Despite the heat, we’ve been busy.  In no particular order, here’s a look at what’s been going on around here!

Georgia came to visit and helped me card some batts.  Stanley2, one of the cats that live in my shop, fell in LOVE with her!  That crazy cat has NEVER been so friendly!  In fact, he’s been in hiding practically since he and Ninja came to live with us.  I’m glad to see him out and about.

I’ve been making spinning batts like a crazy person!  These were luxury batts for a contest winner (lots of silk and Suri alpaca).  I’ve also been experimenting with a 50/50 blend of Shetland wool and Suri alpaca, both dyed and undyed.  Look for the launch of our own “Suriland” (TM) spinning batts and yarn (hopefully) later this year!  (Crossing fingers.)

Sweet little Tornado got his first haircut.  His long kid mohair curls are truly luscious!

I can’t explain it, but Pachinko (the alpaca) stayed right there, nose to nose with Tornado, the entire time that Tornado was in the shearing stand.  Interesting.

Ken proved, once again, that he is the Animal Whisperer of the Farm.  Apparently he gets smooches from Pachinko on a regular basis, and the lambs frequently come to him for neck scritches.

Bear killed a coyote in the front yard of the house next door in one of his many “My job is to protect all the land I can see” escapee runs around the neighborhood.  I’ll spare you that picture.

Lizzie learned to spin on a spinning wheel, and knitted this fingerless glove out of wool she dyed and spun herself!

My spinning wheel broke (again), and Majacraft is sending a replacement part (again).  Let’s hope this is the last of this issue.

And finally, a lady driving down our road ran into our fence.  Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt.  The Welder will fix the damage for us in due course.

Those are the highlights for August, so far!  Come see us and join in the fun!

When you live in a barnyard, and it’s hot as blazes, you do what you gotta do to cool off. You stay in the shade, stand in front of the fans, drink lots of electrolyte water, and…. Find yourself some cool mud.

Yup, mud.

Here’s how it goes for the alpacas. Rascal climbs into the water trough, cushes, and displaces lots of water over the side. This makes mud. (No rain=no grass.)

The other alpacas take advantage of this by folding their legs up under then and cushing in the cool mud. Yippee! Alpacas with muddy legs!

Here’s how it works for the chickens. The air conditioning compressor by the house has a drain of some sort that drains cool water into the ground. This makes mud. (Remember prior note about no rain?)

In the late afternoon, the chickens come into the yard and stand in the muddy water. Nothing dumb about our birds!

I’ve not yet had the need to go join the animals in the mud. However, if the electricity goes out and I’m not answering the front door, you might want to walk out back and start looking for mud!

We have one alpaca that lives up to his name on a daily basis.  He has a LOT of personality.  I don’t know if his prior owner actually knew he was going to turn out to be a rascally guy when she named him, but he definitely is now!

For example, Rascal has put himself in charge making sure the animals have fresh water.  How? When he’s hot, he does this:

 Of course, he displaces a lot of water when he cushes in the water trough, so when he gets out, fresh water flows into the tank!  Isn’t that nice of him? (Nevermind the dirt he leaves in the bottom.)

Rascal prefers not to drink from the trough himself, though.  He likes to drink from the water hose.

Rascal also stands up on his back legs to grab tree leaves, samples the sheep and goat food as soon as I bring the bucket out of the feed room, and is the first to get his neck and belly sprayed on hot days!  He’s a Rascal, but we love him!

You’ve been warned.

This post, and the links within, will steal your heart.  Keep reading at your own risk.

A while back, Jennifer Jurek and her husband, Marty, came to the farm to take a walk around and meet the animals.  She brought her camera, and as they walked around, she took pictures of the animals as only a talented photographer could.

She met Blackie …..

And several of the kids …..

They petted our friendly Livestock Guardian Dogs ….

And got up close and personal with the alpacas (as much as you can with an alpaca) …

And there is more.  They took pictures of the sheep and the chickens, caught one of the kids yawning and one of the mama goats flying like Sally Field’s nun.  Together they make a gorgeous pictorial of Jennifer and Marty’s visit to the Farm!

If you would like to see the whole set, follow this link.  Thanks, Jennifer.  You are a wonderful photographer!

Since I don’t have a new baby to show you (the girls gave me the day off yesterday; wonder what that means for today!?), I thought we would travel back in time a bit. We had a wonderful alpaca shearing day. It was a whole lot easier on both me and the animals to NOT have to transport them!

Marty Hoffman from Integrity Shearing came to our place and brought 2 helpers to trim hooves and help hold animals.  My favorite farm hand, Daniel, helped us halter and give shots. Friend and Shareholder Kate, and my three granddaughters Lizzie, Ally, and Georgia, also assisted in the process. And of course my husband, Ken was on hand to jump in as needed.

Marty also sheared 2 animals from a neighboring farm, 2 beautiful black huacayas, before he moved on to a farm in Waxahachie.  A great day, and a great job done by Marty.  Enjoy the pictures!