Shearing, Spinning, and Selling

Well after several weeks of posting ads and getting the word out, I finally found a wonderful buyer for 2 of our angora goats. Ironically, the person who bought them is the same person who sold them to me. haha! My dear friend, Kat from Flying Goat Ranch has decided to move out of showing and breeding Nigerian Goats and get back into Angoras. Kat is a talented spinner and knitter and has come to realize that the beautiful Angora Goats fit her lifestyle plans much better.

And for me, after fielding crazy inquiries about my angoras, such as "would your goats make a good playmate for my dog", or "I can just feed them weeds, and that's all, right?". But the best of all, was the lady who e-mailed from Arizona, from her pagan tribe ranch, out in the middle of nowhere. She really wanted a couple pointy horned goats to create 'spirit hides and skulls' from. Nice, eh?

So, you can imagine how grateful and happy I was to discover that my buddy, Kat wanted to adopt my sweet, beautiful angoras!

But first, Kat offered to help me shear them, so I could keep the fiber. She has really powerful shears and they make quick work of the shearing process. So I was thankful that she was there to offer her services.

First up, with the after-photo, is pretty Lily. She has amazing mohair fiber that I am looking forward to spinning and knitting. (Thats my friend, Kat, too). And you can see my daughter's itty bitty foot to the left. I just couldn't bear to crop that out.Then next up, with her own after-shot, is my sweet Luna. Her fiber was the cleanest because she is the Queen and never has to scrounge for food. This was Luna's second shearing here on Laughing Orca Ranch, and possibly even the second in her entire life. The first shearing was quite a job, but Luna seemed so grateful with the final results. She's my girl and is very special to me. Luna was my first angora, before I was even prepared to bring any home. I rescued her from a terrible situation and she introduced me to many of the special and beautiful attributes of goats.Then, last, but certainly not least, is playful, loveable, and pushy Cloud. He and I became close after I saved his life from bloat.
After we sheared all 3 angora goats, we sat down to a delicious lunch of BBQ hamburgers(Thanks Ranchman John!), homemade tortilla chips, sweet tea and made-from-scratch brownies(Yum).
Then following our lunch, my friend, Kat and I carried her spinning wheels up to my loft and she gave me a little lesson on spinning.Then it was my turn. As you might remember, a couple months ago I attended a wool processing class at another friend's house. I learned a lot about cleaning, washing, and carding wool, but I was stumped and frustrated with my experience trying to spin.
According to Kat, my frustration and difficulties probably had a lot to do with the patience and teaching capabilities of the instructor, as well as the type of spinning wheel.
I used a traditional spinning wheel at the class, but I discovered that Kat's Louet Spinning Wheel is much better for beginners who need things to be simple and uncomplicated. And, also, Kat seems to learn and think in similar ways that I do, so I was more comfortable and able to pick up the techniques much easier. What a relief and so much fun! Thanks Kat!!!
After our spinning session, Kat generously left me a bunch of rollags and her spinning wheel to play with and practice on, until we get together again.

And then it was time for her to gather up all of her spinning materials and head to the barn again to corral the angoras so she could take them home.
But my loving husband overheard my heart and encouraged me to keep my dear, sweet Luna. Which is so big of him because he's never been fond of the pushy, bossy angora goats. But I was so grateful and felt very relieved, as I kept remembering my promise to Luna after she came to live with us. That she would always have a home here on Laughing Orca Ranch. I truly believe that Luna and I have some kind of connection. Can goats be animal soulmates? If so, then she's mine.

So, in the end Luna stayed here, but Lily and Cloud went back to where they came from: A wonderful angora friendly farm called Flying Goat Ranch to be cared for by my super-special, animal-loving friend. We enjoyed having them here and we'll miss them, but we feel good knowing they are going to a farm where they will be appreciated.See you soon Kat! Farewell Lily and Cloud!