WA FREAKIN' WHOOOOOOO

I passed my tractor safety class tonight with flying colors! My written exam score was 98 out of 100 and my driving exam including back-up was 97 out of 100. I had a blast and learned so much. Now if I can only find a farmer who'll let me work for hay...

shearers...start your clippers!!!

Poor little unsuspecting Monkey, just hanging out in the glorious afternoon sunshine filling his bellys with the first green grass of the season. Little did he know that he'd be stripped down, or should I say clipped down 'nekkid' in less that 24 hours!

After Dakota (our llama) arrived, my husband as well as the farmer I get hay from told me I should go get to know the people just down the road from us, the people with sheep, a llama and an alpaca and likely shears! Instead I didn't. I just used the kids' school scissors to shear Dakota, reasoning that I'm not generally one to force myself on people and figuring that I could manage quite well with the scissors. And I did until the fiber herd increased from 1 to 6! I'd never have won any awards for beauty; shearing with scissors, but I got it done and Dakota was much cooler! I knew that when the alpacas arrived I'd need to do something different, like purchase a set of shears and ask (oh the dreaded word!) for help. I prepared myself all winter and since I didn't formerly know this couple I decided to write a letter explaining who I was, where I was and wondered if they'd mind showing me the ropes. Time passed and I figured they were too busy or had no interest, the letter was never received or what have you because I hadn't heard from them, but just last week I had a voicemail from them and much to my delight were willing to help! I called back yesterday and we chatted a bit and was told they could stop in this afternoon and we could go from there. It was set.

Today arrived and so did my neighbors, shears in hand and willingness to show and guide me. We chatted in the driveway for a while, getting to know each other and all 4 of the Nubian "guardgoats" walked up to them and demanded they be pet and loved on before any shearing was to be done. Fortunately the "guardgoats" are super friendly which renders them completely useless as "guardgoats." But I digress.

Andrew went out to the pasture caught Monkey and brought him to us. Jan, (pronounced Yan, my neighbor) and Monkey sized each other up and decided neither on was a threat and got comfortable around each other then we all headed to the barn. I had special concerns about shearing Monkey due to his having a wobbly hind end because of and a severe bout with the meningeal worm at the previous farm. I expressed this to Jan when talking to him on the phone and asked how he shears. Most of the shearing I've seen done had been to have a couple strong able bodied men on one side of the alpaca reach over and flip them to their side, and strap down legs, for Monkeys sake I was relieved to hear him say that he stands and works with the animal instead of traumatizing them. Monkey was a doll, he stood and was so well behaved and Jan was patient and took his time! I couldn't have been more relieved. I stood watching, learning, taking mental notes, and pictures. (And forming this post in my head.)

After a while standing Monkey cushed, (laid down) and we were able to get to his legs. Lots of alpacas are sensitive about their legs and male alpacas can be especially sensitive, so that; along with his wobbly issue was a valid concern. Additionally Monkey is the one with a sort of eczema skin issue on his legs. It doesn't seem to bother him, but it looks just awful. And just so you know I'm not forcing monkey to lay there, I'm just attempting to keep him calm and petting his neck and shoulders.
I'm not sure why, but I like the above picture of me. Sorry, had to throw that in there.
When it was all over and Monkey was let back out into the pasture the other alpacas went running up to him and pushed him around a bit; I think it was because of his skinny little pencil neck, which is so ridiculously small it makes me laugh, but it was more likely because the rest of the herd didn't recognize him. That is until they smelled his butt, I'm so thankful we as humans do not have to do that to recognize friends and family! Can you imagine?!

So there you have it, Monkey nekkid! All winter long I've been telling him that I couldn't wait to get him nekkid so that I could wear the fleece and now that it's here I can hardly wait to get it
spun and knit into a sweater! Yes, I'm going to attempt to make a sweater for me out of Monkey! I think I'm just a bit too excited about this!

Next up was George and my attempt at putting to use what I'd just observed...

Jan oiled the clippers, made the first pass, and handed the clippers to me! I took them, took a deep breath and stepped up to the plate, or rather the alpaca.

I was glad I'd had some practice clipping cows this past summer, it made this seem easier than what it might have had I not had a tiny bit of practice. (Funny how a shirt can feel soooo comfortable on and at the same time look sooooo awful! Yikes!) I did what he'd shown me to do and I had a blast doing it. I'm totally ready to buy my own shears and finish up the rest of them! We only did two today because of time, blades getting dull, and the whole teaching me how to do it thing, but I was fine with that. I've got a pretty good grasp on how to do it and I think with the exception of Dakota (the spitter) and Jonathen, (the kicker) I'll be able to do the others without too much help. I could be wrong of course...
And there you have it, my first attempt at alpaca shearing with clippers and a great mentoring neighbor. Thank you Jan, Vicki and Ron for your help! I really appreciate it! Now to get it into a finished product...

Proof!

*Photo credit R. Fleury
You see, I did it! Last night I successfully drove a tractor with attached implement through an obstacle course and didn't hit a single cone! THEN I had to back it up! Yikes! In my mind there was a whole lotta everything that could go wrong here, but the instructor on the ground helped and coached me through it and though I was in the cones slightly crooked but I'd done it, and I figured it wasn't too bad for a chick who'd only ever just a week ago driven a tractor for the first (and certainly not the last,) time. I was so excited and proud of myself. THEN I hopped onto a skid steer and despite the overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia, (which I forced myself to deal with because I knew this would be FUN!) I managed to drive that through an obstacle course as well. Yea! They were both very loud but it was nice, because a body could certainly get lots of thinking done on one of those machines. WOW was that fun!

the time of my life!

I've always been a Massey Furgeson/Farmall/International Harvester kind of girl.

This picture is of me as a child, and quite possibly could have been the start of my love for this crazy wonderful life I'm living. The kind of life that brings such exquisite joy and heartbreaking sorrow, the kind of life you cannot imagine living any other way. The kind of life that brings simple joys like watching a chick hatch in the tender, chubby hands of your child and witnessing the wonder unfold in their hands and eyes, or the thrill of picking a ripe juicy tomato from the vine you started from seed, still warm from the sun. The life that brings the heartbreak of loosing a beloved dog who's daily joy came from protecting her family, hearing of the loss of a friends barn, grieving with them the loss, or the wait; that seems like an eternity when you've got an animal down, for the vet to arrive. The serenity that comes while milking a goat or watching the sun set with colors so bold and brilliant they take your breath away. It's a life worth living and one you cannot help but enjoy.

Last week I told you that despite my best efforts to remain anonymous and take a tractor safety class I was found out so here I am spilling my guts about it in an attempt to make myself work harder than ever to pass the tests both written and driving.

Tonight was the first time I'd ever driven a tractor; I mean a real tractor, not the lawn tractor we use to mow here. My stomach was in knots and a mixture of excitement, fear, nerves and pride. Pride because I knew that I'd be able to do it, I can drive a stick (and LOVE that), so I was familiar with a clutch but still this was uncharted territory so it was nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time. Excitement because this was another step on the path I was born to be on, and fear, because of the possibility of faliure. The class was divided in two and I was to be on the Kubota tractor; not a bad tractor, though not my romantic idealistic tractor either, but I had to start somewhere, right? Our group walked over to the tractor and did a visual inspection as we've learned to do in class. Boy there are lots of things to look for before hopping on and getting to work, we were told that pilots always do a pre-flight inspection and it would really save time, hassle, and repairs in the long run if we were to get in the habit of doing this. Good to know!

We stood milling around and chatting while waiting our turns and I struck up a conversation with some siblings that both were wearing 4-H Dairy Team clothing, I was quite impressed that both of these kids were so knowledgeable about the work that goes on on their farm and and to see their enthusiasm about it. The younger of the two and the son of the dairy farmer was pretty excited that they'd just that day exceeded a new farm record, they'd shipped just under 42,000 pound of milk! Which equates to about 5250 gallons of milk! As I watched some of the other students hop on and go and I was moving closer to the front of the line the knot in my stomach tightened, I tried to will it to loosen but my attempts were futile. While I was excited to try it; which is part of the reason I took the class, I was still certain I'd be the one who hit or backed over the cones while backing it up into the imaginary garage. I'm a safe driver and pretty spatially aware, but it was the fear of failure and lack of experience that was over riding my brain.

Since it seemed that the other class was moving drivers through faster than our class so I was sent over to that tractor, a shiny new John Deere with huge knobby tires! I got in line to wait my turn on that tractor and waited and waited and waited, the class I was originally in was now finished and walking over to rejoin the rest of the class. Oh. My. God! I thought for sure that now the entire class would be there to watch my first attempt at driving a tractor and to see what I was sure would be an epic failure, mercifully one of the instructors took the rest of the class inside for a snack! Phew! Dodged a bullet there. There was just now one girl in line ahead of me and when she stepped off I suddenly felt the knot loosen and a wave of excitement washed over me. I climbed up using the proper three three point contact they'd told us to use and plunked myself in the seat. I let out a very girly squeal when the seat sank down very unexpectedly and reached for the steering wheel, took a deep breath, fastened the seat belt as the instructor stepped up beside the tractor and showed me what I'd need to do. Listening intently I did what I was instructed and once I had the tractor on and in gear, I released the clutch and took off. Talk about a powerful feeling! more powerful than any drug! I was successfully driving a tractor, albeit slowly and in a parking lot, but I'd conquered my fear and was having the time of my life! Oh my word was that fun! I know why little boys who played with tractors grow up to be men who drive tractors, because it's fun! It was at that moment as I was making the turn to prepare to back up that I knew that this was the life I was meant to live.

so much for anonymity

I've decided that I am no longer coveting -ahem more correctly working really hard at not coveting a particular piece of property that would be just about perfect for my the kids and I to farm that just happens to be directly attached to our current property. I've decided that it's now a goal, (which is essentially a dream with a deadline) to work toward, Heaven help me! So in order to get to that goal I'd need a tractor as it's a rather large piece of land, I have no experience on a tractor, other than our lawn tractor, which is not nearly the same. Since I have no experience I thought I'd enroll in a tractor safety course offered through the extension office. I did this without telling anyone, expect Ron and the kids, because if I fail I wouldn't have to face up to it and in all likelihood I will fail as I have no way to practice. The class is offered at a very reasonable price so if I fail I can take it again fairly reasonably, but I still didn't want people to know. (One of those vulnerability things.) My kids were visiting their grandparents a couple weekends ago and I stayed home for a very much needed and appreciated quite house, but it came up in conversation that I was taking this class - along with my nephew! I'm glad he is, don't get me wrong, he does a lot of work on a farm and around his home and hopefully we'll both get lots from this class, it just ratcheted up the pressure because somebody knows! Crap! I expected to see him there tonight and was looking forward to seeing a friendly face, what I didn't expect was to see two friendly faces. My father-in-law was there as well, initially I thought he was just dropping my nephew off, but he's taking the class as well. Ratchet, ratchet, ratchet! Now safety is what he taught for quite a long time before retiring recently and is as smart as a whip! (And tells great stories too by the way!) Then I glance over at the registration table and think there is another guy I know, seriously?! At this point I'm starting to look around for the nearest combine to crawl into and hide til it's over. I look at the registration table again to see if I actually do know this guy and he turns around, yup! He's here dropping off his son to take the class! I think it was precisely at that moment I suddenly felt like I was in a pressure cooker! Oh MY Word!!!!

Granted this class is primarily for young teens to get certified so they can legally work on the farms they live on, but I figured there would be at least one person like me... nope, even there I was the only person who was asked why I was there. When the instructor divided up up into two groups to get our hands on a tractor he left me out thinking I was 'just a mom' who's kid was somewhere in the class. He was shocked I was there for the class and I was the only one who didn't have any experience with tractors. Did I mention I wanted to crawl into a combine?! So it's official, I'm the underdog and now y'all know too. Honestly I debated blogging about it to put some pressure on myself to work my butt off and actually pass, but like I mentioned earlier it's a vulnerability thing so I opted not too. But seriously because I don't have a way to practice it's not likely I'm going to pass since the only time I can practice it during class, but I'm going to do my best and I'm not afraid to ask questions if I have them. Wish me luck (not that I believe in luck, it's providence, but how do you say that?!) and hopefully in a few weeks I'll have a new certificate to show y'all!

a new skill...

Since we were in need of his services again and the kids were here to watch him; again, our neighbor with the trusty backhoe asked about the kids not being in school. I told him they were homeschooled. He smiled and said 'well who's going to beat you up then?' I said "Oh, you mean 'socialize' them." He chuckled and said 'yeah, socialize them.' We further discussed it then he got ready to dig a hole to bury Coreah. Then he talked to the kids about the backhoe and showed them some things about how it operated, then he let them try it! Faith was up first and was a but timid, I think she was slightly fearful she'd break it, but enjoyed her time up there.
That's my girl! Way to go Faith!

Then Andrew climbed up and I think he'd have spent the entire day up there. He was not timid at all. Climbing down he said to me "WOW that was fun!"
I was secretly hoping he'd ask if I'd like a go at it but sadly I did not get a chance. Honestly though I don't know if my state of mind was in the right place, it was a really bad day for me.

How many kids do you know that have had their own private lesson on a backhoe? I know only two! Oh the blessings of being able to homeschool!

A Creative Break

I enjoy knitting socks, most of the time. Now I'm a practical woman, I figure nobody but me, (or you if I made them for you.) will actually see these so I don't spend time making them all fancy, no cables, twisted stitches, (although one day I might make myself a pair of those, just for namesake.) argyles etc. So I make them stockinette, well knitting in the round, it's just knitting and mind numbingly boring! I'm currently working on a pair for Ron when I just had to stop, I could not take one more stitch! I needed to take a break and do something creative and different, like the hats, needle roll or this:
I found this pattern and fell in love with it but wasn't sure my knitting skills were up to the task, after all the pattern said it was for intermediate knitters, and it looked intimidating. I have a couple nieces who are all girl and play with their babies all the time so I figured I could make this in a much smaller size to see if I could knit it or stand doing it and if it worked out give it to one of them for their doll. Turns out it was not nearly as bad as I figured and totally manageable. Now to find a yarn that I love as much as the pattern will be another thing, I'm considering Dakotas wool I've got.... That would be so neat!

A New Skill!

As you know I'm not a knitter. I will also say that I'm not a crocheter either. I did want to try to learn to crochet but have not had anybody show me, most of the people I know knit. So I had the opportunity to have somebody show me the other day so I took it. I'm glad I did. I stayed up until almost 2am this morning making this, albeit I had to take it out 3 times! I'm not even really sure if it came out right, but I kept doing the same stitch over and over until it was a size I liked.

Of calves and steers... part two

Well, here they are, the pictures I'd promised I post. Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and totally manageable. She had 4 bulls if I remember and we could only do two because the other boys were......well..... endowed.

This is me holding one of the bulls; I love the look on the face of the other one...
Here we are getting down to business.

Again, holding the bull. Check out what she's got in her hand!

Getting down to business on the business end of a bull.

Another thing I never thought I'd do, but glad I had and took the opportunity to try it.

I'll give it a whirl!

Often I've had people say to me "Oh, you're so talented, I could never do that." (Before you think I'm tooting my horn, let me say, I'm not and please keep reading.) Personally I don't think I'm any more or less talented than anybody else. I'm just willing to try something and fail at it or succeed in some cases. Lots of people are not that willing. Best I can figure I'm only getting one go round in this life and I don't want to end up at the end of it saying, "Damn! I wish I'd tried this or that..." I've tried lots of things in my life and I'm interested in trying more, (Sorry Ron!) that's how I live, learn, grow, laugh and love, I try it. (I just reread that last sentence and sound like a play-school commercial!) I don't know if I'm capable of walking on the moon or not, I've not done that yet and it's sad to think I'd miss out on the opportunity to do it just because I thought I couldn't. I don't know if I'm capable of changing a tire on my truck as I've not done it, yet. I do know that I am capable of pressure canning tomatoes fresh from my garden, I've tried it and will add they are mighty delicious! Truthfully it saddens me when people say they couldn't do what I do when they have not even tried, I totally understand that people would not want to do some of what I do, but that is not my point. For trying most things my attitude is 'ok, I'll give it a whirl!'

My latest project, (because it is a sitting down project which doesn't require much lung or sinus activity which is a good thing considering Im still tring to fight off this ridiculous head cold) is having a go at spinning the pygora fiber I harvested from Blackberry, (our pygora wether) this past spring. I'd like to try spinning it on a wheel, but am happy to be able to start off on a drop spindle. It's only about a pound of fiber, thankfully, otherwise it might seem too daunting a task to bite off; for sure I'm not attempting the nearly seven or so pounds of llama fiber I have to do next, I'll send it to the local spinning mill! Actually it's really quite fun and I'm looking forward to having a finished project; that down the road a bit, I still need to finish spinning, then ply it and then knit something.... His fiber is so silky soft to spin and is a nice charcoal gray, my husband keeps telling me that he needs a scarf to go with his black jacket, so we'll see, one step at a time. Baby steps even. So my hope for you is that when something comes up that your first reaction is to think you cannot do that, try this instead, 'ok, I'll give it a whirl!"