Things could get quite interesting next week as it's supposed to warm way up. I hope a lot of this melts, we are already out of room for plowed snow on our access road. It's pretty narrow. This is the amount we usually have in March, not the start of winter!
I took the runner sled out this afternoon and did a run down our driveway, which is a very steep hill. That was fun! I need to wax the runners though, I didn't go very fast. I'll try it again tomorrow.
I'm sure glad the goats have good housing this year. For once I'm not too worried about them in this cold.
I'm not even attempting to run the dehairing machine in this cold. I'll wait till Sunday when it's warmer. Now I'm spinning and crocheting, in between all the shoveling, etc. Ah, winter. One is supposed to be able to slow down a bit, but not around here with it snowing all the time! Oh well, it could warm up and all of this melt in a month, too. We'll see.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Hi
ReplyDeleteI have a farm in the middle of Missouri with cows, chickens, couple of dogs and of course my sweet goats. They are milk goats but I have been thinking of getting few goats ( for the cashmere) or alpacas for a while now . I was wondering is this difficult (from goat to spinning wheel? I love to crochet and knit and I thought this would go well together and one more thing I can do myself.
Thanks Kim
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not really difficult. There is a learning curve, of course, but once you get over that, spinning is a very relaxing way to pass the time! With cashmere goats there is the dehairing that has to be done before the fiber is really usable. It is so incredibly soft, I'm totally spoiled now for spinning anything else!
Alpaca fleece doesn't need dehairing, or even washing, before you spin it. I've spun that before, it's pretty easy to spin. If the animal is half-way clean when you shear it, the fleece can be spun without washing it first. There might be some dirt, but no lanolin.
Do you make soap with the goat milk?
Yes I have, it makes my skin so soft! I plan on giving goats milk soap and a few hand crafted items for Christmas presents this year. I am going to check on where to purchace a couple of cashmere goats. I think it would be a good next step for me! If I can find a couple (I hope soon) close to home, I may have to pick your brain (if you don't mind to much! :) Thanks Kim
ReplyDelete