Just wearing your sweater, you know that wool keeps you warm. Sheepskin and wool have been used for warmth as long as sheep and people have been around. Wikipedia says “Sheep wool is a natural, sustainable, renewable, recyclable and totally biodegradable material that does not endanger the health of people or the environment.” Sheepskins add […]

One of our ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) – the 2004 Suzuki Eiger – has just gone over 40,075km.  That is the distance around the Earth at the equator. Not bad, considering all but perhaps one kilometre was done on Amherst Island. The kilometre-age(!) is actually higher because the speedometer cable was broken for a few months. […]

  Breeding sheep can be complicated.  Four months, three weeks and four days, or 142 – 148 days: that is the gestation period of a lamb. Our shepherd, Christopher, uses that calculation to determine when to put the rams into the flock. We want our ewes to start to birth their lambs the second week […]

We decided we needed an upgraded haybine for cutting hay, as our oldies had been patched again and again, and just were not up to the job. We use them constantly during haying to feed a growing flock, and also to keep pastures trimmed. (New for us means anything made after 1950.) Our farm reuses […]

Most of our 41 summers farming on Amherst Island have been dry. The summers of 2008-2011 were a pleasant exception – no Islanders could remember 3 green summers in a row and 4 in a row still seem miraculous. For us, the driest summer was in 1988. We had to buy some poor quality hay […]

    How many disparaging phrases have you heard about sheep?  “Led like sheep to the slaughter”; “The black sheep of the family”; “A wolf in sheep’s clothing”… “Not fair” says our shepherd Christopher, and we agree. Sheep’s instinct to herd is their protection. Lacking speed, teeth or claws, hiding in a group is smart.  […]

by Meghan Balogh, Napanee Guide Newspaper   A short ferry ride from Millhaven has the potential to transport you to another world. On Amherst Island, a 16-by-seven kilometre piece of land in Lake Ontario, life moves by at a different pace. The rolling farmland on the edge of the water is dotted with houses and […]

  These pregnant ewes are on their way to the barn to be shorn. Their instincts to protect their young lambs from bad weather is enhanced by mamas having thin coats too. Shearing time is the most challenging few days of the year for our farm: we can’t shear wet sheep. The weather can be […]

The quality of food the sheep receive is reflected in the quality of the lamb we produce. The sheep on Topsy Farm seem to think the quality is excellent. Our partner, Don does most of the morning chores (and takes all of the great photos). Here are his pictures of morning chores in seasons when […]

Our sheep stay outside all year. They are actually their healthiest in the cold weather – no flies, and internal parasites are not an issue. Not to mention, wool is both an excellent insulator and wool also dries out quickly, which is good for the sheep and excellent for our made in Canada wool blankets. […]