Storyhill Farm

06/22/2026

Happy Father's Day!! This weekend's project was replacing fence. The old woven wire had been in for about 10 years. The horses had learned to lean on it to reach grass on the other side which pushed it down to about 3 feet in some places. The sheep had learned that they could jump it and get out which created daily headaches of hiking up fences, baler twine fixes and running in escapees. Here are some pictures of my husband giving pointers to our youngest tractor driver on how to back and use the bucket. It would have been faster to pull the posts himself, but teaching the next generation is also really important.

The entertainment at the Father's Day Picnic yesterday was listening to the sheep bellow in frustration as they tried to get out their normal spots. We all sat in amusement. Parenting and shepherding are a lot alike: setting boundaries and providing safety. The sheep do not appreciate their new fence, and I did not appreciate my curfew growing up. Looking back, I am now grateful for how my Dad kept me safe despite myself.

Happy Father's Day to all the men who constructed the proverbial fences to guard and protect! Thank you for giving us boundaries even when we didn't like it.

06/18/2026

Tis berry season!!! Strawberries will be over soon, but wild black raspberries are just starting! These spots of rain are making for plump, juicy berries. Elderberries are finishing blooming. Blackberries will be ready in several weeks. Get your buckets and head to the countryside! Leave some for the wild life.

06/13/2026

A wonderful day helping at the Harmony Fiber Festival. ❤️❤️❤️ Great vendors and amazing artists!!

06/12/2026

My sheep have many superpowers! They turn grass into clothing, fertilizer, meat and mulch. Here is a section of our market garden that we are getting ready to plant with squash. It is top dressed with composted sheep manure from last year. The pile of waste wool will go around the plants to serve as mulch to keep in moisture. Wool is about 12% nitrogen, but takes years to breakdown - fertilizing slowly. It insulates the soil from extreme temperature swings and adds to a loose soil texture for aeration.

Have you ever thought of what
happens to all the polyester fabric in the world? Cotton, linen, and wool can return to the Earth and betters the soil in the process. Using waste fiber, rags and old clothing in the garden is a practice that dates back to medieval times.

06/02/2026

A beautiful time of year: sheep grazing, garden planting, and hay tedding. Pennsylvania's rolling hills are filled with activity.

05/28/2026

This is the first story I've been blessed to be apart of publishing! My mom is such a great storyteller! I was so honored to do the illustrations based on my grandpa's black and white photos. Imagine, Little House in the 1960s. It is the story of my mom growing up in Sidney, Ohio - a sweet, feel-good look at childhood.

Childhood comes once, and everybody gets their own time and place for growing up. Nine-year-old Janie loves growing up on Bon Air Drive with her parents and two younger sisters. Each season provides its own share of interesting activities. Whether she is struggling to improve her arithmetic or ex...

05/20/2026

https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/wool-pool-back-on-in-western-pennsylvania/914975.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcAR6vGxjbGNrBHq8BWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHsvcQAy6NxUSDEbdWTaIBvrvLGeuHJPfw3obzm3JRNGHPeWbkfqXyIhY98KI_aem_8CAnfwTJs6HxFCdKqgFFXA

For anyone local(ish) with sheep - please consider selling your wool here. It is important that we get the wheels of commerce turning for wool products. This is a great way to support the cause. Come hang out with other shepherds, learn about the process, get paid, and enjoy delicious food from our food trucks!

The Western Pennsylvania Cooperative Sheep and Wool Growers Association will host its Wool Pool again after a five year break when its wool had no market.

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day!! 🌿❤️🌱⚘️🌿🪻🌱🌷🌿🌸🌱💐🌿🌹🌱🪻

Here is a helpful hint to spruce up your grocery store bunch of flowers . . . In Pennsylvania, we have wild chervil (a class A noxious w**d) and dame's rocket (class B noxious w**d) blooming. Both push out native plants, but are truly beautiful cut flowers. Stop and pick some (in a safe place that you are allowed) to make nice filler flowers in a Mother's Day bouquet. Wild chervil looks like Queen Anne's Lace and also gets confused for poison hemlock that blooms in a few more weeks. Be sure it has ribbed slightly hairy stems and no purple splotches. Dame's rocket has 4 petals and comes in shades of purple to white. The native phlox has 5 petals.

Pick 'em to beat 'em! Be apart of the war on invasives and make your mom happy in the process! May you have a blessed day with family and the special women in your life!

05/10/2026

The hay is growing. The Lord is faithful to provide.

04/25/2026

Rub a dub dub. Three lambs in a tub and who do you think they be? The sick one, the orphan, and the too-little-milk one. Turn them out knaves, all three.

This is my current box of misfits. As I near the end of lambing season, I see getting sleep on the horizon, but I'm still getting only about 4 hours at a time. Thankfully lambs develop quickly and this box of needy ones will be able to go about 6 hours between feedings next week and graduate to the outdoor pen.