Montpelier Farm

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

Dolly Parton, we’re all better for knowing your music. And your faith. God bless you. And thank you for your example….

Album · 2005 · 21 Songs

08/26/2026

I was unaware until just now that Tunis sheep held a place in the slow food ark. Biased I am, but so was Thomas Jefferson. And for good reason! Delicious.

In 1799, the Tunis sheep’s ancestors arrived in the United States from North Africa. These sheep are often described as “fat-tailed,”

08/26/2026

Cleo last night. Guarding our farm. What you see is the heart of Montpelier. Figuratively and literally. Forty acres anchored by the house. Pastures, poultry yards and gardens. And me. Surrounded by another eighty acres of our periphery. Woods. Commercially leased fields. And the beyond. She stayed put last night. Patrolling hard. Barking. Chasing. It’s what they’re meant to do. Livestock Guardian Dogs. See her tracks via gps. It’s a wonder, those dogs. The only training I really do is try to correct her wandering. Which is a bit like telling a bright child not to ask questions. Thanks Cleo. Nothing died last night.

08/19/2026

What expansion looks like in concrete terms. A potable conversation for sure….😂

08/19/2026

The squishy and the ripe. One destined for customers, breads and salads, the other for the jam pot. A vendor mentioned to me Saturday that she had purchased some from another source but that those were too squishy to use for her purpose. Figs have a very short shelf life. That’s why you don’t see them in the grocery store. Ask how the seller packages and then gently examine them. Splits and oozing will not hold up to anything but a jam pot.

08/17/2026

08/16/2026

Not everything I sell is mine but as those of you who know me understand, this entire endeavor directly grew from me feeding my family. So summer Rambo apples from the Shenandoah Valley are a staple here. Memories from my childhood. Choosiness from my motherhood. Look closely. There’s a little friend who snacked on this one and ended his life feeding my turkeys. No spray. Not here. Not there. Not anywhere. Applesauce for my grandson like it was for his father. Available through Montpelier if you are part of that choosy movement as well.

08/16/2026

Well. Tonight I received another call from a neighbor reporting that they were in front of our farm and were concerned that our Pyrenees would get hit by a car. I have shared information before about how livestock dogs work but there still seems to be confusion.
First, if you’re on our road then you are passing
THROUGH our farm. Second, if you’re concerned that you may hit our dogs then you are driving WAY too fast. Third, it’s their job. We have thousands of dollars worth of livestock here so, yes, protect it. Fourth, I apologize that they end up on neighboring property and I must retrieve them. They are on track devices. I see them. But not until they leave property. And this isn’t the city. Sometimes it takes a minute to get a bar to have enough power to track them. And then it’s the country, so I am tracking them through woods and swamp until they pop up on a passable road. However I will also point out that once hunting season starts I have dogs here EVERY DAY and they tend to kill livestock. And are constantly in the road. I get that. So please get the LGD. And ours aren’t the only ones. But we do seem to get tagged for that. Even when they’re not ours. A bit of Grace. I give that to you.

08/15/2026