The Latest Scoop

 1-22-2012 - I am busy getting ready for a series of late winter/early spring fiber events and craft shows.  Included are some shows that I was invited to attend that I have not attended before.  I am flattered to have been invited and I do feel a need to ensure that all of the items that I bring to these shows are the best that I can produce.

One of the fun – and challenging – things about working with my own herd’s fleece is figuring out the best use for each fiber.  Not only according to fineness – or micron count – but also by consistency and color.

I once wrote that I treasured Belle’s fleece over those of her darker cousins Briza and Bixa due to all the possibilities.  I was thinking of dyeing possibilities.  However, after working with Belle’s fiber, I would not think of dyeing it.  Her fiber is so incredibly white with a great deal of brightness to it.  This is a hat made from Belle’s fiber – knit from yarn that I handspun, then felted. 

This is actually the second hat made from Belle’s fleece – the first one sold less than 24 hours after I finished it!   

Briza and Bixa – the girls actually are cousins –  have great fiber shared, along with Belle, in their common Portland Kidd ancestry.  However, their darker colors do limit the possibilities for the use of their fiber.

Acer’s fiber is one that I am dyeing.  He is classified as “beige” and the yarn from his fiber has an off-white look to it.  It will be very pretty over-dyed in various colors. 

These batts are from Acer’s raw fleece.  I washed, dyed and carded the fiber in preparation for felting and/or spinning.  His beige color gives a heathered look to the dyed fiber.

 Alder’s fleece may also be headed for the dye pot.  While I have had great success selling hats made from his medium fawn fleece, he is turning much lighter as he ages.  I think that items made from this year’s shearing will not have that pretty blend of dark, medium and light fawn that characterized his earlier fleece.  His overall color is now closer to Acer’s.

Regardless of the color, the fiber is always wonderful to work with and determining the best characteristics of each one is part of the fun.

22 December 2011 - As you can see from the barn in the background, our alpacas have a good view of our Christmas tree.  The big boys can also see it from their field at the top of the  hill.  Hard to know what they think – I don’t know if alpacas can see color or not. I have noticed that Ella, our female llama spends quite a bit of time looking at the lights. 

I want to wish a happy holiday season  to those of all faiths and cultural backgrounds who take part in special celebrations at this time of year.  May we carry with us into the new year the good cheer and generosity of the season.

13 December 2011 – It has been a year now since the “big boys”- Acer and Alder - were moved out of the barn area to their field shelter and separate pastures.  I was unsure as to how this was going to work out.  Many people will tell me that their alpacas always sleep outside but my alpacas have always preferred to settle into their barn stalls for the night.  We have 4 stalls - one for our horse and 3 for the alpacas and I think they derive some sense of comfort and security being close to each other at night. I wasn't sure how Acer and Alder would do, being separated from the main herd.

They were moved out and up the hill to a small field shelter – actually an 8 x 8 storage shed.  They can see the barn but are no longer a part of the activity there.  I prepared for any possible weather extremes by purchasing sufficient light livestock panels to set up a stall in the barn where they could be brought in and put under the fans during periods of excessive heat or sheltered from the wind in case of a blizzard.

I am pleased to say that not only did the big boys adjust well to their new area, but I did not need to move them into the barn at all during the past year.  They seem to be very content – they have their little hut for shelter and appear to spend most nights sleeping inside.

 They have plenty of room to run---

Plenty of shade in summer---

Shelter from the blowing snow in winter---

 The reason for moving the big boys out was to make room in the barn for my male weanling Cosmos who has not been quite as happy this past year.  He seems to have never “gotten over” his abrupt weaning by his mom Barbi and he seems to miss his cria mates Calla and Cynara.

This is how Cosmos spends his “spare time”.  He is always hanging out at the gate to his stall, looking across the center aisle at the girls.  The girls pretty much ignore him.  They are allowed to roam through the barn while I do my AM chores and they pay scant attention to Cosmos as they walk by his stall.

I am pleased that this past year has gone well for Acer and Alder and now, as we head into winter, I will be more relaxed about the big boys as they appear to be quite happy with their little hut, their pastures, and their daily routine.

17 November 2011 – I wrote in my last posting how alpacas appear to understand what is said to them.  I saw an example of this the other day.

When I get up in the morning, I look out the back windows toward the girls’ side of the barn.  Usually they are cushed on their porch or in their dry lot area.  (Our alpacas are confined at night to their stall/paddock areas).  However, on a recent morning, the girls were up in one of the little boys’ pastures – having a great time, running all about.  The gate to their lane had inadvertently been left open and apparently they had just discovered this.  The little boys and their llama were standing at the end of their lane, behind the gate, watching as the girls ran about.

As I walked up to the pasture, the girls saw me and began to gather together in a bunch.  “What are you girls doing up here” I said.  “You know you’re not supposed to be here”.  Without any further action from me – and without their command to “walk” – their usual marching order – they began running down to their own stall/paddock area.  They knew they weren’t supposed to be in the boys’ pasture and fully understood that I was admonishing them.  

So while they may not understand the exact words that are said to them – they certainly do grasp the exact idea that is being conveyed .

Smart girls!

1 November 2011 – Our male guard llama is a rather laid-back sort of guy.  In fact, I sometimes used to think that he may be too laid-back to be an effective guard to the young alpacas under his care.  For example, there was the time that Jack was comfortably cushed in the pasture, chewing his cud, when a small herd of deer ran by on the other side of the fence, some 10 yards from where Jack lay.  Jack not only did not get up – he did not appear to miss a beat in his cud-chewing.

I now know that Jack does take his job seriously.  I recently was giving Petey a series of daily oral medication.  Now Petey is cooperative with all aspects of herd health except for oral meds – he does not like having yucky tasting stuff pushed into his mouth.  Giving oral meds to Petey involves a wild two-step dance all around the stall as I hold his head still while the rest of him dances about.  We were in the midst of this wild two-step when I heard a low growl just behind my ear.  I turned and there was Jack – 400 pounds of menacing llama up close.  I quickly reassured Jack that I was not hurting his alpaca.  (Camelid owners will know that they do appear to understand what is said to them!).  Jack backed off but for the remainder of the series of daily doses of Petey’s meds, Jack kept a close and watchful eye.

He does indeed take his job seriously.

21 October 2011 - I call her my bella Ella.  Now Ella does not speak Italian – but she seems to know that I find her beautiful.  She is old and sway-backed - her fleece is ratty and she is down in her pasterns – but to me she is beautiful.

I have been giving Ella a special senior feed to get some added nutrition into her and this is the sight that greets me each morning as I arrive at the barn.

 Ella knows that I will soon be holding out a bowl for her with her own special feed.    While I sometimes bring Ella into the barn center aisle and put her bowl on the floor, she prefers to remain outside and for me to hold the bowl up for her.  So I take the time to do this for Ella each morning and evening. 

As Ella is approaching the end of the normal life span for llamas, I know our days with her are numbered.  So I treasure the times that I can do little things for her to add quality to her life.  And I will miss her so much when she is gone.

10 October 2011 – We are well into fall festival season in Pennsylvania and I am gearing up for my next show.  My farm store is unpacked and set up – my inventory is well-organized to load up for the shows - to be a craft booth - then to unload at the end of the show to be a farm store again.  I was very good over the summer at making more inventory – hard to think about knitting when it’s hot out but I did it and now I am having fun making little things from the odds and ends in my yarn stash.

My first year with alpacas, I learned to knit.  The next year I learned to weave.  Then came spinning.  This year I have learned to crochet and made several sets of these cute coasters in various colors.

Then, in the colors in my stash that were too somber for coasters, I made felted cell phone jackets.  These are in various sizes for various sized phones and i-pod type devices.  I like the ones with the loop – I loop the jacket through my belt and slide my phone into it. 

 I really like these buttons.  They are from The Ram’s Horn Studio in Mayville, NY.  They are hand-cast from solid pewter and are, of course, made in the USA.  I was referred to them by someone I met at a recent fiber festival – she thought they would be just the thing for my purses but I am finding many other uses for these really nice buttons which come in various sizes and styles.

I made several felted hats and purses from Alder’s fleece over the summer and then decided to try a scarf.  I wish I know how to photograph a scarf well - I am unable to get a photo that conveys what I like about this scarf.  It has a nice feel in hand and while it would never be mistaken for angora, it is softer than any wool scarf I have ever felt – not bad coming from a grade 4 fiber boy!

 2 September 2011 - I was looking for some small inexpensive items to fill out my inventory for the upcoming Endless Mountain Fiber Festival and, after much trial and error with various patterns and yarns, came up with this felted rose pin.  The flower is first knit, then felted in hot water and shaped.

I then found a pattern I liked for a crocheted flower.  These are really quick – especially the leaves.  This is a nice change of pace from hats and scarves that have been occupying much of my time lately.

 How about a whole bunch of flowers?

These cute little brooches are so quick and easy to make – they are addictive!

The Endless Mountain Fiber Festival will be held Sept 10-11 at the Harford Fairgrounds in Harford, PA.  A fiber festival is similar to a craft show with the emphasis on fiber arts, fiber animals and products. 

In the words of the organizers of this event:

“The festival is a celebration of Fiber Animals and related items. The event includes: raw and processed fibers, yarn, clothing, fiber arts and crafts, sheep skin products, and spinning and weaving supplies. There are vendors, exhibitors, animals, workshops and demonstrations. Vendors participate from throughout the Northeastern United States.”

There will be sheep, alpacas, llamas and angora rabbits present.  I am not taking any of my alpacas, but the booth next to me - Endless Mountain Alpacas - should have some of their alpacas there for me to visit for a quick paca fix.  I will also make a point of stopping by to see the llamas that will be there from Snowy Oaks Fiber & Llamas.  Their llamas look so dignified in their traditional Quechuan headgear.

Last year, at this festival, was the first time I had been anywhere as a vendor.  It was such a great experience and I am looking forward to another great weekend there. 

 http://pafiberfestival.com

22 August 2011 – I always fail to remember in July and August – when our pastures are dried out and scraggly-looking – that it only takes a few late summer rains to bring back the lush grass that our alpacas enjoyed in early summer.  During these times, our pastures look so dead that it is hard to believe that they will easily revive with enough rain.   For most of July our alpacas have been on a “grass diet” with their pasture time severely limited to avoid too much damage to our dried out fields.  Now the rains have come and the pacas can look forward to a couple more months of good grazing.

 Our M-O-Lee does not handle clover in the pasture very well.  Too much clover gives her an upset stomach and I have to give her Maalox which she does not like.  I know how bad she is feeling when she lets me sit next to her, stroke her neck, and tell her how sorry I am that she is sick.  Usually she would not tolerate this familiarity!

Here is a picture of our poor sick M-O-Lee – like most females when she is feeling rotten, she does not look her best!  She is actually a very pretty girl.

So although the pasture is revived –the clover is also revived - and we must continue to keep a close eye on M-O-Lee.

5 August 2011 – For the most part, I enjoy our mid-Atlantic climate with its four distinct seasons although it would be nicer if it were less humid.  However, August is my least favorite month.  I think that every August that we have lived here has been miserable.  No matter how much it seems to rain, there is still a drought – the grass turns brown in large patches and it is a struggle to keep alive anything that is supposed to be green.

The girl alpacas are on very limited turnout in an effort to preserve their pastures.  The other day, Calla came in with roots – grass roots – dangling from her mouth so I need to limit their turnout time even more. They don’t appear to mind this as they prefer to kush in front of the fans and chew cud all day.

The little boys – Petey and Cosmos, along with their llama Jack – have turned into real stall potatoes.  They have quite a bit of pasture available to them but prefer to spend most of their days inside with the fans.  When we had a recent relatively nice day – low humidity and breezy – I chased them outside.  Within an hour they were back inside.  I guess the half-dead summer grass wasn’t worth the effort.

The big boys – Acer and Alder – are doing well with their own digs separate from the barn.  They have a field shelter and lots of pasture to roam.  I had previously made provisional plans to bring them into the barn with fans during the warmest days of summer but this has not been necessary.  They have several shady locations available to them and enjoy at least a slight breeze most days.  Now that we have repaired the water line leading to their shelter, we can hose bellies on the hottest days.  They appear quite content with their setup.

 So, it’s just a matter of plowing through these last miserable days of summer.  I check their water frequently – it is amazing how warm it can get just standing in a bucket – even when the bucket is in the shade.  I give each group a pail of electrolyte water each day and make sure their mineral containers are full.  So no one appears stressed – and aside from an occasional spat between the various girls – everyone is relaxed ---but we are all ready for fall