Turtle Valley Farms

04/06/2025

I have been wanting to meet the owl who has been singing me to sleep each night for many weeks now. Last night it was a duet.

03/14/2025

Contrails tonight.

03/04/2025

Not sure if these are old friends or new friends. Either way, they are a welcome sight.

12/19/2024

Started our day trying to help this deer find its way out of the pasture. Must have been a panic situation to prompt jumping the 5 foot fence in the first place, but it was a strategic challenge (one on the Gator, one on foot) to get it to leave by a gate.

11/27/2024

Here it is, the home grown honey that has been sweetening the Thanksgiving bread every year since 1984. Looks like at least 40 more year’s worth.

10/15/2024

Our 2-ply worsted weight Gotland yarn was a good choice for this jumper featuring lacy motifs. Pattern was “Saji Sweater” by Yoko Johnston (Ravelry) and yarn from Turtle Valley Farm (Etsy).

10/08/2024

Worth getting out of bed for this.

09/23/2024

Happy to report a new Kerry calf for first-timer Lizzy. She did it like a pro. Hoping for a heifer but haven’t been close enough yet.

09/15/2024

We celebrate the arrival of our first Kerry calf of the year. Of course, not the cow that I was expecting for the first. I missed his unexpected arrival by minutes. A bull calf, I think. His arrival seems to have surprised everyone except his mom.

08/04/2024

We waited over 10 years for purple martins to choose our housing, and this year we finally have a pair with fledging chicks. The last one (lower left) doesn't really want to leave the nest, but about 7 siblings and both parents are offering encouragement. And bugs.

07/06/2024

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stora-filten---the-big-blanket An Etsy customer contacted me about maybe working up this pattern in Gotland wool yarn. What a great idea, I may have to try it too. Our charcoal and medium grey worsted yarns would perform beautifully.

A mere thought of knitting a blanket may be intimidating, but this one is actually the perfect “grab and go” project since you knit each square separately. The pattern is also extremely simple and suits very well as film- or book-knitting. Another good thing about this blanket is that it can be ...

06/12/2024

Nature’s Cruelty and Beauty, all at once. The swan pair is now a single swan who bears a neck wound suggesting they encountered coyotes during the night, with one not making it through. And yet a new family of wood ducks, 12 new ducklings on the pond joining the five that are growing fast. We get used to juggling these opposite emotions on the farm.