Not everything here goes according to plan — and honestly, some of our best stories start with something going sideways. These are the small lessons the farm keeps teaching us, one mistake, surprise, and stubborn animal at a time.
Lesson: done is better than perfect.
Our very first pasture went up in a rush — Bullet and Bandit, our first mini donkey jacks, were arriving in two days. We measured, pounded posts, stretched wire, stood back proud... and realized the fencing was upside down. We laughed, fixed what actually mattered, and welcomed the donkeys anyway. That fence still reminds us that sometimes you just have to start.
Lesson: success looks different around here.
One winter got so bitterly cold our call ducks couldn't stay outside. So they moved into the downstairs shower. Every morning I'd walk down to find them happily splashing where people were supposed to bathe. Not glamorous. Very Rowdy Ridge.
Lesson: "I'll just throw something together" rarely stays small.
When Colt wanted guinea pigs for his birthday, a store-bought cage didn't seem nearly as fun as building one. Pallets, reclaimed lumber, an old vanity shipping crate — and somehow, a guinea pig mansion. Most projects here start exactly this way.
Lesson 04
Lesson: surprises around here usually arrive on four legs.
We bought two female alpacas and two males, sure the girls weren't pregnant. Two weeks later I looked across the pasture and thought, why are there extra legs? A baby no one expected, standing quietly beside her mother.
Lesson: farming gives you exactly what you need — just not always what you expected.
Beekeeping was supposed to be a sweet family project. Jars of honey, lessons about pollinators. Instead, Rowdy had a severe reaction to a sting and ended up in the ER. Two weeks later, I found out I had the same allergy. We wanted honey. We got matching EpiPens.
Lesson 06
Lesson: the smallest ones take up the biggest space in your heart.
Smooch wasn't supposed to steal everyone's heart, but he did anyway. He has tiny heart-shaped markings on his face and another on his knee, a heart murmur that makes us watch over him a little more closely, and just enough clumsiness to keep life interesting. One day he managed to fall into the water tank. He's proof that size has nothing to do with it.
Lesson 07
Lesson: everyone on this farm has an opinion, and the donkeys have the strongest ones.
Farrier day is supposed to be about trimming hooves. The donkeys have other ideas. They gather around to supervise every nail, every tool, every conversation, as though they're the foremen of the entire operation. Tinkerbelle, especially, believes she's in charge of quality control.
Lesson: some paths get worn in whether you planned them or not.
The donkeys wore a new path through the pasture this summer. We just call it Donkey Road now. They always seem to know exactly where they're going — even when the rest of us are figuring it out as we go.
More lessons get added as we learn them.
Meet the Animals