B & J Ranch

When you open the door to let the dog out in the morning, and you had forgotten you left the barnyard gate open so the goats and donkeys could mow the lawn last night.

Love the sweet surprise of going out to clean the coop and finding a new little wonder! 🐣

We are offering “virtual tours” of our little barnyard! If your classroom or group needs a pick-me-up, we will connect with your zoom meeting (or however you meet with your students, friends, or colleagues) and introduce you to all the rescued animals who are living their best lives here on the ranch. These tours are donation-based (through Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle), and all donations will go directly to the care of the animals, from food to vet bills to habitat improvements. Send us a message if you’d like to get your class or group scheduled!

We’re gonna need a bigger pool

Chickens love riding shotgun! Welcome to the flock, Cyndi. Cyndi is retiring from that laying life and will spend the rest of her golden years in the lap of luxury at the ranch.

We had a pretty intense storm here at the ranch last night. It threw our outdoor furniture all over the place, knocked down our wood pile, and took down one of our small trees. We also lost several huge branches from our beloved cottonwood tree with several more big branches cracked and still dangling. I hope the tree is stable enough to save. Miraculously, all our animals remained safe, and the goats and donkeys are enjoying snacking on all those fresh leaves today!

I’ve been on a social media hiatus for a few weeks, and it’s been really nice, but I’ve missed seeing all your beautiful, loved animals and the views from y’all’s farms and homesteads so I’m back. I’ve got some cheerful photos to share from the past couple weeks, but first I must share that we lost our beloved, smiling Timmy a couple days ago. He was an old man when he came to us, and I knew he wouldn’t live forever but I was hoping we’d have more time with him than we did. He came to us with an absolutely heart wrenching story from his previous home, where he was also loved beyond measure. He had a great run with us, but went downhill quickly in his old age so we had to take him to the vet for the last time on Tuesday morning. We are so grateful to everyone at Graef Veterinary Hospital for being so compassionate, kind, and loving, and for always making room in their schedule for any animal in need.

Timmy was our oldest and most mischievous goat. He always had a collar on so that we could grab him when he was getting into trouble. I already miss him charging through the gate to tear open the feed bins, or walking slowly beside me out to the pasture in the morning while the rest of the herd ran ahead. There’s a big empty space in the herd now, and our brief time with Timmy will be forever cherished.

Packing up to go back home! Just when everyone was settling in to a routine, and our pigs are finally enjoying their new friends. It’s been fun to have these mischief makers around this week, and a unique challenge to keep five piggies safe, fed, and entertained. We hope they’ll come back to visit again soon! 💗🐷💗 @ B & J Ranch

My friend Melissa painted this beautiful cartoon version of our beloved Penelope after we lost her a couple of weeks ago. It’s such a heartwarming tribute that will keep Penny’s memory alive forever. 💗🐷

It’s that time of year again... @ B & J Ranch