The Animals

Ah, the animals.  Without them, what would we do, eh?  From our chickens, we get farm fresh eggs every day.

From the goats, we get fresh, rich, tasty caprine milk!

 

From the dogs, we have an added measure of security, an unending supply of laughs, and sometimes they help herd the other critters.

The other animals... well, we may not gain any food, shelter, or monetary gains from them, but they too provide entertainment in abundance.

Ross for example - here he is, perched atop my car.  He now preens himself as he admires his shiny reflection.

 Do you see what we get to see everyday? :0)

The Art                    

Creating a moving piece of artwork is more than a business or an ordinary job; it is a Gift, it is a form of therapy, and it is a way of life.

Nestled onto a gorgeous Tennessee mountain, we former Wisconsin residents still look to the Heavens (even closer to us now that we're on this mountain peak!) and to all that God blessed us with for inspiration and direction.

We're glad we could share a little piece of it with you.

Questions?  We may have answers.

Email us at staff@dumansark.com

WHY WHY WHY...

I get asked THE QUESTION a lot.

“Why?”  Why own all the animals?

My answer back, “Why Not?!” may seem simple; but I can’t think of a better one… well, one that doesn’t ring with sarcasm anyway.

When I was very young, we weren’t really allowed to have pets.  I, just like almost every other kid on the planet, begged for a puppy of my very own.  I got a stray cat.  I wish I could say that was good enough for me, but although I loved that cat and tried to treasure him as my own, I still wanted a puppy.  (Don’t worry – the cat’s feelings weren’t crushed.  Turned out he was ‘owned’ by our neighbor across the road.  So much for “stray”.  She let us keep him when he wandered over though. Then she’d get him back when he got bored of our house.)

Then my father got a German shepherd dog that I fell in love with.  Then he got a female.  Then they had puppies.  Sadly, my dad made us get rid of every one of those pups.  What was an animal lover to do? 

I'll tell you what: I nearly got myself killed stalking and taming a batch of wild kittens that really WERE strays.

But my kitten was shot and killed.  My animal-keeping record kind of sucked, through absolutely no fault of mine.  And I still didn’t have a pet of my own.

Then my mom was in the yard, and a little garter snake slid past her.  Now, most mothers would probably give a little shriek, and perhaps ensure the end of the snake’s existence. 

My mother not only helped me catch it; she let me keep it.

And there it started.

I’ve since owned Bushy Tailed Jirds, Zebra Mice, Rats, Chinchillas, Red eared slider turtles, Fancy Mice, Cockatiels, Ferrets, Flemish Giant rabbits, Dwarf Hotos, Mini Rex, French and Mini Lops, Satins, Standard Rex, Button Quail, Dwarf and Syrian Hamsters, Gerbils, Guinea Pigs, A Nanday parrot… now I’ve sold out of the majority of these and have moved to focus on hobby farm animals.

I have Sebastopol Geese and Pilgrim Geese.

I wonder sometimes if I keep an arkfull of animals because I wasn’t allowed to have the animals I wanted when I was young.

But then I mentally try to cut back on my herd, and realize that I just don’t want to.  I like the animals I surround myself with.  Wouldn’t life be boring if I didn’t have to fight the donkey for my sweet corn?  (Yes, I realize that this entails kicking my own Ass out of the garden.  Don’t worry.  She doesn’t mind trying it again, and again, and again, all summer long.)  And what would I do if I didn’t have geese greeting me on the porch in the morning?

I can’t imagine life without them.  Life would be so uneventful.  You can’t tell me that a pair of Guinea Fowl on the

Ark

didn’t drive Noah nuts – but if they weren’t there to do it, what kind of story would that have made, eh?  A guy builds a boat under the direction of God… and makes it out of the trip alive.  What a ride, right? 

 - OR –

Man builds boat under direction of God, fills it up with the animals God sends him, packs his family, boards them all up for 150 day stay in some serious torrential rains, (and about 70 more while the waters receded on top of Mount Ararat)… and they made it out of the trip alive.  Yep, I like version 2 better.  Now THAT sounds like a ride!

Nope, this animal thirst is more likely to be genetic rather than environmental.  My mom’s tracing our family history, and I swear she just might trace a link back to Noah himself… but we don’t need the paper proof.  We’ve all got the animal bug in our genes.  Something that probably every zookeeper and exotic animal farmer has; the itch to surround themselves with animals of every kind because we enjoy it.