Meet the Gang!
Tibetan Goats
Our little flock of goats: Joy, Mela, Penelope, and Odysseus. They reign over the "goat boat" - that is when they aren't too busy escaping and poking around the garden!
The Geese
Vinny and Harold were both born and raised at Sacro Cuore. Vinny wants to get to know you. Harold does not.
The Barn Cats
Mistopholes & Co. tolerate human company enough to stick around the Cascina bam, but they are more interested in birds and mice than your snuggling them. They know exactly when you're supposed to feed them, and will let you know if you're late!
The Rabbits
Minu, Franky, Snowflake and babies are always fun to pet! Their breed, ariete nano, is particularly adapted to being handled by children - and they're SO snuggly soft!
Ps- pictured is the late "Bamboo." He was everyone's favorite! After a long, long we finally had to bid our adieus. We miss you, little Chicken Nugget!
The Fierce Maremma Guard Dogs
Our "puppies", Mosé, Lavanda, Daisy, and Ivy. This breed of dogs is really incredible! They will fight off wolves, lions, coyotes, etc., defending unto death whatever it is they are raised with- reindeer, penguins, cattle, sheep, or....a Community of Religious!
The Chickens
The chickens are always laying eggs exactly where you would least expect it - on the roof, in a pot, next to the feed... Good thing we invested in those professional nesting boxes! Upside is that it makes for great fun, hunting them everyday!
Alibaba and Eulalie are our peacock and peahen. They are often found on their roosting pole 3 meters off the ground.
ChaCha and Mina come from two very different families. ChaCha is the last of a long line of Delle Langhe Italian dairy sheep that we had raised for a while. She also happens to be the star in A Wooly Christmas Tail (see link for book below). Mina is a female Suffolk. Neither are terribly clever.
Dorigo and Fabiola are our two donkeys. They both love being petted! In fact, when you go into their field, you don't have much of an option - you MUST pet them. You'll soon find yourself in-love (unless you need to do something useful. They make the *worst* handyman assistants! See photo above).
Alpaca are seriously special animals (see link to their book below). They do not like being pet on their head or neck, but if you're gentle and quiet enough, you can let your hand sink into their super-soft and fluffy wool!
Benjamin Franklin wanted America to be represented not by the bald eagle but by the turkey. Tommy Tucker would agree (in as much as he finds himself very important). The coolest thing I learned by watching Tommy is that that weird bumpy part on his head, the strange flap over his beak, and the fleshy part of his neck (the so called wattle and snood, and caruncles) turn all sorts of colors - from light blue to lavender, beige and the classic deep red. Fascinating to watch!
Lovebirds - yes, that is the name of this breed - are of the parrot family. While you can't get them to talk, they can get you to stop talking because once they start chatting, your volume can't compete with theirs.
Sometimes they're quiet enough for you to hear the enchanting warbling of their neighbors, the canaries.
Turtles are really hard to find when their are given a little patch of grass. Can you find Marcelino Flash? Don't forget to look where he might have buried himself under the grass!
Purpurina and Kapparal are our two horses. One is from Spain, the other from Ireland. We rescued Kapparal after his career as a racehorse (which ended at 6 years old). The secret about Purpurina you can read about in her book (see link below).
I think if alpacas had pets, they would carry some long-haired Guinea pigs. Both are terribly fashionable, both as shy and docile, and neither will ever bite or scratch or do anything but make funny sounds under their breath.
Books written about our animals! (click on image for link)
