My Horse, the Clown

You know how when something happens once, it seems coincidental, but then when it happens again, you know it's not? Ivan, my big ole gray Percheron/Thoroughbred, thinks he's the funniest guy on earth. Twice now when I've been picking up poop in his paddock, I turn my back on him and he dumps the wheelbarrow. I can't catch him in the act because he knows when I'm watching out of the corner of my eye. Then, to top it off, he goes trotting off to his pasture - laughing all the way.
(BTW We were repairing his pasture fence in this picture)

This is Ivan and 30 year old Abbie, my oldest daughter's 4-H horse.

Golden Opportunity's Blue Ribbon

EEEHAW! Oppie's fleece sample got a blue in the Spin Off last weekend at the MIAF. A SpinOff contest is when the breeder submits 2 ounces of fiber, the alpaca's registration, and usually a picture to the Show. A judge evaluates the fleece, evaluates how it spins, and then evaluates the yarn. I believe this is the true test of an alpaca's fiber.
Frankly, I'm not fond of spinning the really crimpy fleece that the judges so like, and I don't enjoy spinning fiber over 4 inches long. The finer, the better, for me though.

Now a little about "dear" Oppie. She is not a sweet alpaca. She's obstinate, has a mind of her own, and is probably the smartest alpaca in the barn. When Beth was training her to halter lead, she was a horrid alpaca. At first she would just cush down and not move - even if we dragged her. Beth rigged up a towel sling so that everytime Oppie would try to cush, Beth would lift her up. After giving in to actually standing, moving forward was the challenge. Oppie would get so mad that she would leap forward and bang into Beth. It took about 2 months to get her to actually lead, and Beth did take her through the show ring at the spring show (she took a second). Cudos to Beth and her incredible patience.
You can go here if you want to see what I said about her a year ago.

Riley and Chinney's Red Ribbon

Aren't cats the most amazing critters? I never know where I will find Riley curled up. Usually he's in my chair that I sit in to spin and I have to move him. But this box is a new place and I just had to photo it. It's sort of artsy, don't you think? The light, the shapes, the texture?



Friend Nancy took our fleece to the MIAF show last weekend for me. Thanks, Nancy. Chinney belongs to both Beth and me and we are very thrilled that the fleece took a second. Remember last spring Chinney won her color championship. I love this picture of her and Beth's son, John, at our 4-H fair last summer.

This really is a very black fleece but the way the light hit it, it looks gray....

Damn Muskrats

This is the pond/lagoon that I fenced in to make more pasture for the alpacas. Look what the muskrats have done! Can you see all those tunnels? I really thought that the muskrats and I could live together in a peaceful, respectful coexistence BUT the tunnels are caving in and making holes up on top where my 'pacas graze.
I have this horrible mental picture of one of the alpacas stepping into a hole and breaking a leg.
Today I was going to try to fill all the cave ins with dirt, but when I got out there, it made more sense to just shovel and smoosh down the tunnels. (The boys are checking out my shovel)
I don't think this is a permanent fix so I may have to give in and let Josh trap them like he suggested. Geese, I really hate to do that......

Dyeing Frenzy

This is Celeste in full fleece. Can you see how lovely her light fawn fiber is? Last spring she sheared over 7 pounds of 4 inch long fleece.

Celeste was the first alpaca born on our farm four years ago so she's pretty special, a little goofy and I didn't think she would really grow up. She had a lovely cria in the spring of 2008 and is pregnant again by my own herd sire, Polaris. I worried about her being a good mom 'cause she is so silly but she has taken excellent care of her little girl, Lyra.
Her fiber is awesome! At the alpaca shows, we have what is called a SPIN OFF where breeders send in 2 ounces of fiber to be spun by a judge. Celeste won, not only the best in her class, but also best over all at the show. It's long and not overly crimpy which makes it lovely to spin.

So this is what I have been doing↑ Dyeing like a mad woman! The teal and pink/blue are from Celeste's seconds. There is probably about 5 pounds of fiber here.
I think I know why I'm being rather compulsive about this. I can control it and am getting amazing results. The other part of my life has been chaotic.
Some of you may not know that my 89 year old mom came to live with me at the end of August. She was here a week and fell and has been in Rehab at the Alma hospital since. I have been really frightened about taking care of her because she was scheduled to come home today. Well, yesterday, with the help of the social worker at Rehab, we got her a room in a nursing home in St. Louis. I think Medicare will only cover her stay for 20 days, but I'm incredibly relieved that she is going to have a safe place with better skilled care than I can provide.

Baby Alpaca - To Dye For

JR with his momma, sweet Sonata, right after his birth last year, September 19, 2008.

I came across the seconds from JR's first shear. If you are interested, seconds are the less desirable fiber from the alpaca. In JR's case, from his neck, chest, and belly. The fiber is usually different lengths and probably has second cuts. JR's fleece will probably never be as soft and fine as this first shear.




I have never tried to dye over a color as dark as this brown so this is another experiment - that went well.
*I washed the fiber in Dawn and the hottest tap water I could get. After letting it soak about 1/2 hour, I drained it, ran another sink full of warm water to rinse and added a big glug of vinegar.
* While I was washing and draining, I heated up about 8 or 10 cups of water in my crock pot and added another big glug of vinegar just before adding the wet fleece.
* I put into the water about 1/2 teaspoon of red Jacquard dye on the left and the same amount of Burnt Orange on the right. Then lowered the wet fleece in. I did a few pokes to settle it down but didn't stir because I wanted the colors to stay separate. They did....

This is about 6 ounces of fleece. I love the colors!

JR's Blue Ribbon Yarn

It's such a thrill to hear about my 'pacas' fiber from all around the world. I just received this picture ↓ from Barb in California. This is what she had to say *** Just a quick note to let you know that Kendra won a blue ribbon for JR's yarn at the Los Angeles County Fair. You sent that as a sample to us on (we think) our first order from you. We took a picture for you***

JR's fans will remember this little guy who was born last September and struggled to survive. He has remained very small for his age but is the most delightful, friendly little feller on the farm. I'm so pleased that his fiber has brought joy to Barb and Kendra.