Cayenne (the Cheyenne): This gorgeous Red Leopard Catahoula girl came to us from the shelter when she was about a year old and has been with us 9 years now. She was very abused as a puppy befrore being found wandering the streets. Because of the previous mistreatment she is very weary of people and can be aggressive when scared or threatened. But she is very sweet to us,The dog and goat habitat is her domain and she reigns as the undisputed queen.
Bonnet Bleu (Buddy): This wonderful seal-color Catahoula also came to us from the shelter when he was just four months old. He was a real handful but has now settled to a life of leisure and play with his four-legged friends. Buddy tries to emulate Houdini by always working on escape routes. . Buddy has a great spirit, is extremely gentle, kind and compassionate.
Lil Deer: Part Nubian and part Boer, our mama goat came to us right before Katrina, pregnant and with an uncertain future. She was just about a year old and in november of 05 presented us with one gorgeous kid. She has no horns and is sweet and extremely intelligent.
Gita: Born on November 18th 2005, when our yard was still a mess of uprooted and downed trees from Katrina, Gita also was born without horns. Lil’ Deer and Gita have never been separated and love each other so much. Their favorite pastime is to sit up in the big oak tree, whose one trunk fell many years ago to form a natural bridge and goat meditation platform
Sebastian (Red Bean): Sebastian is a mini-dachshund, long haired and a rare isabella chocolate dapple color. He is quite a little gentleman with a mind of his own. He was born on October 30th of 2007 and was given to my daughter as a birthday present When she was forced to move he came to live with us , but still visits the French Quarter where he can show off his style.
Marguerite: Also a mini-dachshund, she is wire-haired , black and tan. Marguerite was adopted just this summer (09) at 5 months of age from an unsuitable situation. She and Sebastian love each other so much and they spend every minute of every day together. This is one very very sweet girl.
Kaspar (Great Pyrenees): although Kaspar has only been with us a few days, he has already earned the names of Gentle Giant , Wonder Dog and Buddha dog. There are not enough positive adjectives to give to Kaspar who is tranquillity personified, though he's only 2 years old. Kaspar has been through a lot of foster homes during his short life and we feel so blessed that he has finally come to us. He is one drop-dead gorgeous guy, so elegant in gait and disposition! He is a treasure to behold and to have around, and that's the meaning of his new name Kaspar (treasure).
The Birds: We have at present four love-birds in two separate cages (we do not want to breed and so far this has worked, though we have eggs, they seem infertile). They are lovely, chirping and flitting around all day. They were all adopted from owners who grew tired of them, though they are very little trouble and wonderful creatures who animate our front porch. I guess I should have named them individually but I usually speak to each of them as “pretty bird” or ‘birdie and they seem to know exactly whom I am addressing.
Simone: Simone is a gorgeous banded California King snake, who came to us on Simone de Beauvoir’s birthday so was duly named Simone. Simone is no trouble at all and does a lot of meditation between meals, taking baths and shedding her skin.
The Gardens and their Wild Creatures: We have a little over one acre which we are continuing to landscape. Over the past 5 years we have planted a camellia garden (in memory of Benazir Bhutto), established 2 small ponds, completed a flower and herb garden on 3 sides of the house, started two vegetable plots, planted 14 fruit trees in “the orchard” and much much more. We are trying to rescue and nurture Louisiana plants whenever possible (such as Blue Flag irises in the ditch, wild ginger, plantains, swamp root, cashmere bouquet, indigo, bald cypress and southern magnolias in the wooded areas). A great deal of time and effort and money is spent in the garden and the dogs & goats habitat. We also adopt unwanted plants - sometimes saved from a garbage heap (such as a lovely juniper).
The Saint Roch Gardens are also home to squirrels, wild birds, hummingbirds, frogs, toads, wild rabbits, butterflies and snakes which we try to accommodate and respect. We are in the process of establishing a bat house and will be looking for a bee hive in the near future.
