New Etsy Listings

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Deborah's Fleece

Lustrous fleece with wide, even crimp. Washes up bright white. 

Average staple length: 6 inches

Weight: 7 pounds (option to purchase 1/2 of fleece)

Check out her listing here. 

Ellie Mae's Fleece

Rich, dark charcoal color. Soft fleece with moderate crimp.

Average staple length: 5 inches

Fleece Weight: 6 pounds 

1/2 of Ellie Mae's Fleece already SOLD

Check out her listing here. 

October Snowstorm

This past weekend our area was hit with an early fall snowstorm. As a result of the storm, we were without power for a day and a half.

While we only had 4 inches of snow on the ground, other places near us received 2 feet of snow. 

The snow was very wet and heavy. It stuck to our electric fence wires and pulled them down. 

Since our power was out, we turned the sheep out to pasture to eat grass and snow. Sheep actually seem to like eating snow. The wet snow helped provide their need for water.

Darcy picks through the snow to find green grass below. 

Our animals did just fine during the snow storm. Their thick wool coats kept them warm and dry. 

Just across the border in South Dakota, thousands of cattle died during the storm. We are thankful that God spared us from major damage associated with this early fall storm. 

GVF Orchard Update

Our young orchard produced fruit this year! While not every tree bore fruit, we had a good taste of future production. 

Zestar Apples

 Both of our plum trees were heavily loaded with plums.

Underwood Plum Tree

While we were out checking on the fruit trees, we noticed that some of our biggest apples were gone. The guilty party, Caramel, soon showed up, begging for apples.

Caramel and Emily

One of the HoneyGold apples Caramel couldn't reach.

Caramel receives a windfall to satisfy her apple craving!


We are already looking forward to next year's fruit harvest.

A Bountiful Fall Harvest

We were blessed with a bountiful harvest of garden goods this year! The fruit and vegetables from our farm and surrounding areas has been plentiful and delicious!

Apples

Plums

Watermelon

Green Beans

Red and Yellow Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes

Home-Canned Spaghetti Sauce

Dried parsley from our garden

Red and orange cherry tomatoes


Ground cherries

Homemade ground cheery-orange jam

We picked about 50 pounds of jalapenos from our garden!

Our neighbors provided multi-colored banana peppers

Home-canned hot pepper jelly

Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers 

Pears to be canned.

We thank the Lord for such an abundance of wonderful food!

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! - Psalm 8:9

A Summer Trip

We recently enjoyed a visit from some long-time friends. It was nice to host them at our farm for a couple weeks. 

It was great to see them again and visit while we worked on projects around the farm.

We were able to take a short vacation down to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

It was fun to share the beauty of  Montana and Wyoming with them.

The steam rising from a geyser basin on a still morning was a most unique sight.

Old Faithful Geyser

Oxbow bend of the Snake River, Wyoming. 

Visiting String Lake 

Lake Jackson was stunning, as usual! 

The beauty of God's creation was all around us as we drove through the Grant Tetons. 

Back at the farm, all hands were on deck for garden harvest. We ate lots of watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomatoes during their visit.  

Tractor rides were enjoyed on Benjamin's John Deere.

What a wonderful time we had together! We thank God for special friends and the blessing they have been to us. 

A Shrug of Many Colors

Our special customer, Julie, sent us this picture of a beautiful shrug she wove.

Julie hand-spun the yarn from wool our sheep grew. From top to bottom: Emily (2013), Carmen (2012), Blossom (2013), Daffodil (2013).   

Julie wrote: "The colors were so lovely I wanted to make a piece in all their natural glory and it makes me happy to think of your girls playing together." 

Thank you for sharing about your beautiful work of art! 

If you have purchased fleece from us and would like to share your creative projects, please email your pictures and a description of your project. 

Edison Departs Grace Valley Farms

Many of you know, Edison, our long-time flock ram. We purchased him from Pepper Hollow Farm back in 2006. 

He was a tremendous addition to our flock and fathered many lambs for us.

 His descendants have won many fleece awards, including 4 Reserve Grand Champion ribbons. Edison has added staple length, poundage, good handle, and luster to our fleeces.

Since most of our flock is related to Edison, it was time to bring in new genetics and say goodbye to our old friend. 

While Dee was here visiting us, she was able to locate a new owner for Edison in Iowa. The next day we got the paperwork ready and Edison headed to Iowa.

We will miss our friend, Edison, but are glad to know he is at a good home and will be fathering many more lambs. Edison now resides in Iowa. He is currently preparing for breeding time at his new home.

Goodbye Edison!

A Visit From the Folks at Peeper Hollow Farm

It was great to visit with Rick and Dee from Peeper Hollow Farm in Iowa. We were privileged to host them at our farm for several days. We discussed sheep for many hours, swapping stories and learning from each other.

Dee was very helpful in teaching us about different color patterns in recessively-colored Romney sheep. We are looking forward to studying the patterns in our flock and mapping family genetics.

We took an enjoyable day-trip to Yellowstone. It was great to get away for the day and enjoy God’s beautiful creation.

Thank you, Rick and Dee, for all your insight into raising quality, healthy Romney sheep!