Behind the scenes of one of my other jobs - custodian/caretaker/animal-wrangler/hair trimmer at Farm in the Woods @ftwfarms 🐐 No goats were harmed in the making of this post. Charlie just needed his winter coat sheered 🤷🏻♀️ Hoof trims are up next. Who’s helping?
New year, new improvements!! 🔨 Since neither of us have predictable schedules, we’ve had auto cat feeders set up to go off 3 times a day for the pigs. Pigs like to have a schedule so this works for all of us! We’ve had them in milk crates hooked to the fence with plastic draped over to keep rain and snow out, but this system needed some improvement. The plastic would rip in the rain, and mice would climb up the feeder shoot and eat the pellets and chew on the parts. I recently had the idea to modify some heavy duty totes to house the feeders in to keep them out of the weather. So far so good!! They need some tweaks to make them perfect still, but way better than the old system. And they look way a lot cleaner!! We’re very grateful for the new feeder donations since the ones we had were burning out, so thank you to everyone who donated over the holidays and sent things from our Amazon wish list!!! We love you!! 🫶🏻
🕊️ Petunia 🕊️ Petunia left her broken, arthritic earthly body and has transitioned on to her next journey. She lived a spunky 14 or so years and we did our best to give her the best life we could 🌟 She was a true escape artist, always finding new ways to break free and sneaking off to the neighbor’s for acorns - she even once gave our FedEx driver quite the surprise by nibbling his tires. She might have chased a few ankles, but she also loved her belly rubs. These last weeks have been tough as we helped her transition, but we know she’s off to greener pastures. We’ll miss you always, Petunia. Thank you for the love, everyone. I felt like she wanted a Fiona Apple song, and this seemed most appropriate 🩵”
Christmas at Farm in the Woods feels extra special this year 🎄🤍
Margaux is officially home—and already showing us she’s a natural farm dog, keeping watch and doing her job like she was born to it.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from us and all of the critters here in the woods 🌲✨
Our dogs are the heart of our farm — loyal, hilarious, endlessly loving pit bull mixes who remind us every day how misunderstood this breed really is. 💛
In an effort to recognize pit bulls today and every day, we’re sharing a reminder that National Pit Bull Awareness Day is coming up on October 25 — a day to celebrate the kindness, courage, and pure joy these dogs bring into the world.
Sadly, pit bulls still make up the majority of dogs overflowing in Chicago’s shelters, through no fault of their own. Overbreeding and stigma keep too many from ever getting the chance these two have — to live freely, loved, and safe.
If you’d like to help make change happen, there’s a petition linked in our bio supporting new legislation to address Chicago’s dog overpopulation crisis. Every signature helps move things in the right direction.
#NationalPitBullAwarenessDay #AdoptDontShop #RescueDogs #FarmInTheWoods #PitBullLove #MissionCompassionPaw
Years of cultivating Milkweed for this right here 🧡 These iconic butterflies rely entirely on native milkweed to lay their eggs and feed their caterpillars — no milkweed, no monarchs. 🌿 Their multigenerational migration spans thousands of miles from Mexico to Canada and back each year, but habitat loss and pesticides are putting them at risk. 🌎 Plant native milkweed, skip the chemicals, and help keep their journey alive! 💛 #monarch #savethemonarchs #monarchconservation #PollinatorGarden #MilkweedMatters #monarchmigration
🕊️ Update: poor hawk had West Nile and didn’t make it 😢 We had an unexpected rescue this morning! 🦅 This young red-tailed hawk showed up on the fence, hanging out with the goats and chickens. At first we thought it was hunting, but when it didn’t fly off—even with Russell nearby—we knew something was wrong.
We called @humaneindianawildlife , who guided us through safely catching it. They suspected West Nile virus, since raptors can’t recover from that on their own. We’ve never had to handle a hawk before (intimidating, to say the least!), but this little one practically walked right up as if it knew it needed help.
At the wildlife center, they found it was actually a severely underweight fledgling, blind in one eye and unable to hunt. It was literally starving. 💔 The hope now is that its organs are still strong enough to recover. With care, it may one day become an ambassador for education—sharing its story and helping people learn about these incredible birds.
Here’s to second chances. ❤️
