Kidding time

 Cedric was born May 10th at about 11 pm.  A beautiful full moon was shining and it was relatively warm out.  He had a sister, but she was stillborn, so he's all by himself.  There are two more does due this month, so he'll have some playmates pretty soon.  He's so tiny that he will need to grow some before being able to play with bigger kids.  He is smaller than his sister was.  I'm thinking he will be about the same size as the next ones when they are born.  Celeste always throws smaller kids, but they are nice and healthy with a precocious attitude.  Cedric already has the look about him. :-)

Melody and Dove, the dairy girls, are a month old already!  They are a couple of good looking kids.  Better than last years by far, out of the same mom.  Lily's udder is doing better this year, too.  I had to milk her for a couple of weeks before the kids were born so it didn't get mastitis, and gave her lots of garlic and vitamin C.  She's got a good udder now, nice and soft and plenty of milk for these two, and a little left over for me.  I keep the kids on their moms till they are three months old, then wean them and get all the milk myself.  Dam raised kids seem to be stronger and healthier than bottle babies.

The weather finally warmed up for a few days and we got some much needed sunshine, but now it's chilly again, cloudy, breezy and rainy.  There were even a few snowflakes earlier.  Now it's not doing anything, so I think I will go out and do some yard work.  The grass and weeds are growing fast now!  Gotta spend some time with the kids, too. :-)

All New Website!

I now have a totally newly designed website, thanks to Bronwyn and Courtney.  They spent hours on it, and it looks way more professional and organized than what I had.  Thanks, you two!!  Please check it out and let me know what you think.  www.pnfcashmeres.com  Feedback is most welcome.

It was great having the Aussies here. Despite the rainy/snowy weather they got quite a bit done.  I have a new computer desk thanks to them!  Two of them built it while I was in town with the other two.  John got his new greenhouse spot dug out, too.  Plus they made a nice rock and sand path through the muck to the gates of the goat pens.  Brought in a good amount of firewood, finished the new goat stand I was gifted, and probably a few other things that I can't think of right now.

This is a picture of our place from the drone they have, too. Cashmere pens on the left, dairy goats on the right.  Pretty cool, I'm going to have to save up and get one, that would be handy to find the goats when they are out in the big world, and check out this area up here from the air.  I could have lots of fun with it!!  As you can see, we have a lot of roofs with many colors.  It was free and since we can't see all the colors from down here, that's okay. :-)  It keeps things fairly dry and that's what matters.  Plus, it kept it out of the landfill.  Recycling is a good thing.

We are getting a lot of rain/snow!  Over 4 inches above normal precipitation already for the year.  Guess we don't have to deal with drought conditions this year.  Today started out somewhat sunny, but it's totally cloudy again now and lightly raining, which since I'm about to go out and feed, is not a good thing.  Oh well, if it would warm up a bit the grass would really grow!

Well, time to go feed.  Let me know what you think of the new website please! Thanks...

Helpxers

I am so thankful that I got introduced to the help exchange network!  Thank-you Heidi!  We have four young people from Australia here now.  They are such nice people and very good workers.  I no longer have to walk through the muck and mud in the alleyway between pens, they made a nice rock and sand path for me, wide enough for the wheelbarrow, and smooth enough the hay doesn't bounce out.  They are also getting all the little piles of poles up on the hill down into a couple of big piles in a more level place so we can the get ATV up there to haul them all down to the flat and cut it all up into firewood.   It is so nice to have young, energetic, cheerful people with a good work ethic helping get things done around here!  I highly recommend anyone who needs help around their place, whether you live in town, or out on a farm, sign up for that.  There are hosts, and helpers.  Most of the helpers are younger, although I have seen all ages on there.  I've had two people older than me come for a few days and help.  Some of them even come with their own lodging!  These four are in a camper van, so all we are providing is a shower and dinner, and they are quite happy with that.

I am working on a commission of a camel for a woman on the other side of the state.  Camels are interestingly built creatures!  It's a bit of a challenge to get everything just right, but I'm getting it done, slowly but surely.  Now I'm waiting till I can connect with a friend who raises alpacas and get some camel colored alpaca from her to finish it.

It keeps raining off and on.  Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, today it's back to clouds and showers, with an occasional bit of sun.  At least we aren't getting torrential rains, just showers.  It's all good.

I am ready to do another round of decluttering in here.  Actually all over the whole place!  We have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years, a lot of which we don't even use anymore, it's just taking up valuable space.  It's spring, time to do some serious cleaning around here. :-)

I hope you are having/had, or will have, a great day!

Birthdays

Now that I am another year older, and this is supposed to be a big energy shift day with the full moon in Libra and a pink one at that, I am ready for all things positive!  I'm also at a significant age according to astrology where big shifts occur.  So, I'm ready! :-)

I am at a turning point in my business, one where I think everything is going to fall into place finally.  I'm learning a whole lot about marketing, which I will be implementing over the next month or so.  There is so much to learn!  It's an adventure, that's for sure.

Yesterday I got a new keyboard and mouse for this computer, and wow, what a difference!  I should've got this weeks ago.  It's interesting how as things slowly wear out, we don't change anything till the last possible moment, when if it would have happened a bit earlier, life would be much easier.  Change is a good thing, even though sometimes it doesn't seem like it at the moment.  As I look back over the years, I've come to realize everything does happen for a reason, and nothing changes for the worse, only better, even though sometimes it doesn't seem like the change could have any good to it at all.  But, there is a silver lining in everything, sometimes we just have to look deeply to find it.  Life is journey, with every twist and turn a new opportunity for learning and growing.

I am hoping today Lily, my Alpine dairy goat, will have her babies.  I have been waiting for 15 years for a kid to be born on my birthday.  So far it hasn't happened.  Close, but not on the day.  Once was at 10:30 pm on the 10th, but that's as close as it's been.  It's not looking too promising for today, either. One of these years.....

We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning, but it's all gone, the sun is shining, and I just might get out into the flower beds and get them cleaned up today!  Also have 3 goats left to comb, then the harvest will be over for this year.  I'm down to the best of the best now, and this year I'm downsizing even more, so there are some great goats going up for sale here in the next month or so.  I'm getting way down in numbers for a few years so I can get another facet of this business going, then I might build back up, depending on what's happening in the cashmere world.  I'm keeping a couple of the bucks and a handful of the does, and a couple of the wethers and sticking with that for a while.  As some of my friends have said to me, "there is more to life than goats".  I'm not entirely sure about that, but we will see. :-)   I love my goats and can't imagine not having any, so I will always keep them around.

Needle Felting Photos

 This is "Bear #399" in the Grand Tetons.  She was all over the internet last year when she had a cub at her advanced age of 20.  Then the cub got hit and killed by a car, which was quite sad.  I decided to to a sculpture of her.  My photo taking isn't all that good, but I'm improving.  Funny how I can take really good action shots of my goats, and scenery, but can't get a really good "product" photo of any of my creations!  I must practice, practice, practice!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

This bear and cub sculpture was really fun to make!  I sold this yesterday, too.  I think I'll make another one somewhat like this one.  No two are the same, though.  My creations are really one of a kind.  I was commissioned to make two copies of a pair of dogs, and even though I had the pictures, and the one set, I couldn't get them exactly alike.  So each animal I make is a truly one-of-a-kind creation!  

These two little bear cubs are cute.

Spring!!

On Friday there was a foot of snow covering my flower bed out in front of the house.  Today the crocuses in there are blooming!  The snow melted a lot around here over the weekend.
There is still a lot to go, but progress was made!

I went to Coeur d' Alene on Friday and came back last night.  The Log Cabin Spin In was there.  That was the first time I've gone to it.  I'll be going again, that was fun!  Lots of vendors with all kinds of fibery goodness, and a couple of big spinning circles.  Raffles, demos and a couple of workshops, too.  It was well run and organized, and it looked like everyone was having a good time.  I restrained myself to only buying 5 braids of roving to spin.  There was so much more! :-)   Next year I might take more money and get more, enough to keep me busy for a month at least.  I'm already done with one of the braids.  These won't last long.

Sure is a lot of water everywhere!  There were a few mud slides along the way, too.  One of them had the main hwy 95 closed for a while by Bonners Ferry.  I was stuck in that line for almost an hour.  They got the hwy opened to one lane finally.  Glad I wasn't going through there when the hill slid down!  That would have been scary!

I'm down to just a dozen goats left to comb.  Only a couple of them are letting loose of their fiber now.  I will comb them in the next day or two.  I am glad they don't all shed at the same time, I wouldn't be able to keep up with them, and I'd loose too much fiber.

I sold both the bears on stumps and log sculptures last week.  I saw them sitting on the buyer's fireplace mantle and they looked really good there!   Now I will make some more.  I like making the sculptured ones with more than just the animal on them.  It's fun and I can let my imagination take over for a bit.  Who knows what I'll come up with next. ☺

Today we had a beautiful sunny day.  A nice change from the rain and clouds of last week.  It would be nice if we had a whole week of sun and mild temps.  I'm sure winter isn't over just yet.  There will be at least one more snowfall before it gives up till next year.

Happy Spring!!

Is it Spring yet?

Here are my latest creations.  I sure do enjoy making these and bringing a moment of happiness and relaxation to someone who looks at one of these sitting on their shelf or desk.  They can daydream for a minute about a future vacation out in the wilderness, or just connect with nature for a moment while sitting at a desk in an office, far, far away from the wilderness.  I am on a creative streak right now, so more are on their way to my website where they are for sale!

There are tiny signs of Spring finally!  The temperatures have warmed up to slightly above freezing, and the wind is blowing more. That will cause the snow to melt at a slower rate, avoiding a major flood, hopefully.  At least up where we are, if we are flooded , there had better be an Ark somewhere, cause the whole world would be flooded.

The goat pens are going to be a mucky mess when it does melt.  I hope I get a lot of helpxers this year, so we can get caught up with things around here.  There are a lot of projects to do this year.  I am getting anxious for the snow to be gone so I can get to work.  I'm going out shortly and start combing the goats again.  More are letting loose of their fiber now.  I am grateful they don't all go at once, or I would lose a lot of it.  Thankfully only 4 or 5 at a time are ready to comb.

Have a great day, or evening, depending on when you are reading this!