Psalm23Farm: A New Guy and Some Visitors

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A New Guy and Some Visitors

I was feeding my animals after the big snow storm we just had and looked over and thought "the horses are the wrong color", then "oh! the neighbors horses are here!" Two Norwegian Fjords, a donkey and a spotted horse came for a visit with my sister, Lydia's horses. While they were waiting for their "ride home" I served them some hay. (That was to distract them from getting into any trouble while their owner walked over.) Their owner got a halter on one and the rest all trotted back home.

The horses with sheep in the background.

A Fjord.

On Sunday a lovely kitten appeared. He/she is taming down a bit and is very cute. The two cats we already have are leaving ignoring at. They stay in the garage and it is in the barn with the chickens. The little guy slept next to a chicken last night. Now to think of a name...

To top off all that excitement I had a "blond" moment. This morning I had to dig trails and dig out gates so that I could feed everyone tonight. The flashlight that I keep in my coat pocket fell out. Then when I was almost done feeding tonight (it was twilight) I noticed that the snow was glowing. "Weird, why's the snow glowing?" I thought and then "ohh it's the flashlight." (I guess that's what happens when I stay up too late. My brothers were out with some friends and barely made it home. They got stuck three times and then gave up and managed to get a ride in a truck to our house and they all stayed as the rest of the kids lived farther away. Boys. Never. Think. Ok sometimes they do...)

1 comment:

AmyFebruary 4, 2011 at 11:42 PM
Here's another "blond moment" to share...when I lived in the Colorado Rockies, I was skiing at night at Keystone Mountain, in Summit County with a bunch of friends when I looked up at the moon and thought how pretty and storybook-like it was...so yellow and pretty, a perfect yellow cressant! I stopped to just enjoy the moment, and stared for a moment at the pretty yellow moon....then realized wait a minute! I've got my goggles on! The lenses were tinted yellow........
Amy at Wheely Wooly Farm

....here's 'nother one! I was hiking in the back country one beautiful sunny summer day in the Rockies when I bent down to appreciate the beauty of a lovely little alpine tundra brook...the water so refreshing, I dipped my hand in the glittering bottom sand and scooped some up. So pretty and glittery...I wondered if I'd (humor myself)find gold. As I pushed the sand to the side, GOLD appeared!!! I gasped and my heart started racing! Gold!....oh wait, that's my ring band!!!!! Sigh..
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Welcome to Psalm 23 Farm

I'm breeding my NASSA registered Shetland sheep for fine and med. fine lustrous single coated fleeces in both the crimpy and the locky, wavy fleece styles. I have a wide range of colors and makings as well as the bright pure whites. I'm emphasizing on production, mothering ability and sound conformation. I have both horned and naturally polled Shetland rams and a few horned Shetland ewes.

I also produce fast growing grass-fed market lambs and commercial ewes with excellent fleece. (Shetland x Coopworth and Shetland x Australian Corriedale.) These F1 (first generation cross) ewes are great maternal ewes to put under a terminal sire for the ultimate grass fed market lamb.

Angora goats are my other love. I'm selecting for fine yearling grade mohair in adult animals. All of my goats are CAGBA (colored) or AAGBA (white) registered. I'm also selecting for sound healthy goats.

Posts will be about the Shetlands and Angoras with an occasional post about the other animals on the farm. Posts will also be about wool, spinning and a variety of other topics.

Psalm 23 Farm sells raw "jacketed" wool and mohair fleeces, mohair locks, dyed and natural Shetland and Shetland/mohair roving. Also sheepskins, quilt batts, handspun yarn, mohair lock yarn, and mill spun yarn.

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognized markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25 to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from Shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in spring. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibers have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be worsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

Psalm23Farm

Pages

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A New Guy and Some Visitors

1 comment:

Followers

About Me