April 2023
Grace & Grit Farmstead
Located in Arnaudville, LA
Grace & Grit Farmstead is owned and maintained by
Trina and Johnny Stelly
Located in Arnaudville, LA
Grace & Grit Farmstead is owned and maintained by
Trina and Johnny Stelly
It all started around 2015 when my middle son
was really sick. He had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and was having lots of
surgeries and complications. We were
having to drive across the country every 3 months to bring him to Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital for specialized care.
He loved animals so we always tried
to make the trips as fun as possible and would go to the zoo or stop at
different farms so he could see all the animals. After a while it was too hard
on him to go to these places so we decided to bring the zoo to him.
We
actually started out with goats and chickens but then decided sheep were the
better fit for our family. We also have miniature pigs, donkeys, cows, 4 chickens, and 6 dogs
Our flock is pretty small. We have 2 rams that are both 3 years old, and 5 ewes ranging in ages 1-5. Our generations range from F1 all the way through AP.
My love language is care giving. I spent 24/7 being a full time caregiver for my son and my other two children and that flowed naturally into becoming a shepherdess. I love watching our flock grow and prosper and that it’s because of the care we give them .
We have a farm Facebook page and my personal page
and on FB groups. We are in the process of getting a farm website.
Link to our Facebook Page
I do most
everything my self but my husband Johnny
helps out and luckily he is a talented carpenter so he builds what the farm
needs . My daughter age 15 is also a huge help .
Our family is still facing
serious medical issues so we still have to
travel and we luckily are blessed
with neighbors who feed when we have to be gone.
We have 5 acres total and we
believe in rotational grazing so we split our pasture in 4 and rotate every
day. Each pasture has a shelter with gate to be able to pen up as we need and
the middle has a big barnyard where we plan on building the big barn.
We also made a wheelchair accessible pond and
stocked it with fish because my son Austin loved to fish and he enjoyed his
afternoon stroll to see the animals and go fishing in the pond. He passed away
in 2021 due to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy so our family is definitely not
whole without him.
We actually have a sweet story with him and a Harlequin
sheep named Austin. We liked to look at FB together and one night we saw a
Harlequin Ram for sale in Texas and his name was Austin. Our Austin who was
extremely sick at the time insisted I go get this sheep so our farm would have
another Austin . So I contacted Six Wags Over Texas and told her we wanted to
buy Austin who was hers and she made it happen . The two Austins were able to
meet and our Austin was gone just a few months later. So now Austin the sheep
has a very special place in our hearts .
Austin, the ram
If we would be willing to partner our flock that took us years to build , with them who were brand new to sheep. Obviously we said no.
I was really surprised how therapeutic it was for me. We spent so much of our lives in a state of constant stress , in and out of hospitals and preparing for the next bad thing to happen that the farm was a way to slow down and enjoy life. Mucking stalls, feeding the animals and just going spend an hour or two with them every evening became my self care. My mom was always asking me how adding more work to my life was relaxing but it honestly was
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