Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, we managed to get a few things done this weekend. 

First, we had an electrical problem to solve.  A host of plugs in the house and (more importantly) the one that powers the Back Porch Washing Machine had gone dead.  After consulting with The Welder, it was decided that the likely culprit was our GFCI breaker. Apparently, in 1982 when our humble home was built, all the plugs near water were wired to one GFCI breaker. There was not going to be any more fleece washing until this problem was fixed, so this morning, DH and I went to Home Depot, found the correct breaker, and I came home and put it in. Problem solved!

Second, we had a dog problem to solve. Again. Bear totally slipped his collar, leaving it who knows where, and went for a romp this morning. The secondary purpose of our trip to Home Depot was to try to find SOMETHING that would encourage this dog to give up instead of digging a bigger hole in order to get out. He has 3 rows of tubing zip-tied to his collar now. We’ll see if this does the trick.

Eventually, I was able to get on with the goat shearing with Bert, one of our  little yearling wethers.

 After he was sheared, it became obvious that he wasn’t getting enough to eat, so he and our other yearling wether, Ernie, were both relocated to the small pasture where there is less competition at feeding time. 

Tomorrow I’ll take a look at Zoe, the doe that is the same age, to see what kind of shape she’s in.

The fiber processing is slowing while I shear, but here’s an update:

Soaking in the washer as I write: White yearling mohair — lots of curls in this batch!
Clean, but waiting to be picked: Dove’s gorgeous black lambswool
On the carder: Creamy white Border Leicester wool
Clean and waiting to be carded: Dewey’s gorgeous Suri alpaca fleece

and…
On my spinning wheel: Champagne Blonde mohair curls that I’m plying with gold thread

Sharholder bounty this year is going to be fabulous!