The property
Fog & Fleece Sheepery was just a dream for a long time, until all of a sudden, it wasn’t!
In 2025, we had the opportunity to take over the stewardship of a 55-acre sheep farm in Bellingham, WA. The land features woods, rolling pastures, farmstead acres, and seasonal streams that flow during the winter months.
The property was originally purchased in 1927 by Emilie and Otto Hahnel following their immigration to the United States from Germany in 1922. They lived in a one-room home on the property with their three children until they built the original house and barn in 1932, using the land as a dairy farm. The property has been passed down through the family for generations and has been used for various farming purposes, including beef cattle, dairy cattle, alpacas, and sheep. It is still owned by descendants of the Hahnel family.
The current owner permanently solidified its legacy in 2022 by selling the development rights to the county in the form of a conservation easement. In doing so, she has committed to protecting the land for years to come and has ensured its use for responsible, small-scale farming only. The easement means the land can never be developed or subdivided and must maintain its conservation values, regardless of future ownership.
The barn is nearly 100 years old now (and a registered Historical Heritage Barn), and the land remains a wonderful place to raise animals. We are incredibly grateful to carry on the legacy of this beautiful and bountiful homestead.
The flock
Our flock is small but mighty!
The product of many years of selective breeding for fleece had given us a starter flock of seven stunning Icelandic ewes and two handsome Icelandic rams. Now, we have over 25 sheep on the property, and continue to grow.
Fog & Fleece Sheepery is nothing without these incredible animals. They give us warmth in the form of wool, meat, and snuggles, and it is our #1 goal with our flock to maintain sheep health and happiness. The gift of their bodies is not taken for granted by us, and we strive to ensure it isn’t taken for granted by our customers and community either.
Our flock live a comfortable life out on the 40+acre pasture, where the sheep are an integral part of regenerative pasture management. At the end of their lives, they’re butchered with love and care, on-property, and we use as much of the body as possible.
The shepherd
Caroline Vandenberghe moved onto the property in the spring of 2025 after living in Seattle for many years. Her husband, Erik, was supportive and wanted also land (although never could have guessed he’d have so much wool in his life)!
Caroline, who leads the management of the farm and flock, grew up in northern California before moving to NYC. There she transitioned from an ecology and evolutionary biology degree to construction consulting, building the city around her and developing her management skills until she was recruited back to the west coast in 2019.
When the pandemic hit and her work became temporarily remote, she took the opportunity to move to Seattle to enjoy the rain and the mountains. Soon after, she discovered a Beginning Pasture Management Workshop at the farm and fell in love with the property, the work, and of course the sheep. She continued to help out on the farm until the shepherd decided to stop farming in 2024 and dispersed most of the flock and other animals.
Caroline was also fortunate enough to join the Flock Fiber Festival in 2024. She has been one of the two organizers since then and uses her fiber network to bring the best of the best to Fog & Fleece’s on-farm education. She also works to bring local farms to the festival, to use it as a way for attendees to learn about the local fibershed.
Now Caroline is a part-time shepherd, festival organizer, and continues the day-job she loves as a construction consultant for the life-sciences sector. Her work at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has created almost 50,000SF of new wet-lab space for the brilliant minds there and that’s what she’s most proud of.
She hopes you love and appreciate the sheep as much as she does.
The MISSION
At the end of the day we have many goals but only one true mission that drives us - to positively contribute to sustainable small-scale farming in the most impactful way possible.
For us, this means sharing. It means sharing the knowledge, joy, successes, and challenges that come with this lifestyle we’re privileged enough to be able to choose. It means sharing our farm with the community, whether that be as a hang out, a retreat, a class, or in the form of our farm products.
It also means a deep commitment to the well-being of our animals and the land. We believe that happy, healthy sheep thrive in harmony with nature and strive to give them the most love-filled life they can have. Also rooted in love and gratitude for what the land provides, we practice regenerative pasture management, ensuring we leave it better than we found it.
Finally, our values are easy. We believe in treating everyone with the utmost respect regardless of their sexual orientation, race, color, ancestry, religion, citizenship status, disability, national origin, gender identity and expression. We are committed to fostering a welcoming environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected. We believe in celebrating our differences and promoting equity, and we strive to create a space where all individuals can thrive. Oppression in any form is not tolerated on the farm as it goes directly against what we believe in and hope to cultivate.
