Life at Misty Haven Alpacas

Today, I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything

2012-01-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Do you know The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars? It's a catchy tune. If you don't know it, Google it.

The first time I heard it, my...ahem...middle-aged (yes, it's true, I can hardly admit it!) mind lamented about that aimless young person who thought it was okay to lay in bed all day and do nothing.

I heard it again on another day...while driving from one appointment to the next and trying to remember to pick up cat food and call the insurance company and hoping that I got to work on time while trying to decide which major project I should be devoting my time to and and reminding myself that it had been ages since I had paid a visit to my elders and pannicking that I had left my agenda at home...I turned up the radio trying to drown out the thudding boom, boom, boom of my blood pressure.

I thought - HEY...this kid might have something here.

Imagine a day when you could just shut everything and everybody out and do nothing....

Would the world collapse?

In the end, would it matter?

I have been a person with To-Do lists. Yes, plural.

There's the annual goals and aims list. (Yes, I do this...on paper....and post it where I can check in. It does sound rather......yes, it does. In my defense, it actually helps me prioritize, make decisions and cut the unnecessary crap from my life.)

I always have a big paper notebook that is my life on paper...if I lose it, I may cease to exist.

Then there is the monthly To-Do list in four sections Art, Yarn Business, Farm, Home/Family.

So, at the start of each week, I make a week list, hopefully that along with the usual chores, work, and obligations can attack some of the monthly To-Dos. I try to schedule some of the Art to-dos on there.

And yes, daily there is a list...this includes tasks towards to monthly goals but also the stuff of mothers and small business owners (pick up toilet paper, update Etsy listing).

My name is Norma and I have an illness.

Actually, I am in recovery. I have the big goal list. I made a January To-Do list, but I haven't looked at it mostly. I haven't made a 'real' week list or a today list for a couple months now.
I began to realize that I tend to put too much on my list to accomplish, and it left me breathless.

The other day, someone posted this on Facebook. (There was no credit given, so thanks to somebody out there in cyberland.)

I'm guessing it was an ad in the window of a yoga studio.

I think it is BRILLIANT.

It's at the top of my list every day.
Which means that I will always accomplish something and if I don't accomplish this...then nothing else matters.

And...TODAY, I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!!!

(okay...I did help with the barn chores, and I may read, knit or watch reruns of ER...perhaps a load of laundry or two...)

Winter Has Arrived

2012-01-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived this week. Lots of snow followed by a very cold -32C Saturday morning.

I commonly get asked how the alpacas like the winter. My standard answer is that they much prefer a cold January to a humid, hot August. Alpacas have a lot of dense fibre on their body, so if they are in good condition, and can get out of the wind, they do fine. Most have a fibre that is about as long as my fingers on their body. If I stick my fingers into their side, their body is very warm.

If they kush (lay on their knees) in the straw of the lean-to, they cover any of their bare parts (which is generally just their groin area. This is Luxor in his man-cave. He is 15 years old and he is in an area with Vivaldi, the youngest male (pictured above). I keep these gentle guys separate from the breeding males who can intimidate them. Their man-cave is just a little lean-to built for two so that they can get out of the wind and precipitation. They still have barn access but they like to be out here during the day.

They drink a lot more water in the winter, because the hay is dry. Our waterers are heated, so they don't freeze. You'll notice sparse trails in the snow in the picture of the girls area. Alpacas really slow down in the winter weather with trails from the hay feeder to the lean-to to the barn and then to the outside waterer. Alpacas don't like walking off the trails...even if you are coming on the trail carrying a 45 lb bale of hay for them, they will hesitate to make way for you to get by.

The sky is absolutely gorgeous bright and blue on a cold January day. I'm thankful that my teenager loves to snowblow and plow. It took her and the hubby several hours on Saturday. It was a day that I was thankful that I had 5 load of laundry that needed doing...

We are making progress on the circular sock knitting machine! I use the "Royal WE", because hubby is a gadget guy which has really come in handy while we try to figure this out.

There is a steep learning curve and lots of figuring out.

And I've figured out what acrylic yarn is useful for....(practice tubes). It's pretty though, isn't it?

Cranking Out of 2011

2011-12-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Another year is coming to a close in a couple days. If you read my blog entry from last New Year's, you know that I no longer make resolutions. There's a reason for that. I don't need anything else to fail at!

So, it gives me great pleasure to show some progress on the antique circular sock knitting machine that I purchased...ahem....three or four years ago!

In my defense, the manual is a bad photocopy of the instructions from around 1930-40. Apparently, if you lived during those times, you would have had a neighbour who had one that could show you how to thread the thing! The lady that I bought this from had not used the equipment.

I dug out the parts and took advantage of the extra day off work plus the good nature of my family to make this yesterday's project.

The key point that I've learned is that you first need to make some netting to hold your weights. And before that, my handy hubby had to come up with a device to help with the casting on of the thread. Thank goodness for YouTube...it helped us get to this point.

At the right end, you see what the netting looks like. It is made with every other needle installed. The rest is knit with every needle installed. I used some 2/8 cotton that I had in my weaving stash, so the knit isn't tight like it would be with sock yarn. We put a knot in the end to hold the weight which kept the tension. The whole thing went well until we tried to join some real sock yarn to this.

Our next task will be to produce a simple tube with sock yarn. There's a few steps to learn before a real sock with emerge from this contraption.

Don't look for an update on this anytime soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012 - can you believe it?

Peace and Joy

2011-12-23T03:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is almost here. Shiny coloured things all around!

This is the last bit of yarn painting that I did...probably the last of the year. Interesting that these two skeins were painted using the same three colours: burgundy, olive and golden ochre. The one you see on the left had the dyed applied with distinct colour repeats and little overlap. On the skein shown on the right, I applied the dyes randomly throughout the skein and the colours mixed quite freely.

On a cool crisp day, the hayloft is one of my favourite places. I'm not sure what it is about the hayloft that is so comforting. Perhaps it is the peace in knowing that my alpacas will have enough to eat until spring pasture time. It could be the quiet stillness and isolation of the hayloft is a good place for reflection. It might be that the hayloft is a drawback in history, that the skeleton of this post and beam barn reflects decades of honest, hard work by farm families. Our full hay loft is the result of the labour of two farm families - one who produced the hay and ours that put it up.

Peace

It doesn't matter to the herd that they eat the same hay from fall to spring...every new bale that gets brought out gets the same reaction. It's like throwing candies into the middle of a kindergarten class.

Joy

I Wish You Peace and Joy at Christmas and always.

Miracles Happen: An Update

2011-12-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of someone the other day, when I was reminded of the theme of my post from last Christmas, called Miracles Happen.
So I reread it.

Here's an update...

The young man in the hospital beat incredible odds and a dismal prognosis. He came home.

The soldier whose last tour in Afghanistan ended just before last Christmas is expecting my friend's first grandchild!

My friend who spent last Christmas worried about her diagnosis was told that the cancer treatments worked.

And the weight that was on my shoulders is lightened by others. There are angels among us.

Sometimes, miracles happen.

I still Believe.

December Trials...

2011-12-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

The snow has finally arrived! Oh, sure...it's pretty.

But why couldn't it just fall on the lawn and not the driveway?

Last week was a fun week of white-knuckle driving...black ice, then deep snow, frozen mounds of slush on the highway. (Note to self: if I'm worried about getting out of the driveway, I should perhaps stay home.)

Winter has arrived and, if history repeats itself, it will stay for 5 months. I better get used to it.
It's time for me to look in the mirror and say "Suck it up, buttercup".

Here's my latest handspun, handpainted, homegrown baby alpaca yarn on my umbrella swift.

The handpainting or handdying process makes a mess of the skein organization, so usually I will wind the skein from the swift to either a ball winder or a skein winder. In this case, I needed to put the skein on the skein winder in order to measure the yarn.

I was lucky to buy this old skein winder off of a friend who salvages old fibre arts equipment, fixes it and resells. Along with the swift, it's a valuable tool of my craft. While my skein is on the skein winder, I can figure out how much yarn I have in my skein and from their determine how it compares to yarn standards in terms of yards per pound or meters per 100g skein. (yes, I have a metric to imperial conversion calculator!) This is important to know if it will suit a weaving or knitting project, and whether I will have enough to complete the project.

These are my two newest skeins.

I can usually achieve a nice balanced handspun yarn. This latest spinning project was a challenge. I was using up some wonderfully soft cria fleece that unfortunately had a lot of second cuts from shearing and VM (vegetable matter like hay and twiggy things) in it. I wouldn't sell that fleece because of that but the fibre itself was way too lovely to throw out (after all, my little cria spent a whole year growing it). When you start with 'problem' fleece, even with careful preparation, it's hard to end up with rovings that just glide through your hands at the spinning wheel. While spinning, I had to keep stopping to pick out clumps of crud. Then, I decided to use my electric spinner, which I am still getting used to, to ply it. I ended up with yarn that almost has the appearance of a boucle yarn...not what I planned but I think it will still create two shawls or large scarves for a couple of people that I love. I'm excited to start those knitting projects.

Wet Sundays are Good

2011-11-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

Today is a wet Sunday in November.

It's 10C today. This is somewhat odd for our climate. We've had an incredibly warm fall and have had no snow to date...none. Not even freezing rain. Usually by this time, we've had one or two days where the school buses are cancelled. I'm not complaining. I know the snow is coming. In fact, the weather network says that we'll see it mid week. I have my snow tires on. I bought new winter barn boots. Our cut firewood is piled and ready. When the cold and the snow come, we'll likely be living with it for 4-5 months, so I will count my blessings for the extra time to prepare.

There's no obligations today that we need to leave home for. I picked a couple jobs that needed to be done and we worked as a family to get them done. One job was to replace the mailbox post that was run over by the guy that delivered our logs last month. That was a rather big job, but it's done!

Now our day is meant for relaxation. Comfy clothes, hot chocolate. I've got some handspun yarn soaking in preparation for handpaint that I might get to later. We might watch some of Season 1 of The Waltons that I brought home from the library. Family is coming for supper...picking up Chinese food on the way. Total relaxation is on the agenda!

I am knitting a very simple, long scarf in 100% alpaca of the highest quality. In Canada's grading system, this quality is known as "Grade 1", but internationally, the fibre used in this yarn would be called "Royal Baby". Whatever it's called on paper...you can just refer to it as "holy cow, that's soft".

I tend to knit pretty simple patterns because I'm not a very advanced knitter. However, this scarf is absolutely beautiful in it's simplicity. As I was knitting it, and thinking that it was such a simple pattern (knit 3 and purl 1 in 2 combinations, that's it!) and yet, the outcome was such a gorgeous scarf.

In reality, it is the yarn that makes this scarf a classic beauty that, with proper care will serve someone for a lifetime. It will become softer with wear as the fibres in the yarn relax and bloom. The rich natural colour of the fibres will not fade over time. The same scarf pattern, if knit in a cheap, manmade fibre would simply not produce a classic piece.

Knitting is labour intensive. If you knit, you do because you enjoy it. But it's your labour, your skill, your time. Choose beautiful yarns made from natural fibres to create timeless classic knitwear.

November, BLAHvember

2011-11-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

November in Northern Ontario. Damp, grey, wet, cold, dark at 5:00pm.

All those fun things like:
- getting the snow tires on
- remembering to put my snow wiper in the car and buy some ice-melt at the hardware store
- trying to remember to put away all those tools before they get buried in the snow
- staying out of the bush so I don't get shot by a hunter
- lugging hay out through the muck of the barnyard
- the start of "hat-head" season
- the extra 2 lbs in the newspaper that is Christmas advertising
- someone reminding you that there are only 47 shopping days left, then 46, then 45, then 44...
- freezing rain
- fourteen hours of darkness and ten hours of grey dimness

and for me, November is also the month that my age changes. Okay, the number doesn't just 'change'...it actually increases.

So, I am changing the name to BLAH-vember.

Are you with me?

Chin up. We'll get through it with a big dose of Vitamin D.
And Vitamin F. (F is for fibre, preferably alpaca fibre in beautiful handdyed colours and it's also for friends that make you laugh)

Here's something else.

A few years ago, my sister sent me this silly card by the artist named Sark. It was titled 'How to be a Succulent Wild Woman' and had suggestions like

- paint your soul
- be rare eccentric and original
- celebrate your gorgeous friendships with women
I have this card cover taped up where I can see it when I am doing office work.

Look what I found in the library the other day!

It's a lovely happy book by Sark, all about learning to cultivate pleasure in our lives no matter what else is happening. Apparently, there is another book titled " Succulent Wild Woman".

This is good month for this book!
I hope you are finding pleasure these days...you deserve it!

Meet Luxor

2011-10-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like you to meet Luxor. His registered name is Bolivian Luxor and he is the original herdsire here at Misty Haven Alpacas, since the fall of 2002. Luxor had been imported into Canada from the U.S. in 1997 as foundation stock for the Canadian registry. We purchased Luxor from a farm in Saskatchewan along with four females. We knew his was a special alpaca from the start.

He is handsome here in this winter picture from 2003. Luxor always loved the ladies. Whenever we needed him for service, all we had to do was whistle out the male's barn door and hold up the halter. He'd come running, and you would swear that as he pranced past the girl's fenceline, he'd nod his head in their direction, give a wink and ask "Which one of you is feeling LUCKY today?"

We started this alpaca gig with no experience and no fellow breeders nearby. But Luxor turned out to be a reliable breeder who didn't need any human advice or veterinary intervention to do his job.

He also had an abundant, thick coat and long staple length, and passed his nice conformation to the cria he sired.

Luxor was and is a tricky one when we are trying to trim his tonails or get him onto the shearing table. He knows how to very quickly hit the floor and tuck all four feet under him so that you can't grab them. We've learned to adapt and he has learned to trust us.

When he was a young stud, he was very aggressive with the other males. At times, we had to separate him from the other male alpacas. He was the dominant male and definitely did not want to give up his barn priviledges.

As the younger herdsires came to the farm, Luxor did eventually lose his standing. He served as the "spit-checker" for a year or so. A "spit-checker" is put with a female who is expected to be pregnant. If she is pregnant, she spits at him and runs away. It took Luxor a little while, but he did figure out what the deal was. He got so that he would walk into the barn, take one look at "her", give us a look that said "If you think I'm going in there with that crazy -----, you got another thing comin'" and turn back to the door. So, we knew the female was pregnant.

At some point, we thought maybe he had just lost the urge to try (and you could understand how), so we called another young stud in as a double-check after Luxor had refused to tease the female. I swear, as he was heading out of the male's door and the young eager stud was racing in with his tail up....I heard Luxor snicker and whisper to him "Go for it buddy, she WANTS you!!!" Meanwhile, the big female was aiming gobs of green regurgitated grass directly at the incoming young fool.

The picture above was taken just last week. Luxor will be 15 years old this coming February. He chooses to spend much of his time in the back pasture, either alone or with the old gelding llama. He has his favorite shady stand of trees where he has his own sandy dustbath wore down. He wants no part in the wrestling and competing with the younger males.

His fleece is now pretty coarse. As he has aged, he's had warts show up on his ears and under his coat. Some mornings I have to walk out to the back pasture and call for him as he hasn't showed up at the barn. When he sees me, he will start to walk back to the barn, doing a pretty good Tim Conway impersonation. My friend Marj says that he just does that because he knows I'll wait 10 minutes for him to make his way to me.

The textbooks say that alpacas live to be 18-20 years in North America with proper care and nutrition. I personally question whether there have been enough statistics captured to make that statement. In South America, where alpacas originate, they are usually culled before their natural lifespan. I do know that the past few years, Luxor has maintained his weight and does not seem plagued with dental issues that is often the case with older alpacas. As I have said, I have noticed him moving slower this year but generally, I think Luxor still has a good life on the farm.

Choose to Hope

2011-10-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." ~Christopher Reeve

Never....give up. Never...give in.

Keep believing, even when others say you shouldn't.

P.S. If you think this message is for you...that's exactly who I wrote it for.

Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's been the most beautiful Thanksgiving weekend here in Ontario.

Saturday morning was 25C and sunny. I had a booth at the last Saturday farmer's market in North Bay. I was looking forward to the nice weather for my outside booth, instead of huddling against a wet, cold, wind like usual. Usually, my warm woolie goods don't sell as much in the warm, sunny weather, but for some reason, I had a super sales day.

Having a booth at the market is often a hit and miss for sales. Some friends wonder why I would bother lugging my car full of goods, tent and tables, along with my sleepy teenager to the market for 4 hours of promotion in all kinds of interesting weather on a Saturday morning. Sometimes I've wondered myself. However, I always feel great after the market. I talk to wonderful people, some are local, some are tourists from all over. Many have an interest in the animals that I raise and the process of making fleece into yarn. Most are appreciative of quality handcrafted goods. Some are die-hard fibre art addicts like myself. I always have great conversations there. I've been involved on an occasional basis for 3 years now, and I've come to know many of the other vendors. We are a committed group that know that our offerings of locally grown food, quality handcrafted products and a great shopping experience bring value to our community.

I have saved my seeds from my squash, lettuce, beans and tomatoes this year. Packaged and labelled, they will go into the drawer for next year. You may notice in the farm shot above that the middle small pasture has been tilled. Part of that pasture will become a vegetable garden next year. We will take the lessons learned from our little garden and expand next spring.

Saturday afternoon we went to the lake, cooked steaks on the open fire, then watched the stars over the lake into evening. We slept with the windows open to a warm breeze. In the morning, I took my coffee to the lake to watch the sun come over the hill and take the mist from the lake. The lake was like glass reflecting the forest of autumn colours. (Yes, you guessed it, I forgot to bring my camera.) It was an incredibly beautiful scene, made even more special knowing how unusual weather this was for mid-October in Northern Ontario.

Somebody got massacred on the picnic table yesterday at home.

I spent part of today dyeing some beautiful colours while the turkey cooked.

I have much to be thankful for.

October Stay-cation

2011-10-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

One thing our family does really well is work. Declaring a "day off" is difficult. As the "mom" of the household, I declared Sunday morning that we were going to have a much-needed "fun day".

With so much to do around here, it's hard not to commit to an hour or two of labour before taking the rest. If it hadn't been for a broken ax handle, we would have put in an hour of chopping and piling our winter wood before hitting the road.

It's seems funny to say that on our day off from the farm, we drove to an agri-tourism destination called Leisure Farm. The farm is a popular day-trip around our parts, although mostly for families with small children. Our tall, teenage daughter still loves it though. It was a beautiful, sunny October day.

This pig was hilarious. He had his own pile of reject pumpkins that he was pigging out on. Most times, he had his whole head stuck inside a pumpkin, and would then emerge with an orange-pulpy face.

There were about eight turkeys this size, trying to snooze in the sun by the parking lot. It never lasted long, because some young children would invariably wake them up so that they could chase them through the parking lot.

The farm had wagon rides, a corn maze, a playground, a kids craft room, a marshmallow roast, and a kiddies haunted house. You could also buy pumpkin, apples, lunch and baked goods.

This year, I reluctantly paid $14 for my daughter and I to go through a haunted house. The sign said that you had to be at least 12 years old, so I thought it might not be too corny. Well, my daughter and I had a very good scare. My hats off to the young people that put it together, it was very professional. There was always something touching you in the dark and the scenes that you came upon were very realistic and scary. I probably have a bruise on my arm from my daughter clutching me so hard. We screamed a lot in the dark and then laughed a lot when we got outside. It was worth my money.

Here is a picture of my multi-tasking last week.

Judith McKenzie's "A Spinner's Toolbox" made is easy for me to get through peeling 10 lbs of carrots. I had a hard time making time to finish watching that video, so having to sit to peel carrots was a good excuse to multi-task.

This video is a must watch for anyone who spins without the benefit of a good workshop or lessons. I've been spinning yarn for about six years, and I cannot beleive that there were so many basic things that I did not know! She covers worsted, semi-worsted, woolen, semi-woolen, slub and boucle styles. I'm anxious to do some slub and boucle yarns as my next spinning projects. I highly recommend this video to any spinners.

My Day Spent My Way

2011-09-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of beautiful autumn days so far. Tuesday was one of those days. The sun was shining and made a perfect day for washing some windows. The temperature made it lovely to be outside and pull the garden that the frost had taken. A nice warm breeze was perfect for hanging out blankets on the line. I could leave the door open while dragging out the basement "barn room" rugs and boot trays to wash outside.

Oh, the list never ends...

But, I had something else on my list.

So, Tuesday afternoon was mine...alone...

with a DVD that I borrowed from the my local spinners and handweavers guild...

and my spinning wheel...spinning soft alpaca....in the kitchen, with the warm sunshine streaming in the window.

I needed that. I should do it more often!

Take the time to do what you love. You deserve it.

Cap Complete!

2011-09-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

I finished my In-Between Seasons Cap that I knit in my lovely handspun 3 ply yarn.

I've had this yarn labelled and on my store shelves for a while. One day it called out to me and said "Hey, I'd feel great wrapped around your head!". And if you knit, you just know, that when a yarn calls to you...it is time to listen (in other words, if you hear little voices in your head, it might be time to slow down and knit yourself something!)

The yarn was homegrown. I carded some fibre from my bay-black Cyrano with some lovely dark Polwarth lamb fleece. The colour is of the very darkest chocolate. It was spun and navajo-plied on my Lendrum DT.
This is a picture of my alpaca, Cyrano. This picture was taken when he was about 3 or 4 years old. By then, he had won a few show ribbons and would have just started his breeding career. He is 8 now and has sired several offspring.

It was a good thing that I really enjoyed knitting the hat. The pattern told me to start my decreases after I had 4 inches knit from the edge. As I knit a few decrease rows, I had a feeling that I might end up with a hat that was too short for my big fluffy-haired head. But I also feared getting to the end of my one ball of this handspun before getting to finish the hat. So I took the chance, continued to knit the whole thing and as suspected, it didn't cover my ears. I also had a good size ball left. I ended up ripping the hat half back and putting in an additional 1.5 inches before the decreases. I'm so happy that I did. I love this hat, in the look, the fit, the colour and the OMG-its-so-soft yarn. I may knit another hat in this pattern. I enjoyed the twisted stitch patterns.

I've been taking advantage of the nice fall weather to get my raw fibre skirted and sorted in the shearing shed. This is the tedious work that goes on between the day of shearing and the day that the fibre can be sent to the mill, but it needs to be done properly to ensure that the yarn is of top quality. Because my shear shed isn't complete weatherproof, the day must be warm, not raining and not windy. If I don't get it done while the weather outside is nice, then I have to drag my skirting table into the sunroom for the winter. Skirting raw fleeces is a dirty job and I don't like having to do it in the house.

Dyeing is something else that I like to do before winter as well. I heat the dyepots in my sunroom where the windows can be opened and the rest of the house is closed off from the smell of hot vinegar.

I've added a skill to my knitting bag - the Twisted German Cast On. My friend showed me how to do this particular cast on method on a sock that I had started about 10 months ago! The one sock languished in my knitting bag for a long time. I recently picked it up and finished that sock. Then I couldn't remember that cast on method that she had shown me. YouTube to the rescue again! It didn't take me long to find the KnitWitch video on Twisted German Cast On . I cast on using the two needles of the circular held together. This makes a nice, loose, stretchy edge on the top of my sock.

Do you look for something to put on your knitting needles as soon as the weather starts to turn cool?

Making Pickles

2011-09-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

I confessed to a friend, Pat, recently that I had never made jam.

"What?", she said, "You, of ALL people, should be making jam! You are a farm girl!"

Sister, this FARM girl grew up in suburbia.

I did have enough farm visits to relatives to know where milk came from, to appreciate that something had to die so that I could eat roast chicken and know that nothing I could buy in a store could come close to my grandmother's apple butter.

My grandparents were the original homesteaders that many "back-to-the-basics" folk are now trying to emulate. (In fact, I think Ma and Papa would really get a kick out of the homesteading blogs that I follow and be amazed that people are having to research how to grow potatoes.) My own mother grew up in "hard times" but she raised her own family during the "good times" when everything suddenly became available in ready-made form and families had the money to purchase all of their groceries. I'm sure at one time, she would have made pickles, jams and preserves, but I don't recall it and the knowledge of this art was certainly not passed down.

So...I mentioned to hubby that I thought I would make pickles this year. Thus set off a never ending discussion (which could be called debate) on what we would pickle, how we to pickle, what equipment we needed to pickle....and so on. I quickly tired of pickling before we even started.

My teenager can eat a 1 litre jar of dill pickles in 2 days. Hubby calculated how much we could save by pickling our own. It was becoming evident that this pickling idea was not going to disappear and it was going to be a family project.

So, this morning, we were at the hardware store buying jars and tongs. Then, to the grocery store to buy pickling spice and cider vinegar. Then, to the vegetable stand to buy pickling cucumbers, garlic and carrots.

There we were, a family of three, working together to make dilled pickled, carrots and green beans for the first time. Boiling water, knives and hot glass jars all in close proximity.

Did I say "working harmoniously"? No, I did not.

I'm glad to say that no one was hurt in the making of these pickles.

We are all proud of our production though. We may do it again.

Blueberry Cake Recipe

2011-09-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Okay...I just KNEW when I posted that picture of the Blueberry Cake last week that I really should be typing out the recipe. It's only fair because I've taken so many recipes from other blogs
(like Our Forest Haven).

But, I really didn't have the time to type it out and recheck it for accuracy...so I thought....

HEY, haven't I already admitted that THIS IS NOT A COOKING BLOG?

But, Val asked and I'm happy to share. It's good and it's quick. I've been making it for about...ahem...35 years (I know, you had NO idea I was that old, did you?)!!!!!

During the blueberry seasons of my youth, my sister and I would spend hours out on Blueberry Hill with a canoe and our bathing suits and pots and Tupperware and friends. There were always a few of these cakes made during the season.

This is picture of my recipe card. (Note she called it Squares, but it's the right recipe). The card is filthy from use and time spent in baking chaos. It's my sister's handwriting. Aren't these old recipe cards just precious family mementoes? I have some recipe cards with my late mother's handwriting for recipes I'll never make, but I couldn't part with those cards that she penned. It keeps us connected.

Blueberry Squares

1/3 cup margarine or shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup of milk

1 1/2 cup blueberries

(1 tsp grated lemon rind - optional)

Cream together margarine and 3/4 cup sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Pour half the batter into oiled 9x9 pan. Cover with mix of berries, 1/4 sugar (and lemon rind). Pour remainder of batter over berries. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Gardening Lessons Learned

2011-08-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

My foray into vegetable gardening has not been a total bust this year. We ate quite a lot of lettuce, and are currently eating purple beans. I had a few cucumbers before the plants got run over by the squash plants. I have several promising squash and an abundance of tomatoes...although they haven't turned red yet. The little ones in the picture were ripened on my windowsill. I'm not sure if the big ones will ripen, but they had pretty well overburdened their stalks and were sitting on the ground when I found them. We'll see.

I've learned some lessons about vegetable gardening this year.

1. It is possible to humanely evict a family of groundhogs that have made your garden their home, with the help of this neat battery-powered stake apparatus that chatters everytime the ground moves.

2. It is best not to tell your neighbour where that new family of groundhogs in her garden came from all of a sudden and why.

3. Plant half of the lettuce that you think you will need and plan for salads every night.

4. Don't plant squash in your little 10 x 6 garden...you will end up with a jungle of squash plants. Next year I will throw some seeds in the old manure pile and let them grow wild.

5. Pick the beans sooner than later or they get tough.

6. Pick the runner branches off of the tomatoe plants so that the stalks bearing flowers will grow big enough to support the tomatoes. (Who knew? Now I do!).

Today, I baked a Blueberry Cake. Delicious!

I rinsed out the alpaca fibre that I dyed yesterday.

I rinsed out the alpaca\merino blend lopi yarn that I dyed yesterday and then dyed some more.

And best of all...
I had a gentleman caller for lunch. (He brought his own).

Too cute, isn't he!

Sigh...

2011-08-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today, I feel like sighing.

Selling some livestock is part of the business of farming. This morning, I prepared to transport some alpacas, including the two cria born here in June and a llama buddy that has been on my farm for nine years to a new farm.

The females have been sold for quite a while, residing on my farm to birth out their cria or to be bred while their new owners made their new farm ready for them.

I'm happy that they are going to such a great home, where I know they will be cherished and properly cared for. And as a bonus, the farm is very close and I hope to be invited over to see them once in a while.

I had no other cria born on the farm this year. So I won't be seeing cria pronking and playing silly in the front pasture now. Perhaps I will train myself not to keep looking out the window to watch them.

Sigh.

I guess you can't blame me for being a little sad to say goodbye.

Sigh.

I keep telling myself that I'm free of the responsibility of having little ones in the field. And I won't have any cria to wean in late fall or halter train in the spring.

Sigh.

So...anyway....I'm expanding my repertoire of knitting techniques. I've wanted to knit a hat pattern called 'In-Between Seasons Cap' by Cathy Campbell (find it on Ravelry), and had picked some lovely soft handspun of Alpaca\Polwarth wool blend in chocolate brown from my ever-growing stash. The pattern uses twisted stitches and describes how to do a twL and twR stitch. Apparently, I just could not compute. I tried these stitches several times to no avail.

Sigh.

Youtube to the rescue!!!
I found the Knit Purl Hunter who described it perfectly. This lady has a lot of valuable videos on her website.

I love the look of the cabled band.
Knitting with this handspun alpaca/wool blend is heaven.

Sigh.

I heard someone describe the difference between commercial yarn and handspun yarn as "the difference between store-bought bread and homebaked bread". Love it.

Sigh.

So...tonight my family is going to the movies. It wasn't my turn to pick. We are going to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Really.

Sigh.

Something Old and Something New

2011-08-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

There's a new piece of equipment at Misty Haven Alpacas. Well, it isn't actually new. In fact, this tractor is about 72 years old. It's an Allis Chalmers B...we beleive from 1939 or 1940.

My husband and daughter have made a new hobby out of this old tractor. And it works! Although it needs some adjusting and a few replacement parts, hubby has been cutting the back fields with it and hauling the manure spreader with it.

There is something amazing about motorized equipment that works 72 years after it came off of an assembly line. Why is it that our cars seem to expire after 10 years maximum?

It's not just the admiration for the strength of the metal and the simplicity of the mechanics to last over seven decades. I can't help looking at this tractor and try to imagine the farmer that bought it when it was brand new so many years ago.

My grandfather loved the large draft horses on his farm. I have a favourite black and white photo of me standing in the field with my Papa and his huge horse, Pete. I was about 4 years old and the top of my head was at Pete's mid-thigh. I am wondering how my grandfather viewed the advent of the tractor on the farm. Was he happy, did he view it as progress or did he know that it would lead to the demise of the working farm horse and thus the bond between farmer and his horse.

I have a few new yarns in my shop. I had a new yarn done at Wellington Fibres in Elora, Ontario this year. This is a fingering weight 2-ply yarn in a blend of 60% alpaca, 30% kid mohair and 10% fine wool. I've created handspun in this blend for a shawl last year, and it's a beautifully soft blend that blooms with use. I usually handdye my farm's yarns, but this year I asked the mill to dye some of the yarn. I was very happy with the colours.

If I Won a Million Dollars...

2011-08-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

I do buy the odd lottery ticket. Strangely, I often think to buy it when the jackpot sign outside the store says that the night's draw is some bizzare amount, like $44 million. Then, after I buy the ticket, I pray I don't win 44 million. Really - who needs that much stress? Or that many long-lost cousins?

But every once in a while...usually on days when I wake up to the news about the economic debt crisis and then open my email to find a panic message from my financial advisor...I think about what I would do with $1 Million Dollars. The fact that last week, not one but both of my part-time jobs ended, may have prompted me to think a little heavier about this.

1. I have some debt. I'd definitely pay that off.

2. I'm thinking that I have some people to show my gratitude. However, the people top on of that list, my father and my in-laws are doing what they want in life and I don't think extra money would make them enjoy it more.

3. I need expensive repairs to my farm bridge. I'd reconfigure my farmyard and put up a separate barn for the males. Farming would be simpler and the barnyard more tranquil.

4. I'd definitely hire a housecleaner. Well, after I cleaned the house, that is. I'd be too embarrassed to have some stranger see inside my fridge or my laundry room.

5. I would hire who I needed to do all those house repairs that have been half-finished or totally neglected. (But would I have to clean the house first?)

6. I'd spend some money to hire a competent alpaca-knowledgeable farmhand for a few weeks of the year, and take my family away on some fun carefree vacations. (Who am I kidding?...I have a teenage daughter...carefree? for who? Mom?)

7. I'd donate money to my favorite charities and non-profits. Community Living comes to mind, but I don't have to look far for valuable organizations that are doing important work.

8. I'd spend my days writing, reading, spinning and well....creating. Oh, maybe I'd even have a well equipped studio built for me and my artsy friends!

Hmmmmmm...when I started writing this post, I didn't think that I'd be able to come up with many items on my dream list. Now the ideas are coming quicker and becoming grander. Time to stop.

I realize that I likely won't ever have that cool $1 Million to throw at the items on the list. However...

1. My debt will get paid...sooner or later...likely later.

2. I can let the people in my life know that I am grateful to them every day.

3. My bridge will get repaired in time. Farming is pretty simple already and usually the farmyard is tranquil.

4. I choose to only invite friends over who vow to ignore my chaotic, messy house because it gives me more time for creative expression.

5. If all the house repairs were done...what could I nag my husband about?

6. I spent part of today sitting in a boat reading while my daughter fished and then went kayaking and swimming with her. That was after a morning of spreading manure and doing spit-checks on the pregnant alpacas along with my hubby. Okay, it may not be YOUR dream vacation, but it was a pretty good day.

7. I may not be donating money to my favourite charities this year. Someday, I will.

8. I don't need a fancy, picture perfect studio to have my artsy friends over. I've had a lot of fun-filled afternoons with my fibre-art friends in my kitchen and sunroom. This will continue.

I don't need $1 Million to read books or write stories or spin yarn or felt scarves or weave rugs or blend fibre or dye roving. I need to give myself time...that's all!

I live a blessed life and have everything that I really need...and more.

Where Did July Go?

2011-07-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

July is almost done. Most of the month has been very hot and humid. That kind of weather is very worrisome when you have livestock. And since we had very little rain in July, I would have thought my neglected gardens would have shrivelled up to nothing.

It pays to plant hardy, native species! I don't even weed my flower bed. I have big bushy perennials that fight for space in the garden with long grasses. It looks fabulous and colourful at this time of year.

My vegetable garden is a jungle! We enjoyed a lot of lettuce until the extreme heat came and it turned wild and bitter. I am purposely letting some of the lettuce go to flower so I can try to save some seeds for next year. My friend suggested that I could still pull the old stuff out and plant some new seeds to have new lettuce growth. I may try that.

The purple bean plants are growing like wild. There are a lot of beautiful purple flowers. I hope this means a lot of beans in the next couple weeks.

The tomato plants have a lot of flowers on them and some little green tomatoes starting. I read on Facebook that my friend nearby is already eating tomatoes from her garden. Hmmmm...I planted late. I hope not too late.

I didn't plant many squash, but they are still trying to take over everywhere. I had thought twice about planting them in my garden because of this. Next year, they are definitely getting their own garden!

I'm proud of my little garden. We have tilled up a portion of the poor pasture so that we can make a bigger garden next year.

And I leave you with a picture of my relaxing chair in my little piece of paradise. This is 30 minutes from home, so it makes a great farmer's vacation spot. Far enough away to forget the work piling up at home, but close enough to pop home to do the chores.

Hay-Making Weather!

2011-07-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

It doesn't take long when the sun finally shows for a few days at 30C or so. The clay that was a dark brown menace that threatened to suck in and absorb the new little cria is hard-baked to the consistency of...well...pottery.

It doesn't take long for the line up at the new dust bath.

Even the hens are enjoying a good old sand bath.

I'm having to water my garden. Look, things are growing! I have been doing pretty good at staying ahead of the weeds, considering my schedule. We have enjoyed some lettuce from the garden so far. It would look like we will be eating quite a bit of lettuce. Then there should be purple beans, yellow beans, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. The purple beans, squash, and lettuce were from heritage seeds from Soggy Creek Seed Co. from nearby Nipissing, Ontario. The tomato plants are organic, purchased from Mrs. Artan at the North Bay Farmer's Market, who grew them from seeds that have passed down in her family for 4 generations. The yellow beans were a commercial packet from the local garden centre and were labelled 'organic'. The cucumber plants were half dead bargains that the garden centre had in their end-of-planting-season special corner. The experiment is whether I can actually make a quantity of good tasting food from this garden....you know...actually FARM something that grows up from beneath the ground.

See what I recycled to string the bean hangers on?

I don't play favourites. The little white girl got her close-up in the last entry. So, here is the little dark girl! Isn't she cute? (She will grow into those ears!)

My family is making the most of the good weather and spending a lot of time on the lake these days. The hay is in the loft and the cria are running in the field. Time to enjoy some summer.

I hope you are enjoying yours!

New Cria at Misty Haven

2011-06-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

The waiting is over. There were two pregnant alpacas at Misty Haven this spring and now there are two cria on the ground. These first time moms, Alicia and Makushla, have been sold to new alpaca owners. The alpacas will stay here until the cria are old enough to move.

I've had plenty of false warnings to get my heart-racing. Tail held high, then nothing...bagged up with milk, then nothing...swollen nether regions, then nothing. When I checked Thursday and Friday morning, there was no sign of anything happening. Friday, Makushla was a bit separated from the herd and laying down, but she didn't look uncomfortable.

Friday, I was picking up my new-to-me car at the dealers at 1:00pm. The sales guy said it would take 20 minutes. Two hours later, I'm back on the highway heading home. I wasn't really worried. After about 30 births on this farm, I figured I knew when it wasn't the day.

Guess what was in the field when I got home? It had just happened as the cria was still trying to get steady on her legs. The rest of the female herd hadn't even noticed they had a new one in the group.

This is a picture of her and her mom, Makushla, on Sunday, less than 48 hours old.

She's a lovely colour, a very dark reddish brown with a very unique white nose with brown freckles.

Saturday, I had a booth at the Farmer's Market. Hubby was home keeping an eye on things. I got home at about 1:20pm from the market. Hubby said that I just missed another birth by ten minutes.

After 3 weeks of careful monitoring and postponing any unnecessary appointments, I ended up missing both events!

Alicia had just had her little white female cria. She was on the tiny side at 14.6 lbs, but hit the ground running. No interest in finding the teats right away, she just ran around the field with her poor mom humming and clucking behind her. We were worried she wouldn't figure out who her mom was when she decided to settle down. But she did.

We've had plenty of rain here over the past weeks, so the piece of yard between the barn and the pasture was a run of deep clay mud. Not great for a little cria. We usually let the mother alpaca keep her baby whereever she chooses to take her. The pasture is safer for the cria - no dark corners to get lost in, less likely to get stepped, less germs in the grass than on a barn floor, etc.

But when it really started raining on Friday evening, I carried her through the muck into the barn with Alicia right beside me. I put her in the barn and boom - she flew right out the door. I tried this 3 times. The last time she flew (and I say flew, she was airborne), Alicia and I were slower to follow. By the time I got out, Alicia was running around in a panic and no baby was in sight. I noticed the boys on the other fence line were freaking out about something. When I walked over, I found the cria stuck between a shelter and a fence. They don't have the skill to back up at that age and I couldn't fit into that space to get her. A scary couple of moments but hubby and I were able to pass our hands through the fence to relay her up to the top and over.

The next time she flew out of the barn, I left her and went back the house. I saw her get stuck behind the barn door. Again, Alicia was running around in a panic and the cria was not able to back up. Eventually, she got out on her own.

Just after dark, I went out to check and there she was, curled up beside her mom in the barn, safe but covered in muck from her outdoor adventures. I kept checking every few hours through the night. She got more sleep than I did.

Here is a picture of her with the herd Sunday morning at less than 24 hours old. Can't you just tell she's planning her next adventure?

I know she'll grow up to be a beautiful white alpaca with fine fibre and great conformation to produce good offspring and oodles of white yarn...and my apologies to her new owners who I know read this blog and who some of you may recognize...but....I just HAVE to say this...

"Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” (Yoda from Star Wars)

"May the Force be with you!"

Preparation

2011-06-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

It is amazing what you can get shipped through the mail from California to Canada. I was soooo relieved that my "stuff" got through Customs fine and found it's way to my door just prior to the Canada Post labour stoppage.

Now, before the helicopters start doing a sweep of my back 40 acres, I'll fess up.

It's Lactation Stimulator herbal blend for the pregnant alpacas. The two alpacas that are due to deliver are first time moms. Better safe than sorry, I started adding these herbs to their pellet supplement prior to them delivering.

Alpacas are known for having easy births and great mothering instincts. However, I try to be prepared with all the goodies I might need in case there are problems.

That includes the book that has seen me through 8 years of alpaca births, "Llama and Alpaca Neonatal Care" by B. Smith, K. Timm and P. Long. It has a checklist of everything to watch for during labour, including general timelines of stages of labour. It also has diagrams of difficult positioned cria and how to resolve with manipulations if necessary. I dig it out every year, just in case.

And then we wait...and wait....and check under tails....and postpone hair appointments...and wait...and check the calendar wondering if we made a mistake.

Almost Summer

2011-06-19T04:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I won't bore you with the details of why I've been too busy to blog for several weeks. Life happens and blog entries sometime get to the bottom of the priority list. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave comments on my blog. I really do appreciate it.

As I am writing this, I am waiting for our hay producer to call giving us the go-ahead to leave to pick up the first of four loads of hay. The trailer has been on the truck since Thursday. It's always a waiting game for the hay-drying weather. We've had great weather for 4 days and then last night, at our house was a major downpour. Thankfully, the hay farm, which is about a 30 drive south only got a sprinkling. The hay wasn't lost but needed a bit more time to dry today. So, it will be 5:00pm by the time we load our first bale on the trailer. Gatorade and chocolate bars are our friends today.

We sheared our herd of alpaca in between the rainy days at the beginning of June. I can't let this go without posting a before and after shot.

This is Lily. If you've been reading this blog, you will remember Lily, the cria that was rejected by her dam. Her first start was with dried colostrum, then milk with yogurt, then goat kid milk replacer. She likely wouldn't have survived except that she was soon adopted by a maiden alpaca who miraculously started lactating to feed her. It was a happy story. She's now a saucy yearling with great conformation and lovely fleece.

Well, I guess she doesn't have her fleece anymore! I do! It's in a couple bags waiting for processing into yarn.

People often ask me if the alpacas mind being sheared. Well, alpacas seem to have their own personalities and therefore, their own opinions about being sheared. Giving up control to a group of people, with one of them holding some power shears, is undoubtably not an alpaca's idea of a good time. However, the majority of ours seem to actually relax on the table to the point of appearing to be snoozing. No doubt many appreciate the instant cool sensation from being released from those pounds of fibre growth.

Every year, though, there is one winner in "The Most Annoying Alpaca on the Table" award. This year was Vivaldi. Vivaldi is normally a very calm, cool 2 year old. The whole time on the table though, he screamed a very high pitch, deafening squeal and had very vile smelling green spit bubbling out of his mouth. Of course, since he was laying on his side on the shearing table, his head was rubbing in the green slime. The person covering the head also came in contact with the smelly green slime. (That would be my freaked out teenage daughter :) hehehe)

So, without further ado, I present "Vivaldi the Slime-Faced". Shame on you Vivaldi, you smelly boy.

Maybe next year, he will remember that we are helping him by removing his warm fleece, not trying to harm him.
I found a new book at my public library that every handspinner that I know will want to rush to get their hands on. It's called "The Fleece and Fibre Sourcebook" by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius.

It is literally packed with valuable facts about animal fibres used in spinning and interest tidbits of information about the history of our relationship with these animals around the world. For each breed or species, there is a summary of the animal, pictures of both the animal, and their fibre, facts about the fibre that includes staple length, fleece weight, fiber diameters, lock characteristics and natural colours. It's just beautiful.

Although I have the library's copy currently, this is one of those books that I should have on my bookshelf.
So far, I've planted lettuce, purple beans, squash and 3 types of tomatoes in my little garden. I still have room for a couple plants. This is going to be my most successful garden yet.

I'm not sure how many hours until the actual calendar start of summer is here. But with any luck, I'll have a loft full of sweet smelling hay.

North Bay Farmer's Market

2011-05-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

The North Bay Farmer's Market opened on Saturday under a beautiful, sunny sky. I was there bright and early as a customer.

I made a haul.

I bought some handwoven teatowels from Joe-Ann Ribout of Mountainview Weaving. Joe-Ann was apologetic that the price had gone up to reflect the price of cotton this year. As a weaver myself, I know the amount of time and skill that goes into these teatowels. I've bought Joe-Ann's before, and they seem to be indestructible. The cotton washes up nice, time and time again. These ones are for a gift.

I really went to the market in search of fresh asparagus and rhubarb. There was a number of vendors that had asparagus, but I bought mine from Ron Warman of Powassan.

I was pleased to find a local meat farmer at the market, selling meat that was raised the traditional way, without hormones or antibiotics. I bought some frozen T-bones from the Holden family from Eau Claire. (I found out that they farm on the same road that my grandparent's farm was on.)

There were a lot of vegetable plants for sale. I saw Schlosser Farms had some of those mushroom-growing logs for sale.

I chatted with a couple vendors that I knew and then took my loot home. (Okay, Heather, if you are reading this and wondering why I didn't stop at your booth, you were very busy with customers!)

Some of the asparagus got eaten for supper, the rest frozen for a couple other meals.
The rhubarb is chopped up and waiting to be made into crisp for tonights supper (if the house cools down enough to bear having the oven on.)

I wouldn't have been prepared to have a booth on Saturday. But I hope that I get a spot soon. Despite the lugging of wares, tent and tables in the early morning frenzy and the unpredictability of the weather on an outdoor market, the market is a good day out.

Avoidance

2011-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm reading an awesome book, called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. In brief, the author, her husband and two daughters move from Arizona to a farm in Virginia with a commitment to eat only food that they grow or that they can source locally.

I can hear you now..."Really? An awesome book about growing and eating food? Was it more exciting than the washing machine manual?"

Trust me. Ms. Kingsolver writes so descriptively about good food, that I could taste tomatoes and asparagus right from the page. She has a great sense of humour. The book also contains a lot of facts about the impact of mass-produced, widely transported food on our society and our environment. It's an informative book that is a pleasure to read.

She's made me think about food in a whole new light. I have never been so excited about the prospect of finding locally grown asparagus at the opening of the local Farmer's Market on Saturday.

In the morning, I made pancakes using my own farm eggs, and topped them with locally-produced maple syrup. I vowed to do more of this.

I've been avoiding lots of paperwork for the past few months. Alpaca registry business, yarn sales business, and farm business. The one that is making me lose sleep at night is my farm income tax return. Every year, I vow to do better. But I've been really, really busy.

So...I had the whole morning to myself and a todo list that included...registry paperwork and income taxes.

I did start.
But...then I remembered that sandal wearing season was upon us!

Avoidance never looked so pretty!

Back from My Break!

2011-05-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was at a workshop for my library work a couple weeks back on maintaining your web presence. Apparently, a blog should be updated regularly. I'll try harder!

May has proven to be a busy and stressful month around here. And that was BEFORE the blackflies started! If you are reading from afar and aren't familiar with the Northern Ontario blackfly...a word of advice...don't plan to visit between mid-May and July 1. Here in Corbeil, two weeks after the snow has gone, we are praying for a freakish drop in temperature that might kill the blackfly population and mosquito larvae.

But I am looking forward to harvesting the fibre from our alpacas. Since I only own a small herd, I also buy fibre from other alpaca farmers as well to make my yarn.

At this time of year, I like to figure out whose fibre will go into what batch of yarn. Vivaldi's will likely go into a batch of lofty sport weight knitting yarn, blended with 30% merino. Would you like a Vivaldi hat and scarf set?

I've been spending a lot of time walking in the fields around twilight time, just when the temperature cools off and the blackflies have settled down. The alpacas are grazing on our side of the fenceline and the deer are grazing on the other side of the fenceline. A peaceful end to my day.

I made a recipe from the Foodand Ontario recipe flyer that I picked up last week. It's a Maple Ham and Asparagus Strata. It uses 6 eggs (the chickens are popping eggs out like crazy)! I had wanted to get Ontario grown asparagus, but had to settle for US imported asparagus. Even though asparagus is supposed to be in season in Ontario, my grocery store didn't have it. Time to switch grocery stores? Maybe the Ontario crop isn't ready yet?

Today, I took a machine knitting workshop with Carloyn Barnett . I was so excited. Four years ago, I had bought some used equipment from a friend of a friend, who was clearing out her late mother's stuff from her garage. I had taken a chance and had no idea what I had bought. The boxes have sat under my bed, while waiting on my 'Some Day' list.

I thought that the price of a one day local workshop was worth the price of just finding out what I had in the boxes and see what was missing.

Wow! Within the first 45 minutes of the workshop, the participants had put their pieces together and found out what parts needed to be regularly maintained. Then we actually started on a toddler's pullover.
It was a great day. Even though I got pretty messed up on the shoulder and neckline shaping, I finished the back of the sweater with Carolyn's help. I also gained the confidence that I could start making some rectangular scarves and shawls at home.
I have wanted to take a week-long machine knitting course at Haliburton School of Arts during the summer, but didn't want to make the commitment without knowing that I had a working machine. Now I can sign up for courses when I please, because I know this equipment works.

Besides being a great learning experience, the workshop provided a nice mental break. And some days those are needed more than others.

Out in the Pasture

2011-04-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

The grass here in Northern Ontario is still pretty brown. However, the alpacas are neglecting the hay feeder and spreading out in search of the new grasses coming up. We have quite a lot of pasture for our small herd. If we didn't, I would be keeping the alpacas off all the pasture until the grass had a chance to get hold. But I like the sight of them moving around the pasture in the spring after hovering around the barnyard for so many months.

The ratio of alpacas to pasture is said to be 4-7 per acre. I think that is quite high, unless you are blessed with exceptional pasture. I currently have 19 alpacas and 2 llamas on about 22 acres of pasture. We usually end up trimming our pastures down with the mower at some point in the summer, as they can't graze all of the grass down. If the grass grows too high, the alpacas won't go into the pasture. This is the alpaca's instinctive way of protecting themselves from predators that may be hiding in tall grasses. Alpacas are very nervous of anything touching their hind legs, including tall grasses.

Alpacas like to move around in their herd and they keep a watchful eye for anything approaching through the field or neighbouring bush. There are usually deer grazing in the hay fields beyond the pastures (sometimes right in the pastures).

Sometimes it is difficult to get some nice photos of the alpaca group as they often move away from the person walking in the field, so that I have a great collections of retreating alpaca butts.

Well, except for Raven, who comes running to me across the field and then walks beside me, as if directing me as to which angle I should be taking the shot from. Sometime I think that Raven is really a farm dog in alpaca clothing.

We are expecting 40-50mm of rain today and then continuing rain for the next few days. That is a lot of rain, but I suspect that it will cause a major greening in our landscape by the weekend.
Enjoy your day!

Hate to Say I Told You So...

2011-04-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

Bragging

2011-04-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

I had a happy thing in April. Well, I had many happy things in April, but this one I am a bit bubbly over.

The editor of Fibre Focus, the glossy magazine published for members of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Guild, chose to publish my article about the black alpaca jackets. If you didn't catch my blog entry about the jackets, you can read it here.

The article is really about honouring my good friend and fellow weaver, Suzanne Philbin, who had woven and tailored the jackets. I was so pleased that the publisher sent me an extra copy so that I could give Suzanne one to show off to her children and grandchildren. Also, for the first time, I received payment for an article! Really an honorarium, but enough to buy lunch with wine for Suzanne and I. Honestly, I did strut around like a proud rooster, joking with my library co-workers that they had a 'paid writer' on staff.

Of course, there is always someone ready to knock you down to size.
In the form of Smokey the Pampered House Cat (formerly, Smokey the Rough Barn Cat).

SERVANT...where is my milk?!!

White on Green

2011-04-13T03:45:00.000-07:00

It sure is nicer to head out to the barn in the morning with the promise of warmth and sunshine in the air. It's almost time to retire the winter rubber boots for the summer rubber boots. The alpacas are looking for those first blades of green in the pastures. It will be a week or so until all the snow is out of the fields, but once it happens, the green seems to sprout almost overnight.

Alicia here is getting a bit annoyed with me. She is supposed to be pregnant for the first time. Sometimes, with new moms, it is hard to be 100% sure with a spit check. Every chance that I get, I check her from the back-side to see if the cria is bulging out one side. She's getting self-conscious, I think. What a nice fluffy butt she has, though!

Here's a picture of some of the boys. It's nice to see them out getting exercise. They don't move around much in the winter...basically their winter trail is from the barn, to the hay feeder, to the poop-pile, to the waterer.

Then, there is Jessie, the camera hog. She's just curious, really. And if you were wondering...Yes, that nose is as soft as it looks.

This is Lily, the rejected-then-adopted cria from last June. You can read her story here.

So, all my white fleece from last year has finally come full circle back from the mill.

I've got a new batch of yarn and fibre. Pictured is a sport weight yarn in a blend of 70% alpaca, 30% merino. It's a very soft and lofty knitting yarn.
I also got returned a large batch of white 3 ply sock yarn that is 60%alpaca, 20%merino, 20%nylon. My 3 ply yarn makes a very warm sock that is durable, but still soft.
As well, I've received a large batch of 100% alpaca white rovings, 70% alpaca, 30% merino blend white rovings and soft beige fingering weight yarn.
I am trying to rearrange my life to have some time to start dyeing the white yarn and rovings , now that it's warmer in my sunroom.
Thanks for popping in!

My Secret Weapons for Growing Food

2011-04-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

As I told you last time, I am committed to growing vegetables this year. I mentioned that I had 2 secret weapons.
Actually, I have 3 weapons, but since I've told you about one of them previously, only 2 are secret. (Do the math!)

Yes, I told you about alpaca poop....aka Golden Beans, in this post here. I mentioned that I didn't know the scientific properties of alpaca manure offhand. However, I've put a call out to my paca-peeps and they came through to help me find the information. A Canadian publication called Camelid Quarterly has an article about the properties of alpaca poop in their June 2008 issue. You can also find information on this website.

A brief version of the benefits of alpaca manure:

lower in organic matter than most other livestock manures - but it still has plenty to improve soil texture and water-holding capacity.
This lower organic content allows alpaca manure to be put directly into the garden without fear of "burning" the plants.
the nitrogen and potassium content of the droppings are comparatively high to other barnyard animals, giving the indicator of good fertilizer value.
the alpaca's 3-stomach digestive system processes food so efficiently that seeds do not survive to become weeds in your garden.

I know that alpaca manure did wonders to my front lawn. Also, my in-laws have noticed a huge improvement in their vegetable garden since using alpaca manure.

Now that we've got that stuff out of the way...

Here is Secret Weapon #1...
Drum Roll, please.....

Heritage Seeds from Soggy Creek Co. in Nipissing, Ontario. No more genetically modified, perfect looking, bland-tasting veggies from the grocery store. I think I`m going to have the best tasting squash, lettuce and purple beans EVER, this year. Apparently, I will even be able to wear the bean as a mustache (a real plus for menopausal women...I guess...).

Soggy Creek Seeds are produced by Yan & Sherry, a funky, fun couple who run the Piebird Bed & Breakfast in Nipissing, Ontario. (Check it out...really neat website).

Forget the seeds! You cannot throw these seed packets out or leave them on sticks to mark garden rows. Frame these works of art. (I really think the couple on the "Strange Squash from Outer Space" packet, are indeed Yan & Sherry themselves...coincidence...maybe not...)

Secret Weapon #2

I am the proud card-holding member of three different public libraries. All these libraries have books to help the novice gardener like me teach myself the fine art of growing food.

I can taste it now.

Great Expectations

2011-03-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

There's a special little boy coming into my extended family. My nephew, Kris and his partner, Kate are expecting a baby boy to arrive in April. I'm going to be a great-Auntie! I am the world's slowest knitter, but I did manage to get the blanket done in time for the shower. I hope the little guy feels all the "Auntie" love when he gets wrapped up in it.

I don't think there will be any more baby blanket knitting done in this house. This was knit on 3.25mm needles. That's a lot of knitting by hand.

However, I did sign up for a machine knitting workshop in May. Yes, I have a knitting machine..supposedly a quality one...bought used...still in the box under my bed. It's been a "One day..." project on my list for a few years.

By the calendar, spring has arrived. There is not much evidence of it here yet. March has been blustery and cold. I still have my studded snow tires on. April is always a gamble, we are sure to get one last blizzard. Hubby did drag his motorcycle out of the shed in a wishful moment. I think his optimism will be dealt a blow when it's sitting out in the driveway in a blizzard.

I am excitedly waiting my first mill order shipment of the year to arrive next week from Wilton Road Mill. This order is all white yarns and rovings, so I'll be starting to dye as soon as my sunroom warms up enough.
My shop is looking a little bare and I'll be happy to get some new stock in.

Spring will be busy here. Dyeing yarn, halter training the weanlings from last year, shearing alpacas, scheduled breedings and waiting for two cria to be born.

Something else that I am planning to do this year is grow vegetables. You heard it right. This farmer is going to grow vegetables. I grow primarily alpaca fibre here. I do sell registered breeding stock. I also raise chickens and produce eggs for farmgate. I've typically had a half-baked garden (usually at the prodding of my daughter and her grandmother) that I've planted, neglected and then taken a few beans and zucchinis out of. I say, quite ashamedly, I have a farm and don't know how to grow vegetables. I thought gardening was something that you either knew how to do instinctively or didn't. I also used to live too fast to appreciate good, slow food for what it was and only now have begun to appreciate how growing my own food can help the planet.

This year will be different. I have the desire, I have the start of a plan and I have two secret weapons.

More on that later...

Tulips and Toenails

2011-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Spring is so close, I can almost taste it. I keep walking into work and saying that. People keep looking at me funny. Like Monday, when it was -32C in the morning. However, it was practically balmy by the afternoon. Trust me, it's starting!

I love beautiful flowers blooming in my house at this time of year! Plants don't do well with my neglect, but a pot of forced bulbs give almost instant gratification. Such a lift in February.

Sunday was pedicure day at the barn. Often people assume that alpacas have cloven hooves, like goats. In fact, alpacas and llamas have soft padded soles on their feet and have two toenails. The toenails grow, especially in North American soft pastures. So, every 6-8 weeks, they need to be trimmed.

(I apologize for the poor picture, but this farmer tends to lose help if she spends a lot of time fiddling with the camera instead of getting the job done.)

When we first started caring for alpacas back in 2002, the nail trimming deal was a cause of great stress and it took us a lot of planning...even though we started with 5 alpacas. Now, we can do 18 alpacas in just over an hour with minimal energy. Partly because we know what we are doing, partly because our animals have all been here long enough to trust us and partly because my daughter has grown into a strong, tall farm helper.

Some farms use a chute. We don't. Toe-nail trimming here is usually a two person job...one to hold the alpaca at the front, the other to lift each leg and do the trimming (that's usually hubby). If there is a third person to stand at the opposite side of the alpaca to keep them from leaning, if needed, that's a bonus. With alpacas, it's all about balance and control, if they can't balance or resist the amount of control (either too much or too little) being applied by the humans, then they rebel. Alpacas have very strong legs and necks, are great at twisting, rolling and bucking. Working with any animal, things just work better if the animal is at ease and cooperating. And with upset alpacas, there is usually stinky spit flying...so cooperation is key (sometimes a shower cap helps, too.)

Now, the other side of the story...we have one big, bad female named Jimena who has a nasty attitude and really disgusting spittle when she's upset. And she screams...like a "Friday the 13th" movie soundtrack. She's a lot better now than when we bought her 5 years ago, but we still leave her for a day when we are feeling particularly adventurous. She's number 19 in line and left for another day.

This a Berry Cake. Ingredients include 2 cups of blueberries and 2 cups of raspberries from my freezer. The wild raspberries were from the bumper crop that I picked around our summer trailer site. Yummy!

See how this baking/cooking thing turns into a monster. Now, I have a litre of buttermilk that I bought for this recipe...minus the 3/4 cup required for this recipe. I thought the cat might like a bit of it, but it offended him.

So now...I need to find a recipe for buttermilk and eggs.

Thanks for stopping by.

This is Not a Cooking Blog!

2011-01-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

I admit it. Somehow this blog that focussed on fibre arts and living on an alpaca farm (I think that's what it started as...) is now featuring pictures and stories of food. Food that I have made! Food that didn't come from a box with microwave instructions!

Don't be fooled. This is and never will be a cooking blog. However, I feel challenged by some of my readers and also by some fellow-bloggers to step it up a bit in the kitchen department.

So, this morning, I made a lovely quickie quiche. It used 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of half and half, 3/4 cup Bisquick, 2 cups shredded cheddar, garlic, some bacon crumbles, salt and pepper.

It was quite delicious and fluffy. Next time, I will try adding spinach and feta.

I also made this little lovely looking single serving to freeze. I have to say though...the recipe says 10 minute prep, 50 minutes to cook. In reality, it was a lot longer prep time, especially to crisp and crumble the bacon. They didn't even mention the 3 days it would take me to wash the frying pan and pie plate...oh, maybe they aren't talking elapsed time....

AND THEN...I beat some extra eggs and put in the freezer in ice cube trays.

I think I have used up all my domestic-goddessness for one day. I'm exhausted.

Trust me, I won't soon be making my own tortillas like LuckyBunny! Check out her blog. I went for the endearing animal and lovely nature pictures, but I am filing her recipes in the back of my head.

Also, if you are interested in slow-food cooking with natural goodness, check out Chapman Landings cooking school blog. Nancy lives in my neck of the woods on a historic farm property and she's all about eating well, eating fresh and eating local. I swear, I think Nancy could make a delicious 12 course meal out of an egg, home-grown lettuce, some sumac, a couple birch leaves and local strawberry tea.

I have a little story about my phobia of potlucks. Since I'm not very adept in the kitchen, I usually find something in the frozen section to bring (I do cook it though!). Having to supply part of a meal when everyone else is into gourmet and organic is very stressful for me. I thought that bringing a fresh veggie platter to the meal was a fail-proof plan. That was until Nancy asked me for the dip recipe...(uhm...open sour cream, pour in powder from envelope, stir until mixed.)...actually, I think she might have just been being polite.

Anyway - I am bouyed by the number of comments that people are leaving lately. I do appreciate you dropping in and leaving a note. Thanks.

Popcorn on My Mind

2011-01-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a farmer. I don't know how these chicken things work. But, I think it's a bit like popcorn. It seemed to take forever for those young hens to start laying eggs. Hubby would be all happy when he came in with 4 in the morning. Then, 6...then 7....then 12. I think the chicken house is like a big popcorn machine. Once one of those hens starts to lay, there is a chain reaction and all those hens are bouncing off each other popping out eggs. Anyway...it's January, it's cold, and I'm running out of egg recipes.

Okay - I used 2 eggs to make some chocolate chip cookies. I follow a couple of blogs that often have recipes. I'm always overwhelmed by any recipe that has more than 6 steps in the instructions. But I'm inspired by my fellow bloggers. I also needed to prove to my daughter that I know how to bake cookies. And, of course, I blogged the picture so that I could go back and prove it to her later again when she denies I ever baked her homemade cookies.

Don't expect me to print the recipe. Go buy a pack of Milk Chocolate Chipits...flip over the package...there's the recipe.

I feel like Betty Crocker.

My friend Joanne sold her gift shop that she ran for 30 years in our small town. She found this text book in the basement of the store as she was cleaning it out. Knowing that I'm into textiles, fibre and books, she gifted it to me.

It was copyrighted in 1925, although this copy was printed after that. It apparently was a text book that young women were taught from.

It's got some very interesting pictures in it regarding fibre production around the world.

In the glossary, alpaca refers to a textile, not a fibre, that is used for suiting and can be woven from mohair with a cotton warp. In a section describing fibre-bearing animals, they write of the 'Alpaca Goat',a goat-like animal.

In books written today, a reference to alpaca textile would only mean textile made mainly of alpaca fibre. Alpacas now are known as new world camelids, as they are related to the camel family (along with llamas, guanacos and vicunas).

To be fair, in 1925, alpacas would have only been seen in the mountains of Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Alpacas are ruminants (multi-stomached mammals that chew their cud) like goats. However, alpacas are sometimes called 'modified ruminants' due to their 3 stomachs (not 4) and their soft-padded feet (not cloven hooves).

One of the great pictures in this book is of a caravan of horse-drawn wagons loaded with wool, crossing some great plain on the way to the mill. I'm not sure how many days that caravan would have travelled to get to a mill. I wonder if it was a lonely trip or a party caravan to celebrate the end of shearing season.

Cut to 2010, when I crammed about 100 pounds of raw fibre, along with my overnight bag, into my PT Cruiser and headed south to the mill near Kingston. Having that much bagged fibre in my car, is like having my own crash-cushion. Mind you, the rear window is obscured and I am constantly aware that at any moment, my windows might blow out with the force of all this fleece. That would really make my little car look like a popped kernel of corn, wouldn't it? All that fleece makes it difficult to find room for the bottles of wine that I pick up at the LCBO along the way...but I manage. I always make time to visit other alpaca farm friends on my 'fleece delivery to the mill' weekend.

Have a good weekend.

Arguments - Alpaca Style

2011-01-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Are you fed up of winter? Feeling a bit of cabin fever? It's caught on at the barn, too. This is the scene of the morning 'hissy-fit' between Carmel and Striker. No spitting, just posturing....kind of a warning. Not sure if there was some deep hurt between the two of them or Carmel didn't want Striker getting out the door to look at the ladies before he did.

Alpaca disagreements usually go like this...
1) "You are in my space and I'm warning you"....(see picture above, head tilts, ears back, chin up, possibly some gurgling).
2) "Didn't get the hint?" (Carmel will spit some wet pellets at Striker)
3) "Okay, that's it...you are really pissing me off" (Carmel will be horking up big green gobs of regurgitated hay onto Striker's fine white fleece...I find males aim for the face, while females aim in the air and let it fall).

Females will stop fighting at this point....Alpaca males can take it further...
4) (no words here because it's just pure testosterone now)...neck wrestling...running and butting chests...chasing each other around the pasture screeching as if someone is being murdered. When they are out of breath, they'll come back huffing and puffing, lips hanging down and drooling because even they don't like the taste of angrily regurgitated cud. Sometimes one will have a bit of the other guys fibre stuck in between his bottom teeth. These all out competitions are all to have the prime fenceline spot in order to win the hearts of the ladies...but apparently they haven't figured out that standing there with your lip hanging down, drooling green spittle and your buddies butt-hair stuck in your teeth doesn't make you a prime candidate for date-night.

Here's a picture of Lily and her adoptive mom, Aurelia this week. You might remember that we struggled to bottle-feed Lily, when her birth-mom wouldn't feed her. It was touch and go until Aurelia stepped in. She's never had a cria, but somehow started lactating just enough to save Lily. At six months, Lily is 59 lbs and loves to eat. Compare that to Ginger beside her, who is 3 days younger but whose mom Pepita has an abundance of milk. Ginger is 85 lbs.

Isn't Lily pretty?

This is a picture of the little public library where I work part-time. It looks quiet because I took the picture in the morning before I switched on the Open sign. See how the sun comes onto the table from the big picture window?

This is a very comforting place to be...sitting at the sun-warmed table surrounded by books. There is one morning a week when I open the library. That day, I try go to work a bit before opening time, so I can sit in peace with my coffee. It's a good place to think.

Meet Some of my Four-legged Friends

2011-01-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

My weekdays start with a coffee at the table with my family before they head off for the day. Then, it's me and my four legged friends...
here's only a few of them...

You might recognize Smokey, the retired barn cat. You might also recognize the alpaca/merino handknit sweater jacket, that I threw on the blanket box when I came home from the library. Smokey has great taste. In fact, I have had to move my retail sweaters, shawls, blankets and such into a cupboard in the shop so that he can't perch on them. He finds anything alpaca to lay on that he can. I figure that apart from being nice and warm, he might also be able to smell the alpaca and be reminded of his barn-buddies.

This is Lucy. Lucy is about 13 years old. We got her at the pound when she was about 3 months old. She was in a puppy cage by herself. While the other puppies jumped up and yapped when we entered the room, she leaned her whole body against the cage so we could rub her. She's a very loving dog. These days, she sleeps a lot. I think she really misses her pal Molly.

This handsome dude is Ka'Kocha. He's a lover with the ladies and throws very nice cria. Unfortunately, he's a big bully with the other boys to the point that he wouldn't let them come in the barn sometimes. So, KaKocha has a barn pen and a pasture all to himself beside the ladies. He watches them all the time. If I had the money to rework my farm, I'd have one barn for the girls and one barn for the boys with pastures that didn't share fencelines. Then, the boys wouldn't feel the need to compete all the time.

This...uhmmm...interesting looking face belongs to Daewoo the black-face llama. We got him and his buddy, Frankie, before we brought alpacas to the farm. These llamas were destined for the sausage-factory before we bought them.

We were told he was 3 years old at the time, so he'd be about 11 now. He hadn't been halter-trained or apparently touched very much. I tried to halter train him, but he is a very large llama and at 3 years, he was already about 350 lbs. It's a two person job to try to get a halter on him and he is able to drag me around the pasture with ease. Anyway, my husband and I can manage him to give him medication, his vaccination and toenail care although it's always an exciting task. I halter train all my alpacas to make it easy to manage them for care and transport.

Daewoo's ears must have been frostbit when he was at his previous farm. He's also not a very well conformed llama. I don't think he'll live the full life expectancy of 18-20 years and I keep an eye on his eathing and his gait for signs of pain. For now, he eats well and gets lots of exercise so he's fine.

Frankie and Daewoo were gelded when they were brought to the farm (otherwise, they could have impregnated my alpacas which would produce an animal with undesirable fibre). They are sentinel guards of my herd - meaning that they are the first to see something in the fields and signal with an alarm to the others. When they are in action - these llamas, which probably go about 500-600lbs each - look quite formidable...tails up, back arched, chests out, ears back. We usually put them in a pasture with the weanling males so that they bond with the little guys. It usually works so that, by the time we put the little guys into the main boys area, the llamas take quick action against any big boy that wants to bully the little guy. I think they earn their keep.

Top Ten Reasons for Owning (Loving) Alpacas

2011-01-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

This is my fourth post in the series about the benefits of owning alpacas. Alpacas give a great supply of fantastic garden fertilizer in manageable quantities (and right now, a little voice is asking me how my life got to the point that I am posting about poop to the world wide web - but it's a happy voice, so that's okay).

I don't know the scientific analysis on alpaca manure, but if you are interested, google it. When it comes to gardening, I'm just beginning to learn. I do know that it has done wonders for my lawn and my gardening relatives think it makes a huge difference in their garden.

Manure management is a great concern to most livestock farms. Compared to other livestock farms, alpaca producers have a very manageable amount of manure to deal with. Alpacas are about 150 lbs, only eat 2 percent of their body weight and can process it very efficiently.

If you are wondering (admit it, you are), alpaca poop looks a lot like white-tail deer poop…or like a pile of rabbit-droppings (granted, BIG rabbits). Picture a pile of little round beans.

Here's a funny story. I had a woman email me, that she wanted to bring her young son out to see an alpaca, as they’d been researching them on the internet, and would I allow them to come for a visit to the farm to see the alpacas. I said sure, and later the car pulls up and out pops the family…mom in open toe sandals. It was a lazy day and I didn’t have much else to do, so I found them some boots and did a whole farm tour. They were here for about an hour, when the woman said…”You must have a lot of rabbits around here….”. (I am not kidding.)

We have a poop-vacuum. (not many people can say this...) This is actually a big lawn-vacuum that is used by golf courses to clean their greens. We modified it a bit and can use it to suck up the manure beans when the pile is dry. We end up with something with the consistency of peat moss and it shovels out great and without a smell. This stuff made my lawn a beautiful green, when it used to be an ugly shade of parched beige-green.

If you’ve been reading my blog for sometime, you will also know that I am the proud owner of a manure-spreader (The ghost of my former twenty-five year-old self is aghast that I just said that!).
You can read about my manure-spreader here.
We use the tractor to scoop up the bigger winter piles and dump it into the manure-spreader. Then the spreader is pulled by the truck and flings the manure around the pasture to fertilize the soil.

Some alpaca producers sell their alpaca manure. I heard of one enterprising fellow who build a cement-lined box below a grate, and then trained his alpacas to poop over the grate. He sold enough of the clean manure to pay for all of his alpaca feed. Mind you, he lived an hour out of 'the big city'...where lots of folk will view driving an hour to pay a farmer ten bucks for a bag of poop as a sightseeing day-trip out of the city.

I haven't got to the point of marketing poop. Really, I've been called the "alpaca lady", and more recently, the "egg lady"....I am not ready to be called the "poop lady".

Who knew that I could write such a discourse on farm poop?

Coming Clean

2011-01-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like posting your New Year's Resolutions on your blog to make you feel committed. If you were reading this blog last year, you would remember that I posted my resolutions on this blog. I also posted the fibre related ones on my Ravelry group 'Friends of Misty Haven Alpacas Yarn and Garment'.

Well, like many people, much of my resolutions for 2010 didn't get achieved (trying not to use the word 'failure' here).

Okay, I did spend a lot more time with my dyepot as planned. Probably spent more time with my carder than the previous year, but still not as much as I had hoped.

I also did make a point of buying less, but buying better (more local, less packaging, less frivolus consumer goods, etc.)

As I mentioned, I don't want to use the 'F-' word here (...Failure...not the other one!). So I can be proud of many of the other things that I accomplished this year...things that I didn't consider part of my grand scheme on Dec 31, 2009.

I spent more time writing.
I read more.
I got rid of some debt.
I got rid of time commitments that didn't net me personal enjoyment.
I found a spot and made a great family getaway place to spend summer days.
I spent more time cheering and feeling Canadian pride - sparked by the incredible 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Spent more time with my camera.
Used less electricity and less gas for the car. (Yes, the environment is always on my mind, but the rising prices of electricity and gas force us all to be more mindful of how we do things.)

I caught comedian Ron James' New Years Eve special. At the end, he was joined by Canadian musicians Kim Mitchell and Ed Robertson (Bare Naked Ladies) to sing a song called 'Why Pretend?'. It's a funny song about the real outcomes of most of our well-intentioned New Year's resolutions.

So, in that spirit...I'm NOT making any resolutions for 2011.

My fortune cookie from New Years Day lunch says "Try everything once, even the things you don't think you will like".

Sounds like good advice to me.

Happy New Year!

Cute and Soft

2010-12-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

Really! Look at those eyes! This is Ginger. She's six months old. (BTW...she does have ears....really).

I've got a baby blanket on the needles. I'm going to be a great-aunt in March. This blanket is kind of a boring knit, but I'm thinking the next baby project might be a really cool baby dragon hat or something.

This is a Santa made by local artist and my friend, Pat Stamp of Ash Creek Pottery. Some of my friends might recognize the material that Santa is wearing as my former merino jacket...which I shrank!!! And this Santa's beard is kid mohair from Elmlea Farm in Ontario. (The fur cape is faux, by the way). He's a very special Santa.

Top Ten Reasons for Owning (Loving) Alpacas - Chicken Guardians

2010-12-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I did mention that these reasons wouldn't be in order of importance. This is my third entry in the Top Ten.
If you've been reading my blog, you know that I keep chickens for eggs, fly-control and entertainment. We started with five, then the next year had ten, and currently have more than I want to admit.

Our chickens are free-range. They have a nice chicken house and coop within our front alpaca pasture. During the spring, summer and fall, the chickens are free to roam where they want always returning to their coop at night. The usually stay within the fenced pastures. They have a lovely little life and provide a great source of entertainment as we watch them from our kitchen table.

We never had any trouble with predators for the first fourteen months that we kept chickens. I was surprised, as I had heard many stories from other farmers about raccoons, foxes, weasels, large predatory birds, etc. taking their hens.

We learned our lesson one day. We had been keeping two of the older male alpacas in the front pasture over the spring and into summer. I decided to move the boys back into the main male pasture area, to allow the front pasture grass to renew itself. Three days later, as usual when I rose from my bed, I glanced out my window to check that the farmyard was still as it should be. Even without my glasses, I could recognize the shape of a large fox carrying off one of my hens in its mouth. To make a short story, the fox had made off with 4 hens that night. I realized that the front pasture had not been empty at any other time that we had chickens.

We put alpacas back in that pasture that day. The fox never came back and we haven't lost a chicken in the last sixteen months (touch wood!). My neighbours have. Case closed!

Miracles Happen

2010-12-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas and I have stolen away from my family for a few quiet minutes to write. This last week, I have enjoyed reading other blogger's entries that share precious memories of their Christmas pasts and peeks into their current Christmas celebrations.

I am the youngest of six children, and my mother came from a large family herself. I had 24 first cousins on my mother's side, and some of those older cousins were having babies of their own by the time I came along. My grandparents lived on a farm in an old log house about 40 minutes from our house. Christmas Day meant gathering at Ma and Pa's home with all the other families. I can't even recall how my parents were able to transport all of us six, toboggans plus food in the station wagon that was towing a trailer with the snowmobile!

Ma loved Christmas. Every little person would receive a pair of hand knit woolen mittens. They would have to be unique, red with a white stripe, green with a red stripe, etc, so that the kids wouldn't be arguing over whose was whose. I don't know what else the boys got, but I know that the girls always got a pair of new underwear that 'you'd grow into' (in other words, they reached up to your armpits!). More information than you need to know, right!?

During the day, the cousins would toboggan outside and take turns getting towed around the field behind the snowmobile. Sometimes we would go into the barn to find the kittens or watch my young uncle milk the cows. I remember one Christmas, I was about 6, getting very angry because Uncle Grant had turned the cow teat towards me and squirted fresh milk all over my new red woolen Christmas dress.

I have great colour photos of my cousin's shiny faces happily looking up as Ma placed the 3 tier decorated fruitcake onto the table. I have no idea how we all fit into that house at once. Happy memories.

About a month ago, I was walking through the mall amid the throng of Christmas shoppers. Overheated in my winter boots and big 50 lb. faux fur coat, surrounded by the trappings of commercialism in its best retail month, I was misery defined. Something weighed heavily on my mind this fall and I really couldn't imagine getting excited for Christmas.

Then I saw a sign in a decor store at the mall that said ‘Miracles Happen’. I was drawn to it and it's message struck deep inside me. Could I believe? I felt like someone had handed me a rope. Christmas is the time for hope and the time for miracles. I have chosen to believe.

I thought about this a lot over the last few weeks. Then, I started recognizing other's need for hope this season.

A couple I know have watched their son struggle with treatments in the hospital for the last 18 months. Their wish is that he will be well enough to be able to spend a few hours out of the hospital today.

A good friend will spend the holidays waiting anxiously for her medical test results.

Happily, my friend's daughter returned from her tour in Afghanistan just before Christmas and my neighbours have our road decorated with yellow ribbons to announce the return of their own son. However, there are many military families that are bravely holding onto hope this Christmas as their loved ones are still away.

I hope that Christmas brings you the miracle you are hoping for.

Believe.

Top Ten Reasons for Owning (Loving) Alpacas - The Calming Factor

2010-12-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is the second entry in my Top Ten Reasons...

Nothing beats having your Monday morning coffee in the calm quiet of the barn, being stared at by 20 sets of big, dark eyes...and knowing the chaos that is in the house as your spouse tries to brush the wild hair of an uncooperative 6 year old before school. Even on a cold, dark January morning, it would be reason enough to jump out of bed and quickly declare, “I’ll get the barn this morning!”. It’s been a few years since I have had a 6 year old in the house…but there are still many times that I choose the barn over the intermittent chaos of our household.

Did you know that some alpacas are used for therapy animals? These special alpacas provide joy and stimulation to residents of care facilities when they make special visits with their owner. Not all alpacas are suited for being touched by many people. The typical alpaca is docile, calm with a naturally curious demeanour which makes them enjoyable animals, but alpacas generally do not like being touched. Some alpacas have special qualities that allow them to make a connection with an individual.

Some farms, that are properly equipped, have days where they host groups of people with disabilities that come to experience the alpacas. People can make a touch connection and enjoy putting their hand into the soft neck fibres of an alpaca as it looks back with its big dark eyes and softly hums. If not intimitated, curious alpacas will get close as possible to a human face, investigating through smell.

My friend Nancy, of Spinning Wheel Alpacas has a therapy alpaca, Ozzie. Read about Ozzie and their therapy work on Nancy’s website here.

Several people have confided in me that they made their decision to start an alpaca herd when they realized that their life was full of stress and they needed a calming influence. Others told me that they had reached a point where work-stress had taken its toll and they needed something enriching at home to provide a balance. Small groups of alpacas have been used on farms where special-needs children can care for them and gain both work-responsibility skills and an emotional connection. My good friend, Nancy, who I mention above says that her alpacas have seen her through some pretty emotional times during her recent battle with breast cancer.

Farming is not an easy task, and being responsible for a herd is not a light commitment. There have been times over the last 8 years, when I thought my family’s life might be easier without a barn full of animals to care for. However, I can also recognize that being able to work quietly amongst these gentle animals, to feel deserving of their trust, to be entertained by their behaviours and to witness their births…has made some of my own stressful times more bearable.

Top Ten Reasons for Owning (Loving) Alpacas - The Fibre!

2010-12-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

The other day, I was thinking of starting a Top Ten list for finishing off this year 2010. The idea came to me that I should list ten reasons why I love having alpacas on my farm. I often get asked why I chose alpacas for my farm by people waiting for a quick, simple answer. After answering this question for the last 8 years, I have a pretty standard answer. But could I come up with ten distinct reasons that I could articulate to people who might know nothing about the animal, quality natural fibre, livestock farming or starting a business? It was amazing that once I started writing, the reasons kept coming. I didn't intend a particular order for the list, but this first reason is the most important reason for me and my business.

The Very Top Reason to Own Alpacas is -
An ultimate supply of alpaca fibre, of course!

It's soft and non-itchy, comes in many shades from brilliant white, browns and true black. It's a strong fibre with a long staple, so it can be spun into a very lightweight, fine yarn. Garments made from alpaca have incredible drape and warmth.
Like other farms in our climate, we shear our alpacas in the spring. The majority of fleece from my farm and that which I buy off other Ontario farmers gets skirted and sorted into like lots (by fineness, colour and staple length) over the summer and sent off to the mill. Specific instructions to the mill include everything that they need to know for the yarn, such as blending recipe (percentage of alpaca, merino, silk, nylon, or other), desired yardage per pound, and the amount of twist desired. Other fibre might be turned into rovings, batts or felt.

I’ve been using Wilton Road Custom Fibre Mill in Odessa, Ontario for several years. The mill operator, Tracey, is a spinner and fibre enthusiast. She loves working on my fleece, as I usually have some novel requests that she loves to try out. She usually has a few ideas in creating small lots of trial yarns. We know that if we are excited to produce the yarn, then my customers will be excited to weave or knit with it. Wilton Road has been making my 3 ply sock yarn and my fingering weight yarns for the last 3 years and I am really happy with the quality, as are my customers.

The product is returned from the mill, anywhere from 4 months to a year after they receive my raw fleece. It’s like Christmas when I receive a big shipment of yarn back from the mill! Fresh yarn! Receiving the yarn is the culmination of a long process and I still need to knit up a swatch to find out if I have a truly successful run.

I handdye much of the yarns and rovings that are returned to me from the mill. This year, for the first time, I have sent some fleece to a mill that will also return it as dyed yarn.

I will process some of the nicest fleeces myself on the farm in small lots of unique fibre blends that are bought by other spinners. These might be blended with silk, mohair, merino, angellina or other fibres into beautiful rovings on my Patrick Green SuperCard.

I sell the yarn, rovings, felts and batts through my yarn shop, online and at markets and fairs. Some of it goes into finished products I either make or have made, usually locally.

A small portion of the rovings are spun into yarn by myself, for either my use, to sell or to use in end-products. People who can appreciate the qualities that make up a high-quality, unique, natural fibre yarn will spend the money on handspun alpaca yarn. A handspinner can usually spin a yarn that has less twist, and as such, has a softer feel than commercially spun yarns. As well, a handspinner has the option of creating very unique, novelty yarns that are unlike anything created commercially.

Today is the last Saturday before Christmas. My shop is in my house, so I believe that my family will be relieved that we won't have to have Christmas music blaring for 5 hours every Saturday after today. I had quite a few shoppers today, preferring to drive into the country for their last minute gifts than to tackle the mall parking lot. Alpaca socks make an appreciated gift for almost anyone on your list.

Art Yarn

2010-12-13T05:34:00.000-08:00

I've recently been intrigued by the creation of "Art Yarn". I found an Art Yarn group on Ravelry and was drawn to the pictures. The process looks incredibly creative compared to my attempts at traditional balanced yarn. I'm thinking of spending some time trying this soon. To this end, I ordered the book,
Intertwined: The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns, and Creative Spinning by Lexi Boeger.

In it, I found a most eloquent passage on handspun yarn that just made my heart swell.

"Handspun yarns are made by concious beings, not unconcious machines. This imbues them with an internal energy, giving them character and uniqueness. Each yarn is a reflection of the individual spinner who made it. It is this quality that makes handspun yarn so amazing to work with. As you work through a skein, you can see, inch by inch, the decisions that the spinner made. It passes before you just like a story."

This probably translates to any handcrafted product, doesn't it....

Are you Snowed In?

2010-12-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

There's opportunity to read, knit, spin, bake, wrap gifts, address cards or put up the tree!

Here's my gift to you today...check out this blog...

Mennonite Girls Can Cook - most days it is a great recipe, some days it is their 'Bread for the Journey' inspirational entry. The recipes are well organized by heading on the left side Recipe Index.

I'm hoping that I'll get to baking these cookies today...
http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/2010/11/peanut-butter-blossoms.html

Have fun!

Scattered Thoughts for a Thursday

2010-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

One of the great things you'll read about alpacas is that they poop in one area for easy cleanup and they rarely poop in the barn. This may hold true if you have a very small herd...for about a week. But the minute it's raining outside or the wind is blowing, one alpaca will figure out that it's more comfortable to stay in the barn, then to go outside and lift her fluffy tail to expose her bare parts to the weather. Once one starts the pile in the barn, it's a regular poop-festival. Pretty soon, you are spending your winter mornings with an ice-scraper to clean off the barn floor. It's important to find the one who starts it all and have a little chat.

This is Alicia, the informant...she'd tell me anything for a bit of extra pellets.

I had some birthday money to burn. I bought some fibre art books to inspire me. Yummy!

This book, I ordered through the inter-library loan system. Did you know that in Ontario you can get almost any book you want through your public library? This is a fantastic book. I only get to borrow it for 3 weeks though. It looks like a keeper, so I may end up buying a copy the next time I have a little gift money.

I am not too sure about this eBook Reader thing,yet....though I'm sure it will grow on me.

It is neat technology, and in Ontario, the public libraries provide the ability to download eBooks. One problem...if this catches on, what am I going to do with all those exquisite handwoven bookmarks that my fellow weavers have given me over the years?

Some of My Favorite Things

2010-11-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

I received this book as a gift last week. It's a very cute, very Canadian book that'll get you singing to the old familiar tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas". (Substitute with the likes of "Four Calling Moose, Three Beaver Tails"...you get the idea!) The artwork is fantastic. The only thing that would have made it better, would be an alpaca or a spinning wheel in there somehow.

I found a new favorite thing....dangerous!

Do you know what this is? My friend Joanne dug it out from the basement of her gift store that she has sold.

It's a skein winder or wool winder. After a spinner has spun yarn onto the bobbin of their spinning wheel, they would then use this to make a skein (big loop) of yarn before washing or dyeing it. The new ones have adjustable arms so that after you have wound your wool, the arms collapse in a bit, so you can get the skein off.

This is my Quebec production wheel. At one time, many Canadian farmhouses would have had one of these kept busy spinning yarn for the family's clothing. I have to admit, it's not very productive in my house. I have a modern Lendrum double-treadle that I use as my working spinning wheel, and an electric spinning wheel that I would like to be more productive on. I never got the hang of this old wheel, and it may have been a bit warped when I bought it. It is a nice conversation piece and even though it's not being used, I take comfort that I am keeping it safe as an historical artifact.

Gales of November

2010-11-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Snow tires with studs...worth every penny when you drive a little car. This past week has brought freezing rain, high winds and snow.

Looking outside the kitchen window, I don't relish venturing outside for chores.

Even the herd doesn't want to go outside these days.

But the hay is outside.

My 'good life' fitness program includes lugging these 40 lb bales out to each hay feeder.

When I bundle up against the cold, it's actually a good way to start the morning. My cheeks are rosy red from the biting wind, though.

I went to my local spinning and weaving guild meeting the other day. We have "show and tell" after the meeting. It's supposed to be about fibre arts, but I showed my new e-book reader. I didn't think my recent spinning project would dazzle anyone.

Guild member Rosalynn had this beautiful jacket in an undulating weave structure using funky coloured yarns.
Gorgeous!

And these colourful woven teatowels. What a piece of art.

I am inspired by creative people.

It's a Slow Wednesday

2010-11-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

I wandered into my friend's gift shop the other day. Joanne is clearing her stock, as she has just sold her gift shop that she has run for several decades in our small town.

And I fell in love....

Isn't he beautiful? (or do you think it's a she?)

It's silly. I'm not a big consumer of decor items, especially since I'm at the stage in life where I'm trying to de-clutter. But really....I couldn't resist. It called to me. I know its a lucky talisman for my kitchen. Besides, I got a stellar deal, too.

Do you have a suggestion for a name for him (her)?

I'm learning how to knit socks with the "Magic Loop" method. I really didn't think I wanted to learn this, but my knitter friend insisted on showing me. I have to admit that the rounds go a lot easier than on DPNs, which I was perfectly happy with. However, I got stuck after I turned the heel and I've left this project. I need a morning, a coffee and no pressure to put my head into it.

Some pictures from my morning out at the barn...

I covet my neighbour's land....is that wrong? It's currently hay fields. I can picture a herd of 100 alpacas over there grazing. No fence-posts or barn over there, though. Hmmmmmmm....

I was greeted by my farm help this morning. They don't get much done, are kind of goofy, but they work for free and don't disturb the quiet peacefulness of the barn.

I'd like to know what is making a home under the barn these days. Too big for a mouse or chipmunk, I think. I hope it's not a weasel eyeing my chickens.

This is Ka'Kocha. He's in a pasture by himself for the time being. He can see the girls all the time, so he's okay about that. He'd like to get in with the other boys to remind them who's boss. Big Ka'Kocha outweighs our younger herdsire, Striker, by about 60 lbs. Striker has that little guy attitude though...keeps challenging the big guy.

A couple months ago, for the first time ever on our farm, we had a gate failure. KaKocha got in with the girls unattended. He was too busy trying to ensure the other guys were on the side of the fence, that I think he forgot all about the ladies! (Well, I guess we'll know for sure next summer.)

Smoke is in the House

2010-11-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

It's official. Smokey the Barn Cat is retired. After a couple invites into the house, and putting the husky in her place with a few well-placed swats, Smokey has settled in.

We aren't sure how old Smokey is. We guesstimate about 8-9 years old. Smokey came with a mysterious past. His previous owner brought the cat home upon graduation from his university frat-house, where the cat had lived among young men. After some time, that owner gained a new fiance that was allergic to the cat. Smokey took right to the barn, made quick remedy to our barn mouse problem and never strayed. In turn, he had a comfy spot in a heated barn room with a cat door, 2 squares a day and all the necessary vet care. Although he was wary of the alpacas, he loved farming. When hubby would walk out to the back pasture to close a gate, faithful Smokey would always be walking along beside him. Smokey was right with us, whether we were fixing fences or skirting fleeces.

We figure Smokey has reached the age where he deserves more comfort and companionship. Apparently, so does he.

The only issue is that I can't keep him out of my alpaca shop located in the house. It's like an obsession for him to be in there, and I'd rather not be mixing cat hair with the alpaca fibres. However, if you think about it....he's lived with alpacas for the last 4 years, he probably thinks he belongs there.

I have a very different life than I had 12 years ago. Way different. About that time, I was doing some soul-searching as my life wasn't about what I wanted. I read a few self-help and motivational books. One must have suggested writing down what you imagined your perfect life to look like that started with the phrase "I see myself...."

I still have that piece of paper somewhere. There are about 7 main phrases there. One of the items said "I see myself amid a circle of artists".

I put that list away for years. One day years later, I came upon the list and realized that, even without my directed effort, most of the items had come true in some way. I guess that by recognizing what you want, you put things in motion to get there.

I can especially recognize that I am, indeed, amid a circle of artists. Artists enrich my life. True artists have the courage to let their individual light shine. I'm still working on that.

My friend Fay came over the other day to get my opinion of an applique quilt she was piecing together.

This is what comes of Fay's imagination....

The details in her work are amazing.

I met Fay through my alpaca yarn shop and she fast became a good friend. I have met so many interesting and talented people through my small business. Some of them, I haven't actually met in person, but through email or Ravelry.

Fibre artists share a bond and I usually feel like I've met an old friend.

Here's some shots that my new friend, Val sent me. It's of my handdyed fibre that she bought and spun on her spindle.

Yes, Val....I also would need a beer to spin on a spindle ;)

(Seriously, some people swear by the spindle....I could never get the hang of it. I didn't work with a quality balanced spindle, which might have been my problem. Little kids in Peru can master this while they walk!)

I think Val is a natural!

I know that Val is addicted. She's just purchased her first spinning wheel. I remember that feeling...to fibre artists, it's better than the "new car smell".

My Favourite Time of Year

2010-10-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Fall is certainly my favourite time of year. There are no bugs. The day temperatures are moderate. The nights are cool for sleeping. The night sky is clear. The June cria are old enough to stop worrying about them. The start of the school year seems to put everything back on a schedule. Harvest vegetables are plentiful.

Here are some fall pictures of around Eau Claire and Bonfield, Ontario that I took on a drive this past weekend.

Another great thing about fall....people start thinking about wearing warm alpaca and knitting again!

I find handspinners, handweavers and handknitters to be an incredibly social and sharing group. Once a year, I try to have a "Friends on the Farm with Fibre" event. I invite lots of fellow fibre artists. Sometimes the date works out, and my house is jammed with friends and spinning wheels, fibre and yarn for the day. This year, the date I picked had a few conflicts with other events, but still we had about 14 fibre friends come for the day. While it rained outside, we had a relaxing day of spinning and knitting and friendship.

I am a member of the Country Roads Artisan group that celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. Prior to our Fall Studio tour, we hosted a celebration at the shopping mall in North Bay. We displayed our wares, did demonstrations of our craft, shared cake and coffee and information with the public. The city mayor, and both our provincial and federal members of Parliament came to congratulate us. I always love to spin in public. People are so interested in this craft and in awe of the process. I get to meet a lot of very nice and interesting people while doing the demonstration. I found it especially satisfying spinning so relaxedly, watching others run about in our usual fast-paced, "gotta-get-the-errands-done" mode. Spinning brings me inner calm.

Our Country Roads Fall Tour was the last weekend in September. You can find more information about this tour and our group at our website http://www.countryroadstour.com/.
If you are planning to be in the area at any time, check out the information and hours of operation for the studios.

Below is an example of fellow member John Stephens' work from his studio At Wit's End Glass.

John's work is really unique. Many of the pieces feature birds or other wildlife. As well as 2D pieces, he also creates 3D works that incorporate other items such as rock, lichens, driftwood, etc.

Here are some of my recent handpainted sock yarns...

And I leave you with a fall shot of my farm....

and, of course, a recent picture of Lily for those who have followed the story of her hard little start.

For my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

End of Summer Colours

2010-09-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't spell "colour" wrong...even if my blogger spell-checker tells me so.

Here are a couple new colours of my chunky yarn in my shop. It's an 80% alpaca/20%merino chunky 3 ply.

In Twilight

In Bella Donna
I almost called this one black cherry. I thought that with the dark overtones, this colour would knit into a great accessory for an otherwise all-in-black goth-girl...one who wouldn't ever wear anything named "black cherry".

This is our truck. Big, bad-ass 4x4 truck. I try not to drive this, since I am short and cannot exit it gracefully. Wearing a skirt when I have to get in is not an good option. On a winter dressy occasion, when the nasty weather forced us to take the truck, we had to haul a stepping stool for me to get out without ripping my skirt. Sometimes, I have to drive the truck to work at the little library. It's not the type of vehicle your "library lady" should have to drive to work, is it?

We bought this truck after our other navy truck got flattened by a huge pine tree that fell in our driveway during a wind storm. Red wasn't a colour we would normally buy, but this used truck was available at a good price.

I have these blossoms showing all around the sheds and on the way to the barn. When I was young, we called them snapdragons. I'm not sure if that is the correct name for them. They sure are pretty.

Who decides if something is a weed or a flower?

Mostly Pics

2010-08-26T07:18:00.001-07:00

Seems the hint of fall is in the air here.

Misty mornings. It was a month of September that I named my farm. Here's the girls coming in from the back pasture for their breakfast pellets.

My family is taking every advantage of the last days of summer.
It's times like these when I think about the possibility of having to line up another shearing crew for the spring.
In case you were wondering...I had to hold the camera and the dog's leash. Otherwise, I'd be right in there. Honest....really....;)

I'm in denial about the approaching seasons. However, my hubby had a couple loads of wood delivered the other day. Reality approaches.

I'm all packed up for my booth at Rosseau Farmer's Market tomorrow. Market booths are a lot of work for me, but I do enjoy meeting people so much. Even on a slow market day, I get a rare opportunity to sit outside and spin on my wheel. The weather network says it will be fair weather.

I'm looking forward to fall. It's been too humid here this summer. I do look forward to the return of routine that fall brings. Not to mention getting to wear soft, warm alpaca again!

Rainy Days

2010-08-17T04:49:00.001-07:00

Oh, my yummy shelves! I've been having fun on my dyeing days this summer. These alpaca blend skeins were yet to be labeled as I got ready for the Artist's Garden event last weekend.

The Artist's Garden brings together about 25 artists and artisans from our community onto the gardens of Ash Creek Pottery in Callander, Ontario. For two days, the public comes to see the artists in action. I was there demonstrating hand spinning, not dyeing. The ladies of St. Andrew's Church serve lunch and desserts in a great tea room. Mid-day, a bagpiper plays from across the pond. The resident ducks walk amongst the gardens and glide into the pond. People play a game of trying to count how many frogs reside in the beautiful water garden beside the pottery studio. On a lovely day, you cannot find a more peaceful venue.
Saturday was a perfect day, even with a short 15 minute rain in the morning. I saw many old friends and met many new faces. The artisans are a great, friendly bunch and we have fun while we are there.
Sunday was not a perfect day. The skies turned black, the phone rang with warning from North Bay of high winds and hail. With black, ominous clouds approaching and the winds picking up, we scrambled to cover the tables the best we could. Not even my anti-rain dance in my long skirt and plaid rubber boots could save it. The skies opened up and it rained, and rained, and rained.
I felt quite sick watching from the studio's covered porch and realizing that I had several thousand dollars worth of yarn, hand knit and hand woven articles under the plastic. My poor tent didn't stand up too well. Somebody's market tent completely collapsed.
My fellow artisans thankfully rushed over to help me secure my product as best we could under plastic.
It rained for a very long time.
The best time was had by six year old Sage, who, barefoot and covered with a blue garbage bag ran through the rain and puddles, declaring that 'This is the Best Day Ever"!
When it finally cleared, the hostess found a dry table and tent and people helped me move some of my product to a drier spot.
Like many others, I was soaked to the bone with drip dry hair.
Worse was that when I got home tired, I had to unpack everything to ensure it wasn't wet.
I was happy that I only lost one photo card and some labels.
Sunday night, I was feeling that I might have participated in my last outdoor venue. I was tired and cranky.
But Monday, the emails started flying talking about how next year's event could be even better.
I love this event and the spirit of the people involved in it.
I'm in! (well, assuming I'm invited...)
I just might have to think about a more weather-proof display system.

Here's some fibre blending that I'm working on. White alpaca and a teal blue merino...makes a batt that looks like a waterfall. I'm thinking of adding either some sparkly angelina or some more colourful silk to it....we'll see where it goes.

It hasn't all been work. Lawrence Hill's Book of Negroes has been out on a steady reserved rotation from the library, especially as it has enjoyed such wonderful reviews. I finally got a hold of it when I had time to read it. It's so hard to put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed Hill's writing style, the story and the character, Aminata Diallo.

You may have been wondering about Lily. She's still doing fine, although she is smaller than she should be. Lily absolutely refuses the bottle, so we are weighing her often to ensure that she is still gaining. So far, so good. She is gaining, ever so slowly. Lily already has a fan base of her own rooting for her continued health.

Thanks for dropping in. I am always pleased to find comments, so please leave one if you feel inclined!

Easy Summer Living

2010-08-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

My schedule has been varied a bit over the last 2 weeks, so it seems almost like a holiday.

I had a booth both at the farmers' market in Rosseau and in North Bay on the August long weekend.

The young cria, Lily, started refusing the bottle from us. I guess after tasting the real stuff from her adoptive alpaca mom, the kid replacer just didn't cut it. She's also eating grass now. We need to keep an eye on her weight and make sure she keeps gaining.

Without the regular bottle feeding schedule, we've been able to spend some more time out at the lake. We still have to run home to look after the animals at least twice a day. Still, it seems like a holiday to be swimming, relaxing in the shade with a good book, visiting with family, fishing, etc.

We had a good rain for most of today. Tonight, I went out to take some nice shots of the green fields and perhaps some alpaca pictures.

It's hard to sneak up on the alpacas with a camera. Either they come up to put their noses into the lens, or more often than not, you end up taking a lot of pictures of alpaca butts as they turn and move away.

I was able to take a picture of one back pasture before the girls noticed me and figured they should run in to get some pellets.

We often have deer in our back pastures, sometimes even grazing alongside our alpacas. I counted six there tonight, although I couldn't get them all in one picture.

Do you remember Mr. Lonely?
Uhmm...pretty sure it's a Miss. Isn't she pretty? I think we will call her Miss Lovely from now on.
She's not so lonely anymore. Aren't they getting big?

I've been doing a lot of hand dyeing, both yarn and rovings.

Here's my 3 ply sock yarn in "Feet on Fire" colourway.
and "In The Navy" colourway.
This coming weekend, Aug 14th & 15th, I will have a booth at The Artist's Garden on Hwy 654 in Callander, Ontario. Check out the link. 22 artists and artisans show their wares and demonstrate their craft. I'll be hand spinning....alpaca, of course!

Thanks for stopping in to read my blog. It makes my day when I see that someone has left a comment.

Gardens, berries, and Lily

2010-07-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is in full swing here. It seems that it takes a rainy day and full dye pots before I get a chance to sit down and post an entry!

One good thing about living in the country is that the colour just seems to happen. My flower garden is a wild thing, designed to look that way by Jim Merrick of Commanda Country Gardens. I told him that I don't have time to fuss, so my garden is full of native perennials that are drought resistant and spread faster than the weeds can. Throw in a long, country driveway and from the road, my garden looks fantastic. The cherry trees are loaded. I'm not sure if they are ping or choke cherries - either way, I don't like the taste. However, the birds are all over these trees that surround our yards here.

It's a great year for raspberries. We've been picking quite a few.

And FRESH YARN has arrived from the mill, via a friend heading north on a kayak trip who kindly saved me shipping costs! There is always a few months turnaround from fibre to yarn at the mill, so I had best be getting my spring fleeces skirted and batched off to the mill soon. I have started dyeing this 3 ply sock yarn today.

Every livestock farm has sad stories to tell from time to time. I choose not to write about the sad stories in my blog. So, the following tale has been a while coming as I've been guarded about the outcome. Touch wood, but I think it's going to have a happy ending and wanted to share it here.

On June 26th, our Raven gave birth for the first time. She delivered in the back pasture in the early morning. When I went out to check the girls, Raven was grazing quite far away from the cria, so at first, I didn't think it was hers. Although a bit curious about the cria, she didn't stay near it like most dams do. She looked a bit bewildered when the cria started following her every move.

Things just didn't seem normal, and after watching, it was apparent that Raven had no intention of letting the cria try to nurse.

We've never encountered this on our farm, and we tried everything "in the book" to get Raven to let the cria nurse.

To make a short story out of a long one, we ended up bottle-feeding the cria. Bottle-feeding a cria is a pretty big commitment of at least 3 months.

On the second day, we noticed that another maiden alpaca, Aurelia was allowing the cria to suckle. We thought it strange, but allowed it to happen, knowing that the bonding with the herd is important to the health of a cria.

This kept on. We would bottle-feed and then it would suckle from Aurelia. Aurelia was taking on all of the normal protective instincts of a new mom, alarming at every different sight and sound and keeping the cria close to her at all times. On the off-chance, we started giving Aurelia some lactation herbs.

When the cria was 12 days old, we checked Aurelia's little teats and found that she had started to lactate a bit! The cria, who we have named Lily, had been adopted.

Over the next 2 weeks, Lily started taking less milk from the bottle.

Lily still isn't as big as she should be, but she is strong and sturdy and plays normally. We are still supplementing her with the bottle somewhat.

This is Lily as she was at 17 days of age.

She's a beauty with brilliant, white fibre. Keep your fingers crossed that this happy story continues....

July Farm Pictures

2010-07-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

This morning, Smokey the barn cat puts action in as he retells me the story of his latest barnyard kill....(not really, this is him saying 'Hey, get rid of that camera and pet me already!").

Pepita and her baby are doing just fine, even with this oppressive heat.

With a healthy cria at side, a nice snooze in a sun-baked dust-bath is an alpaca mom's spa!

Awkward teenage chickens...

Have a great day!

Black Alpaca Jackets

2010-07-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

I've been writing previously about the black alpaca jackets that my friend, Suzanne Philbin, was weaving and tailoring for us.

We modelled them in the fashion show at the Wasoon 2010 conference in Kapuskasing. Wasoon stands for Weavers and Spinners of Ontario North and is an excellent conference that takes place every two years in a different location in Northern Ontario, Canada.

It felt like we were the stars of the show in these jackets. Even walking into the conference hotel with the jacket on a hanger, I was surrounded by conference delegates wanting a closer look and touch. I kept explaining that I couldn't take credit for my jacket, my true talent lies in ensuring that I have a gifted and generous friend like Suzanne.

How these jackets came to be...

I was in possession of a surplus of 100% natural black alpaca yarn. This yarn was fairly coarse alpaca, with no loft and spun fairly tightly. I knew it wouldn't suit a knitting project. One day, I showed it to Suzanne to ask her opinion of using it to weave a jacket "some day". Suzanne is a very experienced weaver and seamstress.

Suzanne said that we should each weave a jacket. Now, this conversation probably took place in 2007.

The yarn went back into the great yarn and fibre bin that used to be our family basement.

Every once in a while, Suzanne would ask "When are we going to start those jackets"?

And is usually my reply..."Oh, in a couple months I'll have time to start...after (the alpaca show, shearing, school starts, fall sales events finish, etc. - you can fill in the blank with an excuse at any time of the year!)"

The Wasoon 2010 conference date was looming and Suzanne wanted to wear that alpaca jacket at the conference.

Finally, in early 2010, Suzanne announced that we were starting the jackets. Realizing that it was going to be impossible to get me to commit to weaving half the warp on a loom sitting in North Bay and understanding that I didn't sew well enough to tailor my own jacket, Suzanne agreed to do the bulk of the work.

Suzanne and I collaborated on the warp, deciding on the on-loom width of 28” and putting a random length of Noro Blossom (wool, silk, mohair, nylon) yarn that I found in my stash.
We spent most of a Sunday at Ralph Johnston's studio, designing the warp and winding the warp.
Suzanne's experience really showed in the warp design - it's so important where the random strands of colour would go...I wouldn't call them random after all. It's in the planning of the material that consideration needs to ensure such things like there wouldn't be a stripe running centre of the jacket back.

Suzanne wove the whole 7 yards in over a week and several excited phonecalls.
I learned just how focussed Suzanne can be over a project...that's probably why she can create so many masterpieces, while I don't.

The project took 22 skeins of black alpaca and 2 skeins of the Noro. Then she handed me the heavy bundle and said simply..."I wove it, you wash it."
Yikes! What pressure that was.
Keep in mind the whole weaving studio community and Suzanne's friends and family were watching this project unfold.
Keep in mind that I've been known to destroy at least one handwoven article in my washing machine!
What pressure indeed. I contemplated how I might recover from a potential laundry disaster of this magnitude.

Happy to say that the material was washed and pressed, with almost 0% shrinkage in the width.

I brought the washed textile back to the studio, gladly announcing to Suzanne "I did it! I washed it!"....
From another weaver came "Well, really, I think it's the least you could do!"

I smiled.

Suzanne tailored the two jackets. Suzanne’s jacket is from Simplicity # 4045. Suzanne made a pattern for the second jacket from an old jacket of mine. In fact, Suzanne made 4 mock jackets out of sheeting before she was happy enough with the fit for my jacket to begin sewing it. What can I say...I'm a big girl with big shoulders.

For both jackets, the trim around the front and neck was knit from fingering weight 80% alpaca and 20% merino. A single strand of the Noro Blossom was woven into the trim to create a finishing touch. Suzanne’s jacket has this trim around the wrist openings as well.

I did knit my front finishing edge myself...which ended up being somewhere around 64 inches of very fine knitting. (Applause here)
See, that's another thing I did on this project!

Suzanne completed her jacket with hand-felted buttons with a knit alpaca clasp. I decided to leave mine without buttons, as it hangs so beautifully at the front and I never button my jacket anyway.

The jackets are important to me and Suzanne not only as one-of-a-kind quality hand woven alpaca garments. They symbolize a very valued friendship which began through fibre arts, our continuing inspiration and knowledge shared through this creative experience.

Chicks and Crias

2010-06-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, Mr. Lonely settled in well with his new playmates. There are 45 now, of 4 breeds. I've stopped naming them ;)
I believe this handsome guy shown below is a 'Partridge Chantecler', a heritage breed. This breed is a variant of the Chantecler chicken which originated in Canada, and is resistant to our cold climate. Do I know what I'm talking about? Not really. I do find the whole chicken breed research fascinating though.

Well, it's summer here at Misty Haven Alpacas. Our weather has been pretty decent. Not too hot. Enough sun and rain to make things nice and green.

And what could summer be on an alpaca farm without some cria to adore?

This is SCA Pepita and her new baby from noon hour today.
It's a girl weighing 19.4 lbs! I love the medium fawn colour. The dad is our multiple ribboned bay-black DEA Cyrano.

Pepita is a new mom and even though she had a pretty tough time delivering this baby, she has taken to mothering like a pro.

Thanks for popping by to read my posts. Please leave a comment if you are inclined. I love to hear from others who either share my interests or those who are drawn to read about a lifestyle far from their own.

Mr. Lonely No More!

2010-06-16T04:18:00.001-07:00

Mr. Lonely isn't so lonely anymore. In fact, I think he's a bit overwhelmed!

We were waiting for the call from the post office all day for the chicks to be picked up. The hay lady called to say that the hay was probably going to be baled for pickup off the wagon that night.
And you know how that goes.
The post office called at 6:00pm saying that the chicks were in North Bay for pickup before 7:00pm. The hay lady called to say the bales were ready to pickup...30 minutes in the opposite direction of North Bay.
I picked up the chicks, hubby and daughter picked up the hay.

Can you hear it now? "Oh, sure, we're unloading the hay and you're taking pictures for your blog!"
We are done one load of three. We usually ensure we have about 375 small bales of hay for 20-24 alpacas and llamas. Alpacas only eat 2% of their body weight in hay. That means that a 150 lb alpaca will eat about 3 lbs hay a day. Not much, is it? Some farmers weigh out the exact amount, to optimize costs and to keep the alpacas lean. Lean, healthy alpacas have finer fibre than overweight alpacas. The trick would be to ensure that each animal gets his portion. We choose to offer extra hay and much gets wasted. We have always had around 80-100 bales left over, but it's always good to be prepared with extra, in case of a late spring.

Lucy is our 12 year old husky cross. She's a sweet, sweet dog. Lucy had a very hard time getting over the absence of her buddy Molly, our 14 year old dog who recently passed. Lucy had never been alone for longer than 30 minutes. We are giving Lucy extra attention these days. Many people suggested that we get Lucy another younger dog or puppy for a companion. I think Lucy will enjoy her final years as an only dog who gets all the attention.

That black box that you see at her throat is the transmitter for our radio-controlled invisible fence. Huskies like to run and we live in a fairly populated area on a fast road. Having an invisible fence means never having to tie your dog up to keep them safe.

Mr. Lonely

2010-06-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Lonely, he's Mr. Lonely.....
Poor little chick had a rough start. Mom kicked him out of the nest and hubby found him on his side with his eyes closed. So, the back of my alpaca trailer has become a chick nursery. We've been wearing a path to the trailer checking on him. None of the other eggs have produced a live chick. We suspect some nasty chicken business is going on...I'll leave out the details for the faint of heart.
Hubby has ordered some chicks to arrive tomorrow, so Mr. Lonely will have some friends.
It was either that or I was going to bring him in the house.

I did some crock-pot dyeing of rovings on the weekend. Wild and crazy colours. The colour is random and fun to spin.
Some for sale, but I just have to try some of this myself.

Saturday was my first day at the North Bay Farmer's Market this season. I'm an occasional vendor, which means that I get offered a booth when a regular can't make it. I like to talk to people so I usually enjoy myself there. As usual, I run into old friends and customers that I haven't seen for a while. It didn't rain, which was a bonus on a market day.

Smokey the barn cat. "Mr. Cool" defined. It's his barn...don't forget it.

Our hay lady called to tell me that they've started cutting. Hopefully, within a few days, the hay loft will be full and another job will be behind us.

It's Been a Month!

2010-06-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the "Simple Shawl for Fancy Yarns" that I made out of my hand spun, handpainted alpaca\kid mohair\merino blend. The pattern is by Jenn Hintz of FibreFibers and can be found on Ravelry. The shawl's for me and I love it! So soft and colourful.

It's been a month since my last blog entry. I could say that I've been awfully busy but that would be true of my life in general, no more this month than others. Well, I can say that I was rather distracted with an sad event that was unfolding in our family. I'll leave it at that for now and tell you about the positive things that happened in the month.

On May 16th, the Country Roads Studio members had it's own studio tour. This is the day that we set aside to travel together to each others' studio, have a meal and a meeting together. It was a beautiful day, spent with friends. I'm always amazed at the talent that is possessed by these artists and artisans on our tour. I'll be posting some pictures of this work in later entries.

The next weekend was our Victoria Day long weekend in Canada. We don't usually shear until the end of May or early June, but it's been terribly hot and I gambled that the May 8th snowstorm would be our last. Our family of three decided to try shearing without help this year. It went marvelous. We started with the little ones and found that it was so easy, we continued on. Usually we would be having a very long day trying to get all 17 animals sheared while help was onsite. This year, we sheared a comfortable number each morning and when it got hot, we quit and went to the lake. On the last morning, our friends Tim and Lise came over to help lift the table when we did the last 4 heavyweights. It was such a relief to get it done!

The following week, May 28-30, I drove to Kapuskasing, Ontario to participate as a vendor at the 2010 Weavers and Spinners of Ontario North conference. It's a 6 1/2 hour drive north, through a lovely part of Canada. I was happy to have my friend Jane travel in my car for company. The conference was wonderful as always. It is always amazing that such a large event can be put on by the members of these small guilds. I was the chair of the conference in 2008 when it was in North Bay, and I appreciate the amount of work and organization involved. Seeing it from the 'outside' this time, I can also appreciate what this conference does to help keep our craft and our important artist relationships alive.
Hat's off to the Kapuskasing guild, especially for juggling to find numerous generators to keep the conference going when Ontario Hydro announced a total town power outage for Sunday morning!

My friend and fellow weaver, Suzanne Philbin, completed our two black alpaca jackets in time for Wasoon 2010. We wore them in the fashion show and received much praise for them. Staying in a hotel crawling with textile artists and carrying these jackets on a hanger through the lobby made me feel like a celebrity! Everyone wanted to touch and admire! These jackets deserve their own blog entry - so pictures will follow on another day.

We are on "cria-watch" at the farm. That means that one female has passed the 11-month mark in her pregnancy, so we have to keep an eye on her. The other will follow shortly. We are only expecting 2 cria this year.

However, we have some new life springing forth. One of the eggs under Velma has hatched the night before last! Cute! We are waiting for 9 more....

This is our first time having chicks! I hope he has some buddies soon, he looks a bit bewildered!

So...the sad event unfolding is the death of our 14 year old dog, Molly, last week. We knew it was coming and thinking about it overwhelmed a lot of other things in our family life. Someday soon, I'll write about Molly and share some pictures to honor her. Not now. It's too soon. It's too hard to write it.

Enough Already!

2010-05-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the reason that we will never shear before the last week of May at my farm. This picture was taken Saturday morning.
Not a great day for the Country Roads Tour. The hydro went out for a bit over 5 hours. We have an inline generator, so that didn't affect us much.
However, I didn't have customers Saturday.

I could have felt bad, but I felt worse for my friend that has the tour tea-room. She had spent Friday baking pies and cooking food for the weekend.

Today's weather was better. The wind was bitter, but the snow gradually melted away.

We did have a stream of customers come through today. Several were disappointed that the alpacas weren't out at the front to greet them. Most understood when I explained that I couldn't feel good about putting the alpacas out in a temporary pen with no proper shelter to stand knee deep in snow. The children felt better when I told them that they could call to come back in July to see the baby alpacas that we were expecting.

I demonstrated handspinning to the children, explaining how the pioneers would have made their clothing and they were so interested. I'm always surprised at the number of adults who tell me they have never seen a spinning wheel at work before. It gives me a lot of pleasure to be able to show this historical craft.

At 6:45pm Sunday, it looked like this.
Our area sure needed the extra moisture that the snow brought.
I am looking forward to the return of warm weather this week.

Happy Mother's Day Thoughts

2010-05-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

We are heading into Mother's Day weekend.

A good friend of mine is missing her daughter right now, as her daughter is away serving with the Canadian troops in Afghanistan. However, I know that she is very proud of her daughter. They both will be thinking of each other this Sunday.

My thoughts are with all of the mothers around the world that are separated from their children because of war...whether they are away from their family and home serving their country themselves, or whether they are the mothers that are left home to wait.

I'll be busy this weekend, as my studio is part of the Country Roads Mother's Day Tour around the rural roads where I live. This collage shows a few samples of the interesting things and people that you find along the 12 stops of the 2010 tour.

This is the 30th anniversary of the Country Roads Tour. Find out more at www.countryroadstour.com.

I'm reading a book right now by Annie Leonard called "The Story of Stuff'. As the picture shows, it's about "How our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities, and our health - and a vision for change."
I'm probably three quarters through the book. It's a fascinating book.

I've been on a downshifting/downsizing/simplifying slope for a few years now. That 'downshift' in career was necessitated by health, and well, after a few years of not bringing in a nice fat salary, the finances get downshifted as well.

I already know that money doesn't buy happiness. My riches in life are made by being with the people I enjoy and by doing the things I love, not by the things that I buy. A message from this book is that once your basic needs are met, you can't get happier by buying and owning more. Most of us in North America need to figure this out - and for the sake of our planet - soon. I speak for myself - I have a long way to go... but after reading this book, I want to do better.

Here's a radical idea for Mother's Day. Bring Mom to your local public library and get her a library card. If you live in Ontario, Canada, it's free! Besides oodles of books to borrow, there are typically internet-connected computers to use, DVD movies to rent, magazines, audio-books, subscription to databases such as Ancestry.com. Our library loans out pedometers, others loan out tools and decorative cake tins. There are book clubs, knitting clubs, and the like. Everything is shared, so that one book or one movie can be used by many people in the community. And to make your mom REALLY happy...sign out a book for yourself...mothers like it when their kids read ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Art for your Feet!

2010-04-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

I'm celebrating with my friend, Fay, today!

I met Fay when she started coming to my farm shop to buy yarn. She always bought the nicest sock yarn and talked so passionately about knitting. It turned out Fay was quite a knitter and quilter with an amazing artistic touch.

Well, that was about 2 years ago and we've become great friends. She's started spinning with great projects in mind. She's also eyeing the weaving that my friends and I have been doing. Fay starts to talk faster and more intently when she starts thinking about a fibre arts project. She's a gem in my life.

I kept seeing Fay buy my sock yarn, but whenever I saw her, she was wearing store-bought (ugly) socks. I assumed that she did what many fibre artists did...loved the process of knitting and then gave away the finished product to love ones. One day, the topic came up. Fay told our little knitting group that she had a huge bag full of beautifully hand-knitted socks of the best yarn. She didn't feel that she should wear such precious things on her feet just for everyday.

Well, I'm glad to report that Fay came to my home the other day and this is what I saw!
OK...it's not my yarn in those socks and it's not alpaca..but Fay's made a start and is feeling worthy enough to wear her art everyday!! It's a start!

There is something comforting in just knowing that you are wearing pair of socks that were the output of a process that has been past down from generation to generation. Mostly by women caring for their families.

The ultimate is wearing handknit socks from handspun and handpainted yarn. If these are alpaca, the experience is almost sensual. My friend, Suzanne, wears hers with sandals and her blue jeans so they can be noticed.

Some sock yarn is machine-washable and other needs to be cared for like fine lingerie.
Hand washing socks has become a ritual for me...I handwash my handknit, natural fibre socks because I want to preserve them. These socks bring me pleasure when I wear them and are worth the small effort of handwashing.

I have some totally utilitarian socks that my husband's late grandmother knit from thick indestructible acrylic. These socks are probably 25 years old. I wear them in my barn boots when the temperature doesn't require the warmth of alpaca. Gary's grandmother loved this farm, I loved her and those indestructible socks she made remind me of her.

Most commercially available socks come from overseas mass-production with an attached environmental cost, and, in some instances, a human rights cost. You can buy a pack of 8 cotton socks at the big-box store for likely the same as some moderately priced yarn for one pair of hand knit socks.

But, those socks won't last very long and I can promise you that you won't get the same feeling that I get when I wear my hand knit socks. Especially my alpaca ones!

Destiny, The Show and a Hat

2010-04-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

I have a special find that I have to share with you.
One of my fellow alpaca producers, Shannon Cassidy-Rouleau has written this book called "Destiny's Purpose".

The story centres around an alpaca called 'Destiny' and the journey that takes place when Destiny rises above his unique challenge to find his purpose.

There are many layers to this story. Anyone who has struggled to overcome obstacles or supported someone else’s struggle, will identify with the characters in this touching read-aloud.

Included in the book is a non-fiction section about alpacas.

The illustrations by Dennis Auth are beautiful.

A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation – to advance research for a cure, to educate the public about this condition, to provide hair prosthetics for children in need, and to bring child sufferers to national conferences to meet other children like themselves.

I'm excited to carry this book in my shop now. It's also available online here.

Last Friday, I hopped in my PT Cruiser and headed down to the Alpaca Ontario Show 2010 in Orangeville, Ontario. I was excited to see my alpaca-lovin' friends and discuss industry topics. Also, I looked forward to viewing those 375 alpacas in the beautiful ag centre that they have there.

I used to be quite involved in showing and with the show committee. I haven't shown for over 3 years now. Friday night, I was missing that pre-show excitement that I saw in my friends. But, all in all, I don't miss the pre-show stress and travelling with alpacas. Maybe another year, I'll have more tolerance for it again.

I was able to visit with many good friends in the industry and also talk with like-minded business people. I saw some inspirational fibre art on display and for sale as well.

After a positive experience, I had a sunny drive home up Highway 400 on Saturday.

Things might have ended differently. Sunday, while driving around close to home, my car started making very loud sounds with everything vibrating under the hood. I found out later that one of the bolts that hold the motor to the mount completely sheared off and was rolling around in the splash guard. I'm very thankful this didn't happen when I was doing top speeds on the highway on Saturday.

This is a picture of alpaca fibre taken from my young herdsire, MHA Striker.
Unlike sheeps wool, alpaca fibre has no lanolin. This makes alpaca easier to process without heavy scouring with detergents.

The little ridges that you see in the fibre is called 'crimp' and it is a desirable trait.

This alpaca's fibre is brilliant white. What you see as discolouration in the picture's right is actually dirt in this unwashed fleece...the dirt doesn't penetrate to base of the fibre, as the fibre is packed to densely on the animal.

By the way, Becky "The Unknown Knitter", scolded me for not showing a picture of that big hat once it was finished, fulled and dyed. Here it is!
Rest assured, it's an old picture...we don't have snow.

Waiting...

2010-04-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

The alpacas are pretending to graze...it's spring, they love to stretch their legs. Actually, this picture was taken last week, and it has really greened up since then. Now that the ground is thawing, I'll need to keep them off the pastures as the grass tries to sprout.
You might notice Pepita, the fawn alpaca with her head down, is showing a bit of a belly...hopefully there's a cria in there!

I'm trying to spend more days at home doing my fibre arts. It doesn't always work that way. I'm a roadrunner by nature.

My car is in for repair and I turned this into a positive thought. I would be 'captive' at home without any errands to take away from my fibre arts projects.

I had a few distractions yesterday morning. The power went out and the generator didn't start up automatically like it should. With cell phone in hand and hubby on the other end, I was able to get it going. Then, I noticed the chickens were out of the pasture this morning...again...and went to corral them back in.

I was, however, able to accomplish some handpainting of sock yarn.

Also, I fulled some mittens that my knitter, Becky, knit for me. I'm lucky that I have Becky, who is a obsessive knitter, in my life. Becky is a better and faster knitter than I. Knit items that are sold in my shop and samples for my Misty Haven Alpaca yarns are mostly knit by Becky.

Here's a picture of Becky modelling a hat that needs to be fulled.

To all the people who admire her work in my shop, she remains..."The Unknown Knitter".

The shots of the mittens are before and after fulling in the washer and dryer. The perspective of the camera shot doesn't give an appreciation of how much they shrank, but you can tell by the tape measure. The mitts became thick and solid - they'll be warm, warm, warm...and with the natural fibres only, they'll repel the water.

The men's rust and forest colour pair are still quite large, but we'll find some big hands to go into them.

You'll notice the white cotton edging at the wrists of the berry coloured mittens? That will come off after the mittens are fulled, and a ribbing cuff knit on. Neat, eh?

This coming weekend (April 10th, 11th) will be the largest alpaca show ever in Canada. The Alpaca Ontario Show is happening at the Orangeville Fairgrounds in Orangeville, Ontario. It will be amazing. I haven't shown my alpacas in the ring for 3 years now, but I still like to get to the show to see the great animals and of course, my alpaca-lovin' friends.
It's a neat thing to see, if you are in a day-trip distance to Orangeville.
Here's the link to the Alpaca Ontario site, if it interests you.

If you tune in to my blog because you like farm blogs, you need to check out
Life on a Southern Farm.
This lady and her hubby in Georgia seem to have found heaven on earth it seems to me, anyway.
She shares lovely photos, her videos and her life. Her goats are having kids these days and they are cute, cute, cute.

Smokey the Barn Cat

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Smokey the Barn Cat.

Our property is divided between the 1 acre that the house sits on and the 89 acre farm by a creek. Our dogs stay on the house side of the creek. Smokey (usually) stays on his farm side. Every morning and every evening, Smokey waits for his people to come visit him. He does keep a good eye out for the dogs. Smokey is a great barn cat. He never strays far and will follow us out around the pastures like a faithful friend. His former home was a university frat-house...I think he likes it here much better. He has a cat-door into a heated room in the barn. He gets wet and dry food, flea protection and vaccinations. He's in top form. He even has a girlfriend next door who visits but doesn't want to move in.
Smokey knows that the dogs are getting old and it's only a matter of time before he makes the move from the barn to the house to spend his retirement.

Look like a photo from a National Geographic article on some poor drought ravaged nation?
Well, sadly, this is one of the alpacas dust bath areas in the pasture. At the end of March, this should be a puddle. Yikes, it's dry this year!

Oh, the excitement spring brings! Here are my female alpacas in the front pasture...all on guard and sounding the alarm calls! What could it be?
Curious, I donned my boots and sweater and headed over to their side of the bridge.
Bravely, with camera in hand, I went over to the fence-line. I couldn't see anything but boy, the girls were upset and staring towards my neighbour's field.
So I headed down the fence-line, toward the brush area, to get a better look. Maybe a deer, a coyote, a bear?
The alpacas all made a quick start and made a dash toward the barn.
For that brief second, I thought "Hmmmm....perhaps I should have brought something other than a camera." (I've had those thoughts a lot over the years...you think I'd learn!)

Then, I saw my neighbour Ed, dressed in a black snowsuit, heading out of his old metal outbuilding...probably getting his landscaping tools out for the spring.

I should have known. Last week, the girls were very upset because my westerly neighbour parked her van behind her garage, instead of front as usual. This kept them excited for over an hour.

Another exciting time on the farm!

Another egg picture! Friday, I'll be decorating eggs with my daughter. Have a safe and enjoyable Easter weekend.

Cria Memories

2010-03-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it's just a couple months until the new Misty Haven cria are expected. If all goes as planned, we will have 3 young alpacas scooting around in early June. For the first time on this farm, all the pregnant females are first time moms.
Anyway...I've been spending way too much time looking through the pictures of cria today...reminiscing. Some of these little ones have grown up on the farm and stayed. Some have moved on to other farms.

Okay...I have to say it, cause you are all thinking it. CUTE! CUTE! CUTE!

Actually, these pictures above are all of cria that are between a few hours and a few weeks old. They get even cuter once their fleece gets a bit longer and they get a bit pudgy and "grow into their ears".

Cria average from 14 to 20 lbs at birth. We had one weigh in at 24 lbs once. They hit the ground (literally because mom is usually standing, sometimes continuing to eat grass) and are immediately trying to get up. They've usually found their balance and are on their way to the "dairy bar" within an hour of birth. Alpacas are usually born between 6am and noon. By evening, they are racing around the field trying out their legs.

For the most part, we keep a distant eye on the birth proceedings and mom handles things all on her own. We've had many births on the farm and have only had to get "hands-on" a few times.

Given that the average gestation is over 11 months, the anticipation is high to see what last year's breeding strategy will produce.

Chickens Gone Bad

2010-03-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

Somehow in college, while studying and working, I had the time to follow a soap opera. My drug of poison was 'Days of Our Lives'. Twenty-some years later, I've flipped the channels and found that series...many of the names are the same. I bet that if I watched it for 3 days, I'd recognize the same plots being played out.

We have our own daily production here. Today's title is "Chickens Gone Bad".

While I was supposed to be catching up on some handpainting in my sunroom....

I spotted Big Red outside the pasture fence. Apparently, he and a couple of the Elsies struck out on their own. I kept an eye on them hoping that they would decide to go home on their own.

They really can't get in much trouble unless they go mess on the neighbour's deck or they venture over to our house where the dogs are sleeping on the deck.
I'm sure Big Red had big plans of starting his own coop without any male competition.

I could hear some pretty sad rooster sounds. I don't know if it was Bates back at the coop trying to figure out where his missing two hens went. Maybe it was Big Red, now regretting his idea and realizing that the two Elsies weren't the ticket to hedonistic freedom he thought they were.

Well, after a while, I couldn't see them anymore so I headed over to the barnyard to find them and herd them home. It wasn't hard.
Sometimes the grass just looks greener on the other side. Their little outing complete, Big Red and the two Elsies were happy to rejoin the flock and resume exploring the thawing fields in search of the first worm.

Yep, it's been a slow day on the farm ;)

A few bellies are starting to show. Here's Makushla.
She should be having her first cria in early June. "Cria" (pronounced cr-ee-ah) is what alpaca babies are called. I often get asked in public if I am having any babies this year. Since I don't like having the people from Guiness World Book of Records calling me about my own reproduction status, I answer clearly and loudly "Well, not me, but I have three alpacas expecting cria in June."

I've finished weaving my heron and black alpaca scarves. Hand twisting the fringe is not my favorite task. I find it boring and have to be in the mood to basically sit and roll my thumbs...
It's a good feeling when it's done, though. I'm happy with the first one that I've finished. I brushed the textile to make it even softer.
This one will be going in my shop.

I've also been busy skirting and sorting fleece that I bought from my friend and alpaca farmer, Sally. I know Sally from the shows and association happenings, but I've never seen her herd as she lives many hours away. I was very pleased with the fleeces that I bought from her sight unseen. It takes beautiful fleeces to make beautiful yarn, and this batch of yarn should be wonderful.

It feels like we've been living in spring for weeks now. Apparently, tomorrow is the first official day of spring. I think we are expecting cold weather and snow. Go figure...

Fantastic, It's Friday!

2010-03-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Funny that I should feel like "Thank God It's Friday", given that I don't work a regular Monday to Friday work week. But I do.

Here in Ontario, we are having record breaking warm temperatures for this time of year.
Look, it's not even the middle of March and there are green things growing where the snow is melting!

Still some snow left, but the llamas have been out walking to the big pine in their pasture. See their tracks?
That big pine must be very old. I've only been around this property for 28 years and it has a huge history for me. Nephews and nieces had forts in those branches. I used to pick raspberries underneath...that was until the llamas came and found that raspberry bushes make good bellyscratchers. I always think of the history of these old trees and how many other previous owners of this property have used this tree for shade while taking a break from working the fields. How many other people have watched a lightning storm, hoping that their favorite big pine would be saved.

The chickens are venturing outside these days, excited to be looking for yummy things.
However, when I spread some hay on the ground for the alpacas right next to the chicken house...the chickens decided to run for cover before the alpacas remembered how much fun chicken-soccer was.

Alicia decided to cooperate with me and give me some good pictures.
If you aren't an alpaca-producing fibre fanatic, you might look at these pictures and admire the cute face.
And you might be thinking about what a gentle looking unique creature an alpaca is.

I, on the other hand, look at Alicia and see....
This picture is of product created from her last year's fleece.

I am getting anxious for harvest time again! It's easier to rub the fibre against your neck, when it's off the animal. If you don't understand what I mean by that...you probably aren't a knitter or weaver. (smile)

If you are enjoying my blog and if you have the time, please leave a comment.

Have a good weekend.

Is Spring Possibly Here?

2010-03-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

Temperatures here have been unseasonally warm and sunny here this week.
Everybody is asking "Is this it?"

Yesterday, I saw my first motorcycle of the year on the road. It was a perfect Northern Ontario spring day. Blue sky, clear roads and the snow on the snowmobile trails was still packed and hard enough to take a long hike through the bush with my daughter.

However, I remember that our members event on May 31 last year was cancelled due to a snow storm. Yes, that was a freak weather event, but having lived most of my life in Northern Ontario...I know not to put the snow tires or the plow away.

View of the farm from the back yard.

Pine trees and blue sky...this is where I always will call home.

My weekend dyeing, rose and denim 4 ply bulky 100% alpaca. It's available in the store now. I knit myself a afghan out of this yarn in natural cream....yummy, warm and soft. It does have a weight to it, which is perfect for a snuggly afghan.

This is my most senior dog, Molly. She'll be soon turning 14. We've had her since she was a pup from the pound, so she's been through a lot with me. Molly is the kind of dog would put herself in between me and a bear to protect me to the end. It's sad to see her getting tired and slow.
Thanks for reading my blog and I really appreciate it when people leave comments. It makes me feel connected.

I have a few favorite blogs that I follow. It is addictive. Check this one out when you have time. It's from a lady in Australia who is keen on living simply and it's chock full of good ideas. The funny thing is, with the time difference, I read her Friday entry on what is our Thursday night...
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

It's March and It's Sunny!

2010-03-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't say that I haven't posted because I've been extremely busy! I often just forget to be taking pictures of everything.
And admittedly, I think the Vancouver Olympic coverage took over my life for a while!

The infamous black alpaca jacket is closer to being a reality. Suzanne has finished weaving...7 yards in a week...what a woman! And it is truly perfection.

She had a bit of warp left on the loom when the black alpaca weft was used up, so she wove the last bit with some black wool boucle, so we should have some matching purses!
I might be testing my friendship here...Suzanne has made me 3 mock jackets in cotton sheeting to try to find the perfect fit without any chance of tugging on the shoulders. The textile is slippy and Suzanne is afraid that it may distort the fabric over time if there isn't enough give at the shoulders. I'm learning an amazing amount about textiles and garment construction from Suzanne.

Even Quincy is impressed! "Black alpaca is totally stunning and always in fashion", she says.

Well, I've taken my own woven scarves project off the loom at the studio this week. Hopefully, I can post a picture here soon with the fringes done, washed and pressed.

I have been doing quite a bit of handpaint dyeing lately.

These are skeins of 2 ply sock yarn in 60%alpaca/20%merino/20%nylon blend. I'm pleased with the result and they are on the store shelves now.

This is my handspun 2 ply yarn of alpaca\kid mohair\merino blend. I intend on knitting a shawl for myself. I had handpainted it, but the colours were brighter than I wanted, so I overdyed it with blue.

I'm very happy with the results.

Yarn, Scarf and Socks-to-Be

2010-02-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

We've watched more of the Olympics this year than ever before. We bought a projection unit and set it up for the opening ceremonies last week. I'm not sure what my favourite part of the ceremonies was - the hundreds of First Nation's dancers in full costume, Sarah McLaughlin vocals or Katie Lang singing 'Hallelujah'. I can't imagine the work involved in putting such a huge show on. I think it showed the best of Canada - in many different forms.

We watched Canada get it's first gold on Canadian soil, won by Alexandre Bilodeau, which was a great thrill and so touching that he dedicated it to his brother. There has been so many other highlights and we admired the abilities of the athletes of all countries. I have never been a hockey fan, but last night's men's game between Canada and Switzerland had even me on the edge of my seat. Some times, it's just not safe to knit and watch TV!

I've finished my Autumn Days scarf in handspun alpaca and merino this week. This pattern is by Aimee Alexander and is available on Ravelry. I really enjoyed knitting this 6-row pattern and I'm happy with the scarf. I have learned two things. The first, is that a heathered, slightly inconsistent yarn does not show a lace pattern off well. A smoother yarn would have shown off my stitches better. Also, if the scarf pattern says - knit to 60 inches....well, trust the designer...I didn't realize how much the scarf would stretch out with blocking. It's very long.
It is very soft and has already started to bloom. Looks great with black.

I'm currently knitting these socks out of my 3 ply sock yarn of 60% alpaca\20%merino\20% nylon. I had dyed up a bunch of skeins in an intense batch of 'vermillion'. Unfortunately, this batch bled significantly when I washed it. I tried fixing the dye several times, but it just bleeds.
I suspect it might be this colour of dye. Anyway - this yarn makes a very soft but durable pair of socks, so I will knit them for my own use.

Today, I went to a knitting group that was just starting at the Powassan Public Library. I met some lovely women, had some good laughs and shared some knitting ideas. Unfortunately, as always happens, I knit 3 rows and then find a mistake and unknit 3 rows. I can only knit plain stockinette and carry on a conversation at the same time.

I've been trying to update my stock with new colours. As always, the blues, teals and berry colours are more plentiful out of my dyepot. This time, I tried to do something else with a thought to pleasing someone that doesn't share my same favourites.
The Olive colour had to win me over, but I liked the look of the 'Autumn Roses' variegated even before it had set in the pot. This is a very soft, chunky 3 ply alpaca\merino blend.

Gotta go start something else...or maybe find a UFO to finish....

Go Team Canada!

2010-02-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Olympics open in Vancouver today. Project and screen are ready in the family room for start of the family couch-potato event. Go CANADA!!!

I have the vet coming this afternoon to draw blood for routine testing for some young alpacas. I get to hold while he attempts to stick a needle in them. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'll probably earn some quality couch-potato time.

Suzanne has finished weaving our black alpaca textile for our jackets. Look!

If you have a dog in your house, you know the wonderful feeling of being loved when your pet runs to greet you at the door when you come home from work. Your dog loves you unconditionally.
Well, my alpacas watch for me in the morning. When they see me leave the house and walk towards the barn, they stop what they are doing and make a mad dash to meet me at the barn.

I am under no illusion.
They could care less whether it's me, my husband or someone else.
They know it's time for their pellets (that's the stuff they get twice a day that gives them their vitamins and minerals that our native forage doesn't give them).
And they might likely run me over if I get in between them and the barn door.

Here's a picture of my two weanlings vacuuming up their pellets. I feed them in a separate area, so they don't have to compete with the big ones for their pellets.

Look at the beautiful tulips that I was given this week. Makes me feel like spring has arrived. (And since is was -32C this morning at our house, I need to be reminded that it is coming!)

And another sign that spring is around the corner...
I took this shot just before noon yesterday. And before you all go "Huh?". This is inside my uninsulated 3-season solarium. The sun was shining in and it was warm enough to sit in there and spin or read (well, if time had permitted...) in the warm sunniness.
And to those American friends who might still be thinking "Huh?" It's in Celcius...it's nice and warm at 22C!

Sunday is Valentine's Day, and Monday is the Family Day holiday. Hope you Feel The Love!