Orn Rocks Alaska!

From our friends in Alaska where Orn has apparently settled in nicely:

Hi Laura, Orn is awesome! Everybody at Delta cargo crowded around to take pictures as we transferred him from the crate to our trailer, lol. He is such a sweet guy, and of course a hit with his new ewes. An artist friend of mine is painting him also - he's quite popular here! Trimmed his hooves the other day and he was even polite about that. I only have this one lousy picture taken with my blackberry. I keep waiting for a chance to take a better one, but seems like it's either -10 degrees below zero or dark... I'll send more soon. Happy Holidays!
Sarah Donchi 907-252-1929
Kenai Feed www.kenaifeed.com
Funny River Outfitter www.funnyriveroutfitter.com

Handsome Guy!

This beautiful guy is doing a great job with the ewes this fall...I hope some of his offspring are as handsome as he is!

Pumpkin carving @ HOWL

We had a blast pumpkin carving at HOWL last night, just past the full moon. Our pumpkin carving event morphed into a dance party!

HOWL Blog

Shearing Day

Shearing Icelandic sheep is both challenging and rewarding. The Icelandic breed is typically shorn twice per year, in the spring and in the fall. We handled the spring shearing our self this year, but decided to bring in the professional this fall. Jim McRae made short work of our 11 ewes and ram. Vanessa got a lesson out of it. People in the sheep world are very giving of their knowledge and expertise. It sure is appreciated. Vanessa, with the help of Laura and Anya, sheared the 7 ewe lambs. This time of year in Vermont, the weather is unpredictable, but the animals must be shorn or their spring fleece with be very matted and dirty. Their fleece will grow out about an inch within a couple of weeks and they will be sporting almost full fleeces by Christmas.

Spinning Class!

I took my first spinning class at the 2010 Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival in Tunbridge, VT. It was way harder than it looks, but I did manage to spin up some fleece and put it onto my niddy noddy. I am hoping to get a double treadle spinning wheel soon and practice my fledgling skill.


Setting up the wheel for spinning...


A lesson in hand action...


On my own...


Gettin' niddy noddy with it!

Orn Heads to Alaska

Stark Hollow Farm's 2.5 year old resident Icelandic ram heads off to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to become the new breeding ram for a small farm up there. We will miss him, but we are so happy that he is going. He flies out this morning on Delta Air Freight. Thank you Orn for all the beautiful lambs!

New Icelandic Ram Arrives at Stark Hollow Farm

Our newest addition to the farm arrived Thursday in the back of Vanessa's Subaru Forester. Believe it or not, this 200 lb beast traveled from NY 2.5 hours north to our little farm in Vermont. According to Vanessa, he was quite calm on the journey, spending most of it on his feet swaying with the road. When she got him home, he laid down and refused to get back up. The two of us pulled him out and led him to his new paddock for quarantine.

He is a gorgeous black mouflon Icelandic ram, with award winning fleece. He is a proven yearling and we are very excited to see what he will do for the flock (no doubt he is too!).