*Photo on left of Green Hill Farm and kitchen garden: Flower Garden design quilt (left) by Great-Grandmother McDaniel and Log Cabin design quilt (right) made by ladies in Grandma Rieley’s Women’s Circle at the Brethren church and given to me on my wedding day in 1997. For the last three months, Farmguy and I have traveled four hours to […]
Bizou, Farmguy, and Dash studying for the WSET Level 3 exam Farmguy and I just finished three months of coursework for our Level 3 certification through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust—WSET (London based program). Now, we have a review period before our exam. After driving four hours to attend class every week in Washington D.C. for the last […]
“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” ~Helen Keller
“Spirit of Green Hill Farm,” 18 x 24 acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas Original Artwork by Tonya R. Hengerer Happy Weekend!
Farmguy and I have had our little flock of woollies for about ten years. And, while they are truly the spirit of Green Hill Farm, gracing its fields and pastures with their quiet beauty (with the exception of Hamish and his incessant baaahs for grain), there are a few things you may not know about these interesting and intelligent animals. To start with, their wool will grow forever. A sheep, depending on the breed, can produce between two and 30 pounds of wool a year. Also, one pound of wool can make up to 10 miles of yarn. Besides producing lots and lots of wool, sheep have another special ability—they have nearly 360 degree vision. Sheep have rectangular pupils that give them amazing peripheral vision; it’s estimated that their field of vision is between 270 and 320 degrees (humans average about 155 degrees). This is really important, especially when you’re a prey animal…it’s like surround sound for the eyes. Not only do these woollies have special eyes, they have special lips as well. The upper lip of a sheep has a pronounced groove dividing the left and right side, called a philtrum. Sheep are very selective grazers, preferring leaves and blades over stems, and their philtrum helps them get close to the ground. This gives them an advantage over other ruminants who can’t go as low. And, it’s really interesting that sheep, who have such fascinating faces, are so observant […]
Celebrating our 20th anniversary September 2017 Last September, Farmguy and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by renewing our vows at the scenic mountain resort, Primland on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a private and quiet affair with only a minister and photographer in attendance. And, although our celebration was restrained, the emotion was not. The exchange of vows […]
Happy Easter from All of Us at Green Hill Farm!
For those of you who follow this blog, you may remember my post from a few days ago titled, Above and Beyond: An Everyday Hero. Last Saturday night, a major water pipe in our home broke, and a very kind and determined person rescued us. We thought he was just our plumber, but he turned out to be much […]
BANG! BOOM! WHOOSH! These are sounds no homeowner ever wants to hear, especially late on a snowy, Saturday evening when your house is over 200-years-old. Farmguy and I were finally relaxing last night, after spending all day studying and making flashcards for our WSET sommelier exam, when suddenly, we heard a crashing sound that sent us both into a heart […]
Button & Ivy on the first day of spring Green Hill Farm March 2018 In honor of this snowy, first day of spring and the lovely landscape it created, I thought I would share a rustic, winter painting I completed earlier this year as well as some photos of Green Hill Farm. “Waiting for Spring,” 8 x […]
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.
