Friday, August 19, 2011

Our trip to Juniper Moon Farm



My family and I set off on Wednesday to visit Juniper Moon Farm in Palmyra, Virginia. The Tangled Web is stocking their commercial line of exquisite yarns and I wanted to see, first hand, the inspiration behind the product. After 5 hours in the car we finally arrived at our destination and we were not disappointed.


The red barn is currently home to some very large pot belly pigs who were definitely ready for their closeup. Oops, let's not forget about the chickens. A few times a year there are baby lambs in the barn that anyone can view online via the farm's "Lambcam".








Lauren had lots of fun getting to know the livestock guardian dogs, Fettucini, Sabine and Lucy who are there to protect the flock from predators. During the day they play and sleep in the sun but by night they stand guard over the flock, protecting them from wild predators and roaming domestic dogs. Thanks to their hard work, they have never lost a sheep or goat to predators, something very few fiber farms can say.



Here are all the momma sheep.



Lauren and Olivia hold the newest addition to the flock. What a cutie.








Caroline, our gracious host, took time out of her busy schedule to give us a tour of the farm. She certainly has her hands full tending to all of the critters on the farm. Thanks Caroline. We saw sheep, goats, llama, and this very friendly donkey. Check out our photos.














All of the fiber grown on the farm is available for purchase through the Juniper Moon Farm CSA. You can purchase a knitter's share or if you prefer to make your own yarn you can purchase a spinner's share. Find out all the details on their website: www.fiberfarm.com/yarn-csa
Here's a bit of CSA yarn drying after spending some time in an indigo dyebath. So cool!!







Needless to say, it was a long trip and a lot of time spent in the car. Everyone was a little tired and a bit cranky by the time we got home last night but what an adventure. Special thanks again to Caroline for taking the time to show us around. Now we are more excited than ever to have Susan Gibbs, owner of Juniper Moon Farms at The Tangled Web on Friday, September 23. We'll have more on that in just a few days so stay tuned.

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