We sold all 5 of the goats and I miss their goat antics. I never imagined how sweet and tender goats were. They all went to awesome loving homes.
We also sold an alpaca, Angel Lily. She will go to a new alpaca farm owned by the Raglands. Angel Lily will reside here until next summer when they have their farm set up. So I have not had to part with her yet.
We have had a new addition. We purchased Jag, a male Bengal cat, to breed with Samantha. Let me tell you from experience, you cannot have a female Bengal who is not fixed in your house. She would spray our clean clothes before I got them hung up. That is a very hard smell to get out of your clothes. We built a large cat run, which is now the home to Samantha and Jag. I miss having Samantha in the house to cuddle with, but I really enjoy not having the odor and I still get to sit and play withn her in the run. We are hoping to have a kitten or 2 by Christmas. The combination should produce beautiful kittens. Jag has very large rosettes and Samantha has very clear rosettes. Both have beautiful coloring.
From what I can tell, there is 1 sugar glider in the pouch. The bump is getting bigger and is starting to move. It looks to be only one this time, but we will be happy to see the new joey whenever it is ready to explore out of the pouch.
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We have 2 Nubians, Lucy and Ethel, that we use for milk. They produce enough milk for our family of 5. We adore Lucy and Ethel and anxiously awaited the birth of the babies (and our milk supply). We had to breed them last winter to freshen their milk. Thank you to Glen,who loaned us his male boer, Simba, to use as a stud. We ended up having 5 kids. These pictures are of Brownie.
I love this picture. Those long ears are just flapping. It reminds me of Dumbo.....Brownie says, "If I flap my ears hard enough will I be able to fly?"
Reach...Reach.. If I could just be a little closer, I am sure I could eat that leaf.
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We have been told we are on the way to owning a petting zoo. The latest addition to our farm is actually a small critter that lives inside. I do not like rodents or birds, so the fact that I even have a bird cage still amazes me....awe, a mother's love. When my daughter asked to get a sugar glider for her birthday, I did not know how difficult they would be to find. We managed to find a breeding pair (Munchie and Ringo). These 2 are not hand tamed, but they had 2 joeys in the pouch. Luckily, one was a girl, who my daughter named Fantasie and will remain here. The other one was a boy and has been sold. They are very interesting animals. They are nocturnal and marsupials. They bond with the owners and are quite cute. The require a lot of loving, but they are getting plenty of that here. I believe there is another set of Joeys in the pooch,so we will get to watch a new set grow and be able to spoil them, until they find a forever home. This is a picture of Petrie, the boy that we sold.
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Shearing day 2010. I am not a morning person, so I try to not to do things that involve the early morning hours, which to me is anything before 9am. So when the shearer was scheduled to be here at 7am and we started at 8am, I was not totally awake. I am pretty sure that Rocket is not a morning alpaca either, because he was the first alpaca and the only one to spit. Of course, he aimed for and hit me. Luckily, I had learned from last year, that it is a good idea to bring out another sweatshirt(another male had target practice last year). I will say that after having to wash my face with the hose, I was wide awake for the rest of the day. I even tried my hand at shearing Starlight Grace and Sheeza. They did not look great and I learned how well super glue works on cuts (sorry, Starlight). But I can now say, I have tried shearing.
The shearer starts at the belly. Usually the area that the alpaca lays on is trash. However, the sides and the back (the blanket) are the first quality fiber. This fiber is bagged carefully in order to keep the integrity of the coat, especially if you plan to show the fiber. 
While the alpaca is strapped down, we try to get as much done as possible. I take the opportunity to give the yearly CDT shot and the monthly dewormer. Jim trims the toenails. Some alpacas will need their teeth trimmed at this point also. 
The fiber on the neck is the seconds. This fiber is great for felting, but I do not use it for yarn. 
Pepper Ann....all naked. I always think they look so silly at first. They have such long thin necks when they are shorn. 
Cupcake is my curious alpaca. She will be one of the first to come up and sniff you and then give you a kiss. However, she was not enjoying the shearing. Her eyes tell it all...."Please let me off this table". 
Once again....I must thank our wonderful family and friends for helping us shear. We could not do it without them. [ add comment ] | permalink | related link
Samantha must have been thirsty .
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