Do you have a passion for making things entirely by hand or appreciate it in other people? In my teens and twenties, I got a thrill out of being my own mechanic on my old '75 Mustang. Yep, I've changed a few water pumps and brake pads. I have sewn every stitch of handmade rag dolls with a needle and thread (no machine stitching), and I prefer to cook from scratch. Isn't it much more rewarding to gather family and friends to put in fence posts, and raise barns? So naturally for me, prepping the fleece, learning to spin, and then making things from the alpacas' luscious fiber is my idea of happiness! -Kaylen

Showing posts with label Farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Farming. Show all posts

Friday, May 6, 2011

Shearing Day Pictures 2011


I grabbed one last picture of my FLUFFY alpacas.



We got an early start at 7 a.m. and it was boys first!  
Peruvian Mystery was a squealer!



He has the best fleece on the farm and will be 
standing stud this month for us.



Teddy has been through this before.  
He acted like it was a day at the spa! :)



Our llama, Ringo, is another story.  
Here are the guys remembering him from last year.



Yes, spit happens!



The neighbor's calves wondered WHAT all the fuss was about!



Humpf!  He was only mad for a minute.



The shearing team was absolutely excellent.  They took care of fighting teeth
toenails, and making sure everyone looked their best.  



In under an hour we had bags of fleece and bare naked alpacas in the pastures.
I love this picture of the boys checking out Missy.



My Lovebug (14) took the shearing photos.  I found this one mixed in.



Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Donkey Otie

This is as close as I could get today to show you Otie, the donkey that lives across the street.  I don't really know what his name is but I call him Donkey Otie.  Get it?  Say it fast.  (Don Quixote)  He is the spotted one.


There are four donkeys in the pasture.   They are so cute!  I've heard some people use them as guard animals for other livestock because donkeys really dislike dogs and coyotes and will run them out of the area for you.  Here is a fun story about one person's experience  in Grit Magazine.  "Sweet Pet Gives a Mean Kick"

There are many things to consider before choosing a donkey and I'm not convinced guarding alpacas is a good mix but some people have had success.  A friend of mine has one and he wanted all of my attention for himself when I visited recently.  If my eyes and hands wandered to another animal, he would nibble and grab my clothes with his teeth until I came back around to only having eyes for him!  What a hoot!

I'd love to read stories about anyone that has donkeys or different types of guard animals.  I hear geese are good alarm systems!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A Feeding Time Story

I'll give you a hint.  This is how it ends.



I went out to feed the alpacas yesterday and took my camera along.  Alpacas and llamas mostly eat grass and hay, but we give them supplements in the form of grain to give them some additional nutrients.  



Smoke made it to the fence first.  He is the guard llama currently in charge of the girls' pasture.  He is curious about something.  See how alert he is?



It's Lucy.  She always follows me out and snags the tidbits that make it through the fence.  Smoke and Sabrina are making sure she stays on her side.



I have to tell you Smoke has a bit of a personal problem.  You can count on him to pass gas when he moves too quickly.  Of course this always gets a giggle from any bystanders. Out of the other end comes grassy, green spit.  Here he is about to tag one of the girls who is intruding on his feeding space.  I think he has given fair warning to get out of the way, don't you?



Due to recent storms it is very, very muddy here.  Our property is hilly, too, so it is a bit tricky getting around right now.  (Aha!  You can see where this is going can't you?)  With shearing time coming soon we moved the boys to higher ground hoping to keep them drier and cleaner.



After navigating a sea of squishy sludge I made it to the far side.  Ringo is standing tall and proud today in spite of his dirty self.  He does not have the same gas problem as his brother but he is the class clown.  Remember the nose-to-nose picture I captured when Missy was born and when he took my sun hat right off my head?  I don't know if all llamas are like this, but Ringo and Smoke are big goofs!



Everyone was wet and sloppy so no cute fuzzy pics today....but here's Teddy fussing over his space, too.



This is when I decided to head back to the house...turned... and slippity-slurp... down into the mud I went!  Yep..this is me....sitting on my fanny in the muck.  As you can tell, I rescued the camera. 



Smoke thinks I'M the big goof!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Keeping the Critters Cool

This time of year we have to watch the alpacas for heat stress. Some of the things we do are to provide a few extra buckets of cool drinking water vs hot water that has been sitting in the sun, electrolytes, plenty of shade, fans and.....

Sprinklers!  Woo hoo!
The boys come running when they see one of us with the hose.
An alpaca's "thermal window" is underneath so fans and sprinklers should be used down low to cool them.

Handsome Husband setting up the fun.


Ahhhh....They also like to cush in the cool mud!
That is our new boy, SSF Peruvian Mystery, on the right.

For further reading click here for a Heat Prevention Top 10 List from Dr. David E. Anderson.


Saturday, May 22, 2010

Farming With Disabilities

I found a neat resource from the National Ag Safety Database.  As a person with disabilities I am excited at all the ideas and suggestions here.  You'll find ideas and resources for farming with back problems and arthritis, to modifications for those of us with mobility issues, and health and safety articles.  Handsome Hubby has made many modifications for me already so I have to give him big kudos for that before I give him my next "wish list".

Here is the link: http://nasdonline.org/browse/194/farming-with-disabilities.html 

I hope it helps!