12/26/2022
Yes, this. Today, Dec. 26. It's 24F. Definitely NOT spring, but this guy has just grown back his tail feathers (they all fall out in July) and can't seem to help showing off. The hens are not impressed.
Shepherd's Hey Farm
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Shepherd’s Hey Farm maintains a flock of natural-colored longwool sheep for production of wonderfu
Shepherd’s Hey Farm is home to a flock of beautiful wool sheep who are carefully bred and managed to produce luxurious high quality handspinning fleeces and naturally raised custom butchered lamb. Our sheep are mostly cross-bred to produce lustrous and soft longwool fleeces in a wide range of beautiful natural colors (pale silver, medium and dark gray, charcoal, black, and shades of brown, also kn
Shepherd’s Hey Farm is home to a flock of beautiful wool sheep who are carefully bred and managed to produce luxurious high quality handspinning fleeces and naturally raised custom butchered lamb. Our sheep are mostly cross-bred to produce lustrous and soft longwool fleeces in a wide range of beautiful natural colors (pale silver, medium and dark gray, charcoal, black, and shades of brown, also kn
Operating as usual
12/24/2022
Extra feed tonight to keep their amazing rumen furnaces going as the temp plunges. With the fresh fluffy straw plus wool..... the girls are going to be just fine tonight. Meanwhile I think I'll have to dig out my insulated overalls in the morning. Expecting 4F. It's winter!
12/04/2022
OK! All the ewes are in from the field and closed up in the barn - to keep them dry in last night's rain. This is half of them; the others area already in. Tomorrow is shearing day - 20 to get fully sheared (their wool is long enough) and 12 to get crutched - bellies and butts sheared for easier nursing and lambing. Busy day Sunday! Sorry, no fleeces will be immediately available.
12/03/2022
Fetal lambs don't look so different from human fetuses on a quick ultrasound scan! 20 ewes pregnant for sure. Several more need a recheck. We're committed and excited for the 2023 lambs!!
09/07/2022
Something fascinating? Creepy? Beautiful? About these mating assassin bugs.
08/02/2022
Our beautiful blue-grey "Grits" got lucky and has gone to his big boy home as a wether companion to a blind Romney. A wonderful home where he'll have an important job in addition to producing a gorgeous fleece every year. Have a great life, Grits!
07/27/2022
Young vultures now venturing about with parental supervision. I think this parent would like them to learn to drink (from the sheep waterer) on their own, but they don't quite get it yet. I continue to grow a bigger and bigger soft spot for these characters. Is that weird?
07/17/2022
Oh yes.... when you take the dogs for their last evening walk and ALL 3 GET SKUNKED!!! Lucky for Us we had stashed all the ingredients to deal with it after the last time (several years ago). We're all pretty soaking wet now.
07/09/2022
The owl was easily captured and taken to Owl Moon Raptor Center for evaluation and any treatment needed. Fingers crossed it can be rehabilitated and returned for release back here. It is in the best possible hands! If you follow us, you know that we have been working with the amazing Suzanne at Owl Moon to provide nesting locations for the barn owls and for kestrels here on the farm, and have over many years banded the chicks. It's a real treat to have these owls nesting in our silo, and we monitor them as best we can without interfering.
07/08/2022
So the peafowl were much interested in this fledgling barn owl that seems to have injured itself having left the nest in the top of the nearby silo.
07/04/2022
The relative proportions of fuzz and proper feathers is progressing, but they haven't left their lair. Soon, I think. I promise to get more sheep & lamb pics soon, but these characters are so intriguing!
06/21/2022
It's not always about the tail feathers!
06/16/2022
If you didn't get a 2022 catalog and are interested in having one, we still have about 50 of them left. There is a $5.00 fee to cover shipping costs. You can order one using the form at https://sheepandwool.org/purchase-a-catalog/ (be sure to indicate "2022” where it asks for the catalog year), or via PayPal at https://paypal.me/MdSheepandWool (include “2022 catalog” in the “add a note” field).
06/06/2022
I am well and truly gobsmacked by this new issue of PLY Magazine. For our mixed breed fleeces to receive the keen attention, rigorous scrutiny, gifted skills and praise from the trifecta of Jillian Moreno, Judith Mackenzie and Maggie Casey leaves me both star struck and dumbstruck. Feeling like a deer in the headlights. Thank you Maggie, Judith and Jillian for the gift of your encouragement to continue in this endeavor!
05/30/2022
Tha lambs are getting g big - in all their yummy colors. Several heading to new homes in the next week or so.
05/29/2022
Here are the Barn Owl chicks brought down from their lair at the top of the silo to be banded - and then returned. They are some characters. We're so honored to have them.
05/29/2022
And.... here is one of the five Kestrel chicks from our Kestrel nest box across the field - thanks to the incomparable Suzanne Shoemaker of Owl Moon Raptor Center
05/29/2022
Black vulture chicks in the bottom of the silo seem to be doing fine.
05/29/2022
Baby Barn Owls in the top of the silo. Yes... those are owls! Photo courtesy of Tom Humphrey who climbed up there to fetch them and return them after banding them.
05/28/2022
Meanwhile, on the outside of the silo I think (hope) our native wisteria has finally discovered that the silo is worthy of climbing. Now to keep the deer away from it.
05/27/2022
I'm getting a real soft spot for this vulture. I don't know if it's the mom or the dad of the 2 very homely gray fuzzy babies in the silo but I like its company and it's quirky ways of hanging about.
05/17/2022
Back to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
Well this is fun! From Clara Parkes. If you haven't subscribed to her Wool Channel you should definitely check it out and subscribe. Always something to learn that you didn't know you wanted to know, and a great group of like-minded sheep and wool lovers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5a_hPc_t-g
After a two-year hiatus of in-person festivities because of COVID, the venerable Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was back at the Howard County Fairgrounds t...
05/15/2022
Many of you know I'm fine with snakes. Most snakes. Here on the farm these black rat snakes are always welcome. However - the surprise factor gets me every time when I'm reaching into the chickens dark nest boxes without looking .... to just feel for any eggs. That's what happened today. Seems that this snake beat me to one of the eggs!
05/14/2022
First sighting of a black rat snake of the spring. Go get'm Mr. Snake!
05/14/2022
Our girl "Teaspoon" venturing into new (and tall) pasture! Such an intrepid little girl.
05/14/2022
And here's our "Teaspoon" this morning venturing bravely into the tall fresh pasture!
05/08/2022
Not a bad day at MD Sheep & Wool!
05/04/2022
OK! All these (and more) Shepherd's Hey Farm fleeces will be available this coming weekend at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Fleece Show & Sale! Come see us - come rain or shine!
04/24/2022
The lambs are getting big and adventurous! We have quite a few nice moorit lambs this year, if anyone is interested in moorit genetics for their flock(s). They have our usual mix of Romney, Corriedale , Romeldale, Border Leicester and more. Just saying. We won't be bringing animals to the MD Sheep & Wool Festival this year (will be there, just not with sheep).
04/23/2022
Looking forward to this - It's free but they accept donations for Ukraine.
Join WARP to support Ukraine!
Continuing Textile Traditions: Ukraine is a special program to raise relief funds for Ukraine. We will host Ukrainian textile artists Halyna Shepko (New York), Daryna Alieksieienko (Kyiv), Andriy Pyshkar (Ternopil), and Yaroslava Tkachuk (Lviv) for a discussion about their work within the Ukrainian weaving traditions. This Zoom presentation is open to all - please join us to support Ukraine on Saturday, April 30, at 1:00 pm US Eastern time.
Please register at: https://weavearealpeace.wildapricot.org/event-4773140
04/15/2022
Today on the farm.... spring is in the air. And guess what? We have extras.....
04/14/2022
This beautiful charcoal grey long wool fleece from our boy "Poe" has the most wonderful hand! Definitely a candidate for Fleece Show & Sale.
04/12/2022
This fleece from "Barnard" is a real treat.
04/12/2022
Aaaah... courtesy of yearling ewe "Rhubarb".
04/12/2022
And now......time to get serious about skirting fleeces for
04/01/2022
Here's a sneak preview of our natural colored wool with a touch of sari silk blended into it. DK 225yds.
04/01/2022
Hey all! Come see us tomorrow (April 2) from 11-3 at the Frederick Shepherd's Market! We have new yarns just back from the mill in a full range of our natural colors, some of it enhanced with flecks of colorful repurposed sari silk as well as a few dyed options. Even a few sheepskin pelts.
03/17/2022
Here's our veteran ewe, Raven. She's a steady-as-you-go, get-the-job-done kind of ewe. She had a nice looking single solid gray ewe lamb this year. Good girl.
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Dickerson, MD
20842
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Videos
Young vultures now venturing about with parental supervision. I think this parent would like them to learn to drink (from the sheep waterer) on their own, but they don't quite get it yet. I continue to grow a bigger and bigger soft spot for these characters. Is that weird?
So, the baby vultures are out of the silo and stumbling about with one of the parents. They hang around the sheep waterer here trying to get mom/dad to "feed" them water. I wonder how long it will take them to figure out how to drink for themselves. Really enjoying these characters.
So the peafowl were much interested in this fledgling barn owl that seems to have injured itself having left the nest in the top of the nearby silo.
Talk about stinkin' cute! These three little baby skunklets with their bottle-brush-tails are sticking close to mama as they waddle along the farm road here. Really, baby skunks are so darn cute.
When I go to peek into the silo to reassure myself that no barn owl babies have fallen out of their nest at the top, I'm greeted by these two amusing characters - half fluff, half feathered black vulture babies who hiss and growl at me.
The baby vultures are getting big but still stumbling around half fluff and half feathers. They hiss and growl when I go to check the silo to make sure no barn owls have fallen out of their nest at the top. And yes, in case you are worried, I have removed all the bailing twine so they won't get tangled up in it.
The lambs are getting big and adventurous! We have quite a few nice moorit lambs this year, if anyone is interested in moorit genetics for their flock(s). They have our usual mix of Romney, Corriedale , Romeldale, Border Leicester and more. Just saying. We won't be bringing animals to the MD Sheep & Wool Festival this year (will be there, just not with sheep).
Today on the farm.... spring is in the air. And guess what? We have extras.....
It seems that I'm Teaspoon's mom.
Twin ewe lambs this morning - getting dried off by mama "Elgin".
This is "Teaspoon"! After delivering two nice sized lambs (10 and 9.5 lbs) and getting them settled in their own pen, out popped this little girl! At just 6 lbs she is very small for us and off to a slow start, but we're working hard to build her up! Mother is Demitasse - the other two are Tumbler(ram) and Teacup (ewe). First triplets of 2022.
Aaaah, sweet! So grateful for the steady, efficient and excellent shearing of Kevin Hickman! This fleece is so shiny black that it looks gray when the light shines on it.
Music to the ears of this great-aunt! Welcome back, chore-buddy!
Category
Nearby food & beverage services
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Fisher Avenue, Poolesville
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Whites Ferry Road, Poolesville
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Montevideo Road, Poolesville
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Alford Family Farms and Spinnery
Darnestown Road, Beallsville -
Feys Kids Farm Project - Beallsville, Marylan
West Hunter Road, Beallsville -
Wasche Road
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Peach Tree Road
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Weat Hunter Road, Beallsville
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Westerly Road, Poolesville
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Budd Road, Poolesville
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Edwards Ferry Road, Poolesville
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Whites Ferry Road, Poolesville
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W Offutt Road, Poolesville
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Edwards Ferry Road, Poolesville
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Edwards Ferry Road, Poolesville
Other Farms in Dickerson
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20842 -
Peach Tree Road
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Comus Road
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Dickerson Road
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W Harris Road
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Wasche Road
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Elmer School Road
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Thurston Road
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Boyds
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20842
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Peach Tree Road
Comments
Sheepskins from Hill Farm and Shepherd's Hey Farm.
Natural colored wool yarn from Shepherd's Hey Farm.
I saw this and could not resist.
Join us on October 5 & 6 for the 2019 HERITAGE HARVEST at beautiful Shepherd's Hey Farm in Comus. Wool-spinning demonstrations and farm-sourced raw wool, yarn, and sheepskin pelts for sale. Sheep, chickens, and turkeys abound!
FREE event! For detailed information on all activities, see heritagemontgomery.org/heritage-harvest
FREE event! For detailed information on all activities, see heritagemontgomery.org/heritage-harvest
Our thank yous for the Farm to Fork Event Continue with immense thanks to the farmers and bakers who grew and prepared our local ingredients. Shepherd's Hey Farm Kingsbury's Orchard, Betsy Wilbur, Monocacy Mills Farm,Mike Tabor, David Scott Jr., Calleva Farm Store Plow and Stars Farm Summer Creek Farm Nick's Organic Farm Lewis' Orchards & Farm Market Soleado Lavender Farm The Farm at Our House Cherry Glen Goat Cheese, Hay Tracks Farm, New Roots Farm, Bread & Beauty, Watershed Cafe...
We hope to see you during our 2nd annual Heritage Harvest, October 5 & 6 in Montgomery County's beautiful Agricultural Reserve! Visit Alden Farms, Button Farm Living History Center, East Rivendell Farm, Morningstar Studio-Art, Shepherd's Hey Farm, Something Earthy Pottery Studio, Susanna Farm Nursery, Waredaca Brewing Company, Waters Orchard, and Windridge Vineyards for farm markets, local produce and wine, art, adorable farm animals, and more. View the online brochure at heritagemontgomery.org
Just a month left till our Farm to Fork Benefit Dinner and we are so thankful for our sponsors and partners! Shepherd's Hey Farm, Harvest Plates & Pints, Black Bunny Bakery, Watershed Cafe, Stephanie's Secret Garden Flower Shop, Gypsy Flower Farm, and Lady Farmer join us!
Congratulations on all your success at MD Sheep and Wool! I live in Frederick County. Do you have any lambs or sheep for sale? Do you sell your fleeces from your farm or only at fiver festivals?
High schoolers to farms on a perfect spring day. Brilliant!
What connections and understanding of well-produced food and fiber can be fostered through meeting producers and seeing their craft first hand? PLENTY! Huge thanks to our education program director Joyce Bailey, Lee Langstaff of Shepherd's Hey Farm, Greg Glenn of Rocklands Farm Winery, and MCA's president Gene Kingsbury, 5th gen owner-operator of Kingsbury's Orchard. Oh, and wool offers comfort - see photo!
What connections and understanding of well-produced food and fiber can be fostered through meeting producers and seeing their craft first hand? PLENTY! Huge thanks to our education program director Joyce Bailey, Lee Langstaff of Shepherd's Hey Farm, Greg Glenn of Rocklands Farm Winery, and MCA's president Gene Kingsbury, 5th gen owner-operator of Kingsbury's Orchard. Oh, and wool offers comfort - see photo!
The front of shawl I handspun and handknitted from peregrines fleece
Shawl using Peregrines fleece. Handspun and handknitted. I loved every minute with this fleece ❤️
Also, by the way, I see your family's interest in Baroque music instruments. I have a beautiful, solid cherry, Eric Herz harpsichord that I would trade or sell.