Come and enjoy life on the ranch!

About this assignment

Looking for a mature fit individual or couple who likes animals and semi rural living.
We are nonsmokers, and light social drinkers. Prefer nonsmoking sitter, of course no illegal drugs, no firearms. Bedrooms are up a flight of stairs - so the sitter would need to be ablet to manage stairs.
Having your own car is preferred but not required. We are sorry but we would not welcome a sitter who wishes to bring their own pet.

What responsibilities are required of the house sitter

We are planning a European adventure over the holidays!
We have 2 small well behaved inside poodles, a goat herd, a llama and a donkey. We need someone to hold down the fort while we are away.
The dogs are fed twice a day. They are mostly inside dogs and like their human companionship. As for the livestock, they will need to be tossed some hay and given some feed daily. They have free access to self filling water from a cistern by the barn as well as a pond in the back pasture. They will also have free access to shelter in the barn. Ruby the Donkey and Watson the llama stay with the goats as "guard animals" to help keep coyotes away. Most of the time the animal care is easy. Occasionally, a goat gets its head caught in the fence and needs help. We have on a rare occasion had a goat get sick and die or be killed by a coyote. This comes with the territory if you have livestock. We would hope and plan for smooth sailing for our sitter and would do everything possible to have things set up for easy care. We have a close neighbor who is very familiar with our livestock. He is always happy to lend a hand for anything requiring extra muscle or help with animal transport if needed.
The farm "chores" should not take more than about 15-20 minutes morning and evening.
There are a some greenhouse plants to water which we will show you.
We have a housekeeper who comes twice a month and also a pool service. In the summer there is a lawn service that does the mowing. We would expect the house be kept tidy, garbage taken out once a week (long trip down driveway with rolling bin) and mail checked. We will plan to have things stocked up with enough supplies that you won't need to make a trip to the feed store. With our previous sitter we left a gift card with money on it for incidental expenses and she used it a couple of times. for small things

What are the good features of the property and location

We built our home 30 years ago when the area was completely rural. The surrounding community has grown a lot- especially in the last few years. Civilization is now at our doorstep.. The road we live on remains quiet and we are definitely buffered by our 13 acres. The take line of Lake Ray Hubbard butts up to the back of our property so there are no neighbors behind us. The neighbors to each side and across from us are friendly and helpful. We have 2 ponds on our property, there are catfish in the front pond. We have beautiful sunsets!
The house itself is set 500 feet back from the road. It is about 4000 square feet. The living area is on the main floor and there are 3 upstairs bedrooms. You would be staying in one of the upstairs bedrooms with a queen bed walk in closet and private bath.
I do a lot of cooking so the kitchen is a functional one. Should you need office space for "work at home" my office is clean with plenty of desk space. We have a nice backyard pool for use in the summer and we have a large open room above our garage with wood flooring that we use as an excercise/ballroom dance practice area. This includes an elliptical and treadmill.
We are more practical than "fancy". We feel that our home is comfortable and and inviting.

What does the house sitter need to consider before applying for this assignment

It's really important to us that if you commit to this sit, you show up! We are fine with you having a day visitor or even an overnight guest. No big gatherings or parties. Really want this to be a win-win. We have had several house sitters in the past and all seemed to enjoy their time at our place. We want good communication and will be available for any questions or concerns.

Can I bring my own pets?

No, sorry.

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