Limerick Link

December brought us continued warm weather and the last days of the century and millennium.  No snow and very dry but not cold.   I do not miss -30 but a little snow is good for the plants, the animals and me.   While the animals seemed to appreciate the mild weather, I don't think that Y2K made any impact on them at all.  Fortunately, we did not have any disruptions of any kind caused by turning that particular page on the calendar.  We spent Christmas in the city and then retired to the farm for a rest in the remaining holidays. 

Fibre Works Alpacas:  Almost time to start serious work halter training Moonshine and his buddies.  Moonshine still has gorgeous fibre, straight strong limbs and a certain presence about him.  At this point, we are thinking that he will be our show prospect for next summer.  That will depend on his fibre characteristics and growth over the next three months or so.   If he does go to the shows, his halter training will be very important.  We will review the Mallon method and the TTeam training approaches and combine the best elements with our own experience when we get started.  Some people are having good success with clicker training.

Fibre Works Shetlands:   The main breeding rams were removed from the breeding groups this month.  Back up rams will be selected and placed with the ewes in January.  Reintegrating the rams into the nonbreeding ram group is always tricky.  This year, we used ram shields (pieces of stiff material tied onto their horns to block their vision to the front) to cut down on the damage.   The shields must be made out of tough material or they get ripped away.  This gives the ram who can see a distinct advantage in bashing those fellows still wearing the head gear.  Another way to handle the reintroduction is to place the rams in a small stall with a number of hay or straw bales positioned to prevent long bashing charges.  They would stay in the stall for one to two days until they sorted out their dominance and got used to each other again.  None of our rams got hurt this year but it is always something to watch for, any time you shuffle the animals around.

Fibre, Yarn and the Fibre Works Gallery:  We are still sorting fibre, matching up fleeces for colour and quality and deciding on blends, styles and plies of yarns.  The first batches should go off to the mills in early January.  Our stock of the better quality products is sadly depleted but we are really excited about the new products that we should have coming back this spring.

Bergen Norwegian Buhunds: Treva came into season on December 26.  We will be breeding her to Tjalfi in early January for puppies in mid March if all goes well.  Both dogs are healthy and really enjoyed the extra Christmas turkey and other treats that found their way onto the floor or into the dog bowls.  Both dogs are a little silly with hormones, our boys call it "twitterpated" from the spring scene in "Bambi".

Farm Stuff: We decided that it was pushing things too hard to try to get the heat on in the barn-shop areas before Christmas.   As a result, things are going more slowly but we are enjoying our time at the farm a bit more.  We are drawing up our Work Plan for 2000, trying to match up projects with weather and animal requirements.  We have to finish the waterer installations, do some important pieces of fencing and get more wiring done in the barn, prior to June.   The Work Plan is always a work in progress but it does help us figure where to best spend our energies.