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I was doing my good deed for the quarter yesterday for my local spinning/weaving guild. We were doing a public demo of fiber arts in tiny Kalama, WA. Late in the day two girls came up with a business card of a local fiber gal who was also demo’ing and invited us over to chat. I recognized the name on the card as a gal who recently got into Pygora goats and I looked forward to meeting her in person.
Off my friend and I went to chat with this gal. I showed her what I do with my Pygora and she showed me a bag of her stuff (it was Pygora blended with llama and wool). She’s a really nice lady - but - ummm - the bag of fiber roving was FULL of guard hairs. OMG! Sometimes you see this with non-spinning fiber animal people, but this gal was sitting there spinning! Do I say anything about the guard hairs or not?
I’ve heard so many anti-Pygora statements over the years due to improperly prepared fiber (not dehaired, mostly). I waited until nobody else was around and then quietly and as nicely as I could, I pointed out that spinners wouldn’t be very happy with those pokey guard hairs and the Pygora is such a soft, luxurious fiber, why not present it in it’s best form? I don’t know her well enough to know if I offended her or ??? Ack! Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all? What would you have done???
Terry
Sorry, I know you haven’t heard from me for a while.
No, I really haven’t fallen off the face of the earth ‘though I must admit there have been times when I’ve wanted to do just that. My life has become like a whirling dervish – I have more things to do each day than my time or strength allows.
A job change over a year ago still has me wondering if I made the right choice. Feelings of inadequacy, the constant pounding of upper management and the quest to maintain my sanity tends to overwhelm me at times. Never one to back down from a challenge nor throw up my hands in despair, I find I’m running out of energy to maintain the fight. I’m sure it’s a temporary thing and that I’ll get things back in perspective soon, but I must say that if I could find another way to support myself (and the fiber business won’t cut it!!) at the level to which I am accustomed, I would make a change in a heartbeat.
And it’s not just me. We’re losing high quality people at my place of employment. Long tenured and highly experienced and skilled people are leaving because of the stress and because they feel like they can’t make a difference any more. We can’t change the economy all by ourselves and we can’t control fuel prices. But ‘nuff said about this boring topic and on to general farm news.
Over the last few days we’ve had some rather interesting weather. Two days hovered around the 100 degree mark and then the temperature dropped drastically. On Sunday, despite a rather unusual and severe thunderstorm, the morning dawned very warm and humid. By 4:30 in the afternoon the temperature had dropped to 59 degrees. Brrrr…
The goats can take the hot temps as long as they have plenty of shade and fresh water. But the wide swings from hot to cold can tend to stress them physically. So I’m vigilant about watching for any signs of pneumonia that may appear during these times. If anyone acts the least bit lethargic or uninterested in fresh hay, they get put in the stanchion and then they get to meet Mr. Thermometer to check for any unusual elevation in temperature.
The high cost of hay and grain products continues to worry all livestock people. We’re sensitive, of course, to the needs of our customers and do anything possible to hold our costs. But the reality is that we’re paying significantly higher prices for our feed and other products because of high fuel costs. That 50 lb bag of goat chow that used to cost $7.95 is now more than $15.00! I purchased 300 bales of great local grass hay and it was $3,000 delivered and stacked in the barn. Yikes! Believe me when I say that we’re all on diets around here!
Captain Flash, my guard llama, has been diagnosed with a bone tumor that is growing on the right side of his muzzle. I didn’t bother to have the vet take a biopsy of it for pathological study as it wouldn’t have made any difference in how I opted to treat him. He’s a sweet guy and only seven years old but you just don’t send a llama off for chemotherapy treatments. Even if it is a nonmalignant tumor, chiseling it off his face won’t cure it as it would, in all likelihood, grow right back. But he’s eating just fine and doesn’t know he looks a little funny with that bump there. In fact, since the x-rays were done in April, the tumor doesn’t appear to have grown outwardly at all. There’s a possibility that there has been some growth inside where I can’t see it, but since he’s acting as frisky as ever, we’re just going to let nature takes its course. If he exhibits any signs of pain or discomfort, or if he loses his appetite or can’t chew, I’ll do what I think is best for him.
Sandwiched in among all the other chores I have to do when I’m home (weeding, pressure washing the green stuff off of things, painting, endless barn and chicken house cleaning, etc), I’m doing my best to build up our fiber inventory for Oregon Flock and Fiber. Terry is far better at these things than I am but I’ve got the dye pots plugged in most weekends. If I can find some time to devote to blending and carding, I’ll be in much better shape. It’s amazing to me how much time our little business sucks up. Working 10-12 hours a day off the farm (and that doesn’t include the long commute!!) just is not conducive to getting much done around home.
If you’re going to be any where near Canby in the later part of September, come see us in our vendor booth! Hopefully it will be evident that Susan got her rear in gear and got lots of goodies carded up and ready for sale!
I enjoyed my “Amtrak” lace scarf so much, that I’ve started another one. I decided to skip the beads on this scarf as well. I just don’t want to weigh down my airy Pygora! This is a two ply laceweight, handspun by moi. The fiber is a blend of Pygora and silk, hand-dyed and carded by yours truly. I am very happy with the color and the yarn!
Ok, so I’m a geek - I totally admit it - I am. I resisted the allure of a new toy for several months….then I fell down….and succumbed to a new iPhone. It is awesome! I love it. Ok, so I know it’s a phone - but such a HANDY one! I love the fact that I can take photos and email them directly into my Flickr account.
Pygora/Yak/Silk blend…..yummmmm
I finally managed to get the website updated today….and I have a cute cat story!
My cat Shadow was rolling in the garden this morning - it had rained and he was covered with wet dirt clods. I wondered why he was rolling about, I figured he had another mouse ….(please overlook all the weeds in our garden!!!)
Then I spied the object of their interest …. a sprout of catnip! The funny thing is, I had a huge plot of it years ago and the cats I had at the time couldn’t have cared less about it. When we got rid of a small raised garden, I thought the catnip had all gone away. I know it’s weed-like and difficult to get rid of….well, that is apparently true as it’s still growing in my garden!
And it would seem both of my cats really LOVE it…and they’re not into sharing….
