A Special Offer for My Blog Friends!

I have 1lb and 15 ounces of this 50/50 Merino/Alpaca blend that I am listing on Ebay for $3.00 an ounce. For the next 3 days, I want to offer it to all of you who visit my blog for $2.00 an ounce plus shipping. I bought the Merino from Terry Mendenhall who spends her time making sure that those spinners who have seen the wool she raises cant live without her, and the alpaca was the Grand Champion Fleece at the NV State Fair last year. I sent it all off to Morro Fleece Works to have it pin drafted and Sheri does such beautiful work! This roving has a bit of vm in it, but it makes up for it in delectability! I also have some of the Merino that was left over after the blend, but sorry, as much as I love you all, I'm keeping that ;-)


The skein below was spun from this blend, and steam dyed at mine, Sharon's, and Mim's dye day I posted about. Check out that sheen!

If you are interested in buying any of the above pin-drafted roving, and you are a blog friend, email me privately with your name, how many ounces you'd like to buy, your blog address (if I dont already know it) and your PayPal email.

On to other wooly things! I ordered this tunis from a fellow tunis conservator in New Jersey, she raises her sheep with special attention to wool characteristics, and this girl tested out at 24 microns! This girls fleece will be mine for the next few years if I can help it.
The New Jersey Tunis breeder, Laurie, dropped the fleece of at the Ozark Carding Mill booth at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May. I have to admit I was a bit disapointed, I suppose I am spoiled by Shari, but the roving wasnt quite what I expected and I think I paid too much for it, after shipping it worked out to about $18.50/lb. But after spinning it, I feel a little better about it. I wont be selling it anyway though, it is going to Reno with me for the State Fair in August where tunis will be the 'sheep of the year' at the CSSW tent near the entrance.

I stayed out late last night with a friend, we had maybe just a little too much fun so I am maybe just a little tired today, will post again tomorrow when I have recovered, just a little.

REAL INTERNET!!!

I HAVE WIRELESS INTERNET!!! Woohoo! Partay!

Hopefully this means more pictures and more posts, I have been dealing with dial-up for EVER! Since we all have cell phones now, I turned off the land line that we have had for almost 20 years (that was really really hard!), ditched the dial-up and ordered wireless! Still going to save about $25 per month!
So here I am, with no pictures to upload, but tomorrow! Look Out! ;-)

Smoke and Kittens

Meet the foster kids!
I have to admit, they are as cute as can be, I just keep thinking about what they do when they grow up.
I hate that there are fires in northern CA, but it sure makes for some interesting sunsets and sunrises... I keep feeling like I should be working in dispatch somewhere. Have I mentioned that I am an erstwhile expanded dispatcher for the BLM?
More pics from Ohio and the Great Lakes Fiber Fest/National Tunis Show and Sale and the trip home...

These moths were on display at a booth were the cacoons they make were on sale. They were very expensive!

Summer?

Seems like we are all in a kind of a hiatus, the rush of spring lambing is over, the heat of summer is almost here (yes, it gets hotter than this in July!), and there isn't a darn thing to post about!

My daughter went walking the other day with a friend of hers and found two kittens abandoned by the road. I railed and fumed and tried not to look at them, told her she couldn't bring them home, no matter what. Yeah, sure.

I will try to get pictures uploaded this evening, but one is a burnt orange color, a male, the other a calico, female of course. Don't suppose anyone out there wants a kitten?? They are little, probably about 4 weeks old when she picked them up, that would make them 5 weeks now.
We have 5 cats, and out of the 4 people in our house, 3 are allergic to cats.

I love cats, but when mine are gone I'm done, don't want no new ones in the interim.

We have a house guest coming around the 25th. A friend of Jari's is coming to stay with us, she may end up living with us. I love the girl to death, but they have a way of conjuring trouble when they are together, I have a sick feeling in my stomach about it. Might be time to get the hammer out and nail that girls window shut ;-)

I'm at work, again, still, whatever... guess I better do something while I'm here.

Adendum:
I found out a guanaco (pronounced "whah-nah-co") baby is called a chulengo, not a cria! Huh! Whodathunkit!

A Trade Off

My dear friend Sam Cunningham of Cunnington Farms and I have often over the last few years swapped sheep back and forth. Before I went to Ohio with her (yes, Sam is a 'her') I took a ram she had sold my daughter and I in 2004. We were going to trade a moorit CVM ewe lamb.

While we were gone, Sam's alpaca/guanaco had a cria and then the next day, the guanaco had one! They are the cutest things! This one was the first to be born, she is half alpaca and half guanaco.

This was the second one born, on Sunday the 25th I believe, also a girl.
After we got home and got to wander through the pens and see all the wonderull fibery animals, we realized that the moorit ewe lamb had hangy-downy parts; she was a he. I am trying really hard to keep my flock focus on the tunis and Jari's 4-H sheep, and I really fought with myself about having another wool sheep on the farm, but she was a moorit! I couldnt resist until we found out she wasnt a she. The ram lamb was easy to decline, since I dont have any wool sheep to breed him to. Then Sam said "Would you like a guanaco?" I know my eyebrows went up and my mouth fell open because she said "one or two more sheep and it would be a trade!" I think I stuttered for a minute. Have I mentioned I love Sam? She is one of the sweetest most giving people I have ever met, but I can tell you right now, she is getting more than 3 sheep out of me for that little girl! They are priced a lot like alpacas and Im thinking if we make this trade, Im in for at least 10 sheep! You reading this Sam? It is in black and white now!

Anyway, the little red one is going to come here eventually, thinking of naming her 'Lola'. You remember the song, 'at the copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana..." yeah, well I will have to clear it with the kid :)

Not Much to Talk About

Just a note to let everyone know Im still here. Not much going on, the last day of school was Friday. I hate this time of year, I still have to work but my kids are at home :(
We went to a BBQ yeserday, ate, drank beer, had fun, went home. Sounding a bit like Eeore....
I cant upload any more pictures to Flickr till next month, I had mistakenly read 100mb per day, but it is per month, so I will let everyone know when I upload more of them.
Still working on stuff for the State Fair, although I hate for summer to end and fall to begin, I am looking forward to it.

Will try to post again later this week!

I'm Back!

What a trip! We have lots of pictures to share, too many to load here. I have uploaded most of them to Flickr, check em out! I will upload the rest tomorrow or the next day... Only 100megs a day and I have LOTS of pictures :) Beautiful scenery, sheep and the Chicago Field Museum! It was a last minute decision, and we only had about 3 hours, not near enough, but it was wonderful!

It took 4 days to drive out to Wooster Ohio, the show started on Saturday and the Sale was on Sunday. There were lots of vendors (no pictures of them, sorry I was too busy shopping and forgot I had a camera :), lots of sheep and lots of people. We saw a day old cria, the momma was a newbie and wasn't quite sure what to do with the baby so the owners brought her down to make sure the cria nursed.


I bought the ram lamb I went after, as well as a hampshire ewe for Jari's 4-H breeding project this year. Spent way too much money but she is a very nice ewe!

We got home on Friday night, it took an extra night because we dropped sheep in Wyoming and again outside of Salt Lake. Details are too many to go into, it was a good show and a satisfying sale :)