Silk Hope Farm began in North Carolina (where there is an old town named Silk Hope, although the town and the farm are only connected by my love of their name, and of raising silk worms, and blending silk with the very fine, crimpy wool of my rare sheep).
Now we live in north central Florida. Our farm was planted in commercial pine trees when we bought it; being badly neglected, there were volunteer native trees bigger than the pines. We removed most of the pines. So anything we want here (except for LOTS of fast growing oak trees and a few hackberries and wild plums) has to be brought in and planted. That takes time and a lot of seeds and plants and (lucky we have a steady supply of it) composted sheep poop.
We raise Gulf Coast Native sheep, which the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) considers critically endangered. They are a formerly feral landrace, the descendants of sheep lost by the Spanish, or survivors of the many shipwrecked galleons they sent. In the climate of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, only the strong survived. With normal care and pasture rotation, these sheep have a genetic advantage against Haemonchus Contortus, the brutal and often fatal barberpole worm. Despite the hottest weather of summer, they produce excellent wool even in Florida. Because they are not a manmade breed, they have a lot of variation in horns (types or styles and presence or absence), in fleece types, and color. They are so individual, and I love them.
What you select for is important. Our sheep have been selected for health, size, meat, and wool quality, as well as ease of lambing, excellent mothering, and twin production.
In addition to sheep, I have a lot of really OLD chickens (most 10-14 years old). There are an old English mastiff and a small blue French bulldog living in the house, and two Maremma livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) for the sheep. Two Manx cats, sisters. A big aquarium in the kitchen.
Our pastures still need a lot of oaks removed and grass planted, and the rock garden with gingers and lilies is still getting started. Other gardens are the organic veggies (winter is my favorite growing season, no bugs!), the lily garden, the mini orchard, and the just-started memorial garden for Warren’s mother, Kathleen.
We occasionally have lambs to sell (their fiber is’t all they offer, they are valuable as dual purpose animals and their genetic resistance to parasites and outstanding meat make them great terminal sires over hair sheep for meat flocks). We also have, at various times: wool, roving, and some hand dyed, hand spun yarn, vegan-friendly organic insect repellent, luscious hand lotions with silk, bath and shower gel, sometimes starts of unusual food plants (will consider swapping), and casual or sterling jewelry.
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