Yarn Along

Just popping in to say hello and join the yarn along at small things today. I tried to post last week and it didn't want to upload from my phone, so here we are, back to the old school way of blogging from the computer. How spoiled we get!



I'm still knitting a scarf with Brooklytweed's Wayfarer pattern. I am in the middle of chart C and keep making mistakes and ripping it back... Sigh... Almost finished with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Just in time for book club on Monday night! It took me a while to get into the story, but that dry British humor was certainly enjoyable.

Happy Knitting and Reading!

They Grow Up So Fast **sniff**

After seven long weeks, our little darling cria boy and his mom returned to the Shady Grove Farm on Saturday. Dark Star is a little more than twice his original size now. He is already eating hay and grain and is much more solid than his former gangly self. He is ten weeks old today.


The Alpaca Farmer decided to re-breed 'Greta, which meant a little visit to the farm of origin. Alpaca crias for all - put in your order! They're awfully cute, as you might note...


It is nice to have the whole herd re-united again. Or for the first time, if you consider that Bella and Dark Star have not co-existed together yet. As you can see, Bella is separated from the others because she has a tendency to gobble up all the hay and grain while chasing the others away with her neck. She will even go so far as to eat the dog food. I have started calling her Miss Piggy.


Moonstar is lurking in the background... She is either plotting a play session or a domination match with her new pen-mate. The two "Stars" are hilarious to watch!


Till soon... HUM!

Winter Gardening

With the coming of the cold, I am looking forward to trying out some winter gardening. Unfortunately, my cold frame is a seriously drafty work in progress.

I recently read that it takes two 4x8 foot gardens to feed one person in the winter. I only have one box in that size and two people to feed, so I'm thinking that the draft won't really matter if I finish eating the goodies by November! I'll just start planting earlier in the spring.

Here is some spinach that is very tasty in salads.

Mâché and turnip greens are not quite as advanced. There are also some tiny carrot plants that may not make it. Additionally, the mustard greens and lettuce have re-seeded themselves in another bed. I should also post a picture of the colossal kale plants that will be consumed in great quantities soon.

I promise I'll do some knitting soon. I'll leave you with this inspiring photo of my mum plant.

Oink

Someone is gaining a lot of weight-about 3 pounds in one week!

We weigh Dark Star once a day on a hanging scale, much to the dismay of his mother.

Greta also enjoyed an additional grazing opportunity on a little walk into the pasture on Saturday.

Here's to good eating!

Of all the gifts, LIFE is the greatest!

Yesterday morning, the Alpaca Farmer said that there was a lot of humming going on in the barn during feeding time. Our animals are not usually very vocal, so this was interesting news. Mid-morning I was out gardening and I decided to check on the animals. Greta was lying on her side humming a mile a minute and I thought that there is no way we were not going to see a cria today. I left for five minutes to check on something and when I returned, the nose was already poking out, followed soon by legs and then the body. I got the whole scene on the video camera on my phone. I cannot recall a time when my heart beat faster and I was more nervous. If something went wrong, it would be all on me to fix and not kill the new cria. Fortunately, the breeder told us later that the whole process was exactly "by the book."

Anyway, enough about me. Let me introduce the new little boy "Dark Star" to you. Born in the 11 o'clock hour here at Shady Grove Alpacas on September 5.


He is wearing a little coat because it is cold and windy here. Alpacas do not thermo-regulate their body temperature during the first few days of life, so the coat is critical. Since it was freezing, we had to blow him dry with a hair dryer!


Greta is an outstanding mother. She was humming and bonding with Dark Star all day. And she was standing properly for nursing. She is very protective when we have to weigh Dark Star or bathe the umbilical cord. She has already spit off the house dog!


Dark Star stood up in record time, under an hour. And he was nursing within two hours. He was also already prancing around and trying to roll on the ground. The breeder said he is thriving more than the average cria!


Above everything, this little guy is eye candy. How can anything in the world be so CUTE!!!!


Have a "humming" day!

Saddle Mountain Hike 8/1

Our trip has taken us from the wonderfully mysterious and foggy Rainier National Park, through the waterfall filled Columbia River Gorge (pictures to follow) to the Oregon coast. This day was particularly unusual because it was clear throughout the whole day and the mountains were not shrouded in any clouds. The wildflowers were stunning and the views exquisite.

Way in the back you see three volcanoes. They are a bit faint, but are identified as (left to right) Rainier, Mount St. Helen's, and Mount Adams. Also visible but not on photo were Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson in the far distance.

View of Pacific Ocean.

The mouth of the Columbia River flowing into the Pacific.

Indian Paintbrush.

Some sort of geranium?? Still need to look this one up.

A beautiful succulent known as Common Stonecrop was blooming everywhere on the higher rocks.

Lilies and daisies with a back drop of green hills. I was obsessed with the lilies and must have close to 100 photos of different ones with various backgrounds.

An Iris

Columbines

Tall Purple Fleabane

Fox Glove. These line the roadways throughout Washington and Oregon. Heal-all is at it's base.

Finally a view of Saddle Mountain from halfway down the trail.

This is turning out to be a most satisfying hiking trip. Happy Summer to you too!

Ahhhhhh.... holidays! This year's hiking and camping trip is to the Pacific Northwest where we are starting with Mt. Rainier National Park. The flight in was clear and beautiful, but then more typical weather took over for yesterday and this morning. The sun is showing itself in spurts.

There are lots of great waterfalls in the park, including Sylvia Falls below. The trees are giant, old, and spectacular, often towering almost 200 feet above our heads. It is difficult to get perspective without a person in the picture or just being there. The sun showed itself just as we hiked to Box Canyon. Just behind are the hints of the mountain!

Happy hiking/ camping/ vacationing!