Raise Alpacas or Spin their Fiber

One of the dilemmas of raising alpacas and being a spinner is that time spent on the husbandry side of the business takes away from the fiber side -- and vice versa.

I felt so sorry for our alpacas in their muddy pasture without any grass -- those big eyes can make one feel guilty pretty quickly -- that I went out after writing yesterday's blog, dug another hole, and set another post. Today, I started to dig the last hole for our new northeast pasture, but my shoulders just weren't willing. There was a time -- I was younger then -- when I could dig post holes all day and get up the next day and do it all over again. Oh, I'd have some sore muscles maybe and maybe I'd complain about them. You know you're getting old when sore joints become a reason -- rather than an excuse -- to avoid heavy labor. To atone for my failure to complete the last hole, I spent some time installing corner braces. I should have installed four or five in the time it took me to install two -- and replace the brace wire I broke in the process. Only one more hole to finish, two more posts to set, nine braces to install, and one gate to hang and our alpacas will have more pasture. Then I get to start all over enlarging the west pasture and when I'm finished with the west pasture, there are the three (or four) south pastures to build. You begin to understand what I mean when I say that fence sure cuts into my spinning time.

I managed to do some spinning last night and I'm sure I'll get a little more done this evening. I keep thinking I've got that first bobbin of Pinero's fiber just about finished, only to decide I need to put more yarn on it. I expect I'll manage to start the second bobbin this evening and to start plying tomorrow or the next day.

Kim