Lost dog and discovered kids!

Emmie, one of our Anatolian Shepard livestock guardian dogs, has been regularly getting out of the pasture at night for a few weeks now. She has always been the one to find the weak point in our fencing and has gotten out on occasion here and there but for the past 5-6 weeks she has been getting out 3-5 nights a week. Every time I think I have it figured out where she is through the fence and fix it she is out again within a day or two.

So, it was no surprise tonight at 10:30pm as I was doing the dishes that I looked out the window to see Emmie slowly walking up the driveway. Evan, our 6yo son, was still awake so the two of us went out to round her up and lock her in the barn for the night. Because we first had to go to the barn to get a lead rope Emmie had time to wander into the woods and disappear. Evan and I walked the road for a bit and then came back close to the house when we heard the chickens getting all in a tizzy. Another trip to the barn and the chicken coop showed everything in order. Not wanting to go in without securing Emmie, Evan and I took the trash bin up to the road for the morning pickup and stopped and got the mail with still no sign of Emmie. Finally, as we were hanging out in the driveway just watching the tree line Emmie emerged by our neighbors house. I was very relieved to see her. I don't really worry about her running away per se but I do worry about her wandering onto our busy road at night as more then one dog has met its end on the road by our home. We walked over to her and slipped the lead around her neck and walked her back to the barn to lock her in the stall for the rest of the night.

As we walked through the door of the barn I was surprised to see one of our Nigerian Dwarf goats, Gabby, just giving birth to her second wet little kid! I wasn't expecting them for another two weeks or so and I would have missed it tonight if it hadn't been for Emmie getting out. Funny, two trips down to the barn and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and not 10 minutes later we have two more goats!

It feels like Spring!

What a beautiful day today! The cold spell from last week is over finally. Our outdoor thermometer read 80F in the sun this afternoon!

Neil and his dad continued to work on the yard spring cleaning. Moving a lot of the items that got stacked in a hurry over the winter (like the wooden pallets) back under the old pig shelters. The farm yard is looking really great... can't wait for it to start turning green again.

I did snag Neil for a few minutes while I was down at the barn doing chores so that he could help me castrate our two little goats. It is not a difficult task just a two person one since it involves a wiggly goat. I have taken a deposit on these two boys and they should be headed off to their new home next month. Meanwhile, two of our Nigerian Dwarf does, Gabby and Pepper, are getting quite plump and I expect them to kid out the beginning of March as well.

Time for Fall breedings to begin

Now that the weather has gotten cooler it is time for our Fall alpaca breedings to begin. Alpacas are pregnant for 11-12 months with most landing on the 11 1/2 month period. We plan our breedings so the last three months of the pregnancy are not during our hottest summer months here in NC. When alpacas are exposed to high temperatures during that critical time the rate of stillborn or premature cria drastically rises.

So, today one of our alpaca farming neighbors, David and Pat St. Laurent of Rolling Meadow Farm, brought over one of their breeding males, Prince Charming, to breed with one of our open females, Eloise. Prince Charming is a son of PPPeruvian Accoyo Mr. President. Mr. President was one of Magical Farms top males before selling him at auction in 2002. Eloise has been bred to light colored males for both of her previous cria and has produced color both times so we are hopeful that this pair will produce a colorful cria as well.

I have a whole year to dream about it...

Knitting Update

I have been knitting most evenings while watching a movie with the kids. It is so relaxing to sit in my overstuffed leather chair across from the fire knitting away the time.

So far I have completed one Christmas present (not pictured) and McKayla's mittens and hat as well. McKayla's mittens and hat were knitted and then fulled (often called felted but when a knitted/woven/crochet fabric is felted it is correctly called fulling not felting). I love the processes of knitting an item and then watching the magic happen as it is transformed into something so textually different.

Here you can see the before. They are large and floppy and you can clearly see all the stitches.

As compared to the after fulling version. They are 2/3 to 1/2 the size they started out as. The fabric is now stiffer and will hold it's shape when molded. The stitches are no longer distinguishable from each other as they have meshed to make a solid fabric. This makes them very warm and somewhat waterproof.

If you missed the post with the link to this pattern you can find it here...

Odd jobs done.

As warm as yesterday was... today was cold. Even with the chilly temps Neil got a few odds and ends done around the farm today.

One of the many things I wanted to make easier for this coming winter was watering the livestock. In the heat of the summer I don't mind walking around with the garden hose filling watering troughs but when the temps are below freezing it is no fun any more. So, on Friday when I was at Southern States picking up the weeks livestock feed I also purchased a 70 gallon stock tank for the cows water. This morning Neil put it behind the barn where I wanted it to go. We got the automatic watering device hooked up to it and instantly the curious cows came over to see what it was all about. I was a little nervous that the tank might be too tall for them to comfortably drink out of... being miniature cows and all... but they demonstrated right away that it was no problem at all. One step closer to water independence!

The other odd thing Neil got done today was to install the cat door in the house. I have been leaving the door from our bedroom to the deck open most days the past few weeks so the cats could come and go. With temps often below 50 degrees during the day it is now too cold to be doing that. Neil got the kitty door in and I showed Jet how it worked. I figure he will be the first to figure it all out and Fringe will have to learn from him. Meanwhile, no more cold breezes in the bedroom!

Personality Uptown 2008

Personality Uptown is the annual showcase event for our small rural area. The two-day festival is normally held early in September but this year due to hurricane Hana it was postponed until November. It opened last night with rides and a street dance but it was pouring rain here at the house with threats of thunderstorms into today. I was pleased when I awoke this morning to sunny skies and warm winds.

Neil and I took the kids over to see what there was to see. It was a nice small fair with live music, dancing, craft booths, fair food and a dozen or so carnival rides. The first thing we all did was get on the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel has always been one of my favorite rides but I have never before gotten the kids to ride with me on it. This year it was their idea to all go so I was excited.

Evan and I sat together (which made taking his picture difficult).

McKayla and Daddy sat together directly opposite of Evan and I.

After the Ferris wheel ride we walked around and let the kids go on some of the kid oriented "rides" like the super slide, bounce obstacle course and the fun house.

As good as the fair food smelled it was a bit pricey for all of us so we ended up eating at a sit down pizza place for a late lunch. We got to sit at a booth next to the windows so we were able to look out and watch the rides which was fun too.

Just before heading out we stopped and listened to the live country music and the kids "danced" and ran around on the wooden dance floor they had set up. It was so wonderful to watch the kids let the music take them and move their bodies without any fear of being watched by the crowd. If only we all felt so free and uninhibited!

More hay today

I got a call first thing this morning from one of my hay contacts. She wanted to let me know that they got a load of prime 2nd cut Orchard/Timothy Grass hay in and did I want 150 bales of it? They could deliver in just a few hours...

So, by noon, a trailer hauling 150 bales of hay came pulling into the yard. We weren't quite prepared to have hay delivered today. Neil was working on the brakes on the Suburban and the old semi-trailer that we store our hay wasn't cleared out enough to hold 150 new bales. But, we managed (I say "we" but really it was "they" as I am unable to toss hay in my current pregnant condition) to get 137 bales in the trailer and the remaining 13 went into the barn.

As long as we don't have a bitter bitter cold winter we should be all set on our hay requirements now. Can't tell you what a good feeling that is!