Sunday, April 19, 2009
Why I love living in the country
Sunrises are really important to me. I call my Dad on the drive to work to comment on the really pretty ones. Dad is a notoriously early riser. He gets up early as a regular practice and also lives his life in a way that puts an emphasis on the little things - like a beautiful sunrise.
Shearing time
Ok, so everyone was curious about how the two new boys would look without all that fiber. Well, here they are!
All of our alpacas look skinny and gangly after shearning, but Wes and Magellan really look small. They came to us with several years' growth on their front and hindquarters. The fiber from both of these ends is not usable because of the hay and brambles. A farm visitor who grades fiber told us that if it is "crunchy" when you touch it, the cost of cleaning the fiber for processing would be too much. Next year, we will have lots of usable fiber from both of these boys. This year, just the blankets will be used.
We are really anxious to send all of the blankets to Phillipsburg for yarn and roving. New fiber fresh from the mill should be here in about 6-8 weeks.