Cast of Characters

And I do mean characters! 

Living in the house here on the farm:

The Farmer: Patriarch of the clan.  Retired from one long-time job as a construction estimator (roads, paving, subdivision streets sort of thing, NOT houses).  Went back to work as a consultant weekdays, while still farming on weekends.

Rural Writer: Keeper of the farm and home, writer and photo buff.  Has to work in short spurts due to chronic pain (thoracic neuralgia) and fibromyalgia & chronic fatigue.

Cave Geek: Youngest Son, presently living in the basement, and known computer nerd (thus Cave Geek).  Working at Domino’s Pizza, keeper of Wargamer Haven.

Baby: African Grey Parrot, female.  With the brains of a 5-year old and the emotions of a 2-year old, she keeps life interesting!  Loves to tell you “Bye-bye, see ya later” as you go out the door.

Mikey: Eastern Paint Turtle. Doesn’t say much, but we’ve had her about 16 years, ever since she was a hatchling.

 

The Rest of The Farm Critters:

Cat – Spot: male. Trails around after the humans like a dog. Flops over frequently hoping for tummy rubs.

Chickens - 2 roosters (1 Silver Laced Crested Polish and 1 mostly Silcian Buttercup), plus several Buff Orpingtons hens, and lots of mixed breed hens.

Dogs

  • Toby: American Farm Collie, male. Carrier of sticks, and pro at “marking” grass, shrubs and trees.
  • Neffie: Maremma, a type of Livestock Guardian Dog, female. Watches over the goats, and by default, the sheep also. Reserved around humans.

Goats

  • Cinnamon: Pygmy goat, doe. Retired from raising kids, but still thinks she’s Boss Mama.

Guineas Galore: The count varies, but we have lots of guinea fowl running around on the farm!

 
Llamas

  • Keira: Llama, female.  Sweetness itself except when she’s pregnant. Nice black wool.
  • Samson: Llama, male.  Easy going dude.  Reddish brown wool.

Peafowl: 2 peacocks (male) and 4 peahens (females).

 
Sheep

  • Coconut: Shetland sheep, ewe. White fleece. Matriarch of our flock of retired sheep, aka “Miss Piggy” due to her insatiable appetite for grain and treats.
  • Papaya: Shetland Sheep, ewe. Black fleece. A little whacky. Okay, a whole lot whacky. Also poor sight due to medical problems from last  pregnancy.
  • Valrhona: Shetland Sheep, ewe. Musket (light brown) fleece. The only ewe we have with horns. Very photogenic.