniature Sicilian Donkey, last August. She was in her 30’s & had some type of mass apparently. DOLLY, our light gray mini donkey, is still here & she has bonded well with the sheep although we are still searching for a donkey friend for her to have as a stall mate. Donkeys have a very strong herd instinct & are always happiest with other donkeys. If you know of any miniature donkeys for sale or who need a good home, please let us know!  Dolly was bought at auction a few years ago & her feet were in terrible condition, but after being under the care of my fantastic farrier, Christina Agosto, her feet have come along wonderfully! 

The OLDE ENGLISH BABYDOLL SOUTHDOWN SHEEP are doing well. We have just 3 sheep now, 2 are white & one is black. Cotton Candy, Cup Cake & Cocoa Chanelle are their names. They like hanging out with Dolly! They are great little sheep. We have them shorn once a year, usually in April. They also get their feet trimmed a few times throughout the year, along with  worming & vaccinations. 

OTIS & OZZY are Nigerian Dwarf Goats. They came to the farm in the summer of 2021 as babies & are soooo engaging & funny!! They are definitely popular with our visitors in the Livestock Barn! 

 For rabbits we have OLIVE, a beautiful, very large, dark gray Flemish Giant/New Zealand cross bunny. MR NIBBLES, who is a gray & white, cute as a button, Holland Lop bunny. And  HOCUS POCUS, who is a mostly white, extremely large, extremely active, extremely personable Continental bunny! They are all very happy hopping around their pens & getting lots of attention! You can reach in & pet them if they are close enough to you, but we don’t allow them to be handled, both for your safety & for theirs. 

‘Ole Tex is a retired Paint Horse we have who comes into the Livestock Barn usually on weekends for a few hours at a time roughly from noon to 3:00 or so. He lives out back with his friend Sara, who is a Quarter Horse. They have their own barn with their stalls they come into at nighttime & for lunch time where they can be out of the hot sun for a few hours with their fans on. Tex doesn’t have many teeth left so he is on a special mash diet 3 times a day. He can still chew a little hay & pluck some grass so he is a happy boy. He used to work at Mountain Top Inn & Resort up the road giving rides to guests all over the mountain for many, many years so he has deserved a good retirement. He enjoys all the attention he gets in the Livestock Barn!