We're Expecting!

Okay, so maybe not it the way you think "expecting". Meet Bracken! The newest addition to our 'farmily'. She comes from one of the many beautiful animals at Highland Alpaca. And she is expecting her second cria in September of 2011. The gestation for an alpaca is about 11.5 months. Her first cria, Blayberry, is a gorgeous bay black. We can't wait to see what this cria will bring. Her herdsire, Enzo, is pictured below. He's such a handsome boy. It's really going to be hard waiting another 9 months to see who pops out.

Life on the farm hasn't been dull. It never is. Each weekend is always packed full of something. Last weekend I plucked both of my angora rabbits. I'm getting much better at it. Poor Mr. Buns no longer loses ALL of his fiber. And I've finally figured out how to keep all the fibers going in the same direction; just in case I want to sell some of my angora in the future. It's a learning experience. And if you expect to go into it knowing how to do everything perfectly, you'll be sadly disappointed. It's certainly not rocket science, but it does take a little practice.

In my 'spare' time, I've been working on knitting a shawl that I saw posted on another blog that I enjoy (it is also available as a free download here on Ravelry). I've been using the alpaca fleece below to spin and knit it from. It's the fleece I picked up at a fiber festival in Ohio this summer and is absolutely wonderful to work with. I'm hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving so I can wear it. I'm down to the last set of rows before I start the border. I will need to spin up some more fiber for it though, so it is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. I'll post pictures once it's done.

It's been hard to believe that winter is upon us as we've had a late Indian Summer. This weekend has been beautiful (except for today's rain) and the temperatures unseasonably warm. I have a feeling that this isn't going to last too much longer. I'm okay with that. I don't mind that changing seasons. Sure winter can hang on longer than we like some years, but it's a nice time to rest, slow down, and focus on the things that really matter.