All Saints Valais Blacknose Sheep

13/08/2024

A penny for your thoughts, sweet Lucy. 💚

24/07/2024

Resistance is futile. 🥰
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/HmnUFayduKmiW6zU/

21/07/2024

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" (Dr. Seuss) 💛

Little Leona (F4 VBN) loves being in the spotlight. She’s the first to greet me and the last to leave me when the rest of the flock wanders in search of greener pasture. She basks in the spotlight of affection and attention and I’m always happy to oblige. Not only does Leona love the spotlight ....

05/07/2024

I spy with my little 👁 a felted fleece rug in the pasture. (F4 spring lambs Lucy and Leona, joined at the hip! 🩷🩷)

22/06/2024

So, this was a lovely and unexpected surprise. The Catholic Media Association's annual CMA Book Awards, held in Atlanta this year, just awarded first place to my novelette, The Shepherdess: The Story of St. Germaine Cousin, in the category of Self-pub Fiction and gave an honorable mention to my non-fiction book, Farming & Homesteading with the Saints (Loyola Press), in the Lifestyle category. All glory and praise to the Lord for the holy inspiration, grace, guidance, and fortitude to bring these stories to light. Thank you, Catholic Media Association, for your support of Catholic writers.✝️

Also, thank you to all who are readers. As they say here in Tennessee: I appreciate you (I truly do!).

Nashville Catholic Loyola Press St. John Vianney Catholic Church - Gallatin

18/06/2024

It's been a few years since I’ve studied or penned trad poetry (my great love in college as an English Lit geek🤓) but here’s what spilled out on the page. Fellow shepherds and sheep lovers, maybe a line or two will be meaningful to you. 💚

The last of our Spring 2024 lambs have left the farm. This photo, taken by the new shepherdess of Luca and Linus as their van pulled away, speaks to my heart as the lambs steal a last glance at the barn where they were born. I contemplated this image for awhile (with a misty eye), then scratched out...

15/06/2024

Happy Feast Day of St. Germaine Cousin de Pilbrac, the patron saint of shepherdesses, a saint who is near and dear to my 💚 -- so much so that I wrote a novelized version of her brief, tragic, and heroic life, which she humbly spent in the meadows among her flock.

Germaine of Pibrac (1579-1601) was born with a withered hand and a disfiguring disease that made her an outcast to society. She was desperately poor, growing up on a farm in the French countryside. She was mistreated by her stepmother, fed on scraps, and forced to sleep on a pallet under the stairs in the stable. She was a shepherdess from the age of nine. On one bitter, cold, icy winter's day, she was accused by her stepmother of stealing a loaf of bread to feed a starving beggar. Germaine's apron was wrenched open and onlookers expected to see the stolen loaf fall to the ground. Instead, out fell a shower of fresh spring flowers, as fresh and redolent as if they were picked seconds before. Saint Germain of Pibrac died at the age of 21, little more than a poor French shepherdess. (From "Saints Passionate and Peculiar.")

Saint Germaine of Pibrac was a holy woman, but she was, in her own lifetime, completely unknown. She did not accomplish any great deeds or become a great leader. She achieved no advanced learning and attained no accolades. And yet she is a saint, on a par with Christianity's most powerful and wonderful saints. Saint Germaine of Pibrac reminds us that no matter how seemingly mundane and trivial our lives, we are called to and can in fact achieve magnificent holiness.

St. Germain Cousin, pray for us!

The Shepherdess: The Story of St. Germaine Cousin

11/06/2024

✝️
"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

We said fare-thee-well to our sweet Gabriel and little Levi today as they head to their new farmstead at Rivercrest Farm in Dover, Ohio. We know that they are in the best of hands: those of their wonderful, new shepherdess and those of their Creator.

If you're ever in Ohio at this gorgeous wedding venue, please do give them a snuggle and a kiss from us! ❌⭕️❌⭕️

(Gabriel untied for the journey, in case you're wondering. 🙂)

06/06/2024

"Get up, dress up, show up!" 💪

Anyone who has sheep (or any other kind of livestock) will tell you it’s a rare and beautiful thing when there’s perfect law and order. Most days, we’re pretty happy with controlled chaos. But on this day, every lamb has shown up and is exactly where he or she is supposed to be at the feed rai...

31/05/2024

Happy weekend, y’all! 👏

17/05/2024

Holy Sheep! We did it! 🙌

With grit, grind, and a whole lotta grace we got through our 2024 lambing season, starring five amazing F2/F3 ewes and eight robust F3/F4 newborn lambs -- with "Uncle" Gabriel (our lone wether) functioning as our emotional support sheep. 🥰 All of our available lambs and F2 adult ewes have found n...

15/05/2024

As we commemorate St. Isidore the Farmer on his feast day, May 15th, let us pray for all farmers and gardeners with this prayer that is included in Andie Andrews Eisenberg's book, "Farming and Homesteading with the Saints." https://bit.ly/3Lk1ZNd

14/05/2024

Uncle Gabriel (our only adult wether) is getting mobbed by a bunch of young ruffians (when all he really wanted was a nap). Boys will be boys. 💙

14/05/2024

As promised, RECAP: Now that lambing season is behind us, I can say with confidence that the homeopathic lambing and other remedies I studied in this intensive, UK-based course were 💯 percent useful in the jugs this year. Smoother labors (ewes that stalled were back on track with productive contractions in minutes), proactive interventions (retained placenta, nervous first-time moms/poor milkers, etc.), quicker recoveries, far less stress, no rejected lambs (remedies given at first sign), and more robust newborns are just some of the big wins. 🙌

Homeopathy is NOT a replacement for vet care as needed (especially emergencies), but it can help all bodies, human and animal, to harmonize, heal, and maintain, strengthen, or restore optimum vitality. Homeopathic remedies prompt or "remind" the body, in a natural way, of what it needs to do or how to react and the body responds in kind. Unlike conventional medicine, it's not about the "diagnosis" or naming the "dis-ease" -- classical homeopathy is about the totality of symptoms and what remedy matches the picture being presented. There is no one-size-fits-all. Each ewe is an individual and is treated as such, choosing the remedy or remedies specific to her needs. Close observation, minding the principles of homeopathy, methodically repertorizing the symptoms as they are presented, (not panicking! 😳) and reaching out to professional homeopaths if needed (I did, and they walked me through a challenging and confusing case, thank you to the pros/admins Farm Animals and Homeopathy) has made this a remarkable lambing season. It's so gratifying and empowering to have this tool in my toolkit. I'm entirely sure our mommas and their lambs are "grateful" too.🌸 The proof is in their vitality!

In short, God provides in nature, in one form or another, what we need to be (or stay) healthy and well. We just need to pay attention to the body's signals -- and in this case, to know and closely observe/respond to our animals and any prevailing environmental factors, so that we can help them proactively or in acute situations. This is not woo-woo New Age "therapeutics." Homeopathy is a 200+ year-old proven form of medicine that is far more widely practiced in in Europe than it is here but quickly gaining ground. I personally believe this is our path forward in a Big P-h-a-r-m-a world.

"Similia similibus curantur" (roughly translated, like cures like). One well chosen remedy is worth an arsenal of shots in the dark.💪

Please feel free to DM me if you'd like more information on the course or other resources.

*All opinions here are expressly my own.

09/05/2024

(F4) Levi lookin' like a total rockstar. Love those Valais curls!!! 😎

03/05/2024

"PUPPY LOVE" 🥰

We have found beautiful, new pastures for all of our 2024 lambs and available adult ewes. Thank you to all who have reached out to us. If you'd like to be on our 2025 waiting list for F4 and F5 lambs, please DM, we'd love to help you make your Valais wishes and dreams come true! 🌟

01/05/2024

So, I did something. 😊 Y'all, check with your local ag extension and see if they offer this amazing 9-week program. It's so important to keep learning about best practices (everything from parasite and pasture management to nutrition to reproduction/lambing and more) from the experts so that we can produce the healthiest and happiest flocks possible! 👩‍🎓

30/04/2024

https://www.allsaintsvalaisblacknosesheep.com/post/zoomies
The Pasture Puppies have the Zoomies! 🤩

The 2024 spring lambs got their first taste of spring grass this week after being on a dry lot since birth. We like to give them a little time to settle, bond, and start on creep feed and hay before turning them loose on broad, rich, green pasture. I don’t know of anyone who can keep from grinning...

26/04/2024

UPDATE: Leo & Lorenzo have found their forever farm! 😊

These last two adorable F3 twin Valais wethers are still looking for their forever farm and all the butt scratches you can give. 💙💙 If you're interested please DM, or better yet, come and meet them this weekend! Special consideration given to keep them together.

24/04/2024

UPDATE: Leo & Lorenzo have found their forever farm! 😊

We'd like to see these two lovebugs travel together! Meet F3 Leo and Lorenzo. As you can see, Leo is ready for his close-up! 🤣 They are big, sweet, hardy boys with lots of personality and 💖!

24/04/2024

UPDATE: Leo & Lorenzo have found their forever farm! 😊

Our last two available spring lambs, Leo and Lorenzo, are looking for their forever farm...they are 87.5% Valais and 💯 percent ADORABLE.

21/04/2024

Happy Good Shepherd Sunday from (F4) Leona and the shepherds at All Saints Valais! 💚

"My sheep hear my voice...and they shall never perish, and no one shall sn**ch them out of my hand." ~Jn 10:27-28. 🙏

16/04/2024

UPDATE: LEVI has found his forever farm! 🥰 We have two adorable F3 wethers (twins!) still available. 💙💙

Levi test-tasting the hay today.😋 He's our last available F4 wether. DM for info on this sweet l'il luvbug.

Up next, taste-testing the yummy (RSG) Reproduction Specialty Group, Inc. minerals! 🐑

11/04/2024

Bernadette must be the "cool mom." 😎 She's actually (surfer) Leona's grand-dam, but all the littles seem to flock to her!

08/04/2024

What's on my 💚 today.

As a Valais Blacknose Sheep breeder and enthusiast, there’s nothing I’d like more than to see as many people as possible add this wonderfully cute, social and affectionate animal to their “farmily.” I love chatting with those who dream of having a flock of Valais Blacknose sheep, and I also ...

06/04/2024

These two springtime cuties are spoken for (Linus and Luca, F4 wethers), but DM me for info about our other spring lambs. We have adorable F3 twins, a super sweet F4 wether, and an F3 yearling wether looking to spring into your 💚!

04/04/2024

Not to be outdone in sweetness and cuteness are our F3 twin wethers, Leo and Lorenzo. 🥰 Leo is an awesome l'il beefcake (12 lbs. at birth) with adorable spots and a flashy black tail. While not perfectly "marked" we think he's perfect just the way he is! His twin brother, Lorenzo, is "missing" his back hock patches but the wool on these two boys is gorgeous. Available mid-June. We'd love to see them stay together -- double the cuteness and double the fun! 💚💚 Sire is Parkdale Crackers. Please DM for more info. Middle TN.

02/04/2024

UPDATE: Levi has found his forever farm. 🥰

Levi (F4 wether) is a cuddly, curly-topped cutie! 🥰 He’s available after weaning in mid-June. 💙 Middle TN.