Kiki & Co. Family Farmhouse

08/23/2025

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅
It has been a challenging journey over the past eight months. This experience has compelled me to slow down and reevaluate some of my paths. The car accident just two days before Christmas, followed by the injury to my rotator cuff in March, has significantly impacted my daily life.

For someone like me, who thrives on a “never stop” attitude, this summer has been particularly tough. Typically, I have a full schedule of projects that keep me busy until dark, but this summer has been different.

While Watershed Festival was incredible and Shedderville’s construction was epic, completing it would have been impossible without a fantastic team and additional framing crews. Unfortunately, one arm isn’t sufficient for that kind of work.

Then there’s the doghouse project I started before the car accident. We had plans to get a dog, but life took an unexpected turn. I couldn’t complete the fencing or finish the doghouse. It felt like I was in the doghouse myself for the last eight months.

Now that my shoulder is on the mend, I’ve decided to finish painting the doghouse before returning to work next week—summer is coming to an end.

Although we don’t have a dog, that’s not the main point. It’s about completing what you start. Next week, I’ll order the metal roofing and wrap up this project. I also plan to look for some cool solar lights. With a little support from God above, I hope to find a way to start fencing soon. Then . . . D O G.

Yes, it’s been a tough road, but here we are—grateful and blessed.

08/17/2025

Good morning. My name is Monster. My name might be a bit misleading as I love to cuddle and follow my people around. My fathers are really soft, and I love my neck scratched. When I feel safe, I like to sleep. 😴

08/14/2025

I can give you thousands of reasons to BEE nice, but let’s hear it from the experts. My sister, Lisa, wanted to see the bees to take videos to send to her grandkids, so Dawn and Lisa suited up to check on the newly added super. Everything looks good.

When we are nice to the bees, they are nice to us. We live together here on the Kiki & Co. Family Farmhouse.

05/26/2025

Can’t get enough of watching the different groups roam the farm—picture perfect every time.

05/21/2025

Love the green this time a year, especially after a few days of rain and cooler temps.

Also, elevated my 1.5 arm, zero-turn mowing skills. 🤠 I’m also mowing more of the lower field to look like Dawn’s extended yard.

05/21/2025

Dawn has done such a beautiful job with the flowers outside her shed. Picture perfect—just like her. ❤️

05/07/2025

Difficult times require delicate planning. That was true for the Depression Era times. In history, when money was hard to come by, one made due with what they had.

This is the case with Dandelion Honey. When honey was not available or pure maple syrup, folks made their own with fruits/flowers, water, and sugar, which is how I made my honey.

Is it real honey? No. It’s like a real thick syrup with the flavors of Dandelion, lemon, and orange. To finish it off, I added a small orange wedge in each jar before sealing.

It’s great on toast, ice cream, pancakes, or in a drink of your choice—like a heavy simple syrup.

Well, on to my next light, one-armed project.

05/07/2025

Spent a little time in the yard with some of my closest friends. They always make everything better, especially the little ones.

03/02/2025

𝑮𝑶𝑳𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑮𝑶𝑶𝑺𝑬
Egg production is on the rise at Kiki & CO Farm, thanks to the hard work of our hens and geese. Here’s a quick overview of our egg prices:

1 dozen chicken eggs: $6
1 dozen goose eggs: $300

Goose eggs are fertile, offering you the option to enjoy them for meals or incubate them to hatch adorable Sebastopol goslings. You got the power!

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12/29/2024

This is a morning ritual. What are we making?

It’s the chickens and geese breakfast. Must take care of your flock.

12/25/2024

09/21/2024

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗜𝗙𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗬
In class this past week, I talked with my freshmen about our pets. First, I established who has pets, who has their own pet(s), and, then, who would do anything for their pet.

I share about two of our pets that we had major issues with over the last couple of years: Pepper and Bun Bun (to name just a few). Then, I talked about the different kinds of pet owners that are out there, which led to me sharing about my wife—AKA Snow White.

I shared about the months she would sleep on the floor next to our sick pets with her hand on them to let them know that it was ok and they were safe during the dark nights. I shared about how she would bathe and blow-dry our pets when they could not care for themselves. I shared how she would be inside or outside and how all our pets—chickens, geese, cats, rabbits—would surround her. She just makes everything feel safe and loved.

I joked about my role—Bob-the-Builder. I build things to help our pets feel safe, welcomed, and loved while supporting Snow White.

Finally, I shared about the difficult times when we had to say goodbye to our pets.

It is this journey with our pets that “they” teach us one of the great gifts of life: 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐘.

We laugh when our pets laugh; we cry when they cry; and we love when they love. Our pets make us better humans.

The question that I proposed to them is this: Why don’t we treat each other the same way we treat our pets? We need to use our gift of empathy toward each other.

Could you imagine a world where we openly loved each other and cared for each other in the same way we do our beloved pets?

It was in these final questions of our conversation that I saw their heads nod and small smiles come to their faces.

I believe we all have a little Snow White in each of us. Though . . . there are only a few special humans like my wife that connect to nature in a way that can’t be taught or explained.