Winter News

Snow, snow, snow, winter is here with a Bang! We are settling nicely into the farm and I am lovin' it very much. The holidays came and went and were nicely spent. We are still trying to sell the house in Waldron and have decided to close it down for the winter. Too much heat bills to handle with two houses.

The animals are doing well and it looks like the first lambs will be making an appearance next month. Too soon for me I like spring lambs but the ewes had a different idea this year.

Had a scare last night with a llama choking, one of my best females and pregnant to boot decided to spit an another as she was eating and inhaled a bunch of grain. After the process of rubbing her neck (did not help), her foaming at the mouth, looked like the exorcist all over again. I ran into the house and got the calf tubing kit and proceeded to shove the tube down her throat about three foot- four times before dislodging her blockage. Must say scared the heck out of us both. She is not a llama that likes to be handled and when she just stood there and let me do this while looking at me with those big eyes, that about killed me.

The llama is good this morning and hopefully we will have no more incidents like that.

I will be shearing in February as long as we don't have any bad cold snaps so will have shetland and romney fiber, yummy!

Will be making some more rugs such as the one pictured above............................

Take care all

I'm Back !!~

FINALLY, we are mostly at the farm and I now have internet access here. It has been a rough couple of months without it in the house and having to run around getting school work done and such.
The barn is in it's final stages and I have most of the animals here. We are working now on getting the fence hot so I can bring the rest home this weekend.
The weather has been cooperating wonderfully, Thank you God !
Jordon finished his AIT and is now home. But in May he will be going to California for advanced training. Rumor has it he may go to Afghanistan after that. We will see.
Happy Holidays !

New News

Hi All,
Getting ready for Lamafest at MSU in Lansing this weekend. That is always a fun time and somewhere to be if you have a love for llamas and vendors !!
Indiana State Fair went well, introduced my new boys and they did pretty well.
It has been sad times around here lately. We had a premie llama that lived six days before we lost him. Ted, the Angora goat had to be put down and another goat died all within two days. I shall miss my Teddy terribly but he is now in a better place.
The building is going up well at the farm and we still hope to be over there before winter.
Nothing to do this weekend................come on up to Lamafest !!!

Take care all.......................

She has arrived!!

Finally, I have been waiting oh so patiently, haha, for the birth of my baby mini-donkey and she arrived today.

Not as I had planned it with my waiting expectantly by Mama's side to assist, oh no, it was on the day that Jordon shipped out and I am two hours away, go figure.

But all went well and as I had a call from a neighbor saying a llama had escaped, I called my friend Rita, who by the way works midnights (so she only had about two hours sleep) and she was on baby watch for me) to go and see if she could catch my llama.

As she entered the driveway Lady had just had her baby. Lady is the proud mama of a jennet. I have named her Reetzcee after my friend Rita who watched over her until I got home.

Enjoy the pics.

Where we have been..........

I have been lax in getting new pics posted for Ryan's Way and the activities we have been doing. We are really making a dent in the house as to moving to the farm. We have also decided on a building and pasture location for All of my critters, hehe. That was a task !

As for the pictures posted above: Jordon at his open house the day before commencements, the scene with paintings and fiber is when I demonstrated rug making at the River Art Gallery in Chelsea in June and the picture of the little girl and donkey is when I went into my mom's retirement complex for a petting zoo.

As you can see Persee and Emma are the best of friends !

Take care all, I am off to the Lenawee County Fair tonight.

Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies

Angora bunnies have become a passion for me. The colors ! and the care and the harvesting of fiber is SO much simpler than my bigger animals. Plus they are so cute and inquisitive and cuddly !!

I have just added chocolate, black and lynx to my colors. Welcome, Nestle(chocolate doe not pictured), Coco Puff (chocolate buck), Sable (black doe) and Snufflefflegous (lynx buck), they are welcome additions to my angora crew.

July Update

Well folks time is just slipping away from me and here it is the middle of summer. I was so hoping to get much more done than I already have. We have been moving things to the farm, mostly pictures and nick knacks, which itself could probably take all summer.

Second cutting hay should be down hopefully this week. One more cutting and then I am putting pasture fencing up. My goal is to definitely be in the farm by Christmas. My biggest obstacle:getting a building up to house a menagerie of animals. At this point in time I am looking into portable shelters and such to make it this first year.

Some companies have some very cool poly huts that have improved immensely since calf huts first came out. I have found a few that will be great for the goats and sheep and donkeys. Now I am working on the llama shelter ideas.

I will be dyeing more Mohair this next week. I am all sold out of what I had. Hopefully I will have some very funky colors as those seem to sell the best. I have a few Shetland sheep pelts left and one Angora buckling and his mom for sale (pictured above).

The weather is mild today and I am loving that !!!!