Meet little Nia; part Chihuahua, part wolf and part sausage, she is a true “Crucian Terrier” – a sweet little lapdog with a St. Bernard sized ego. Nia loves to come along on your walks around the ranch and down to the beach, where she will ferociously dig holes in the sand until only her wagging tail is visible.

Ruby Jane is joyous, slender and blonde, part greyhound, german shepherd and perhaps part coyote. Rescued as a pup from the streets of New York City, she spent some time in Europe where she perfected the art of stealing rounds of stinky cheese at open air markets. Since moving to St. Croix and retiring her doggy passport, she has learned to swim and enjoys chasing deer and mongoose...or just being one of the girls.

Winnie is part dingo and part border collie. She’s very expressive and is quite a talker with a large vocabulary of moans and howls and other remarks. Winnie will chat with you for hours when she’s not working cattle: here she is chasing a young Senepol bull. Winnie is a natural, instinctive cattle dog. She also adopts small animals and herds them. She likes to keep busy.

Diana is our tailless Rottweiler mix. She just wandered up onto the porch a couple of years ago and became Nia’s playmate. Diana has a tongue the size of a bathtowel. She loves being one of the pack. She is a strong swimmer and has a great sense of humor. Diana enjoys diving into the water with maximum splash.

Boris is our beautiful boneless cat who reached out and grabbed us from a cage at the local shelter. Truly, he has a very relaxed island soul. He has incredible eyes with green starfish in the center. Boris has an auto-purr system that switches on when he is picked up or petted. At night you'll find him prowling around the fruit orchard and chicken coops.

Duke, the white yellow lab with the ineffable bark, belongs to our neighbor but can’t resist our pack of gorgeous girls. He maintains control of the group by pretending to be a pushover. The most obedient of the lot, he joins our pack for trips to the beach and whenever meals are served. Duke’s a sweet dog and a real sad face artist, we love him.

Swimmer is a patient individual, as one would have to be in a world of dogs, yet she allows her desires to be known with a Godzilla-like meow. Originally from Brooklyn, this discerning kitten followed Luca home one evening after he dined at a sushi restaurant. Swimmer is an excellent mouser, has an impeccable sense of timing, and she does NOT swim.

Junior is our humongous rooster, part Rhode Island Red and part Black Australorpe. He was an orphan egg that hatched out in our kitchen, and spent a good bit of time being cuddled or perched on Luca's head as a small chick, so even today he's a little confused as to where the line is drawn between chicken and human. He's quite a character, and a benevolent sultan of his brood of hens.

The tiny lizards you'll see around the yard during the day, called anoles, come in shades of green and brown, and love to eat moths and other small bugs. They're very entertaining to watch. If you're lucky, you might also see a shy little tree frog hiding in a leaf or behind a window shutter, and at night you'll hear crapeau toads rustling in the leaves as they hunt insects. These harmless little hunters are part of a healthy ecosystem and help our yard stay chemical-free!

Down by the pond near the tractor shed, you’ll see quite a few birds... Lucy Goosey (in white) and our four other young geese have a terrific repertoire of goose noises. Geese are great watchdogs and can live to be over 30 years old. We keep ours for the giant goose eggs in the springtime.

The Muscovy Ducks were beautiful little ducklings, but they’re pretty weird looking ducks... they do lay large, richly flavored eggs that are great for baking and cooking.

Here’s Luca with some chicken eggs by one of our homemade hen houses. The Chickens were raised from little balls of fluff who arrived mailorder at the post office, and now we’re breeding our own varieties. We have a number of breeds, all chosen for a gentle disposition. The girls enjoy being gently held and petted. Our chickens live in movable chicken “tractors” and we give them new pasture every day. A few of our hens and roosters have names: Junior, Frenchie Junior, & Snowball. Our chickens are let out every day in the afternoon to forage around the yard, so you'll see them scampering around until dusk when they go back into their houses to roost for the night.

The Dogs often gather around the chicken tractors as though they were watching Saturday morning cartoons. We call it “Dog TV”.

See more about our Chickens!