Spring Time on the Farm

It has been the strangest spring with record breaking highs and a lot of rain.  We are happy to have spring here, but wonder what this weather will do for us in future.  Putting those thoughts aside we are enjoying the beautiful days.  We have limed, fertilized, aerated, and seeded three pastures and now we have two more to go, but they will have to wait until we can move the alpacas off them.  We are now seeing the green . . . yes, the beautiful tender green!  The alpacas are going to be so happy when we can move them onto these beautiful, rich pastures.
We have shearing coming up on April 6.  We are working getting ready for the event.  For some reason the herd has found all the leaves, sticks and general junk they can roll in.  I guess they don't understand how much time it takes me to clean their fleeces.
Halter training is in full swing.  Dancing Paws was led up on the deck and visited with Annie our indoor cat.  There is not a lot of leading done in the winter, so spring is a great time to get everyone back into walking with us.  Alexi, the cria, is doing exceptional in this area.  He is a delight.  The two weanlings are a bit more hesitant, but two are doing pretty well on the lead.

Alexi seemed to have discovered the joy of loping yesterday after the chute was opened after being closed for several weeks.  I truly think loping is a dance of joy.

Eddie looking out.

Maverick caught in the bucket.

Spinning

It was a nice day, not great during the morning barn chores but a very nice afternoon.  I have put some of the shrink plastic over the Fiber Cottage windows and it actually worked!   It was nice enough in the Fiber Cottage that I could teach my two new students out there!  It was great spinning in the cottage.   I do love to work among the fiber and the looms.  I got the temps up to 68 degrees and that is nice working temperature.  Maybe, just maybe we will have  many Fiber Cottage days this winter.


Changing the subject . . .


Alexi is becoming the little performer.  When we look out our back windows we can often see him romping all over the pastures.  He is so bold, chest butting the dams getting them to chase and play with him.  What fun!

Seeing Green!

I am so excited that the 3.5+" of rain this past week have us seeing GREEN in our brown pastures!  I really hate the brown of drought!  Though there is a lot of mud and still a great deal of brown we are seeing some Green.  This, of course is very good for the alpacas, as they have been eating a lot of hay and they will get plenty of that once Winter sets in.  Lots of wet weather means more beans in the barn  but more grateful alpacas.  Chores took a bit longer this morning.


I have been noticing Frederica shaking her head often, so yesterday I used some Q-tips to explore what was going on inside her ears and discovered a lot of dust.  This morning I flushed her ears with warm water.  I hope that does the trick.  So far it looks good.


I am a bit worried about J Arbuckle, he seems so depressed.  He hates being away from Priscilla more than being separated from his dam, Bess.  If I can get him out of the nursing mode I can put them back together until spring. Weaning is such a slow process and I personally think a beautiful animal can have its fiber ruined if it is not handled right.  What is right for the dam is not always right for the cria.  Bess is doing better being separated  during the day.   Perhaps I should give some thought to separating Freja and Priscilla for part of the day.  


As I was feeding the big boys in the shed, because of the misty rain, I discovered Illapa would not go inside to eat the grain.  I need to be sure he has a dish of grain outside under the over hang.  I think this explains why he is always wet when there is water.  Oh, my this is like have the kids back at the house.

Tomorrow I am teaching spinning to a new student.  It is always exciting to open up the world of spinning to a new student.  I am so excited.  I wish you could all join us in the Fiber Cottage!


Alpaca Lady 

Lovely Day in the Pasture

Once again we had a beautiful day, we will miss them in another month.  Rich and I spent the day working out on the farm.  He attacked the plum trees and helped me tackle the large poop pile in the lagoon pasture.  My there was a lot of beans to scoop.  It may sound awful, but  I really don't mind.  I mowed in several pastures knocking off the seed heads.  We have had such little rain that the dust clogged the mower and Rich had to blow the dust out of the engine to get it running again.
I was able to get a little time in the Fiber Cottage.  I am spinning the beautiful fiber I dyed with pokeberries.  I even managed to work on the triangle loom.  I am getting very close to finishing the 7 foot shawl.  
We let all the girls + J Arbuckle and Eddie be together all day.  J Arbuckle didn't give Alexi any trouble.  They are together tonight, so I have my fingers crossed they will begin to get along.

Oh, yea  . . . the unlady like Lady Bugs are back.  Ugh!

Bess

When we put Arbuckle back in with his dam, Bess, she let him nurse briefly then started  kicking him.  she knows this big baby needs to be weaned!  Her weight is way down and he is a  big boy.  We will continue to separate them in the day time and put them back together at night for a while.  But soon we will separate him from her.  It is hard for me to watch, but I know it has to be done.  I think it will really be hard for him when he has to separate from Priscilla.  Being only two days apart they have never been separated and are best friends.  Priscilla is not ready to be weaned.    We will have to watch that Arbuckle does not start nursing off of Freja.  I have seen him do that several times and she has not seemed to noticed.She too is very thin and nursing an additional cria would not be good for her health.


We got some rain later in the day.  The rain is not much, but we are so dry, anything helps.  I worked in the fiber cottage for a good part of the day.  I have a shawl on the 7 foot triangle loom and I am spinning up the fiber I dyed with pokeberrys.  The pokeberries sure made colorful fiber that is making a slubby yarn.

Time to Wean!

We found J. Arbuckle in with the new cria.  The day before, we had to separate him from the cria because he was playing rough with Alexi.  This morning  seemed a perfect time to begin the weaning process, so Mom went in with Delilah and Alexi and others and J. Arbuckle went in the other pasture with Priscilla Queen of the Midwest and her dam Freja.   Usually we would hear a lot of humming and carrying on but Bess was more than happy to be free of her big boy for the day.  This evening when we went to the barn dam and cria were reunited and J. Arbuckle could be hear slurping all the way across the barn.  Tomorrow morning we will separate them, once again for the day.

Alexi is now 14.1#.  He is growing fine.  He is full of energy and becoming more of a challenge to catch.  I got a good look at his  fiber, how nice to see the tight bundles and the popcorn look!  Oh I cannot wait until I can get my hands on his tui (fleece from first shearing) fleece!

Spring, Spring, Where are you?

Where is spring?  After the hardest winter in my history, I impatiently awaited spring.  Now I am so disappointed that it has not really surfaced.  When we do get a rare warm day my "To Do" list is so long I have little time to really enjoy the day.  My husband had back surgery this winter and though he is back doing many things, his stamina is just not back fully.  That just adds to the list, I am so proud of his progress and both of us look forward to him being back 100% percent.
The vet students were out to the farm yesterday.  I love the students working out here, as it gives me teaching time.  They worked with several of the alpacas.  Today,  I am headed out to  the Fiber Cottage.  A 4-H knitting group is out tomorrow . . .ah what fun to introduce them to the beauty of alpaca fiber.
Winter was so hard, I really didn't have much energy after coming in from the barn.  One would think I would have really been productive, but I was tired after caring for the animals and I had little energy to put into creative projects.
If SPRING ever happens . . . I am so ready to start being creative.


PS - We are on cria watch! 

The Day After Shearing

I think I am more tired than ever.  Shearing has a way of zapping you.   This morning our  little "bendies" went loping and pronking out into the back pasture.  They loved their new found freedom.  Our whites are truly white, blacks such a true black, and the browns are beautiful.  It almost feels like we have a new set of animals. 
In the windy night a tree fell on our back fence.  My husband was able to fix it nearly back.  It seems there is always something on the farm.
My basement is  full of bags of fiber, opened up  in front of the dehumidifier.  In the spare room are 5 show fleeces opened up to dry.  I have to get this fiber dried out!   I'll let you know how long it takes.
Alpaca Lady

NASTY Weather

It is NASTY outside!  I think we must have had at least 5 inches of snow, but it was just above freezing so it is drippie, wet, cold and tiring.  I thought the alpacas had stayed in the barn all day.  Although the beans let me know that they had spent a lot of time in the barn, their fleece was sopping wet, so I know they spent some time outside.  That is not a problem for the older animals, as their fleece is long and the wetness does not reach down to the skin.  It is little Frederica and Hippolytte that Imost worry about.  The cria fleec is not as dense and not as long as the the rest of them.  I took a towel and tried to dry their fleece.  I am not sure it helped much, but it made me feel good.

Frederica

I walked down the long drive to get the mail.  It had been in the box for several hours.  A  small hole in the seam of the box had let the moisture in  the box, ugh.  I was thankful the newspaper was in a plastic sleeve.  Now I am warm and cozy in front of a fire, the alpacas are in a clean shed or barn with fresh hay and buckets of heated water.  It continues to look like a blizzard outside and I am so happy I have already been to the barn.

Time to relax,

Alpaca Lady

The Grey that follows the SNOW

It has been beautiful and snowy, albiet it freesing,  but now we have muddy, cool days that  often have no sun.  the alpacas seem to notice this as much as I do.  We all have to work together tokeep each other up.

Shearing

The last couple of days have been very busy! Sunday we took the leaf blower and blew out the alpacas' fleeces. It is such a dusty, dirty job, but so necessary. I was virtually covered in dust. It was a grey and moist day and the alpacas looked like wet mop heads. Blowing them out helped dry the fleeces and really fluffed them up.
Monday, the weather was cool, but dry (TG). Our wonderful neighbors came to help with the shearing. They help every year and we are very greatful. Mary Beth and Joe came and helped, learned and pitched in. They own 5 alpacas that board here. It was a great crew. After shearing nearly 90 pounds of fiber, we fed everyone lunch, which included Rich's famous potato salad. I can't tell you how tired I am today.
The fiber, this year looked extremely well nourished, longer and with more crimp. We were pleased. I believe I saw grey on Pippilotta's legs!

Busy Day

It was a nice sunny day, warm and beautiful. It seems to brought out the best in me. I worked down at the barn, planted onions, sorted a fleece, mulched a garden with alpaca fiber and spun a skein of Fionn's tui fiber. I also found time to take Annie to the vet for her booster. Okay, I am tired.

The Alpaca Fiber Symposium

Wow! I have just been to a wonderful Symposium in North Carolina. The Alpaca Fiber Symposium was a terrific gathering of alpaca breeders from across the US and Canada. The energy was pulsating throughout the room. A third of the attendees were from west of the Mississippi. The event was well orchestrated and the presenters were in tune to the the budding alpaca industry. The organizers should be congratulated and thanked.

Weaving Day

I spent most of my afternoon working on a shawl for my sister. The shawl, made from fiber from our alpacas , is being woven on a triangle loom. It is so pretty and I feel so good about it. I spun all the yarn. The yarn is from Dalcie, a dark, dark, rose-grey that we recently sold; Bess our beautiful medium brown dam; Royal Sigmund, an extremely shiney true black who we sold this summer.