Farm at Underbridge

08/17/2026

Today, I had an exciting and glamorous “first”. We trimmed goat and sheep hooves while the animals were elevated on the milking stand, which saved our backs as I extended their legs over my knee. This was a game changer for my lower vertebrae, which have a habit of going out on me.
However, that’s not the real excitement. We foolishly timed this trim during the beginning of rut season, so they are extra feisty and stinky. 🤪
After we wrestled our first boy into position was when the truly unique event of this evening occurred: for the first and hopefully last time, got the experience of having a large male Alpine goat p**p my pants. As I struggled with Jasper’s back right hoof, he dropped a handful of goat berries down my overalls! 😵‍💫

Anyway, people who say small farmers just do stuff for the aesthetic are obviously correct. I have never felt more sophisticated. Attached, please find a short clip of the culprit eating a mulberry branch and giving a chicken a ride. **pypants

08/09/2026

Occasionally, a rooster steps up and helps with child rearing! This big barred rock fella has made the cut for overwintering with his alert presence in the barnyard and his nurturing. The chicks are possibly nearing the end of their welcome when it comes to roosting in the comfort of their parents’ wings.

Pictured are two chickens roosting on a small greenhouse frame with chick heads poking out from under their wings and a caption reading “The patient parents who p**p on our porch, plus piggybacking progeny”.

08/08/2026

Looking east over a variety of backyard chickens of varying ages while they eat some feed and some mealworm treats. The background is a sunrise, some trees, and the driveway in front of a white farmhouse, our vehicles, a light pole, and a yellow wood shed. Our African brown geese are in the upper left corner at the end of the clip. By the way, if anybody wants a rooster, we have several!

08/08/2026

This is a video of the five new hair sheep we added to the herd last week. The baby dolls already made them feel at home, though the goats are skeptical. The little gals are Marge and Mildred. We have a few more babies due this fall, and they’ll also get M names so we can start tracking birth years. Also, just kidding about The Sheep Detectives; Gary had wanted sheep for years!

08/07/2026

I’ll be painting with Fabulous Faces, LLC at this event on October 17!

Don’t forget we are planning a fun little event at our farm this October! This will be our very first fall farm event we hope you will join us!
This event will have a few local vendors, fun crafts for kids, face painting, a petting zoo, horse and pony rides And more!

More info to come!

08/02/2026

Fall is right around the corner, but these are some of my favorite lessons. In this video, twins in blue tshirts help their dad, a bespectacled man in denim overalls work together to assemble a green goat milking stand. The first clip shows one child using a rubber mallet with the help of his dad to place a side guard rail. In the distance, a couple of chickens walk the yard. The second clip shows a determined child using a screw driver to assemble a carrying handle on the side of the floor. The final photo shows all three together, watched over by our blue heeler, Binx.

07/23/2026

Cousin day! Grandma Pollen brought some of our favorites over to play and visit the animals. We are lucky to have good people surrounding us.

07/22/2026

Did you know many libraries have a telescope and other amazing tools and toys in their “library of things”? Our local library also has a bike repair station and a free seed library in addition to jumper cables, cake decorating kits and microscopes! We are checking out the craters, Mercury, and a bunch of constellations with the help of the telescope, a cool constellation finding booklet, and Gary’s astronomy app.

07/19/2026

We hosted three teams of wonderful people yesterday and this morning for one of Iowa’s most cherished annual traditions. RAGBRAI started in our small town this year and brought with it Team Malort out of Sioux City, Los Bastardos of Iowa and Minnesota, and a surprise group of very cool King Rats from Baltimore, Maryland. Today they roll out on a scenic bike ride through the Loess Hills on their way to Harlan. We are fortunate to have hosted such a lively, fun, respectful bunch. Have fun and stay safe!

07/19/2026

Having RAGBRAI day zero campers has been so fun! It was a scorching hot day that ended with a nice breeze and a fun outdoor movie. We got the enjoy several teams, including Team Malort and Los Bastardos headquartered in Iowa and Team King Rat from Baltimore, MD. We 100% would host again.