just before daybreak

There was a lot of this in the dim light of dawn today... 

Lots of balancing, lots of clinging...

Lots of magic.

mantra for the next few weeks

(With thanks to Sandra of Thistle Cove Farm for the make-your-own link!)

Must be Spring...somewhere.

WARNING: truly terrible photo alert!  

I've tried for three mornings in a row to get decent pictures to illustrate this post, and these are the best so far.  I'm very sorry.
~~~

This is a picture of a black goat.  (Trust me.  It is.)

Specifically, the part of a goat where the neck meets the shoulder.
I put a collar on the goat to help you envision this. Also, so you would believe that I am not just taking close-up pictures of bearskin rugs or something.

Now let's look a bit closer.  Watch out for the horns.

See that wisp of fluff peeking out from the black hair?

This is a sight to gladden the heart.

This is what it's all about!

This is cashmere.
~~~

Cashmere is the seasonal undercoat cashmere-producing goats grow to protect themselves from winter cold. They shed it in the warmer weather (which is not here yet, black goat!!) and the fiber is traditionally harvested - very laboriously - by combing the goats by hand when they are shedding.

Some of the outer coat is unavoidably combed out as well, and these coarser hairs must all be removed from the very soft cashmere fiber before the yarn can be spun.

Wow! More close-ups, now with arrows!!

Even though it is always exciting to see the first loose wisp of fiber that signals the start of harvest time, my reaction is mixed right now.

Actually, my first reaction three days ago was:

NOOOOOOO!  TOO SOON!

The weather has been variable, with the occasional "warm" day in the high-30s (F), but there have also been many days and many more nights of single-digit cold.

And snow. And ice.

This week has been one of bitterly cold wind, blowing for hours and hours.  For entire days and nights.

In my opinion, this is no time to be removing one's winter underwear.

Are you listening, black goat?

"Do I look like I'm listening?"

~~~
I've heard that some people now shear cashmere goats.  I haven't seen it done, so I don't have an informed opinion about it.  It certainly would be a incredible time-saver, but it would also mean the entire topcoat is being harvested, all of which would then have to be removed from the fiber as part of the processing.  And my (uninformed) gut feeling is that shearing a goat would leave a very sensitive animal in a very unnatural state.  But if anyone has first-hand experience with shearing cashmere goats, I would LOVE to learn about it, so please post a comment!
~~~

The black goat is shedding the cashmere from her neck first (tremendously slimming, don't you know!) so very little hair came with it.  When I start combing her body, there will be a lot more hair mixed in with the cashmere.

In this picture you can see the individual black hairs mixed in with the cashmere fiber:

You can also see how I came up with the name

Cloud Harvest Cashmere

~~~~~

Wordless Wednesday

HayMan and the Watchdog

HayMan came yesterday.  

It was the first time he has ever chosen not to attempt the plowed driveway, but to park at the first slope and carry three bales all the way up the driveway, past the house, into my barn.  

One bale per trip.  Back and forth.

Because Piper is such a phenomenal watchdog, she stood at the parlor window watching HayMan do this, and never uttered a peep.  My first indication that there was a human on the property was the loud knock on the back door which just about made me jump out of my skin.

Nice work, Piper.

"Sorry. Can't discuss this now. I am on Guard Duty."

If there had been a squirrel in sight during any of this?  

She would have barked the roof off.

~~~

For those who were interested in the structure of snow crystals the other day, here are some ice crystals on the edge of the goats' water bucket.

And for scale, here are my boots again.  The snow is packed down around the bucket, so you are seeing the cuffs of my Filson chaps.  

I love my Filsons, but this is the first time I have ever worn them "just" for snow.  They are wonderful for working in brush (especially thorny brush) but after my my first bootfuls of melting snow on Saturday, I retrieved the Filsons from their nail in the workshop and have been wearing them for chores, over my jeans and muck boots.

WHAT a difference.

I am intrepid.

I am invincible.

I am wearing dry jeans.

~~~
Because I think someone may ask, I bought my chaps and lots of my other fieldwork equipment years ago from an outfit called Forestry Suppliers.  These folks have always been a pleasure to do business with.  One of the most fun shopping experiences I've ever had was when I was replacing my snowshoes and had a lengthy phone conversation with two of the Forestry Supplier people regarding the angle of rise on the toes of two different snowshoe styles.  When I called them, I had not realized the company is located in Mississippi; a State which may be generally called "a snowshoe-free zone."  But those folks sure went out of their way to get an answer to my question!

My chaps (getting back to the subject) were made by an old US company, as was my orange timber-cruising vest.  In the interest of providing accurate information here, I just googled the company website.  Sadly, so very often, even products that have been made in the US for ages have been farmed out (usually to China) in the past 20 years or so.

I am SO glad I googled Filson!  Because, guess what:

Filson makes 276 products in the US.

Not everyone needs chaps (or a timber-cruising vest), but for those of us who appreciate well-made outdoor clothing, or even just rugged and practical gear (they have luggage! and laptop bags!) there are a lot of items on this website that may be welcome news indeed.  It is hard to find good, strong, functional stuff.  Stuff that looks like it will be working for as long as we will be working, and then perhaps be handed on to someone else who will be very pleased to have it.  I am not much of a shopper, but several Filson items made it to my wishlist today.

(I probably don't need to say this, but just in case: I have nothing to gain, personally, from recommending either Filson or Forestry Suppliers.  Neither company would know me if I walked through their door.  Well, there are a couple of employees from Mississippi who might remember me if I walked through their door and started talking about snowshoe toes, but that's about it.) 

~~~

And that's enough about snow for a while, isn't it?

Maybe it's time to make something nice to eat.  It's been soups and quiches lately...lovely comfort food that takes almost no effort and tastes like, well, comfort.

Here's hoping you have a lovely, comfort-filled day!

~~~

"Wait, did somebody say 'quiche'?  I'm pretty sure I  LOVE quiche."

~~~~~