Forecast Stormy

They hit it on the nose -- stormy has been the weather story here all summer long. I think the sump pump has been running for the entire month of June, and on into July.



But sunny days and stormy afternoons/evenings make for lush pastures, and the critters are eating it up! Get it, eating up the pasture...I crack me up!



Ahem...moving right along...the point is that even though the weather is crap during the hours that I am actually home and could enjoy the weather, it has brought back the east pastures pretty quickly. And they were definitely beat down while we were desperately dodging raindrops getting the fence strung on the east pastures.



So, when we found this beautiful grey and white fiber boy for sale, what else could we name him except Stormy! This is not the best photo, but the boys were not very cooperative for the shoot.

He is settling in pretty well -- I think he would have done better if we had brought home two that day, so that he could have a buddy while trying to socialize into the herd. But I think that five is our limit for now. At least until we can get the micro pastures set up.

Random Wednesday

1. Gave shots and vitamins to the alpacas over the weekend. They are loving the warmer weather and the grass growing in the pasture.

2. No progress on knitting works in progress -- instead cast on a new pair of socks.

3. Etsy update -- felted bags. Pictures later this week. In the meantime, click on that sidebar link to go to my shop.

4. Tribble is having his fur plucked this week. Plucking gives longer fibers than shearing and he seems to not mind at all. Other than looking bald in patches. Besides, I was more than a little nervous to shear him off.

5. We are fiercely on the trail of a girlfriend for Tribble -- I can hardly wait for fuzzy babies!

6. Fence progressing slowly, and will be interrupted by the start of spring turkey season.

Another Etsy Update

Now available on my Etsy shop...

Pictured is 1 oz. of true black alpaca roving. Right now I have about 8 oz. carded and ready to sell, with more still to be carded.

This fleece has been wonderful to work with. We got it last summer at Magical Farms in Litchfield, OH when we visited. It is very fine and was super easy to sort and clean. It has carded up to be as light and airy as any fleece I have worked with.

So I am looking for a new home to send this beautiful fiber to...if you would like to spin and love this fiber, click here to go to my Etsy shop.

Feeding Time on the Farm

One of the fun times on the farm is feeding time. When we go out to the barn, the alpacas are usually out in the field, unless the weather is wet. Norman often hears me out in the barn, so he is the first one in for breakfast. But once that grain hits the trough, they all come running in! After that, this is my view of the alpacas...




Yes, they just belly up to the trough, and I get a view of their "best" side. This always just cracks me up! Of course, this leads to one of the least fun jobs on the farm...poop scoopin!

On The Farm

It has certainly been a Winter Wonderland here on the farm lately. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to thaw! The alpacas have been reluctant to spend much time in the field, since it has been so hard to get to any grass. It's much more comfortable to lay around in the barn and wait for me to give them some hay! I can't say that I blame them -- it's been pretty cold out there. But they do have a very nice and warm coat to wear!

If they can dig through the snow to get to the grass, they will. But it is hard for them to get enough to eat when there is so much snow on the ground.


The snow is pretty -- in the trees and on the grass. I like to take pictures in the snow and walk around. When I look back at my photo albums, I have a lot of snowy pictures.



The alpacas don't really mind it either, as long as it's not windy. If you think about it, their native home in the Andean Mountains of South America gets some pretty good snow in the winter time. So they are probably better equipped for the cold weather than we are.



But it is finally starting to thaw, and I'm ready!