one more saturday night

Staying up til 330AM on a Saturday night just isn't what it used to be, you know?

Instead of:

Don't worry 'bout tomorrow,

lord, you'll know it when it comes:

when the rockin-rollin music

meets the rising shining sun*

 I feel like I've been drug through a knothole backwards.

But the rewards can be pretty substantial:

Azalea's baby boy, 4.5 hours old...

and 7 hours old.

Azalea had a very uncomfortable day yesterday, and since there are no barncams, I was lucky she didn't mind me camping out in the barn to keep an eye on her - for what turned out to be 13 hours. But once the baby was on the ground it was clear she needed some quiet, private time. So apart from taking a quick peek every few hours and making sure she has plenty of fresh water and a buffet of tasty food items, I'll be staying out of the barn today.

I expect she'll be back to her very sweet and laid-back self once she gets used to her new mamagoat status.

Flashback to baby Azalea, with her own mama, Lily of the Valley:

And if you're in the mood for a little goat-drama, here's the story of her own birth day.

~~~

*from One More Saturday Night

words and music by Bobby Weir

Grateful Dead

(so many memories)

~~~~~

respite

We haven't had new snow in 4 days!

And no snow is predicted until - oh rats.

I was going to type "Saturday" because yesterday the forecast called for a clear week. But I stopped typing to check, and found we are expecting 6-8 inches on Wednesday.

Still. One more clear day!

The snow is still deep. The paths are all packed down and nearly as slippery as ice, so I often just walk through the snow. Especially if I'm carrying buckets, or hay.

Only one gate is functioning now; the rest are snowed in and frozen shut. On Friday, I had to heave a bale of hay over a fence for the goats, then climb over after it and push the bale under the deck on the stilt barn, so it would be protected from rain or snow.

This may not sound like much, but these days, it was quite an athletic feat for me.

Speaking of goats...guess what time it is?

Yes, cashmere harvesting season has begun.

Slowly. It will pick up soon enough, so I am making an effort to do as much combing as possible now to help get ahead of the long push that I know is coming.

When I bring bags of cashmere into the house, I leave the tops open in case there is moisture in the fiber. But the other morning before I was fully awake, I heard an odd rustling sound coming from the table on the porch. I dozily wondered what could be making that sound, then came fully awake with a snap as I remembered the bags of cashmere carefully placed in a plastic carrier on the table. I saw a flash of white as Della hopped off the chair where she had been sitting, busily rearranging cashmere.

The evidence:

I'll have to find a better place for the bags.

Della and Moxie are Wild Girls.

Ms. Piper has also been on a bit of a tear recently!

Raiding the rubbish while I am asleep. Stealing the plastic container of joint supplements and eating ALL of them. Taking off into the woods so frequently that I am now putting a lead on her even to walk down and check the letterbox.

And here's what a cat's little dish looks like when Piper has managed to get to it, two minutes after eating her own big bowl of food:

Maybe it's just cabin fever?

I think I must have the opposite of cabin fever. I've spent the past three days shuffling around, recovering from the longest trip I've made in ages; very worthwhile, but physically grueling.

I left for Maine at 3:45 AM Friday, to visit a cashmere goat expert and try to learn a bit more about this thing I am doing. And it turned out to be four intensely focused hours of information and experience. It was excellent.

You know how sometimes it's the busiest, most knowledgeable person who is willing to generously share their valuable time and superpowers?

It was like that.

One half-hour of the day, I declared "my vacation in Maine."
Here is the sketch to prove it.

When I got home, I knew my Occasional Helper had already done both the morning and evening chores as arranged beforehand, despite this being his month "off." Words cannot convey the gratitude I felt - to arrive home after a 16-hour day, utterly exhausted, and know that there were no chores to be done before I could go to bed.

I did take a quiet walk around with a flashlight, to see each animal and say goodnight. But it was just a pure luxury.

Reliving my Vacation In Maine.
That half-hour has already inspired two sketches.

Which reminds me, I haven't done my daily markmaking and it's getting late, so time to post this and get the sketchbook before I fall asleep. Sleep is a good thing, and if we're likely to have snow on Wednesday, tomorrow will be a busy day.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

sunshine on a cloudy day

 I've been having a lazy day.

Once the chores were done and everyone fed, I pretty much stepped out of the traces and suspended any expectation of productivity.

In other words: slacking.

It's been gloomy and off-and-on rainy all weekend.

(The sunflower images were taken one afternoon two weeks ago.

Saved for a rainy day!)

Yesterday it looked like this in Tunbridge, Vermont:

I rented a car for the weekend - one of those Enterprise weekend deals - because it was important to me that I try to get to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival and Cashmere Goat Association show. I didn't want to try to travel with anyone else because it's never a sure thing that I'll be up to the trip on the given day. With a rental, even if I ended up unable to go to Vermont, I could do local errands and test the notion that, instead of continuing to search for an affordable small (and elusive) pickup truck, I could make do with a small car.

(It was a good experiment.

The answer is: no.

Let the pickup search continue.)

It was a good trip, because I got to say hello to a few cashmere people and see quite a few cashmere goats in the barn. They had an entry of about 50 goats; not bad! There were also a good many vendors of fibery goodness at the festival, which meant pleasant chats with the owner of a specialty spinning mill and a breeder of Gotland sheep (very interesting!) and a dyer and a felt artist and a woodworker and some knitters. And I bought two sets of sock needles and a packet of felting needles. And lunch!

Just noticed my rubber barn boots: glad it was cool and damp enough to wear them.
Disinfecting back at home is easy when I can just step into a basin of antiseptic.

I enjoyed a hot pork barbecue sandwich and homemade coleslaw on a bench across from a sheepdog demonstration, while another cashmere breeder told me about a recent conversation with her vet, who had asked about me by name. Kind of surprising since I haven't seen that vet in about 4 years. Possibly one of my naughty goats left a lasting impression?!

The rain held off until I was driving back home, which was perfect. And although the day was a marathon for me - over 5 hours of driving and 3 on my feet - evening chores were finished by dark. And after feeding Piper and Della and Moxie, I must have gotten right into bed and fallen asleep, because I don't remember anything after Piper's last treat. She will stand next to my bed and stare at me until that treat appears, and it seems unlikely she would ever allow me to fall asleep without producing it. Piper learned a long time ago that thumping the bed with her chin - repeatedly - is guaranteed to get a response.

So, that's my weekend! I hope yours has been good :)

I also hope you won't be too disappointed when you hear that Tsuga and Lily did not win the third level of the Chaffhaye competition. I was already in Vermont and not even aware of the voting until lovely Tanya of Bead and Needle sounded the alarm (thanks again, Tanya!). Then, since I couldn't access FB from my phone, I was unable to even vote for my own goats! But it wouldn't have mattered; there was a landslide victory for the picture of a cute goat wearing a Chaffhaye bag. So a sincere "thank you again" to everyone who supported Tsuga and Lily - very much appreciated. And don't worry; they don't seem at all concerned about maintaining their Amateur status in the Cute Department ;)

~~~~~

right now: goat vote round two

NB: Update at bottom of post

Well, it's the second level of voting for Pen 3.

Here's what the post looks like on FB:

If I understand the system, there are three levels of competition in each "Pen" before the winner of each Pen (there are 4 Pens, and each began with 20 goat pictures!) will go on to - I sincerely hope - the Final round.

So, if you'd like to vote for Tsuga and Lily - before 5 PM ET today - click here to go to the Chaffhaye FB page and leave a comment with the number 47.

Thanks again for all your support, both voting and sending good thoughts :)
~~~

9:10 PM update:

Well, Tsuga and Lily made it through Round Two...
 and will proceed to Round 3!
Thanks again for all your support.
Onward :)

~~~~~

votes for goats

I don't do much with facebook. I joined because it's the only place my local animal shelter posts information, and I have since found that many companies offer coupons and specials on facebook that aren't posted anywhere else. But I have no desire to become facebook-proficient; blogging and twitter and ravelry seem the right combination for me, with just an occasional visit to facebook.

Like yesterday, when I discovered the makers of Chaffhaye were having a "Cutest Goat" photo contest on facebook, with a prize of 10 bags of Chaffhaye. I don't usually use my animals as contest material, but this time it makes a certain sense. In addition to their hay and oats, my herd eats about 50 bags of Chaffhaye every year, so if the goats could bring in 10 bags for themselves, that would be pretty nice!

And just as I was thinking "must post this contest in my goat group on ravelry," I saw that entries were closing - in about 40 minutes! No time to share, or even to ponder my own gallery of "cute goats" - I chose the very first one that came to mind.

You've probably seen this image before, as it's one of my favorites. It's Lily of the Valley with her brand-new first baby, Tsuga, back in 2013:

I always got a kick out of this image, because Lily looks like the good mama she instantly became, checking that her baby's jacket is properly fastened. And Tsuga's sweet, confident expression looks like she's saying, "My mama loves me Very Much."

(Excuse me for a moment, there's something in my eye.)

The voting starts Monday, with randomly-paired pictures, and goes on each day  until there's a single winner. (I think. It says "tournament style brackets" and I think that's what that means.)

Now, I know many of my readers are on facebook and enjoy goat pictures, so maybe you'd like to take a look? If you feel like voting please don't think you have to vote for Tsuga; vote for the goat you think is the cutest! I expect every picture sent to the contest will feature a totally adorable goat, and it won't hurt my feelings if Tsuga and Lily don't win. Those other goats have to eat, too!

~~~~~

UPDATE, Monday noon:

I just checked the Chaffhaye facebook page, and there are 80 (!) entries, divided into four "pens" - but no pictures up anywhere that I can see, and no info on voting. Maybe they had a much bigger entry than expected, and it's taking some time to get it organized.

 Here's what it said about the brackets and the voting in the original instructions:

• Each day (starting on Monday, August 22nd) we will present the matchup of the day starting at 7am EST. At 5pm EST we will end the voting and determine the score by the number of “likes” (1 point)  and shares (2 points). The winner will be announced and moved forward in the bracket.
• After each matchup for the round is completed, we will continue to the next round and so on until there is only one Cutest Goat Photo!

So, I guess I'll just check back later and see what's happening. If there are 40 pairs of pictures to vote on today, they'll probably want to give people a little time to look at all of them. Imagine: eighty cute goats! :)

~~~~~

MORE UPDATE, Monday 1:30PM

So the "first matchup" was posted as two separate pictures, entry #1 and #2, and each is accumulating votes in the form of Likes and Shares until 5PM, when the winner of that vote will be determined. If Chaffhaye is going to put up only one pair from one "pen" each day, this contest will be going on for a loooong time! Probably by tomorrow they will have figured out and announced any change in the original system; I think they must be blown away by the number of photographs they received. Bet they're glad they limited entries to one per person!

~~~~~

birthday girl

Today is LeShodu's birthday.

She is my foundation doe;

the Matriarch of Cloud Harvest Cashmere.

Every goat on the place is related to her.

She came here in 2010, at the age of 6:

In Spring 2011, LeShodu introduced Violet and Lily of the Valley :

 

Acer and Betula followed, in Spring 2012: 

Reluctantly (it was my idea), LeShodu took a year off in 2013...

"Humphh."

...then produced Vinca and Dara in 2014. 

LeShodu was formally retired as a breeding doe in 2014.

Again, it was my idea.

LeShodu's clear preference was to continue growing her herd.

Can a Queen ever have too many Subjects?

LeShodu does not think so.

Of course, LeShodu has not retired from either brush-clearing...

...or producing very nice cashmere.

Happy 12th Birthday, LeShodu - Queen of the May!

~~~~~

long, overdue report

I owe you a fiber report, and apologize for the delay. Thank you, readers who inquired and reminded me! I hope you won't regret it when you see how long this post will probably be.

Remember when I sent five bags of 2015 cashmere to the Cashmere Goat Association show in Maine? And then someone offered to personally transport fiber across the border if any of the US exhibitors would care to enter the Canadian National Cashmere Fleece Competition the following month?

I am astonished that I got this group in one frame.

As I mentioned at the time, I'm not very interested in competition for it's own sake; what I was after was "judges' cards." A judge looks at each bag of fiber - there were over 100 entries at the Maine show - and makes quantitative and qualitative assessments. Some relate to the elements that actually define cashmere, such as the length, diameter, and form of individual fibers. Some relate to the productivity of the goat and overall quality of the entire fleece. Since my own fiber-producing experience is very limited, and my judgement is undoubtedly influenced by my feelings about my animals, I value the expert opinion of professionals.

For maximum educational value, I sent fiber from some very different goats. When the cards and fiber came back, the judges' notes were as informative as hoped for, and while some supported my own opinions, others showed me areas that I need to consider in future breeding plans.

And then there were some flat-out surprises, and I think this is the part my readers will find most interesting...

Remember Vinca and Dara? Here they are, during combing season last Spring. Gosh, just looking at this picture makes me tired!

By comparison, here's what they looked like in June:

At the Maine show, in a class of 5 first-year wethers, Dara's fiber won a 4th place ribbon! Aw, Dara! Who's a lovely boyo, then?

"Me?"

And you know Lily's daughter Azalea, right?

Here she is greeting baby Fern back in April:

At the Maine show, in a huge class of 14 first-year does, Azalea's fiber won a 3rd place ribbon! This made me very happy indeed, because I've always had a good feeling about this girl and her cashmere.

And of course you know LeShodu, Herd Matriarch. Here she is, in a photograph taken seconds after the one at the top of this post:

"Yes, that's right. Still The Boss."

CRACK!

I interrupt this Report for a little background on the herd:
~~~
I did not breed LeShodu; she was one of two mature does I bought in 2010, hoping to slowly build my cashmere herd from a solid foundation of their genetic input. Both does were producing excellent fiber in great quantity, but their kidding histories were unclear.

LeShodu presented me with two beautiful kids the following Spring, but unfortunately I couldn't seem to get the second doe bred. Even so, if she had been a pleasant, easygoing animal, she'd still be here today: not producing kids, but hopefully making cashmere, and eating her head off every day. But after about a year and a half of my increasing frustration with her attitude, I made the decision to return her to her prior herd.

Which left LeShodu as my sole foundation doe, and every goat on the place is related to her to some degree. It's very tempting to breed her one more time, especially since cashmere quality often declines as an animal ages, but LeShodu is still producing lovely cashmere and lots of it. But I made the decision to retire her from breeding after her 2014 kids, and I'm sticking to it, even though she is looking very well and would undoubtedly be interested in Mr Right Buck.
~~~
We now return to our Report:

Since it wasn't my breeding that produced LeShodu, I hope you won't think it's bragging when I tell you that at the show in Maine, in a class of 7 does in her age group, LeShodu took the 1st place ribbon.

LeShodu, Spring 2014

So. Three of my five goats were in the ribbons in Maine. Totally unexpected. Kind of fun! And I must admit, it made the prospect of the Canadian show even more interesting.

I discovered that Dara could not "compete" as a wether in Canada. But his fiber could still be assessed by the judge, which is what I wanted anyway, so I gladly paid his entry fee.

In Canada, Azalea was in another big class: 12 first-year does. And she again won a 3rd-place ribbon! TOTAL BRAG ALERT: I am thrilled to bits about this. Not just because two judges think Azalea is showing real promise as a cashmere producer, but because that's what I think, too. When I looked at the first comb-full of fiber from Azalea back in the Spring, I stopped combing and hugged that little goat. Who turned around on the stanchion and indicated that, while a hug is all very well from time to time, a handful of oats is always welcome.

Azalea standing on tiptoes at the barn door,
supervising the next goat being combed.

And last but never least...LeShodu. 

"You got the second part right."

In a class of 11 does of her age group,

LeShodu's fiber again took the 1st place ribbon.

(Which, by the way, is red in Canada. As in Britain.

Fun fact for the US "blue ribbon" folks.)

And then, as a class winner, LeShodu (in the form of a bag of cashmere) went on to compete against the winners of the other Adult Doe classes.

And she became Champion Senior Doe.

"Surely you're not surprised."

And then...cough, cough... 

she was declared Grand Champion Doe.

There was fiber from about 70 does at this show, and LeShodu took the rosette. I feel awkward writing about this because I'm afraid it must sound very braggy, but I take absolutely zero credit for this goat. I have already congratulated her breeders.

But LeShodu has been at the center of my goatherd-life every day for years now. And even though she could not possibly care less about the color of a ribbon - being far more interested in the color of a carrot - it does makes me smile to think that she entered her first show at the age of eleven, faced significant competition, and was judged to be top doe.

Because I am a sap.

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

saturday snapshot

A rare playful moment from Lily

I'd been sitting and visiting with Tansy and Fern,
when I turned and found, right at eye-level,
this soft fuzzy nose.
The usually-aloof Lily
had decided to sneak up and surprise me.
:)

I hope your weekend brings surprises
that make you laugh!
~~~~~