Gone but not forgotten:
some of the former Longford Hideaway Mascots.

Stella was our elegant black lab and a real beauty. She was the pack leader of up to six dogs for many years, and always ready for a swim, or a tramp through the pasture, or a plate to lick. She'd be delighted to accompany you to the beach or through the pastures, or to any meal. Stella had a little arthritis toward the end of her days, but at times she’d surprise us when she turned into a wild teenager, hunting mongoose with a passion.

Winnie: part dingo and part border collie. She was very expressive and quite a talker with a large vocabulary of moans and howls and other remarks. Winnie would chat with you for hours when she wasn't working cattle: here she is chasing a young Senepol bull. Winnie was raised by Stella, and they had a typical mother/daughter relationship. :) Winnie also adopted small animals and herds them. She liked to keep busy. Independent and wise to the very last, she disappeared as a very old dog, days before a major hurricane.

Diana: our tailless Rottweiler mix. She just wandered up onto the porch one day and became Nia's playmate. Diana had a tongue the size of a bathtowel. She loved being one of the pack. She was a strong swimmer with a great sense of humor. Diana enjoyed diving into the water with maximum splash.

Little Nia; was the main ambassador for the Longford Hideaway mascots for over a decade. Part Chihuahua, part wolf and part sausage, she was a true “Crucian Terrier” – a sweet little lapdog with a St. Bernard sized ego. Nia loved to come along on your walks around the ranch and down to the beach, where she famously, ferociously dug crab-hunting holes in the sand until only her wagging tail was visible -- on one memorable occasion, literally in the middle of a visitor's wedding ceremony at the feet of the bride.

Ruby Jane was joyous, slender and blonde, part greyhound, german shepherd and perhaps part coyote. Rescued as a pup from the streets of New York City, she followed Christina across the Brooklyn Bridge many times, led the way on backcountry hikes, and also spent some time living in Western Europe where she perfected the art of stealing rounds of stinky cheese at open air markets. After moving to St. Croix and retiring her doggy passport, she learned to swim in the ocean and enjoyed chasing deer and mongoose...or just being one of the girls.

Duke, the white yellow lab with the ineffable bark, belonged to our neighbor but couldn’t resist our pack of gorgeous girls. He was adopted by another family when our neighbor left island.

The most obedient of the lot, he joined our pack for trips to the beach and whenever meals were served. Duke’s a sweet dog and a real sad face artist.

The Farm Dogs often gathered around the chicken tractors when they were new, as though they were watching Saturday morning cartoons. We called it “Dog TV”.

Junior was our humongous and gorgeous rooster, part Rhode Island Red and part Black Australorpe. He was an orphan egg that hatched out in our kitchen, and spent a good bit of time being cuddled or perched on Luca's head as a small chick, so he was forever confused as to where the line is drawn between chicken and human. He was quite a character, immortalized in watercolor by Luca, and a benevolent sultan of his brood of hens. He'd even flirt with human ladies, puttting on a feathery masculine show and attempting to show them where the best tidbits were hiding in the lawn. He was over seven years old when he passed on to the giant chicken tractor in the sky, pretty ancient for a rooster.

Marco was a Zenaida dove who we hand-raised in 2003 when he fell out of a nest in downtown Christiansted. He adjusted nicely to country life, but was always very people-oriented and would fly alarmingly at your face, then land gently on your head and flirt with you. This startling habit meant he had to go live someplace with fewer visitors, so he went down the road and lived out his life at the neighbors', where he roosted at night in a front door wreath.

Down by the pond near the tractor shed, you’d see quite a few birds... Lucy Goosey (in white) and our four other young geese have a terrific repertoire of goose noises. Geese are great watchdogs and can live to be over 30 years old. We keep ours for the giant goose eggs in the springtime.

The Muscovy Ducks were beautiful little ducklings, but they’re pretty weird looking ducks... they do lay large, richly flavored eggs that are great for baking and cooking.

We culled our flocks of waterfowl in 2008 when we lined and started using the ponds for crop irrigation.