2010 Postings

2009 Postings


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January 2009

Happy New Year! It's January on the farm. Stop by and read our Journal entries for January to see what is happening. If you would like to comment on what you have read here, please email us at: info@abenaquialpacas.com or click on the Email us link on the right hand side of this page. We welcome your feedback, and with permission may post them in the future.

Marketing Marketing Marketing

Date: Thursday January 29, 2009

As I have mentioned before, we are going to the North American Alpaca Show in April.

While Steve is home waiting for his new full time job to start he has been working diligently on our marketing materials. Hours have been spent on the computer reviewing photos, writing descirptions, designing handouts, brochures, and postcards. Finally he has finished most of the those tasks and placed orders with printers, next he is working on the displays.

Last year Steve designed this beautiful sign post, pictured here. Made from Pine and fir and shaped with his router and jigsaw, 10 hours later we had a beautiful, portable sign post. I stained the legs and the top with a pickling stain then we found a high gloss paint, perfectly matched to our logo colors for the inset.

This year he is working on our table displays. We have been members of the Ideal Alpaca Community and own offspring of StudMaster males, but have never really utilized their marketing materials. This year at North American we plan to have our 'coming out' by adding the organization information to our existing stuff.

Wow, this is kind of scary, looks like we are really making a go of this business thing. Professional and all.

Another Storm is descending upon us

Date: Wednesday January 28, 2009

Another winter day another 2 feet of snow? Guess we all know what I am up to this evening and tomorrow. Steve and I will be moving snow! I do actually love this snow. It covers up all the snow that has been dirtied by general farm activities.

In the last few days we have finished three of the barn sides. Only one long run left to go. So the girls that have been living under that shell of a barn should be quite happy.

Update on the weanlings: Ben and Bob have learned to get along with everyone else. Not sure if they will hunker down for this storm in the run-in shed or if I will find them later today, covered in piles of snow. No worries about their ability to keep warm. Remember they are wearing gorgeous wool sweaters!

Oh, and my batch of chickens we purchased last summer have been laying in earnest. Love the fresh eggs!

Fiber Artist?

Date: Monday January 26, 2009

As mentioned in the last entry, I was going to talk about spinning. This has become one of my favorite winter pasttimes. (I say winter only because I just purchased my first spinning wheel this winter and have the time. I am not sure if summer daylight hours will promote much use of the wheel.)

I have been a knitter for at least 20 years. Still a beginner as many of the complex techniques seem to elude me. That and I really do not seem to have the attention span to take on a sweater, for example. I am an instant gratification kind of gal. My hats and scarves are to die for! At least that is what my family thinks. Haven't branched out to retail or farm stand sales. Not that good. I did try some fingerless mittens last summer. That darn thumb, oooh, so frustrating. My gusset came out perfect, but trying to figure out how to pick those stitches back up to finish the thumb, never happened. That project has been mothballed until I can get a lesson at the local knitting group. (My first meeting will be in February - I will be bringing that project.)

Now, when it comes to spinning I am by no means a "Fiber Artist". At this point I merely consider myself a 'Fiber Enthusiast'. For now I am working with sheeps wool. Until I work out the kinks as I do not want to waste my valuable Alpaca fiber. More experience will tell. I have only been spinning for a few months now, but I can see my work getting much better the more I practice. I have found drafting to be the most challenging. That is where you pull a certain number of strands away from the roving to introduce to the spinning. Taking a consistent amount of fiber in your draft is what makes your spun thread consistent in diameter. My threads or single plys look like a snake that has just eaten a big meal. Several inches of a nicely consistent diameter, then BAM a big ole nub of fiber. I thought I was going to have to trash all my first bits of spun fiber because it was lumpy and inconsistent. I sent much of it off to my sister for craft time with my nieces, thought it would make nice hair for a sock puppet. But since then my internet exploration on spinning has revealed to me that this inconsistent woven yarn may be considered 'Novelty' yarn. How sweet is that?

I figure by learning how to spin alpaca fiber and knit with alpaca fiber it will teach me more about the alpacas we are breeding. As I become intimately familiar with how these fibers handle, I can be of more help to other breeders and artists. It is giving me a greater appreciation for the fiber. Now I look at my bags of my best fiber and cannot wait to start spinning with it. Again, I am going to wait until I get better and stop producing this novelty stuff.

I am bringing my spinning wheel with me to the North American Alpaca Show this year so I can sit still in our booth. If you come (April 3 through April 5th at the Big E Farigrounds in Springfield, MA) be sure to stop by and see if I have gotten any better. Better yet, if you know how to pick up the yarn to finish the thumb hole, I would be more than willing to listen!

The Barn Siding continues

Date: Saturday January 24, 2009

Today Steve and I bundled up in the cold wind to continue putting up the siding. We spent about 6 hours out there finishing the west side of the barn. It is coming out quite beautifully. Putting that siding up is giving the barn a look of completion. While Steve nailed, I measured and cut the siding to length.

There are two window openings on this side, so I had to be sure to cut the siding around the window areas. Unfortunately the windows were covered in several feet of snow, so some of my day was spent digging a path to them then uncovering them from the blanket of snow.

We experienced sustained winds this day of 12 miles an hour. Making the biting cold get into the bones. Even after being in for several hours that evening, I could not pull myself away from the roaring fire. So I spent the evening working with some rovings on my spinning wheel. Spinning with fiber, that is an entry for another day. Again, got so busy with the farm work, forgot to take some finished pictures. I will t ake some this week and try posting them.

Snow Day

Date: Sunday January 18, 2009

A very busy day is behind us. Two feet of snow have fallen. In addition to our regular chores, we spent the day moving snow. Steve on the tractor, me behind the snow blower.

The farm becomes so magical during and after a fresh snow. Much like children, the alpacas seem to become electrified in freshly fallen snow. Pronking about and playing with each other. Mostly, it is the youth that start the snow play while the adults are hunkered down in the barns.

But, once we have cleared paths in the deep snow, they all venture out. Investigating the maze of snow paths throughout the paddock. I love to watch them during this time and kind of feel bad for Steve, he is out front running the tractor, clearing major drives or way out back clearing the tractor road to the poop piles. I get to work the paddocks and watch the alpacas as they investigate what seems like brand new territory. Next time I will try to remember to bring the camera and take pictures. Unfortunately, this time, there was so much work to be done moving the snow I forgot.

Snow was coming down so quickly, but the time I removed the first foot, another six inches had fallen. It's okay, one must expect these days in this climate.

A day in the life of a farmer

Date: Friday January 16, 2009

This picture of Nebis smelling the lilacs is to remind me that there will be warmer days ahed. In the meantime, -14 Degrees this morning. How did you start your day?

Alarm goes off at 6. Press snooze for one last snuggle before putting feet down on cold floor. Immediately get dressed for chores. Husband is up before me, only by a few moments, to start the coffee. Groggily I follow him down stairs to wait for the familiar “beep, beep, beep” of the coffee maker while restarting the wood stove (our only source of winter heat). We spend a few moments cleaning up clutter that accumulated the night before, fold a load of laundry, unload dishwasher, etc. Grab cup of coffee from pot. Sit for a few moments contemplating not stepping outside in the -14 degree weather. Wonder if the alpacas can make it a few more hours without food. Of course not...get off my butt and spend the next ten minutes getting dressed to go outside. The layer list includes the following...Long johns, Pants/jeans, thermal insulated top (inner layer), then another thermal insulated top (outer layer), alpaca socks, polar fleece vest, insulated lined bib coveralls, lined leather gloves, polar tech fez (with wind bloc of course), alpaca fleece gator, down insulated coat with coyote fur lined hood (the best invention ever, have had this coat for 10 years. This is not the kind of coat you can wear out on the town, but it is perfect for farming...), then finally I hobble my way over to my Muck boots. (Oooh, my Muck boots, made by the Muck boot company, feet never had it so good. Warm, insulated, breathable, waterproof, and allegedly buoyant. - Buoyancy, I have not tested this out yet. Uncertain as to whether or not I want to know if my feet are buoyant while in these boots. Seems somewhat dangerous.) Now the picture of me totally decked out, those of you that do not live in a cave must have seen the movie a "Christmas Story", well Ralphies brother in his snowsuit, arms sticking out of his sides, barely able to move...yeah, that’s me...

Okay so now I am completely dressed, yes it takes time to put all that on. Head to the vet room to grab a few items that may be necessary on such a cold morning.

Thermometer - in case anyone is shivering or shows abnormal behavior that may warrant a need to know their temp.
Vaseline - we have a young female recovering from an accident that left her with little to no fleece on several spots. That Vaseline will help to insulate her bare flesh from freezing
Gatorade - we use this as an electrolyte supplement in their water, very sparingly in times of stress, like -14 deg F. may indicate.
Coat for our Suri Anglo. He seems to be the only one that has EVER shown signs of shivering or being cold...ever.

Then, dress the dogs, off to the barn. Once in the barn it takes about 10 minutes to get basic chores done and spend some time just observing the critters behavior. Just to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. Check the chickens in the hen house. Plenty of food and water, collect two eggs, that have exploded from freezing. Bummer, no fresh eggs for breakfast.

Now its 715 a.m. Because I am fully geared up, I spend about 20 minutes hauling fire wood closer to the front door of the house, so later one of us does not have to get all dressed up. It is now about 745 a.m.

Next stop - errands, I get undressed, into street clothes, change my jacket (see mom, I do not wear it out in public), put on my hat, and off on a road trip. I head west on 202 for an hour round trip to get grain at the feed store, some straw - due to super cold temps want to put more down in the barn, and the human feed store. I will spare the boring details of my shopping excursions, except for the usual tedium...once at feed store, get stuck talking with the older gentleman (I think he is about 150 years old) about how the world ain't what it used to be, not enough farmers etc. etc. Then the typical harassment in the grocery store (hey like your hat, can you help me find...my daughter is...it is a weird thing, people just come up to me to talk about stuff that really is none of my business. My husband finds it funny, he has seen the magic happen.)

Okay, car loaded with hay, two bags of feed, and groceries. I think the ambient temperature has now gone up to -3, with a wind of about 20 miles an hour. So with windchill temperatures, it is super cold. On way home, realize it is now only 1030. I decide to stop by the tractor dealer. Its on the way, and Steve and I have been having a hard time getting there together to investigate tractor implements with the proprietor, so I make this my opportunity. You see, owning a tractor is much like any other gadget, just bigger and more useful. You always need to attach more gadgets to it to make it just a little bit more user friendly. Okay, so I wasted a 1/2 hour tractor parts shopping.

Once we arrive home we unload groceries, and grain and put things away. It is now lunch time. Quick, get lunch ready, we sit for ten minutes. The whole while discussing the barn. Today is siding day. A huge milestone.

Back into the house to make dinner. A full three course meal is spread upon the table. A welcome treat after a long hard day in the cold. Once dinner is over, I put my gear back on, its time to feed critters. I volunteered to accomplish this task while the husband cleaned the kitchen, I believe it to be a great exchange, cause alpaca hugs and kisses are much more sought after than dishpan hands.

Once I return I see a bottle of wine has been opened and a pitcher of home brew has been set out, kitchen is clean, husband is showered, and is ready to settle down for the evening. I follow suit, and finally sit down for the evening as well. We are all in bed fast asleep by 1030. Up the next morning, and every morning, to do it again. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.