“By the River,” 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas A heartfelt thank you to my friend, Donna as well as my art teacher, Mrs. W for their helpful input and kind encouragement on my latest painting. “An extraordinary dream by Lord Charles Wellesley. (Charlotte Bronte) ‘In this slumber I thought I was walking on the banks of […]
Last weekend, Farmguy and I gathered our sheep for their spring shearing. We’ve had a number of warm days since early April with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, and the sheep were appearing a bit stressed by the heat. I was happy to finally get a shearing date, but also a little nervous about rain as we seemed to […]
Clementine Kitty watching a baby bunny rabbit.
A number of years ago, Farmguy and I hosted a “shepherd day” for his clients and their families at Braeburn Farm. Braeburn Farm is a local farm, and the place where we learned about Scottish Blackface sheep. After participating in a shepherds’ weekend class nine years ago, we bought ten sheep of our own. And, because we so enjoyed our […]
Originally posted on fourth generation farmgirl:
? A few weeks ago, I decided to coax cuttings of a flowering cherry tree into an early performance in order to speed up spring. Persuading plants to flower out of season is known as forcing. You can either trim branches from your yard or buy them from a florist. There are a number…
Farmgirl with Scottish Blackface sheep after a morning of vaccinating, de-worming, and hoof trimming. A while ago, I wrote a post about having the “winter blahs” and various methods that help lift my mood. A couple of these mood enhancing strategies included music and dancing. I even joked that I may have to install a disco ball in our […]
Originally posted on fourth generation farmgirl:
Our newest additions to Green Hill Farm are getting BIG! It’s amazing how quickly these chicks are growing. I think they’ve doubled in size in two short weeks. They’ve already started developing wings as well as demonstrating various chicken behaviors–like scratching for food. I just love these darling, fluff balls and thought I’d share…
Originally posted on fourth generation farmgirl:
This is one of my favorite vegetarian meals. I first enjoyed it a number of years ago while spending time in Kent, England. Farmguy and I were in the area to visit Hever Castle and Chartwell. For those who may not be familiar with these historic places, Hever Castle was the family home of…
Originally posted on fourth generation farmgirl:
Hamish is one of our two sheep that was a bottle-fed lamb. He has tons of personality and a little bit of attitude as well. Whenever we are outside, he always baaahs at us to say hello. And, when it’s time for grain, well, I do believe he would walk up to the house…
No wonder it feels so cold in here. Somebody is blocking the heat. Good company on a snowy day!
My name is Tonya, and I grew up on a 300-acre farm in rural Virginia that has been in my family for over 100 years. After graduating from college, receiving my master’s degree in speech and language pathology, and living and working in a small city for six years, I decided to return to the place of my childhood. Here, in this rural area, on this patch of green, where for four generations my family has farmed, gardened, and lived, I, too wanted to be a part of this continuity. As a fourth generation farmgirl, I have many interests that not only include, but also go beyond the basics of farming, gardening, sheep and chicken-keeping. It is all of this and more that I plan on sharing in this blog.
fourth generation farmgirl 