Meet The Wattle Tree Ridge Team

After 5 years as a professional Equine Podiotherapist, Francesca has traded in her rasp and nippers for a pitch fork and a pair of snips. Although the dirt and farmers tan are still a constant! With partner Daniel she founded Wattle Tree Ridge in 2021.  You may find her running around the paddock chasing errant sheep and horses, or in the flower beds surrounded by colour and fragrance or quietly scheming up new ideas for Daniel to help her build. She is currently working on the virtues of patience, returning all tools to their proper spot after use and restraint when ordering from seed catalogues!

If Francesca is the vision and direction, Daniel is the details, process and the administration guru (and farm labour!). With experience in Engineering systems and IT you will find him at his laptop designing sheep shelters and irrigation systems and setting up all things technical and confusing. In his spare time you will find him building said sheep shelters or in his excavator / mowing / welding / weeding / fixing machinery...................................

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From humble beginnings as a homeless orphan to the heights of supreme rulership of the Wattle Tree Ridge household, Meow Meow has all the qualities of nobility through the centuries. She has mastered the graceful, stately walk of a duchess and with just a look has her humans running to serve her dinner (only her favourite of course) or open doors for her convenience. When taking respite from the burdens of royal life, her majesty can be found curled up on all manner of books, chairs and laptops or sharing the bed with a canine friend, but you didn't hear that from me!

With an impressive lineage boasting greyhounds and short haired pointers, it is no wonder that Miss Millie is so beloved by the Wattle Tree Ridge family (ok, so she is a Bull Arab, but this sounds way cooler). She is tireless in her efforts to find every last chicken egg and is a dedicated fan of all forms of excrement. Her most notable skills include stealthy emptying of the cat biscuit bowl and scattering unsuspecting quail. You will find her on any round bale, mound of dirt, pile of gravel, or in pretzel position on the couch. Hobbies include professional bone burying and cardboard shredding.  She is not a supporter of tricks-for-treats.

HUGE fan of tricks for treats! Will sit, shake, drop, roll, beg for any and all snacks. Has impressive height to weight ratio (think besser-block), could be used as a torture device (her bark has been know to explode brain cells). Excels in the areas of ball retrieval, disemboweling of stuffed toys and removal of squeakers. Most notable skills include evasion of Bull Arab zoomie maneuvers, catching snacks on the fly, daytime napping and boycotting bed time. Does not like holes, does like partially composted worm farm contents. Requires regular lap time, neck scratches and belly rubs. Will trade sleeping on the bed for 8 hours of silence. Do not disturb when sleeping.

With a nose worthy of a drug detection dog, there isn't an inch of the property (and the neighbours....) that Lucy hasn't inspected. Now a lady of mature years, that prize winning sniffer is retired for use closer to home. There isn't a dinner dish or drop of sauce this nose can't find, thankfully, because the eyesight just ain't what it used to be. If you can't find Lucy, just follow the sound of snoring (seriously, someone get me the earplugs). She takes her job of 'tester of all horizontal surfaces' very seriously, but if you need her attention, it's not a handsome princes kiss that will rouse this princess, a piece of cheese is much more effective!