Okay, so it’s been a day or two, or 90ish since I’ve blogged. Give me a break! I’ve been busy! If you receive my newsletter, you already know all the details that are fit to print. If you don’t receive my newsletter, sign up for it and you’ll get the last issue and all caught up!
Are we there yet?
Today we effectively doubled our pasture herd. Yesterday we had 3 Shetland sheep,2 Suri alpacas, 1 Nigerian Dwarf goat, and 7 Angora goats. Today we added 3 Shetland sheep, 2 Border Leceister sheep, 5 Angora goats, and 3 Nygora goats. We do not do anything halfway here at the Fancy Fibers Farm!
We’ve made a few adjustments in the Bunny Barn as well! Going to a new home tomorrow will be our two Satin angoras. Recent arrivals include 3 English/Giant angoras, and Mercy, an angora mix who will likely be a pet.
Our new Angora goats and Shetland sheep need shearing. I had the idea that I would use my last 4 remaining blades and combs and get that done this week. I even had the idea that I would start today with the Shetlands! We wrangled one of them up on
Taking it all off
the shearing stand and I started in on him. Things were going great guns until I had to take the chain off his head to get his neck. At that point, he decided he had had enough and took a flying leap off the shearing stand. There was no catching him.
Almost
At least he feels better than he did! I got both sides done and almost all of his neck and chest. His underside is a mess. By that time I was exhausted anyway. I’ll get a professional shearer in here this week to do the rest!
Once we got everyone separated out into the appropriate pastures, we came in to get a little rest. I can see the does, ewes, and Shetland wethers as I’m typing this. They’re munching away on the green grass. The chickens are pecking away at the grass and bugs in their area. Ken’s first garden bed is prepped to winter over and be super rich in the spring. He’ll start layering the second bed soon.
The grass is high on the other side of the fence where the rest of our property is not yet fenced. Although it holds a lot of promise for the future, at the moment it is affording too much hiding space for the coyotes we hear at night. Must get that mowed before long! Crossing our fingers for a little more dry weather.
In the meantime, there is fiber to be processed and knitting to be done. On a beautiful day like today, it just doesn’t get any better than this!
