2015 Shearing is Done!

A total of 57 fiber animals are now shorn but the work has just started.  First my body has to recuperate.  The muscles need to stop aching and the joints not stiffen up out of fear of further work.  Each fleece will need to be sorted and graded and a determination made of what it will be turned into.  Will it be sent to the NFP co-op to be blended with fiber from the rest of the US to be made into rovings, yarns, finished items? Or will it be sent to a local mini-mill to be made into rovings and/or yarns for outerwear items (items not worn next to the skin)?  No matter what over the next few months my fingers will be in fiber heaven.

Lambing

It snowed this morning so naturally lambing started.  After work went around to check on everyone.  Watered the puppies and the rabbits and went under the lean to since saw something not exactly right and there they were, a ewe with three lambs!  One white, one brown and one black, two girls and one boy.  More to come.

Regular Sunday

Well the tractor is sitting unable to move at the hay barn again.  Will have to call my "vehicle go to guy" and see if he can figure out what is going on.  Will also have to get some screws to attach the separated sheep wall back to the sheep enclosure. For now baling twine is keeping the boards to the studs.  The wall fell during the rain, snow, wind, flood and street wash out storm last week.

I returned sorted fleece to  a client and had discussion of what can be produced from coarser fiber since we are not mating our animals to get new fine cria fleeces.  Outerwear, carpets, wall hangings, mulch were some of the projects mentioned but we need more.  The fun of creativity.

Introduction

This morning I woke up chuckling about the events that emanate from these these twenty acres.  This acreage is inhabited by me, a fifty-two year old  ex urbanite who escaped to the pacific northwest fourteen years ago, twenty plus alpacas, two llamas, twenty plus sheep, just under twenty rabbits, twenty plus chickens, two guinea hens, one dog and two cats.  Those are the animals that I know live here.  I suspect that there may be others but they are hiding.  There are several fields surrounding the various buildings and my home.  The most peaceful area is the pine tree forest where the only evidence of human habitation is the perimeter fence.  There is always something going on.  For example my tractor is sitting by the gates to the hay barn not moving because I suspect that there are gelled areas in the diesel even though I put 9-1-1 in with the diesel to get rid of any water and there is about six to eight inches of snow and more is expected.  Things will be taken care of.