Mention this Ad and get 20% off!

Come to see us at the Alpaca Extravaganza in Black Forest, CO this weekend!

Mention this blog 'ad' and get 20% off regular price of any one item (clearance excluded)!

Where?  Black Forest Community Center in Black Forest, CO (north end of Colorado Springs)
When? Saturday Nov 20th from 9 am to 5 pm  AND Sunday Nov 21st from 10 am to 4 pm
Why?  We will have the perfect alpaca products for early Christmas gifts!!

How to get there?

Making Choices

Now, I'll be the first to admit that my thoughts can be somewhat circuitous with ones that seem random but are usually linked in some way... like a herd just let out in a field, they run around wildly but most thoughts always come back to the center to reconnect.

(Fine Fleece Alpacas pic)

 
So, as I enter my linked trail of thoughts, like Alice jumping in the rabbit hole, don't be afraid because I'm pretty sure that I'll end up somewhat close to where I started :).  I'm sure you will be 'back' lickety-split. Here we go...

Hay -- Lots Of It -- and Birthday Presents...

A good father puts his family ahead of himself. And a truly dedicated alpaca farmer puts the well-being of alpacas above his own personal desires. But, it is a stretch to move 18 tons of hay on your birthday!

Today is Michael's birthday - woohoo! And the old man decided to celebrate by loading a 42" trailer 7 rows high and 13 rows deep with hay. The remaining ~100 bales we loaded into the barn and, as temporary storage, in our large horse trailer!

Fiber Sandwich Photos!

Oops, I just realized that I never posted pics of the fiber sandwich (posted in July)....... So, better late than never! :)  Here they are:

Making the sandwich....

... carded with a bit of black and white alpaca fiber for cohesion... spun thick and thin on our e-Flex Spinner, and then plied with a strand of black alpaca... Some of it I plied with a drop spindle until my willpower wilted... some plied by wheel...

Closeups of the yarn.  You can see the steaks of the red, green, purples, firestar... though the black strand really mutes the overall yarn...

Synchronicity.... and Alpacas on David Letterman

I was downstairs laboring away at getting some fiber carded up to spin at the NAFD event I'm joining tomorrow (the SECAB Alpaca Roundup in Colorado Springs, CO), when Michael came trotting down the stairs to admonish that I should be watching channel 10 (CBS, right?) for the David Letterman show because alpacas were going to be on.  It turns out that AOBA just sent out an announcement that said to look for it.

So, I quickly flipped the channel from USA to watch David Letterman.  I don't often watch Letterman anymore but I used to.  I found it enjoyable, watching his interviews with the Sofia Vergara from Modern Family (great show!), among the others.  I thought Shakira was eye-catching (certainly for the guys), but not so talented; give me Michael Grimm or Jackie Evancho's singing any day over that.