It's Open House Time Again!

Mango's new little guy found out early that he could run and has been working on improving his speed each day. I managed to catch him in the act this afternoon. After several missed attempts to get an action shot while he was circling the pasture, I figured out that if I aimed my camera at the corner where he had to slow down a bit to make the turn, then I could snap him in the air. He runs, leaps and pronks from the barn to the pasture, around it and back again. He repeats this route until he tires of the game and then goes over to his mama for a little sustenance and then a nap afterward.

I can only hope he repeats this performance for our guests at the Open House this weekend. Remember to pile in your car and vans or hop on your Harleys (you know who I mean) and get on out here Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. We are also having three or maybe four beautiful young assistants to help with activities for the kids this year. Our lovely granddaughter, Olivia, her BFF and "other" granddaughter, Savannah, and a couple of her other besties (Kelley, Libby, Kristina; I'm not sure which) are coming up to assist. We have a few activities scheduled for the little ones. We also have cider and donuts for everyone and alpaca cookies for the little kids. As usual, Nikko will be giving out free kisses!

Mango Did It Again!

And by it I mean, she not only had another boy, but she also had him a mere 30 minutes after I had checked on her and found her peacefully grazing. I was only on the other side of the barn in the store working on a painting project, too! Darn. I still haven't seen an actual birth.

While the odds were in our favor to have a girl, since the other three babies born on the farm have been boys, we are still thrilled to have a lively, healthy little boy. This one has the longest legs that I have ever seen on a cria, which probably explains why Mango stuck out so far on each side of her belly. This new little guy began nursing just minutes after I had picked him up to determine his gender and dip his naval in some iodine to prevent infection. I no sooner put him back down than he ducked under his anxiously waiting mama to begin nursing.

Mango tolerated this for a while but as soon as he let go she began grazing herself. The poor girl seems to be starving. A bit later I will go out and give her a special treat as a reward for her good work.

This is just another added attraction for our fall open house during National Alpaca Farm Days on September 26th and 27th. Be sure to come on out and see this new little one. We will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Yesterday I made a road trip with my friend, Rhonda, down to a new fiber mill in Somerville, Ohio. America's Natural Fiberworks. Carrie and Robbie, who also own a herd of alpacas and some sheep, were so helpful and showed us around their operations. They are going to turn some fleece that was given to me by another herd owner into lovely alpaca rug yarn and lopi. I have completely sold out of my 2014 and 2015 rug yarn and last years lopi bulky. The samples of their yarns and felt sheets were so lovely. I can hardly wait until mine is done. I have already booked a  spot for next year's fleece crop since they are so busy.

I have been wanting to try my hand at dying some of the white yarn that I have in stock. Last year I had an abundance of white worsted so I pulled five 250 yard skeins from my stock and brought them in. My plan was to dye them a light orange but after reading the dye instructions I was afraid that I had too much yarn in the pot for the amount of dye called for. So, of course, I dumped a bit more in the mix. It soon became apparent that I had perhaps overdone. The yarn just kept getting darker and darker. When the process was finally done I ended up with a flaming red-orange yarn. It's not the light orange that I had planned on but since it perfectly matches my crop of fresh tomatoes and the salsa I made from them....

I'm debating about whether to call the yarn "Summer Tomato" or maybe "Salsa." What do you think?

Another reminder, come on out to see us during National Alpaca Farm Days, on September 26th and 27th.

Pregnant Alpacas and Tomatoes Everywhere!

Where, oh, where did that lovely temperate weather of last week go? I loved it when it was in the high 70's with low humidity and blue, blue skies. I should have known that when the kids went back to school the hot, humid, summer weather would return. The great thing for my old colleagues this year is that the new school has finally opened and it is air conditioned. I'm happy for them.

Out here on the farm I feel awful for our pregnant girls. Mango and Took are hugely pregnant and suffering in this heat. They spend most of their days in the shade of the barn, sprawled out in front of the large barn fan, and I don't blame them. They just don't feel appearing in the pasture for my entertainment! Leezza, who is due three weeks after them is not as big and I'm starting to fear that she may have lost her baby. If she did then this will be the second year in a row that we thought she was pregnant and were disappointed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We turn on the sprinklers in the evening close to sundown and the animals seek relief by splashing around and laying right down on them. When Mango lays down on a sprinkler you can see her belly spreading around her. She and Took jockey for the prime spot where the sprinkler will hit their chest and under carriage.

Next week I will need to cancel any of my activities that would normally take me away from home and begin my "baby watch." Alpacas are pregnant for 11 1/2 months, give or take a week or two, and Mango, especially, looks like she should pop any time now.

I have finally finished the lovely, creamy, white, over sized scarf that I was making for myself out of the DK yarn from Mango's baby fleece.  I used the Misti Diagonal Rib Shawl, pattern by Sue Conway from Ravelry.com and added a picot edging. It is so soft and warm and I really am looking forward to cooler weather so that I can try it out. Most of my knitting projects are made for other people so it's nice to have one for myself.

The other day I began and am now over half finished with a lovely cowl Christmas gift project that will keep someone's neck warm when the January winds start to blow. This project is knitted up in the Heathered Mulberry worsted weight yarn that I had made from some of the white fleece from this year's shearing. Morning Star blended it for me with some pre-dyed merino fleece in a mix of garnet and rose quartz. This is one of the best selling yarns at the Tiffin Farmer's Market where we have had a stand this summer. I also bring along my wheel and do spinning demonstrations. Be sure to come on out to the farmer's market to visit with us and buy your produce. The next one is on Saturday, September 12th.

We are also participating in National Alpaca Farm Days on September 26 and 27. The farm will be open to all visitors from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. those days. If you visit on those days the store will be open and visitors will be able to enter the pasture and have an up close and personal experience with the alpacas. If we are lucky, there should be a new cria or two to entertain the kids. Check our Buckeye Star Alpacas Facebook page for more information in the coming weeks.

Now that we have alpaca pastures, Rich no longer has a large garden. He just doesn't have the time for that type of gardening. So in addition to the strawberry patch out where the old sawmill used to be we just put in a couple of cabbage plants and a few tomato plants. This year we had taken out some really old shrubbery behind our deck and instead of replacing it, I suggested to Rich that "we" (meaning Rich) should put the tomato plants in there. It was a perfect spot for a raised bed. We had two early cabbages before the tomatoes took over the space.

We planted one Roma plant and four Better Boys. About a week ago they slowly started to ripen.

Then a few days ago I started to find myself inundated with tomatoes. I have roasted and frozen several bags of Romas and frozen several bags of whole, cored Better Boys to use in soups and stews this winter. I search Yummly.com every day for new ideas for tomato dishes to serve with dinner. We have had rustic tomato tarte, tomato margharita pizza, corn-black bean-tomato salad; and the list goes on. Today I took a stab at canned tomato salsa. I just threw chopped tomatoes, roasted anaheim chilis, chopped onions and a bunch of other "stuff" into the pot and then followed the instructions in the Ball cook book for canning tomatoes. It's not too bad for a first try and it's a pretty color.

I've even been using a bowl of plump, shiny tomatoes as a centerpiece on the kitchen table!

A Crowded Pasture and One Un-Lucky Nikko!

Back on June first when it seemed like summer stretched endlessly before me, I felt like I had so much time to do all of the nice weather activities that I had planned. Then all of a sudden the back-to-school ads started appearing in the papers and on television and then today I got a catalog with Halloween decorations! As much as I love fall, I am not ready to leave summer behind.

On the plus side, I have completed quite a few warm weather tasks. I got much of the indoor painting completed and have done my second annual spinning demonstration at the Crawford County Fair alpaca show. That's a job that's not really a job. I love seeing so many 4-H girls and boys who are so enthused and dedicated to raising and showing alpacas. So many of them enjoy watching me turn the fleece into yarn; and I like to be able to show them that the beautiful fleece goes on to become something warm to wear.

The kids and alpacas parading into the show ring

Rich and I  also joined the local produce farmers at the Tiffin Farmers' Market on Saturday, July 25th. We had only signed up to do one Saturday just to test the waters and see whether our farm products would sell. We had such a great time and sold so much of our yarn and small wood products that Rich is going to be there again this Saturday! This market on August 8th is a big one because the Tiffin Art Guild has it's annual show on the old courthouse lawn at the same time. The hours have been extended to 9-4 because of the art show. Be sure to stop by and visit our booth and say, "Hi," to Rich.

Testing the layout of our booth in the woodshop

Yesterday, I hosted a group of women from the Findlay International Womens' Group, their children and my granddaughter, Olivia, and a few of her friends. In all, there were about 20 guests visiting the alpacas. My friend, Athena, had organized the event and had turned it into a pot luck. What an extraordinarily  yummy pot luck it was, too! We had everything from caprese salad, with tomatoes and fresh basil from Athena's garden, to home made sushi rolls that Yasuko made for us. There was a home made queso dip, chinese noodle salad, lamb meat loaf with Indian spices, American mac 'n cheese and potato salad, snickerdoodle cookies and ice cream. I have definitely got to get those recipes. Everyone left some of the leftovers for me so I didn't have to cook dinner for Rich and he got a gourmet meal anyway!

Crowded Pasture

The children had such a wonderful time with the alpacas and gave them so many alpaca treats that the animals eventually quit eating them. Alpacas, unlike humans, know when they have had enough! Nikko was very free with his alpaca kisses and gave as many as were asked for. He's always willing to spread the love around.

Chloe

Yasuko

Athena

I did a quick weaving demonstration for my guests and they were able to see how I turn rags or alpaca rug yarn into lovely, useful throw rugs.

I had put out the corn hole game, sidewalk chalk, bubble blowing equipment and squirt guns for the kids to play with when they got bored with adult company. After lunch the littlest ones made good use of the squirt guns and bubble stuff. It was perfect weather for outdoor fun and great pictures.

Olivia has plans to bring her girlfriends back in a couple of months after the new babies are born and one of the girls asked to bring her grandparents up to see the herd. Of course, Rich and I love hosting visitors to the farm and are looking forward to their visit.

I have mentioned before that alpacas are pregnant for 11-1/2 months, give or take a week or two. They don't even look pregnant until the very end of their term. Well, our girls are looking really big in the past week or two. Took is due on September 20th and I have actually seen some pushing and pulsing in her belly area. One has to sit on the ground nearby and focus on the rear part of  her underbelly in order to be lucky enough to see anything...I know, picture this, right? But one evening I was leaning over to pick up something from the ground and thought I saw a motion. So I plopped down on the ground and stared for a few minutes and sure enough, "punch, poke, kick!" Tookie kicked with a back leg in the direction of the motion, clearly irritated with whatever it is in there that had interrupted her peaceful grazing.

Mango is due on September 29th and is beginning to be uncomfortable enough that she kushes with her back legs to the side instead of directly underneath her. She twists and turns those back legs constantly when she is kushing in the pasture. Both Mango and Took jostle each other trying to be the first one in the sprinkler in the evenings when Rich puts it in the pasture for them. In the picture, Took seems to be asking Mango, "When do I get a turn?"

We have moved Leezza into a separate pasture with Mango's baby, Mocha, in order to help him separate from his mama. He had self weaned several months ago but was still clinging to Mango's side too often. Since he hung out with Leezza when Mango wasn't near it seemed logical to pair the two of them in a pasture. I hated moving him but we had to break that bond before she gives birth to the new cria. Now we have some decisions to make about Mocha. He can't stay with Leezza indefinitely because she is due on October 9th. He is related to all of our females and Nikko isn't about to share a pasture with him or any other male. This means we need to sell or neuter Mocha or find pasture space for him to be alone. Is there anyone out there who would like to buy a beautiful, bay black yearling? It would be a shame to neuter him because he is a show quality animal. What a dilemma.

You know how I said that Nikko loves to spread the love around? Well last week our friends from Grass Run Alpacas, Myron and Rhonda, brought Lucky Charm, a lovely black alpaca with a cute white face up for a "date" with Nikko. He was eager to show her a good time and tried to "welcome" her to his barnyard. Poor Nikko! It turned out to be the date from...well, you know. Lucky Charm was having no part of it and she ran from him and spit in his face whenever he got near to her. It wasn't just a warning spit either. This was more than the "air spit" or the "grassy mouth spit." This was what I call the Category 3 spit that comes from the ruminant chamber of the alpaca gut, and boy is it stinky. She got him right in the face several times and he backed off to the opposite side of the pasture and wouldn't go near her.

Myron and Rhonda left Lucky Charm with us for a couple of days so that we could try to pair the two animals off again. No luck! On the second try when we put Nikko into the barnyard with her, he took one look at her and cowered at the opposite side of the yard. She spit anyway! When we opened his pasture gate he didn't waste any time going home. In short, Nikko "didn't get Lucky."

Happy Fourth-ish!

I know this is a day late but I want so share with you one of my favorite quotes. This one by Jack Kerouac, from On The Road, always comes to mind on the Fourth of July.

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes, "Awww!"

This time of year always brings out that kind of madness in all of us here in Ohio, I think. The weather is finally warm, school is out, it's time for many of us to go on vacation or just sit out on our own decks, enjoying nature. In short, I want to enjoy every new experience that comes my way; every old familiar experience, too, for that matter. Sometimes that enjoyment comes in the form of travel and sometimes it means just sitting  on my own deck with a good book.

The alpacas are reveling in this moderate sunny weather. I look out the back door and often see them lazing in the pasture, sprawled out on their sides rolling in the dust and basking in the sun.

Another reason that I love this time of year is...Jam Time! 

I had already made one batch of strawberry jam by myself before my assistant and granddaughter, Olivia, came up to help with the second one. This year we added a new trainee to the jam kitchen. My niece's daughter, Riley, (that makes me a great-aunt, but I prefer to think of myself as a Great Aunt) worked in the kitchen making her first ever strawberry jam.

Olivia, who is driving now and has her own car, brought Riley up. Riley was staying the week; Olivia stayed the day. I consider myself a very fortunate g-ma since my almost seventeen-year-old granddaughter still wants to visit and make jam with me. The two girls picked strawberries and we cleaned them and made another batch of jam. You can never have too much strawberry jam.

After the jam, and before supper time, just to stave off boredom, Olivia and Riley made fresh strawberry muffins. After a supper of homemade macaroni and cheese with smoked sausage, Olivia set off for home and Riley, Rich and I settled in for the evening with our books and newspapers.

Riley, a city girl, spent the week with us here on the Buckeye Star Alpaca farm. When I wasn't teaching her to knit or making her help with gardening chores like dead heading the iris plants, she spent a lot of time outside playing ball with Callie. The poor dog was completely worn out each evening and has never slept better in her life.

I think the activity that Riley enjoyed most of all was walking the alpacas. Rich and I  harnessed them up two at a time and walked them around the yard. We took this opportunity to snap current pictures of the animals and after the picture taking, Riley got to walk an alpaca for the very first time. She was thrilled. At the end of the week when I asked her what she might want to be when she grows up, without hesitation she replied, "An alpaca farmer!"

New Yarns and Spring Time!

Since my last post on May 1, the rest of the month just flew by and blogging got lost in the craziness. Brutus and Asterius left us to go live in a new home and from what I've seen on Face Book, they are adjusting very well to their new pasture. We still miss them because they were always so entertaining as only young alpacas can be. But now they are neck wrestling and chest butting and entertaining their new family. I feel confident that we sold them to the right person.

Earlier this month I was so privileged to be able to visit my daughter and grandkids in Columbus, (their dad was out of town) on the weekend that Olivia went to her first prom. Watching her get her hair and make-up done as she prepped for her date was so reminiscent of the days when her mom, Amy, and her Aunt Susie went to dances. As a proud grandma and admittedly biased, I've got to say that Olivia was absolutely beautiful. You be the judge...

After that event it seemed that we were spending so much time working on getting the lawn and garden in shape in between cold and/or windy days. It looks pretty good right now. Then later in the month we attended my grandson, Max's, confirmation party. Again, biased, but he is as handsome as his sister is beautiful. When did that cranky little boy turn into such a genial, sociable teenager? He's the one in the middle between us and his Colorado grandparents.

This past weekend I received my 2015 yarns from Morning Star Fiber Mill where I have had the fleeces processed the past two years. They are absolutely beautiful! This year I had everything processed into either worsted weight or rug yarns. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon working out in my shop/weaving studio pricing the yarn and re-working the yarn display.

I had the mill combine the fleece from the white animals: Took, Mango and Nikko, and then divide it and combine with some pre-dyed merino for some lovely colors. Half was combined with rose quartz and garnet merino to make our Heathered Mulberry worsted yarn. The other half was combined with turquoise and emerald merino to make our Heathered Sea Spray. Both are lovely.

 Brutus and Leezza, our dark brown animals, were combined and a touch of the turquoise merino was added to make what I have called Baltic Brown/Blue. It is perhaps my favorite and I knitted up a swatch the day I received the yarn. It is a lovely deep brown with unexpected flecks of turquoise. It reminded me of the moody hues of an angry, winter ocean.

The fourth worsted yarn is a super soft 100% baby alpaca Heathered Gray. I had baby Mocha's fleece combined with Asterius (he was sheared before he left our farm) for an exceptionally soft  yarn that will be suitable for baby clothing or anything worn next to the skin. It's a lovely dark heather gray color and I want to knit something with this one. Who am I kidding? I want to knit something with every one of my yarns. Rich is constantly reminding me that the purpose of having these yarns made is to SELL them and not to try to see if I can knit them all myself. They are all for sale in our actual store out here on the farm and in our Etsy store.

Our rug yarn this year is a combination of all of our animals and is variegated black-to-brown-to-white, and should work up into lovely woven throw rugs. There are only four 150 yard bumps so they should sell out fast like last year's rug yarn.

Spring finally seems to be here to stay and the animals are all enjoying the sunshine and new grass in the pasture. I often look out there to see them stretched out on their sides basking in the sun. I remember the first time I saw Took do that and how still she was. I was afraid that she had died! I went rushing out to check her and she slowly lifted just her head and looked at me over her shoulder. She seemed almost resentful that I had disturbed her sleep!

Little Mocha is growing like a weed and has finally learned to take the apple flavored treats from Rich's hand. They are shaped like an apple slice, are solid like a dog biscuit and a bit large for his little mouth. We break them in half so they fit in his mouth. Now that he has acquired a taste for them he often pushes to the head of the line to get his treat first!

Today the doors and windows are open and I can hear the birds singing outside. Now that I have finished with all of the busy work of managing the herd and the Etsy store I think that I will go out to the store this afternoon and weave some rugs or maybe just sit on the porch and read a good book. Don't 'cha just love springtime?

Bitter and Sweet

Asterius and Brutus, our two star attractions when visitors come to the farm, will be leaving us tomorrow. Although I knew someday this would happen, I get tears in my eyes when I think about it. They were our first born-on-the-farm crias and have been a big hit with everyone. These two little guys rush to the fence every time a vehicle turns into the driveway and always have a "nose kiss" ready for anyone willing to lean over and receive it from them

Asterius was born on August 8, 2013 to Our Peruvian Took, otherwise known as Tookie, one of the first alpacas that we purchased to begin our herd. His arrival came as a surprise to Rich and I because we didn't really expect him for a couple of more weeks. After a Sunday excursion with two of Rich's brothers and their wives, we returned home to see our three females surrounding a tiny mound of wet, white cria in their pasture!

Asterius was such a scrawny, leggy little thing that it is difficult to match that up with the sturdy, ultra-fluffy guy he is now. The first week after his birth we had to bottle feed him because his mama, Took, had a minor clog in her plumbing. Rich would hold Asterius on his lap while I fed him the bottle and his mama stood nearby making that particular clicking noise in her throat that helps the cria identify  their parent.

He was so tiny that even I could pick him up in my arms.

Brutus was born barely a month later on September 5, 2013, to another of our foundation herd members, Firenze. Firenze, a beautiful black and very regal animal, was a slightly older animal with a history of being a good mama. The day Brutus was born I had returned from teaching a class at a nearby university as usual. Knowing that Firenze was due any time, I checked out the pasture behind the house where we had our mamas before going inside to change and grab some lunch. Firenze wasn't showing any signs of labor and seemed to be grazing calmly in the pasture. When I came back out on the deck about 45 minutes later she was still calmly grazing only there was what looked like a little brown pile of rags beside her!

Since this cria was born in Ohio at the beginning of football season, Rich felt that it was only logical to name him Brutus. Firenze, true to her reputation, was a good mama who was always nearby as her baby learned to navigate the pasture and stand up to the one month older and bigger, Asterius.

We noticed that Brutus began grazing in the grass and eating hay at the age of two months, while Asterius was still relying solely on his mother for his nutrition. We didn't think that this was strange because Brutus still nursed regularly, too. Firenze was still very thin but her health records showed that she always had trouble putting on weight after giving birth. Then one very cold January night when Brutus was only four months old, I found Firenze "down" in the barn. Even though the vet came out and administered a couple of shots out of desperation (ours) our beautiful, queen of the herd, Firenze died during the night. A necropsy showed that she had been sick for a very long time and the vet said that he was surprised that she even got pregnant, let alone carried a healthy baby full term. His nursing was probably just a comfort thing because Firenze's milk had clearly dried up. Firenze managed to stay alive until she was confident that Brutus could survive without her. Although small for his age, Brutus has no health problems and has thrived through it all.

So these two pasture mates who are, unfortunately related to all of our herd females and cannot be bred to them, had to be sold. I knew it was a part of being an alpaca owner and breeder and that selling them is the responsible thing to do. I've watched these two pasture buddies chase each other around the pasture, chest butting and neck wrestling. I've seen each spitting warnings at the other when they get irritated and want to be left alone. For the past 19 months they have entertained each other and entertained Rich and I and our visitors. They live just steps from my back door and I can see them when I look out of any of my back windows. When I return home and pull into my driveway they come to the fence to greet me. To say that I'm going to miss them is a massive understatement.

I've spoken to the new owner, Jennifer, who is an animal lover and excited to be adding them to her menagerie. She already has a few alpacas, a cow and other animals. I get a sense that she will love Asterius and Brutus as much as we do. She has promised to post pictures of them on her Facebook page so that I can be reassured that they are doing well. Even so, when we hand them over tomorrow morning I can't promise that I won't cry.