Janet and Clark Otterness
Alta Mist Alpacas
2531 North Mountain Glen Road
Pine Canyon, Utah 84074
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phone: 435-882-0790
cell: 801-557-4162
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Farm Journal at Alta Mist Alpacas
This is just a note of daily happenings at our little ranch. The lifestyle is what we love about raising alpacas, and it might be helpful for those who visit the Website to have an example of what it involves, for us.
14 February 07
After the excitement of the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair and the Great Western Fleece Show (where Boomer took Color Champion of the light fleeces!), we sailed through the Utah State Fair and all the other fall events. We were able to get a lot of beautiful yarn from our clip and we continue to market it at the local spinning store. Clark taught weaving on the triangle loom and knitting on the sock loom at the store, too.
We finally got through the cold weather of January. There are so many birthdays that we find plenty to celebrate, but going to the barn in the cold isn't one of the reasons.
The 'pacas are all doing well, though. The girls, all six of them, gather together and have a good time hanging out. King just hangs out, period. He has a little of the attitude of "The King," Elvis. Strutting is probably the word for him! We are looking forward to the new crias in the spring and I am training the two boys we have left, Hershey and Alexander. It will soon be time to wean the '06 crias. I like to have them all in one pen so I can get my hands on them and get them ready for their training. It's interesting to see which of them exhibits the traits of their moms. Maybe I can influence them before they get too headstrong?
The chickens keep on laying and spending a lot of time outdoors. There are days when I'm sure they will be plastered against the fence and covered with snow, but they just fluff up and keep on being busy.
It is so relaxing and rewarding to shear the bunnies. They lay quietly on the stand and I keep expecting them to purr. Once in a while, they look for a snuggle and we take a 5 second time out. When I trim their bellies, I find that only a few of them are ticklish, but that is certainly an interesting task. They almost come out of their cages for their evening raisins. We have found that the raisins seem to keep down the woolblock.
Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair is planned for the 3rd weekend in September, and the committee has had their first meeting to set deadlines and appoint committee chairs. We will meet again the end of the month to finalize plans. It should be even more successful this year. Clark is planning to be superintendent for the fleece show again, as there was such a great response from across the west. Maybe this year we will get some eastern entries, too.
Clark has another double session triangle class and a sock class during these two months and I am offering a coiled basket class. He made 7 beautiful 7-foot looms for Christmas presents (orders) and it was gratifying to hear them called "heirlooms" by the person who ordered them. I personally think he does a great job!
We will keep on shearing and caring for the animals as the holidays pass this spring, and hope for better weather, as Clark calls this season "Mud Season!"
Sit, Spin, and Watch the 'Pacas,
Janet
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