O Starry Night

I wish I could show you the starry night sky. A few hours ago, as the sun was setting, all I could see was the dark sky overhead with barely a clearing on the horizon. It's been raining all day, you see. Big rain! I didn't know it was going to clear up until I just took out the dog for his bedtime potty. Crystal clear! No clouds to be seen. Only glistening stars staring down from heaven. I like nights like this. What a wonder!

Sleep tight all!

Ominous Morning

It was harder than normal to wake up this morning. I don't know why, but all I wanted to do was wrap myself up tight in my covers, close my eyes, and pretend (even for just a moment) that the only thing in existence was me, my bed, and the warm dog beside me. A moment was all I got before the crows of my roosters began to echo up through my bedroom window. They really are the best kind of alarm clock.

Outside, the morning felt somewhat ominous, like the calm before a storm. The sun rose like it sets, a bright coppery orb on the horizon. My first thoughts was an old wives tale that my grandpa told me when I was young, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in the morning, sailor's take warning." That's the way it felt, anyhow. Down on the edge of the woods I could hear the gobblers making a big fuss over something. The way my roosters were carrying on too, I thought maybe it was just a competition between the big birds. But then I found the chickens staying close to the coop, something that is very unlike them once I open up the gate. As a matter of fact, they all took roost inside the cage. That's when I wondered if it wasn't so much a competition as the turkeys warning them of impending danger, like a prowler in the woods. Like I said, ominous.

Then all of a sudden, just like that, everything was normal. The sun escaped it's cloudy shroud and shone with it's usual morning brightness, and the chickens hopped down and went on their merry way of foraging. Strange she is. Mother Nature that is. The peeps, only a couple days hatched, peeked out through momma hen's wings and peeped earnestly. I looked up to see a flock of migrating water fowl over head; not Canada geese this morning, something else that flew too high to be identified without my trusty field goggles. Still, rain is on it's way. I'm sure of it.

Any Day Now...

Mrs. Buns Nesting

Homesteading Books

Some people have asked about my homesteading book collection, so I wanted to post some of my favorites thus far. Not to mention I also love the magazines Mother Earth News, Urban Farm (a new one), and Mary Jane's Farm.

Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich was the first homesteading book I read. It was absolutely wonderful! This is a girl in her mid-20s that writes about her adventures and struggles as a beginner homesteader. It was so good, you'll want to read it again! It's light-hearted and funny, and gives those of us aspiring to grow our own little homestead the motivation to get started. It had just a little bit of everything, from chickens and bee keeping, to gardening and mountain music. And if you like her book, she keeps a blog about her life at Cold Antler Farm too!

The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan is another 'Must Have'. Well written and wonderfully illustrated, this book is an easy read and reference that needs to adorn the shelves of present and future homesteaders alike. What I really liked about this book is the yard plans showing the reader how you can turn even a quarter acre (or less) into a thriving backyard of edible goodness. With our ever changing and seeming unstable economy, more and more people are looking for ways to produce at least some of the food they eat. It's encouraging to know that even small (dare I say 'tiny') properties can supply just that.

Finally, Contry Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Live Off the Land from the editors of Storey Books. All I can say about this book is WOW! Talk about one heck of a reference. It's certainly not a 'read from cover to cover' book like Made From Scratch, but it is one of the best references I've seen yet. The book itself is the size of a newspaper and as thick as ten. Don't be mistaken, it's not a newspaper. It's definitely a book (though oddly enough the paper resembles that of a newspaper). It has EVERYTHING in it. Need to know how to skin a rabbit? This is your book. Canning, bread recipes, fort building? This is your book. It's a complete guide to living off the land and another must have for homesteaders.

So these are my top three. As I read more, I'll blog about them. If you've read any good ones, please pass them my way.

An Alpaca Beginning

This weekend we visited our first alpaca farm! Bully Hollow Aplacas is a small farm nestled along the Allegheny River on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest. I'm very familiar with this area as I grew up in the heart of this same forest and used to live on this same river. We had such a great time and learned all sorts of information about alpacas. I knew the moment we arrived and met Monica and Walt, Bully Hollow Alpaca owners, that I liked them. I could tell that they were passionate about their animals and and absolutely loved what they were doing. Let me tell ya...that kind of commitment is contagious! I couldn't wait to touch my first alpaca, and it wasn't long before we were headed out to the pastures. We were greeted by Samara, their 'guard' dog, who lives 24/7 with the alpacas. She was the sweetest thing.

There's so much more to alpaca 'farming' than I realized. My interest stemmed from from my obsession with spinning. If you've never felt alpaca fiber, you need to. It rivals cashmere for softness, honestly. It's amazing! Sure fiber is one of the benefits of raising your own alpacas. They get sheared once a year in the spring, giving you enough fiber for a few sweaters (or more). But it seems that most people own them for the love of the animal, for showing, breeding, and selling. I was amazed at how detailed of records are kept for each animal and their bloodlines.

Alpacas belong to the camelid family along with (you guessed it) camels, and also llamas, vicugnas, and guanaco. The are native to South America where they are found to graze along the Andes mountains. Unlike the llamas, who are used primarily as pack animals and for meat, alpacas are raised for their fiber (though I'm told they eat them in South America too). Females have one baby a year, called a cria, with their gestation lasting about 11.5 months.

There are two types of alpaca bred in the US (I can't yet speak for the rest of the world; more research is needed), the Huacaya and the Suri. Both have incredible fiber, but it is vastly different from each other. The Huacaya is thick and crimped, more like the appearance and texture of a sheep (though loads softer). The Suri's fiber lays flatter against its body and forms these tiny dread locks of sorts. I've spun both and both are super soft. I think I'm more of a fan of the Huacaya though. The Suri is much more slippery to spin. The picture above of the black beauty is one of Bully Hollow's Huacayas. Her puffy head is called a top knot and is a good quality to have in an alpaca. Below are a couple of the Suris. Can you see the difference in their fleece?

So as I said, we learned A LOT this past Saturday. We were even invited to stay for lunch and talked a lot about organizations that support the alpaca, ways to get involved, and what to look for when choosing a foundation herd. I'm so thankful for this couple's generosity and can't wait to get back up and help out. We're planning on helping with the shearing. I think that would be a great way to 'get our hands dirty', learn more, and interact with some wonderful alpaca people.

We should be visiting another farm this weekend(on a much larger scale...100+ alpacas!), so stay tuned. The adventure has only just begun!

Once Upon A Camelid

Once upon a time there lived a little girl who loved animals so much! She hugged on them and kissed them (at least the ones she could get her little paws on). One day, when she was only 4 years old she met a llama. He was the cutest thing she'd ever set eyes on. Her small arms were drawn to him like a bear to honey, and although she was only knee high to a grasshopper, she wrapped them tight around his neck. He loved her back, and little did she know that this camelid would steal a place in her heart for all camelids causing her to one day seek out a herd of her own......

It was an amazing day visiting my first ever alpaca farm! More to come, but for now this girl is plum tuckered out!

Chickens -n- a Basket

My week off was a whirlwind of events. And as always, it ended in a blink of the eye. It wasn't an uneventful week (certainly not), just fast and busy. My parents came down for three days the beginning of the week. The main focus (or I should say 'my' main focus) was for my mom to help me get my craft room organized so I could think creatively again. She didn't so much help as pretty much do the whole thing. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed easily when it comes to my own stuff. But in a few hours, she had it all taken care of. Moms are amazing like that, and we still need them even into our adult years. And thanks to the cleanliness and organization of a new room, I was finally able to finish a project. The basket you see above! Made for holding all the beautiful colored yarns that I've spun. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. Made from rope, scraps of fabric, and a simple zig zag stitch. Here's a picture of it during the works:

Most of the peeps are gone now. I had only intended to keep two of the Easter Eggers, but alas, there are six that remained: in addition to the two Easter Eggers, we kept 2 white egg layers, and two chocolate-colored egg layers. And being the fancy chicken farmer that I am (not), I couldn't tell you which breed they are. I seem to have forgotten. But they are getting big and growing fast, and I can't wait to get them all outside and reclaim my basement.

{One of the chocolate-egg layers - made it out to the coop already}

{the basement gang - 3 weeks old and outgrown their quarters}

I Think I'll Keep Her

Spring! and Sad News

Spring is finally here; I mean really here, and I think it's here to stay. It was a little touch and go this past weekend when I woke up last Friday to a bit of snow on the ground, frozen water buckets, and a (oops) frozen hydrant (I left the hose attached). The beginning of the week was even sketchy as it was rainy, and the highs were in the (maybe) mid 40s. But today, folks.....today the sun is shining bright, and the temperatures are in the mid 70s! Rumor has it we may even hit the 80s but the week's end. I'm ready!

Sad news though; I woke up this morning to find my favorite brown silkie hen stone cold dead on the coop floor. I saw it coming. Well, I've been wondering if this was to be her fate. She lost her 'voice' about four months ago. I asked around about it then and some folks seemed to think that it was normal for them to make weird noises. So I left it be. But the last week she seemed more listless than usual. Didn't want to leave the nest box. I thought maybe she was broody like Eleanor (pictured above on 'her' eggs). I did more research. This sick chicken thing is difficult. I find all sorts of info, but still haven't figured out how to determine which 'disease', if any, a chicken has. My thought was the poor girl had some kind of crop worm. So sad. To make matters worse, I have another chicken in 'quarantine' with completely different symptoms. Yes, I'm a new chicken farmer. I've a lot to learn. I'm doing my best and hoping for a better outcome. In the mean time, I will be worming all of my chickens tomorrow.

On a better note: Delilah (pictured above) finally got her eggs. She WAS broody. I'd been taking her eggs because I wanted to breed her with my white silkie rooster. Time and resources were not on my side and she wouldn't leave her nest with no eggs. So my landlord told me to throw some eggs under her and that she'd happily hatch them (we rent from the best couple by the way). So I did. One dozen eggs (some were huge) under one chicken butt! She immediately organized them underneath her. Now I've got 16 peeps in the basement (I will only keep 2 or 3 of them) and possible another dozen to hatch in 3 weeks or so. And on top of that...pretty sure Mrs. Bun Buns is expecting some kits in a couple weeks. We'll see, but I'm thinking this time was a success! Come the end of April we could have all sorts of babies around the farm.