Our Humans

Joe and Dottie

 Joe lived here almost all his life!  He grew up on a dairy farm!  He went to college to learn how to fix appliances!  He started his own business...Joes Refrigeration...and has been doing it ever since!  Dottie once told a man that Joe was a hero to housewives.  The man said Joe was their hero, too!  We feel the same way about him! 

Joe makes the lumber from our own trees, for our other business, Custom Made Outhouses.  Hey!  Don't laugh!  Up here on the farm...not having to run to the house with mucky shoes and covered in saw dust?...  Priceless!  These outhouses are truly beautiful and unique!  Check out the one at Stiles Excavating & Trucking Inc.  Rt.9 in Half Moon.  They love to have people check out their custom made interior! 

Of course...if you don't want to use it as an outhouse, we can make it a storage shed for all your gardening tools! 

We can custom build you one to match your home, or you can go with one of our cute country designs!  One seater, two seater, or no seat at all...it's your call!

This one has glow in the dark stars so you can find it at night!

Dottie  lived in the suburbs of Boston before she moved to Upstate New York! She worked as a union carpenter, becoming the  first woman in her local to make it to Journey woman!  She also worked in Boston, at Women in the Building Trades, as a Training Coordinator.  She taught a pre-apprenticeship program to women..and men, so they could apply to one of the 17 different building trade unions. 

She had a cubicle in her office for "The critter of the day".  This could be anything from Ben the dog, Baaart the goat, bunnies, ducks, chickens and turkeys, to the baby emu she was bonding with.  She carried it around in a sling while she was putting on a presentation!  She had to hand it to a member of her audience so she could talk and write on the chalk board at the same time!  The man couldn't believe he was holding a baby emu...in Boston.  When he looked down, the emu had already fallen asleep in his arms! 

One time Dottie left her goat, Baaart, with her boss Priscilla, who was on the phone with someone in California. Baaart started to baaaaa as Dottie walked away.  She heard Priscilla explain to the caller..."That's a goat...Yes...this is Boston....yes...it's a goat...So as I was saying"......."

Dottie started the 4-H Explorers for her daughter, Tara, and her friends.  Each of the kids had one of Dotties' critters to exhibit when they did their "town days".  Back then, her critters consisted of Sunny, her palomino quarter horse, Baaart the goat, Paco the llama, Eeyore the donkey, Miss Piggy, the pig,   Lenny the Lounge Lizard (he was really a Chinese Water Dragon), Monty the Python...(he's still hanging out!), Spike the hedgehog, Baby, the 14' Burmese Python, Big Bird 1...the Emu, and Big Bird 2...the Macaw. And all the bunnies, pheasants, ducks and chickens!  That's not all of them...but you get the picture!  And then when her daughter grew up...Dottie started her second troop.  And did it all over again!

All of her life...Dottie had critters.  It was a natural for her to "read" what they were thinking!  Wheather it was the angle of the ears, the position of their head, or the look in their eyes... it all spoke volumes!  That's why she started our story... Barn Yard Tails!   She's happy to share us with you!  Dottie works hard caring for us, training us and keeping our journal up to date!   So please, send her an e mail and let her know what you think!   We just want to make you smile, laugh and feel happy!  And if we did, please share a link to our site to family and friends!  Thank you!

In their studio, The Crafters Hide-Away,  Dottie makes beautiful Stained Glass pieces, and one of a kind, Dichroic Glass Jewelry.  Joe has the other quarter of the studio for his wood shop.  There he crafts beautiful furniture made from the wood of our own trees!  Of course...since WE came into her life, they haven't had much of a chance to play!

Dottie really loves working with Dichroic glass!    She puts her prayers of peace and serenity into each of her pendants.  She calls them Serenity Stones! 

When you feel like you need to calm your spirit...hold the piece in your hand and take a... deep... slow... breath!  Hold it...then let it out ...really...really...slow!  Draw in another ...deep...long... breath.  Hold it..........then let it out again...very... very... slow!  There...don't you feel better already? 

Then she'll tell you to think about when and where you got your stone.  This should put you in a happy place!   That helps move the spiral in the other direction!  Stress does all kinds of things to the body...none of it good! 

She has crafted hundreds of pieces, with no two alike!  Each piece as unique...as the people who wear them!  If you would like to have one custom made with matching earings...or even wrapped with sterling silver or gold wire...e-mail her and she'll help you design it!

Notice how the colors change as it moves!

Dotties hobby is rock collecting!  See the wall behind the clock above?  That is her collection of geodes  and crystals!  She couldn't stand that they were hiding in a box in the attic...so she made a touch me feel me wall!  Now she gets to look at them all the time!

Click on "Stone Recliner"!  It's formed with a lumbar support for those days when your back goes out more than you do!  It really works!   Her piece... "The Crest of a Wave"  is a big people sand box.  She added sea shells, driftwood, a stained glass fish and glass baubles!