Stories from the Barnyard Blog

Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?

My love affair with sheep began in April of 2019, when I decided to bring Merino sheep to the farm.

In the years before the Civil War, there were over 1.5 million Merino sheep grazing the hills of Vermont. These days, their numbers have dwindled to the point where finding one to purchase locally is no small task. I looked throughout Vermont, upstate New York, Maine, and Massachusetts—with no luck.

As it happened, we were planning a visit to see our daughter in Maryland, so I widened the search. That’s when I came across a farm near Richmond, Virginia, that had Merinos available.

From our daughter's home, we drove south another five hours down to the farm, met the sheep, and before long, found ourselves loading a ram and a ewe into the back of our Subaru. It’s not every day you turn your car into a livestock transport, but it seemed like the logical next step at the time.

The ride back to Vermont gave us plenty of time to reflect on what we’d just done—and to occasionally check on our passengers in the rearview mirror.

That trip marked the beginning of something special here at the farm.