What's Love Got to Do With It?

I feel  like I must post my feelings on love.  I see so many people getting married and almost as many people getting divorced.  Why?  What happened?  Not only were expectations not met, but they forgot what love is about.  Love is putting the needs of the other person before your own.  Love is making sure the other person is happy when sometimes you would rather have different results.  By putting your significant other first and treating them the way they deserve to be treated, a longevity factor goes up on the relationship.

Now I'm not expert.  In fact I have several marriages under my belt.  I let stars get in my eyes before evaluating the entire situation with his family each time.  I didn't watch how their dad's treated their mothers.  Big hint:  if your future father-in-law treats your future mother-in-law poorly, chances are you will be treated as she was treated.  RUN! Run as fast as you can in the other direction!  You will wind up miserable and wondering what you did wrong.

Watch for anger issues too.  If the person you think you would like to be married to flares up over little things while you are courting, what will it be like when you are married?  It will only get much worse.  I married a man who I suspected to have PTSD.  He also couldn't handle stress of any kind.  It got much worse with age.  He is still undiagnosed by the VA but a local doctor diagnosed him almost 10 years ago.  She wanted to know why the VA wasn't dealing with it.  Good question.  They have denied his claim when he tried to get help for it.

Anyway, I felt like I had to share this today for some reason.  I don't know why, but it has been gnawing at me since very early this morning.  I hope someone gains something from it.

It's a Boy!

Baby Alpaca #2 was born today after I left for work. 

He was still wobbly when I got to the barn at 8:45 PM but nursing well.  He is red, a standard color here at WindSong.  He will be sold as soon as he gets to be 6 months old.  He has very long kinky fiber today. He is also a big boy as he is bigger than the little girl born a week ago Saturday.

Dog Days of Summer

It's hot here.  So hot that the grass in the pastures is now crunchy under my feet.  I don't like that feeling.  It is a feeling of feeding hay instead of pasture grass through the summer.  It is a feeling of high costs for the season of keeping my animals.  It is a feeling of unhappy sheep who prefer grass but don't like it crunchy.  It is a feeling of farmers dealing with crops that don't have enough moisture to produce a decent income.  It isn't a good feeling.

All my alpacas were shorn in May and I managed to recruit help to get half my flock of sheep shorn.  Where are my shearers?  I have been calling them since Christmas and no one, not one of them, has returned my calls.  Is this common for shearers not to return calls?  I always treated them well and even gave a $50 tip last year.  I guess I didn't molly coddle them enough.

I met someone and we dated briefly for about 6 months.  I really thought we were going places as he was so sweet and kind and I loved being romanced. He always made me feel like a little princess when we were together. Then one day he said he found someone else and no longer wanted to be involved with me romantically.  Yes, he broke my heart a month ago and I'm just now getting to where I can get through a day without crying over the loss.  He is everything I ever wanted in a man.  Unfortunately, I guess I wasn't enough for him. I still think he is an awesome man.  I must be patient.  The right one will come someday when I least expect him. 

Yesterday while shearing, I got a surprise but didn't know it until almost 10 last night.  I had the alpacas locked up so that as we were shearing sheep and turning them out, I wouldn't have to chase the alpacas from the shearing area.  I almost forgot to let them out last night.  It was after 9:30 when I remembered and went to the barn to let them out.  The light was waning and it was grey in the barn.  I opened one door to let them out of the area they were in then ran to the end of the barn to open the barn door for them.  Once they were all out of the barn I walked back to the other area to shut the door and there standing in the doorway was a little brown cria blinking her eyes.  So I picked her up and carried her outside, found her mother and sat her near her mom.  Mom was all concerned and made noises telling her about how sorry she was that she forgot her. 

Today that little girl is basking in the sun and suckling as nothing ever happened.  I'm glad she is well and she has a good mommy.  And so the summer goes.

Here we are in the last half of October.  The weather continues to play the hot/cold game.  We have had a hard frost just a couple of days ago and winter is breathing down our necks.  Normally, I look forward to winter, but this year, I am dreading it.  I don't like being cold and last winter I don't think I was ever warm except when I went to someone's home that had a woodstove.

My home needs insulation in the worse way, but when I got a quote on the insulation necessary to stop the scratching in the walls, I about fell out of my chair.  $6,000 for the spray in foam insulation that eliminates bugs and all.  The problem is that because I'm in an existing home, the dry wall will need to be removed.  So I'm thinking that $6,000 will be more like $10,000.  I don't have either amount so I've dismissed that idea and will just need to keep knitting, baking, and snuggling under the covers with layers of dog and cat.

I so need more time before winter gets here.  I've got to get a shelter of some sort put up for my alpaca girls.  I have some lumber, but have no clue what to do with it.  Where do I go from here?

I need to get started relocating stock tanks and running extension cords for the tank de-icers so that I'm not doing it in the freezing cold.  From the looks of the weather projection, next week looks like a great week to do that.

Well, I need to get off here as I have to get ready for work.  Tomorrow I work an 8 hour shift.  That will be awesome as I could sure use the extra income even though it will only be $40 more.  Until next time....Bye!

Dog Days of Summer

It was bound to happen and I don't like it one bit! The Dog Days of Summer! Hot! Hot! Hot!  I want to go see War Room at the theater, but it is so hot out that just going to the car and being in the heat is too much to even think about!  I don't do heat and it looks like the 90's are here until at least Wednesday.  I just took a look at the projected temperatures for today and it looks like it will be 97 by 4pm.  I know that those of you in the West think that 97 is nothing, but the humidity of 60%+ makes it feel like 115 or more.  All the creatures on the farm are in the shade lazing around.  I'm in the A/C trying to spin and decide whether to go see the movie today or Monday.  It doesn't matter.  Looks like Monday's forecast is a duplicate of today.

I bought a webcam to use with my laptop so that I can video knitting lessons for The International School of Beijing since knitting instructors don't exist there.  However, I can't get it to come on.  I've installed the software, but it won't let me click on anything.  I'm kicking myself for not using computers as much after I retired as what I did when I was working full-time.  It's like there is a disconnect in my brain and I can't comprehend what the problem is.  I used to be a great trouble shooter.  Now, I'm in the dark.  Can anyone send me an email and tell me what I'm doing wrong?  It is a Logitech c615 HD Webcam if that helps any.

Well, I think I will clean up and go see the movie.  I will let you know what I think when I get back.  War Room  has 5 stars and I've seen previews.  Until later (I want to catch the 3:00 movie!).....

Woo-Hoo! I got a trailer!

While it may not be much of a challenge to many of you, I found a horse trailer for $900 and they will let me pay on it each month while using it!  This is a big feat for me as I have struggled to load lambs and sheep in the back of the truck.  Now if I was a big hefty guy, that might not be to hard, but considering that I'm 4 feet 9 inches tall, it is a major task for me.  Of course, it is rusty and needs work, but it is usable and that was the biggest requirement!

Oops! I didn't get a picture! Here it is dark and late.  I will have to get a picture in the morning before I go to the hardware store for some clamps to hold my ductwork in place under the house so that my air conditioner doesn't have to struggle to keep up with the heat.  Duct tape for now, but this isn't the first time the ductwork has fallen down.  Hose clamps should keep that from happening...I hope.

Did you go to the Indiana State Fair this year?  If so, did you go on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and go through the Family, Home, and Arts building?  You may have seen me sitting there spinning yarn like crazy.  It is more than a hobby for me.  It is a way to raise money to feed my animals.  With hay now at a stable $5 a bale and me going through about 500 bales a year on a retirement check, my animals need to feed themselves.  It is the only way that I can feed them is if I spin their fibers, sell their fibers and yarn that I spin, and sell the lambs produced each year.

Speaking of which, I still have Barney, the 2-year old Angora billy goat for sale.  He is a big pet and shares "the compound" with Snow Prince the alpaca.  It is the only pen that has a wall tall enough that Snow Prince can't jump it.

If you think you might need some yarn a certain color and have a swatch of fabric that you would like the yarn to match, I can do it.  I've been doing it for a couple of years now for a friend and enjoy tampering with the dyes to get just the right color.  A pinch of this, a dash of that, and a smidgen of something else.  It all blends together and changes the depth, hue, and intensity of the color that way.
Well, it is time to sign off.  I hope all are enjoying the summer weather.  Until next post...bye!

Whew! Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival is a year away!

Whew! While I look forward to Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival each year, I'm glad that it is over for this year.  Vending at HHFF is a lot of work.  It takes months preparation and many trips to the fairgrounds to get everything into the Prius and placed in my booth, even the sheep get first class accommodations riding in the back of an air conditioned Prius, even though they are in a dog kennel.

I want to take this time to thank each and everyone of my readers who made it to Hoosier Hills and helped make this event a success and ensure the future of WindSong Fibers Farm.  While I am only a small cog in a big wheel that helps insure that HHFF happens each year, without YOU, the consumer of fibers and fine crafts, the event would not succeed.

Vending fibers, yarns and other items helps me feed the animals on the farm.  The money goes to buy hay and grain to keep everyone fat and happy so that they produce luxurious fibers for the next event.  Once again, without YOU, I could not continue raising luxurious fibers and sell lambs to others interested in raising fiber animals.  I love my lifestyle of going to the barn, watching the life cycle of new lambs, goats, and other animals give birth and care for their young.  I love my animals calling to me when they see me outside.  I love them running up to me, although sometimes a bit rambunctious and overly eager almost knocking me off my feet, when I walk down to check that all is well.

But most of all, I love my customers! They share with me the projects they hope to make using my yarns and rovings and top (if you didn't get an ounce or two of the Cormo/Alpaca top I had at HHFF, you missed it! It sold like hotcakes!).  I try my best to provide what I think will make you happy knitting or spinning.  Sometimes, I don't like what I get back from the mill.  It doesn't always turn out as I imagined it. So I sell that item at reduced rates.  There is always someone who loves what I don't.  Isn't that the nice thing about everyone?

Well, once again, thank you for making HHFF successful for the vendors and the board of directors as well.  As a "not-for-profit" entity, HHFF will be able to afford another event next year.  I hope to see everyone then!  Thank you!

2015 Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival - A Carnival of Fibers!

Here it is that time of year again - it is time for Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival!  I have made two trips hauling 4 lambs in a dog kennel in the back of my Prius to Franklin getting ready for the festival tomorrow.  I should have made a third trip, but didn't because my booth is such disarray.  I could barely stay awake coming back from the second trip and after sitting on the sofa to put my shoes on and dozing off, I decided it was time to stay home.  That means I have to get up at 5 in the morning to milk the goat and feed everyone before heading off to spend the day at HHFF.

I am excited! This year, we have an ice cream vendor!!!! I've been harping for nigh on 7 years that we needed someone to dispense ice cream. Now we have one!  I love ice cream, especially if it is Blue Bell, which means I haven't had a lot of ice cream lately.  I sure do miss Blue Bell ice cream!

Back to HHFF.  I'm in Fitzpatrick Hall at the Johnson County Fairgrounds.  I have 4 lambs.  I didn't even realize until I made the second trip to drop 2 captives off that 3 of my lambs this year are natural colored.  Two of them are black and white and marked like Pandas.  One is solid color except for light white streak on the forehead.  No pictures available at this time as I have spent 3 days getting ready for this and all of today just hauling lambs or helpers.

I do have some really nice dark brown top for sale this year.  It is from Charlie, my Cormo ram, and Jeanne, my almost black alpaca.  It is very soft and feels like velvet.  I also have slate colored mohair for sale this year in roving form.  It will be the last year I have this as Bacardi, the provider, is no longer with me.

Well, no time to post more.  I need to go milk and deliver eggs.  I hope to see many of my readers at the festival!  Bring the kids, pet a sheep, check out all the gorgeous color ways of yarns, rovings, etc.  I am lacking in color this year, but hope to remedy that for next year.  Stop by and say "Hi" so that I know you've read my blog.  See you at the HHFF!

Camaj Fiberarts Spinning Box

Have you heard of Camaj Fiber Arts?  They can be found here:  http://www.camajfiberarts.com/

Last month they started selling "Spinning Box[es]" that contain a myriad of fibers  http://www.spinningbox.com/#!about/cjg9.  It is like a surprise every month with fabulous fibers to touch and feel.  This is also an awesome company to do business with as it is working with small farms such as mine to help us get the word out that we have fibers too, made right here in America!

This month, March 2015, WindSong Fibers has corroborated with Camaj to include 1 ounce of awesome alpaca fiber.  The fiber is from Svetlana and it feels like velvet.  Be sure to check out the two links I've included.  This is an awesome source for fibers to spin!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd0o2pgOC3c

Is Winter Over Yet?

Once again, the weatherman has it wrong.  I woke to a blanket of 4-5 inches of snow on the ground this morning.  Not the wet heavy stuff mind you, but the light fluffy stuff that can easily be swept from the porch with a broom.  Just the same, it feel on top of what was already on the ground and now I'm beginning to feel as if spring will never come.

Remember my post stating that I would start having specials? Well, I will post later today on the sales page some fibers that need to go.  I am also eradicating fibers (God knows I'm loaded down with fibers having 22 sheep, 11 alpacas, and 6 Angora goats!), by contributing to the Spinning Box sold by Camaj Fiber Arts.  If you type in "Spinning Box" in the search engine, it will pop up.  With shearing happening the week, I have to get some fibers out of here.  I'm overloaded.  My loss is your gain.

Anyway, I have to go round up some fibers to place on the for sale page.  Be sure to check it out.  It will be worth it.

BRRRR! Shoot the Ground Hog!

I don't know about anyone else, but I am freezing! My house runs cold in the winter and hot in the summer in spite of a 12 year old heating and cooling unit.  It is the house.  Just two days ago, the strip on the bottom of the door fell off.  Now I have to put something up against the bottom of the door or the air blows across the floor.  In spite of great padding underneath the laminate flooring, the floors are cold.  If one's feet are touching the floor while sitting on the sofa or chair, it takes little time for the feet to become very cold.  I wear wool socks, but it is to a point they aren't helping either.  I'm calling REMC to get an energy audit so that I know what I need to do to avoid another freezing cold winter in my house.

Beginning with next week, I am going to start offering monthly specials on fibers, yarns, etc. or whatever strikes my fancy.  There will be limited quantities of the offers, but I feel I shouldn't hog my precious fibers any more.  I will soon have more fleeces on the shelf as Shearing is March 5th and if anyone needs something to do that day, be here by 9 a.m. as I need all the help I can get.  Fleeces will also be offered in the specials.

Can you believe that we are already into February of 2015?  I don't know where time is going, but it is now flying by so quickly!  Anyway, I have to stay on my toes to keep the listings for each month. Occasionally, I will have two offerings a month, but not every month.  As spring evolves, my computer time diminishes as lambs should be hitting the ground almost any day now.  That means a lamb watch will soon ensue.  I hope the girls don't string it out for 2 months like they did last year.

Summertime Again

Whew! I'm sure glad that I managed to pull together a team (even if it was only two other people - THANK YOU Kevin and Tonia!) to get my alpacas sheared.  Well, most of my alpacas.  As it was, we decided to do Kevin and Tonia's alpaca, Bentley, first so we could put him in the yard.  While shearing Bentley, Snow Prince decided to take a dip.  So Snow Prince is left to shear, but we got my other 11 alpacas sheared.  By the end of the day, I was coated in dust - every inch of me.  I even had a mud mustache!

What's even more, Cocoa Puff still liked me after we sheared her.  She is such a cute little thing! I love her personality;  she makes up for her mother's lack of manners.

Even though I was exhausted, once Tonia and Kevin left, I still had to fill stock tanks and feed everyone.  Much to my surprise, I had a new BFL ewe lamb!  She is a momma's girl and has a big voice to let Momma know that she is lost.  Cute little thing.  So now I have another BFL X Border Leicester ewe lamb for sale.  This will be #5. Total lamb count for 2014 = 25 - 7 ewe lambs, 18 ram lambs.

As much as I don't like hot weather, it is knocking at my door.  Caring for all the animals is more challenging with hot weather.  Stock tank water gets warm and electrolytes need to be added to buckets of water so that everyone has the necessary minerals in their bodies to fight the heat.  After the winter we had, I'm not going to bad mouth the hot weather because caring for everyone was a real challenge especially keeping water liquid and buckets filled.  Let's hope we don't have another old-fashioned winter for a few more years.

Loss

There are times that in spite of ourselves, we can't be everywhere at once.  Such was the case this morning.  When I went to the barn, in spite of checking on everyone after midnight, there was Grace with the super large head of a lamb protruding from her nether parts.  She was in great distress and the legs of the lamb were no where to be seen.  His head was dry so he had been in this position for some time.  Without hesitation, I knelt down and searched for his legs, got them out and assisted in removing him from Grace.  He was dead and it was obvious before I knelt down as his tongue was hanging out of his mouth and he had that look that is inescapable with death.  This lamb was HUGE! A Shetland/Finn cross just can't do 15 pound lambs.  Grace received an antibiotic and we covered her as she went into shock.  She was eating her hay when I came to the house, but I don't think I will breed her again.  She always has such an awesome fleece.  This ram lamb was as large as my Bluefaced/Border Leicester cross lambs when they are born.  Most of my Cormo lambs are 5-6 pounds.  And here I thought she was carrying twins.

Polecat had Triplets!

Okay, I know the title caught you, but honestly, I have a ewe named Polecat.  A few years ago when this black sheep with the white strip on her forehead lambed for the first time, she decided she wasn't going to be his mother.  As her luck would have it, I was determined that she was going to be "Lyka's" mother.  So every 3-4 hours, I would march to the barn prepared for battle.  Since she was already trapped in the stall with her newborn, all I had to do was put my knee into her shoulder to push her against the stall wall and push Lyka under her.  She did not like it one little bit, but soon learned that escape was impossible.  But every 3-4 hours was taking its toll on me.

So to help me have time to rest, Matthew H. and children came one day to help with this ewe and baby.  Matthew pretty well summed it up by saying, "Does she have a name?" to which I responded, "No!" to which he replied, "Well, since she's being such a stinker, she should be called Polecat." And so she is.

After I arrived back from TSC to pick up barn supplies Saturday evening about 7:30 p.m., I went to do my barn check and found Polecat with three tiny lambs, a black one with white on his forehead (Polecat's signature lamb), and one white ewe lamb, and one white ram lamb.  The little ewe lamb was weak and unable to suckle so I milked out some colostrum into a bottle so that she could have some nourishment.  After strawing them down, I went to the house and broke out my only bottle of colostrum to feed the little one.  So all night Saturday night, every two hours, I made a trip to the barn to feed the crying little lamb.  She would drink a bit and then wander off and lay down with her siblings.  All day Sunday and through Sunday night, I made the trip to the barn every 4 hours to feed this little one.  To my surprise on Monday, I went to the barn and she was jumping around with her siblings and no longer needed me.  When she saw me, she ran to her momma and began nursing.  Whew! I escaped two months of feeding that one! LOL!!!