Llama, Llama, Goat

 

Last week, I invited Bruce the Shearer Man over to help my llamas and angora goat feel cooler this summer. And of course, I kept the fleeces and will probably be selling them soon, as I still have fleeces and rolags of carded fleece that I’ve yet to spin into yarn. Here are some photos from that experience, with before and after photos, too.

Cataleya, my female llama. Before Photos.

Cataleya wearing her spit mask (trust me, it was needed!lol!)

Half a llama partially sheared.

My friend Kendra drove over to take photos and experience shearing day. We had to do the shearing down by my house as we don’t have any electric in our barn ever since an underground critter chewed our wiring.

I typically don’t shear a llama tail, but not only were their tails tangled, knotted, and dreadlock-like, but Cataleya also had a piece of wire twisted within her tail.

We couldn’t help but laugh at how funny her tail looked naked.

And voila! All done!

Cataleya’s After Photos! 

 

Isn’t she pretty?

And next up is Catlinite, my gelding llama. I had to walk each llama and goat down the hill from the barn to the house to be sheared, then walk them back up, and bring down another one…and so on, and so on. lol!

And Catlinite’s Before Photo! He used to be a show llama, and he still knows how to pose.

My twin sons, Jem and Jax were a huge help that day moving panels and keeping them secure when the llamas tried to thrash around.

Bruce the Shearer Man and all of us within spitting distance were very thankful that the llamas wore spitting masks.

 

Catlinite’s After Photo! He was making faces because he didn’t like the nasty taste of spit in his mouth.

Next it was my Angora goat Luna’s turn to be sheared.

Here’s her Before Photo:

 

My son Jem, caught this funny photo of Luna expressing her displeasure at being sheared.

But soon she relaxed and began to enjoy the attention.

And it wasn’t long before her thick, heavy dreadlocks finally fell to the ground.

And soon she was all done!

And she was so much cooler and happier!

Luna’s After Photo! Isn’t she pretty?

When I walked her back up to the barn, her goatie friends, Mud Pie and Latte didn’t even recognize her!

I gathered up the fleeces and carried them into the garage.

 

Boy Howdy! They were heavy and hot! It made me happy knowing they weren’t on my animals anymore, so they would enjoy feeling cooler this summer.

I ended up only saving the llama fleeces, as Luna’s fleece had become too matted and dirty. I usually shear her twice a year, in the Spring and early Fall. But last Fall it snowed the day before I was going to shear Luna, so I just put it off for fear of her getting too cold. The two llama fleeces are in very good condition, super soft, and not too dirty either.

Baby Sitter

 

 

Catlinite, our 6 yr old gelding guard llama is our resident baby sitter. He takes his guard llama duties seriously and is a terrific protector, but he also cares for his little goaties and tolerates a lot of silliness, too. He breaks up head-butting battles and herds his goats back to the barn if he spies danger. And he allows them to curl up beside him on cold windy days. I don’t think he would ever admit it, but it’s pretty easy to see that he actually likes having his goats around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year ~ 2011 Goals

 

Last year I created a very similar post to the one I’m doing today. Check it out:

Happy New Year and New Beginnings

It’s ironic that I’m including similar photos (different horse, though), although unintentional. I was up at the barn for a couple hours today…..in 9F degree temps (with a wind chill of 5F degrees. Brrr!) and enjoyed watching Apache get some exercise and a nap in the sun.

But her nap only lasted for about 20 minutes before she was eager to go back into her cozy stall and out of the fierce wind.

It’s supposed to get down to –15 degrees tonight, with a wind chill of –25. I’m feeling great animosity towards furry, underground, chewing creatures right about now. Because of them, I can’t use my electric water buckets in the barn nor have any electricity. Today, not even a hammer would break through the ice in one of the buckets! (All that scraping and breaking of ice even left marks on this bucket.)

It’s too far to run extension cords up there and very pricey to pay an electrician to fix the wiring and then someone to dig a trench to bury it. It’ll have to wait until summer, but hopefully we’ll have a warmer winter after this arctic blast moves through.

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So these were my goals last year, and how I did at meeting those goals:

1. To spend even more time with my kids and husband having fun together and doing things we enjoy. (Check!)

2.To find our 300th Letterbox.  (Check!)

3.To learn how to hook up and tow our horse trailer on my own. (I Missed the Mark!)

4.To take my llamas out hiking and packing more often. And maybe even do a camping/backpacking trip with them, too. (Half a Check for Hiking/Packing, No Camping/Packing Trips)

5.To find more time for hand spinning my wool. (I kind of lost interest) 

6.To work on the relationship with my mare and to ride her, even if only around my own paddocks. (Check! Although this original goal was made when I still owned Baby Doll.)

7.To take riding lessons again. (Check!)

8.To ride in at least one trail ride. And hopefully the Spring ACTHA event. (Check! Check! And Then Some!)

9.To become more fit, strong and flexible. (Check! Still Need More Work, Though)

10.To challenge and hone my photography skills. (Check!)

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So what are the goals I’m making for myself this year?:

1.To learn how to hook up and tow our horse trailer on my own.

2.To work on my relationship with Apache and to ride her more often.

3.To take more riding lessons.

4.To be healthy, strong and fit.

5.To compete in more ACTHA Rides.

6.To spend even more time with my family enjoying fun activities together.

7.To find our 400th Letterbox.

8.To take my llamas out hiking/packing more often, especially in the trailer.

9.To read more books.

10.To continue challenging and honing my photography skills.

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Let’s see how I did at the end of 2011! I wonder if you all will still be reading my blog, or if I will still be blogging at all? I guess time will tell.

For now, I’m just trying to keep myself from turning into a popsicle. Brr!

Happy New Year Everyone! Best wishes for a 2011 filled with everything you’re wishing for!

                                                  XOXOXOX

1,000 Posts and Over 4 Years Later

 

Whooeeee! We had a heavy snow storm blow through here today. But it doesn’t look like we’ll have a White Christmas, because it’s just too warm. With temps in the upper 40’s (F), the snow melts as soon as it touches the ground. I went up to the barn this morning without having to wear a jacket.

Ok.

Grab some hot cocoa and a snack…..this is gonna be long.

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I almost let this “Blogiversary” slip by. I noticed today that I’ve posted 50 extra posts since I passed 1,000. I just don’t keep up with things like that, I guess. But just the fact that I’ve been blogging for over 4 years is pretty surprising to me.

I had a peek, about a week ago at the Visitor thingamabob on my side bar and was shocked to see that hundreds of thousands of people have stopped by to check out my blog over the past 4 years, too. Who knew I was that interesting? Not me. hah!

When I first began blogging, I must admit that I thought it was silly. Something teenagers did to keep up with their friends. Another task I didn’t need to add to my already long lists of things to do.

Then I realized it might be a good way to create a sort of scrapbook to chronicle the day-to-day goings-on of my family. Later on I decided it would be a convenient platform for me to keep a sort of diary of my life. Probably not the wisest idea. Call me naive. Oh well.

As time went on, though, I discovered photography and figured that my blog would be a great way for me to hone my photography skills, challenging myself while learning from others much more talented than myself. I’ve probably enjoyed that aspect of blogging most of all.

When I first began blogging, I never even received one comment for about the first year, and surprisingly it never bothered me at all. I was never popular in school and only had a couple close friends, so being in the limelight was not something I wanted. Same thing with blogging. But then I started getting comments from strangers. This was very weird for me, especially when the comments seemed so personal and even intimate……the kind of comments that only very close friends share with one another. I don’t think I’ve truly ever felt comfortable over these past 4 years with that aspect of blogging. It seems so much like high school with all the cliques and popularity contests that go on within.

This part is a little painful for me to write, because it’s embarrassing and uncomfortable, but I’m going to do it anyway, because in the long run it will be cathartic for me to get it off my chest.

When I was a child in the 60’s and 70’s, I was one of those Ritalin kids, who was fed daily doses to keep us quiet, calm and well behaved. It worked in theory, but the problems and issues were truly never solved or understood. After all these years and especially after having my daughter, who has Aspergers Syndrome, I’ve come to realize that she and I are much alike. The biggest issue we both struggle with is being unable to truly fit in and understand the “normal” behavior of other people, especially mannerisms and quick wit. As I’ve gotten older (and my daughter, too), I’ve learned how to manage my way as best I can through the chaotic jumble of human behavior, confusing personalities and emotions. But I have always felt like someone standing on the outside, looking in.

Computers have even complicated things, because the lack of facial features and voice inflections are thrown into the mix. And typed words can mean anything, and are even more perplexing, especially when trying to decipher and read between the lines, which I’ve learned is impossible for me not to do. I’m a very straight-forward person. What I say is what I mean, and I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. I would never make a good Poker player and I’m not very good at Chess either (ask my sons. hah!) So, I tend to expect the same of other people.

What does this all have to do with blogging?

Well somehow in these past 4 years of blogging, I’ve allowed the desperate desire to fit in, cloud my better judgment. I’ve allowed my walls of protection to come down in pursuit of potential long distant, virtual friendships. I’ve actually met a few bloggers in real life, which led to new friendships in a few instances and disappointment in another. I’ve since learned that some people are not always who they portray on their blog. And some people are actually more wonderful than how they portray themselves on their blog.

Blogging can be a very confusing virtual world, indeed.

 

One day, Blogger came up with a “Followers List” and I found it was exciting to see who might sign up to “follow” me and befriend me and my blog. At one time I had over 200 Followers. Looking back now, I realize how weird that “Follower List”  is and how silly it was for me to be excited about that tallying list at all. Last Spring I removed the Follower List from my side-bar and over the past 6 months I’ve been weeding out all Followers who had never left a comment on my blog or any Follower that I had never visited their blog. I went from over 200 Followers down to just 54.

Then I decided to remove myself as a Follower from any blog that I didn’t visit anymore or leave comments on. I used to just add myself to anyone’s blog as their follower, on a whim, like jumping onto a train with all the other passengers. If they liked horses…..follower. If they had goats or llamas…..follower. If they visited my blog…..follower.

I started off Following over 97 blogs, but after weeding through them all, I am now down to 34 blogs. These are my favorite blogs, the bloggers I have been visiting and reading along with their lives for at least a year or more…….many for almost as long as I’ve been blogging, in fact. These are also the bloggers that have always been there for me with kind, understanding, non-judgmental and encouraging words and many times with some laughter thrown in, too. I will always be grateful to those of you who lifted me up when I’ve been down.

And then last year I realized I was blogging to entertain my ‘readers’ and ‘followers’, just to get them to visit me, and leave comments. My blog readership went way up and I had lots of “followers”, too. But it felt somehow….shallow. I was getting quantity over quality. I don’t want to be another Pioneer Woman, nor will I pretend to be. She’s got that niche well covered.

And anyway, that’s not at all why I began blogging in this virtual world.

So as 2010 comes to a close, I am questioning if I will be continuing this blogging journey into the new year. 

But I digress.

To help me celebrate this virtual milestone of 1,000 posts in 4 years I would like to host a special give away to all of my loyal readers and long term blogging friends.

If you are in this list below, feel free to leave me a comment answering one question.

FernValley, Nuzzling Muzzles, Sydney Bitless, Jane Augenstein, Gail, Clairz, Ed, Colleen, DesertHen (I’ve not been able to visit you ‘cause Internet Explorer keeps blocking me from opening your website), Stacey, Dan and Betty, Renee, Reddunappy, StefRobrts, Jeni, Crystal, Striving for Savvy (I always enjoy your comments, but I wish I could visit you, but your profile is unavailable), Flartus, Dom, The Wades, DiBear, Kate, Rising Rainbow, Desert Rose, Rebecca, lisa, small farm girl, horse mom, Horses are our Lives, Joanna, cheryl ann, Vaquero Girl, Leah Fry, AareneX, Jocelyn, AK Pony Girl, Chloe, Louise, Paint Girl, Pony Girl, Mikey, Baby Goose, Sandy~~~, Jennifer Mac., Oregon Equestrian, Merri, Maery Rose, Paint Crazy, CTG Ponies, Kelly’s Adventures, Dunappy, Sandy, Grey Horse Matters, Ishtar, Lytha, Andrea-Mustang Saga (I always enjoy your comments, but I wish I could visit you, but your profile is unavailable), Oz Girl, KD, Masked Man, Redneck Geologist, Lulo Designs, Deb, Debi, Now That’s a Trot, Judy, Cotton Lady, Sally, Far Side of Fifty, Mrs.Cravitz, Melanie, Breathe, Fantastyk Voyager, CDNCowgirl, Tammy, Dreaming.

(I hope I didn’t forget anyone. I went by my Top Commentator’s list and my private blog with links to all of my favorite blogs)

So here is the question:

What is one simple pleasure that you enjoy, that brings you more joy and peace than anything else?

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And what do you win?

A Wintertime package filled with everything to help you relax, get cozy, make you smile, and keep warm. (Photos forthcoming)

*Box of Bigelow Gingersnap tea

*Bigelow Cinnamon Tea Bags

*Tazo Tea Bags

*Chocolate Kisses

*Apple Spice Candle

*Soft Fleece Blanket

*Warm Knitted hat, hand-made by me

*Metal Cowgirl Plaque “Eat, Sleep, Ride”

*Five Great Books

*Metal ‘Story Pony’ Bookmarker

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List of the books:

The Wilder Sisters by Jo-Ann Mapson, Build Complete Confidence with Horses by Kelly Marks, Horse Show Mom’s Survival Guide by Susan Daniels, One Good Horse by Tom Groneberg, Beautiful Jim Key by Mim Eichler Rivas.

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This Give Away ends New Years Eve at midnight. I will choose a winner on New Years Day.

Until then…….

Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year, too.

(All photos SOOC with slight contrast adjustments and addition of watermark. All photography taken with my little Canon PowerShot SX110 IS)