Out Shearing

Well, its been a while since I last posted, and the reason is... there is still a lot of fiber that needs to come off! I just returned from doing a bit of a work tour in the areas not to far from Stockton, CA. day before yesterday. I got to meet some fascinating people along the way, try some new foods, and shear some different types of critters this go around! The first place I got to was a wonderful family up in the hill country, with a large flock of Angora goats(around 200). If you don't know what Angoras are, than you are really missing out! They are the beautiful little goats that produce the fiber called Mohair. Angoras are shorn 2x per year, and produce about a 6in. staple in that short time frame! Shearing goats is interesting to say the least, but a very enjoyable experience! Here are some pictures of the bucks, and a little shorn wether.

 

The rest of the stops where sheep, one small flock of close to twenty including hoof trims, and drenching, a flock of 60, and an even smaller flock of one. The last stop was a bit more of a challenge... 100 head, over 80 of which where double fleeced. A double fleece is a fleece that is two years growth. The owner hadn't been able to find a shearer the previous year, and was quite happy when I gave him a call. Have you ever wondered what a sheep with two years of wool looks like? Well, quite frankly...Huge!

They are now much smaller, lighter, and happier! By the way, the sheep in the photo above is absolutely fine! I just couldn't resist laying her directly on her back for a photo... with all that wool she wasn't going anywhere.While I was at it I went ahead and purchased two ewes from the same flock. One bred black yearling, now named BB, and one white lamb that was probably born sometime around December, that I have named Ella! Both have beautiful wool, and BB's fleece is already sold for this year. If anyone is interested in next years, it will be coated, and georgeous. This year it was a rich black, faded to chocolaty brown on the tips, with the back being a pleasant shade of dark grey. It has a nice hand, and resembles black rambouillet. These photos just don't do justice, but they do somewhat show the nice crimp/ lock structure on this sample. The coloration is darker than portrayed in the photo.

Tomorro I'll try to get the garden updates up!

First Attempt at blogging... Garden Goodies

Hmm, well the day is already warming up, and I still haven't managed to get the drip irrigation in the garden . Lots of phone chores, that needed to get done early in the day today,  but all's not lost! I can get to it this evening, directly after picking up a few more necessary parts. The idea of not water wanding 3000' sq. of garden space is absolutely wonderful, not to mention the water conservation potential. The last couple of days I have been hand watering the freshly planted beans, corn, and taters, and its paying off in the form of pretty new leaves on the spuds at least. To make things interesting, I planted both red, and blue potatoes... and if it weren't for the fact I was a row shy it would of been red, white, and blue!
In an effort to streamline production I bit the bullet, and purchased some new gear this year! Believe it or not I decided that I didn't want to tinker with spending hours planting little seeds by hand so I invested in a Precision Seeder! That thing is mean, I'm glad I made the investment.... it made planting the corn, and beans absolutely painless, and should prove worth its weight in gold for the carrots, and other fine seeds! Also found an absolutely awesome 1986 6hp Troy-Built PTO horse a few weeks ago! As of today, the old Horse should get some new pep to its step with the coming of a new belt, and carburetter kit via the mail! Another new acquisition is a new Planet Jr. wheel hoe that I ordered from Farmer Browns Plow Shop in NY. They where wonderfully pleasant to do business with, and the wheel hoe has already proven its worth by pulling all the rows in the not so tiny garden! Hey, it beats doing it by hand with a shovel or what ever else any day! The last, but not least new tool is a Vashon Broadfork. It sure is heavy, but is so sturdy, and the weight actually makes it easier to use. As you can imagine I'm pretty excited about the garden this year!