Beautiful fibers begin with healthy animals, that rely on diverse grasses and forms growing in healthy soils. We returned to Central Virginia in the fall of 2022 to start a sheep and goat farm. Our farm is beautiful, but manicured it is not. We do not mow our fields; we move our sheep and goats every couple of days to new grass and then let the previous paddock rest and recover for a minimum of 45 days, but on average we won’t return to that area for about 120 days. This rotation allows us to avoid worming the sheep and goats. We don’t use chemical fertilizers and we never use herbicides or insecticides. We rely on our sheep, goats, and horses to fertilize the soil, and the dung beetles to bring the nutrients from their manure into the soil to improve it. Nature is messy and not always predictable, and we have had a “normal” summer, a summer of drought with no rain for 2 1/2 months, and summer full of rain. Every year is different and farm life is never boring.

We have lots of arthropods…crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, bees and yes, flies and ticks. These guys feed the barn swallows, grasshopper sparrows, eastern meadowlarks, cow birds, mocking birds, … and bats. We also see (or smell skunks), foxes, deer, possums, raccoons, and we hear coyotes.

Every morning begins with a walk to the paddocks that our sheep and goats are in at the moment. I can listen to the birds, enjoy the weather, and make sure all the animals are doing well. Depending on the weather, the horses and donkey may come in the for the day, but they are always out at night. The donkey protects the sheep and goats from coyotes and dogs. The days end in the same way, a walk to the fields. In between is almost never the same…one day may be doing work on a field, moving paddocks, treating an animal, felting wool and mohair, dyeing felt, or sewing coats.