A new year… and a new barn !! Wow are we moving right along. Our Amish friend Daniel is so dedicated and honest. He was supposed to come over on 12/30 to help with the barn. He called in the morning to advise us that a friend of his had lost his workshop overnight to a fire and he wanted to go and help him out… so we said GO.. our roof can wait. We took the day off from barn building as well and went for a trip to Lexington where we got some new tires for the truck and Paul exchanged a tool at Sears. ( Silly me I bought him something he already had !! ) Anyway on 12/31 it was so cold and rained all day. Daniel showed up that afternoon telling us he could work if we wanted him to. We sent him home !!!

New Years Day brought with it some mighty cold temperatures, it didn’t get above 21 all day. But as long as there was nothing falling from the sky, we were determined to do some work. Daniel showed up around 9 AM and went onto the roof, which was a bit slippery. After he put up 3 sheets of metal he and Paul decided it was best to just wait until the sun came over the ridge and perhaps it would be better. So Daniel went to cut up some firewood from the trees that fell during the Tornado in October and we went inside. Around 1 PM Daniel showed up again and immediately went to work on the roof. With Paul passing the sheets of metal up to him, he began screwing them down. As each piece went up the ice began falling off and water dripped. Within an hour there were icicles hanging from the edge of the barn… or maybe it was sooner than that.

Paul kept passing the panels up and Daniel kept screwing them down. Around 3 PM Paul put two panels out on the lawn in the sun and I chipped off the ice and dried them off with towels. These were to be the final two pieces that Daniel would have to walk on.
The last two sheets went up on the roof around 3:45 and Daniel had them all screwed down by 4PM …. just in time to go home and do the milking on his own farm.

On 1/3 Paul worked all day outside to remove the temporary platforms he had put up for working on the roof. He stacked and stored all the wood in the barn too. It was very cold and it was snowing on and off all day long, with no accumulation on the ground.
In the afternoon he put on the wood 2×4s that we would use to attach the siding.

On 1/4 we attached the siding on that side of the barn and Paul framed in the doorway.

We have been working on the barn every day that we can, as long as there is nothing falling from the sky. The cold temps are tough to deal with, especially first thing in the morning. Many days we have waited till 10 or 12 to go out and get things done. However this leaves us just a few hours of work time. None the less we have been moving right along. We’ve managed to get all the plywood up and the felt paper on. Our Amish friend Daniel was able to come over today and help out with finishing up the plywood, felt paper and trimming the beams to even them up along the sides. He was a tremendous help and will return tomorrow to help with the metal roofing. It will be so nice to get it all enclosed and the way we are going, that could be by the end of the week.

Although I am on vacation this week and able to help on the barn, there have been several days in the past couple of weeks where Paul has had to basically work alone. He was able to put up the support boards for attaching the siding. He framed in the window and the main door to the pasture. He put some siding up on the north side too.

On Sunday after our little holiday break we started putting the siding on the west side which faces the house. We were able to put up all the full sheets on this side and it really started to look like something.

This morning we framed in the door for the vet area. Then while Paul was working with Daniel up on the roof I worked on the siding around and on the window opening. But I forgot to take a picture of that so I’ll have to get one in the morning.

Spin Offs…. I LOVE EM !! I don’t think they are as popular as the halter shows just yet and they surely are not as much fun. You don’t get to meet new people or go to new places.. but they are a good low cost way to get a an opinion of the value of your fleeces from the hand spinners perspective. It’s just them and the fiber and that’s what really counts doesn’t it, the quality of the fiber and what it feels like, looks like and performs like when spun into yarn. No matter if you use the yarn yourself or sell it to another crafter or knitter… you want it to be a nice yarn that works well into that special project or gift for someone.

I just started doing spin-offs this year and what a great year we have had. My first spin off entry with cria fleece from Americano’s Dreamweaver, was the 2009 Virginia Classic. This entry was returned with a 2nd Place RED Ribbon and lots of comments. The most memorable comment was “crusty tips”… ah yes all that mud and dirt on those cria tips !! I was very pleased with this result anyway as this was the exact same fleece he was wearing in 2008 when he placed 6th in the halter competition in the same show. I was not daunted, but persevered and learned my lesson on preparation. From then on I searched and plucked and primped the fleece to remove as much of the “crusty tips” as I could find. However, by the time I had received this feedback, I had already prepared and sent in two other entries to other shows, the MAPA Jubilee and The Great Western Alpaca Show. I began to worry about what horrid feedback I would get from those judges about my “crusty tips”. However, my worries and fears were quickly put to rest as the other boxes arrived following the shows. Another RED Ribbon for 2nd Place in the MAPACA Jubilee and a Pretty Yellow gingham check one from The Great Western Alpaca Show !!! I was on a roll and I didn’t want to quit !

After the spring shearing I started entering more spinoffs and this time I entered all 3 of my boys, Dreamweaver, Presidente and Trueno. Dreamweaver moved up into the Yearling class with the others in the Juvi White and Fawn classes. As each show date arrived and passed I grew more anxious for the boxes to show up in my mail. The first of these shows was Alpacamania. Dreamweaver did not disappoint and brought home the WHITE 3rd place ribbon in the Yearling Male Class. Trueno did very well getting a RED Ribbon for 2nd in the Juvenile White Male class. Presidente did not place… which saddened me because by this time we had lost Presidente. Within a month the next show was on our calendar, The VAOBA Alpaca Expo. These people wasted no time in returning the entries as the box appeared within 4 days of the show. Once again I opened the box to find a single ribbon, A bright YELLOW 5th place one for Dreamweaver…. and nothing for either Trueno or Presidente. I remained hopeful for Presidente as I had one more show entry out and it was for the MABA Alpaca Celebration for November 14 & 15. Shortly after Thanksgiving that box arrived. As I opened the box there were layers to peel back, beginning with the copy of the ARI that I had sent in… then the ziplock bag of fleece with a ribbon. The first layer revealed a RED Ribbon for Trueno, 2nd place out of 6 entries. The second layer rewarded Presidente with a RED Ribbon, 2nd place out of 2 entries. The last layer was what everyone wants to see… BLUE !!! Dreamweaver had place 1st out of just 2 entries. It was a small show and this was their first spin off and I was just not sure about it… but you never know unless you try !!! 3 RIBBONS !!! What an exciting day it was for us. What an exciting year it’s been. I can’t wait for the next shearing!!!

We have been so busy working on the barn and attempting to get things in order. The pace has really picked up over here and that’s a good thing. After Paul arrived on the farm he dug right into work on the barn and fences. Taking advantage of the good weather during the month of November he was able to complete the fencing on the 3 sides of the girls pasture. I added the electric fence supports to the posts and we are ready to go with that. We left one side of the fence off for now so that we could drive into the pasture with the truck. Last weekend we removed the 3 piles of wood debris that was there and so now the pasture is all cleaned up.

Meanwhile the barn is coming along nicely. When last I wrote about the barn, it was September and we had put on the 2 X 4’s for the hay loft flooring. So let’s just catch up a bit on that news. We started putting up the beams for the roof the middle of November. If you think putting up the 14ft posts was scary… You should have been here for this!!! No machinery used at all. Paul built these two massive beams on top of the loft, 2 X 6’s and 2 X4’s, screwed and glued together. Then we let them set up for a couple of days before moving them into place. We used a series of ropes, pullys and a comalong… and a LOT OF PRAYER!!! These are 45 ft long !!!

And finally here are the two of them in place side by side… whew !!! That was a lot of work !!!

He also built some 28ft doubled up 2 X 6’s for the cross beams in the center of the roof as there is a large span of empty space where there are no posts to hold it up. We put those up the next day.

NEXT we started on the other cross beams. First we attached some good ole Simpson Strong Ties ( AKA Hurricane Brackets ) About $6.00 each at Lowes…. Paul found them online at a dropshipment place for about $1.25 each.

Then we started attaching 2 X 6’s. There are 5 roof sections. Sections 1,3 & 5 have 12 foot lengths with the Simpson Strong Ties. Sections 2 & 4 do not have the brackets but are 10 ft 2 X 6’s that overlap the 12 ft ones by a foot or so and at that overlap they are screwed and glued with construction Hard As Nails.

At the end of the weekend it looked like this !!!

We are now having some intermittent good weather with bad weather. It’s been pretty cold, so work has slowed down a bit. The barn is located on the east side of the house and in a shaded area. Since the sun does not hit that spot till well after noon, any ice that has accumulated during the sub freezing nights does not melt till after lunch time. But when there is good weather we are more than ready to continue. The rest of the roof beams are now being put in place, we have moved the temporary work platforms to the outside of the barn at the lower end of the roof and stacked the plywood for the roof there. We also have purchased the metal roofing materials and it awaits nearby.

With time and patience… things do come around. On October 21 Paul finally closed on the sale of the house in Florida. On October 22nd he put in his notice at work and on Friday November 6 at 5:45 PM… he arrived home in Kentucky… FOR GOOD!!! Needless to say Alexis and I were very excited to see this day finally arrive. I baked him some banana bread, one of his favorites… and of course there was a cake!!! Alexis and I made a banner out of a roll of fax paper and spent a couple of evenings coloring the letters. I then hung it up on the porch posts with some string and attached some orange surveyor tape strips !!!! He LOVED IT !!!!

This week has been the peak week for color. After some rainy days we finally got a nice sunny fall day.

CLICK HERE for a link to an album of photos I’ve got on facebook.

The last couple of weeks have been quite hectic around here. So let me see if I can catch up. Paul and I were scheduled for vacation the second full week in October with him arriving at the farm on Saturday October 10. Our plans were to work on the fencing and the barn. Those plans quickly changed on Friday afternoon, October 9 at 2:30 PM…. we were VERY close to a rare FALL TORNADO. Yes, most of them hit in the spring, but not this one. An F2 per the weather experts came through Casey county approximately 1/2 mile north of the farm. I was home alone and Alexis was at the Day Care. It had been raining on and off all day… all week for that matter. As I stood in the great room on our upper level I gazed out at the cloudy wet day… suddenly the wind picked up… the leaves flew by, the clouds above began swirling around in a counter clockwise direction… the wind got worse. I dashed down the back staircase and proceeded to gather the dogs to go into the office bathroom on the lower level. Three of them ran into the stairway when I opened the door. I stood in the entry way and heard strange noises. I heard the patio chair sliding down the cement porch. I heard a tin frog that decorated the outside wall hit the cement porch. The leaves and branches flew by… and then, just as suddenly as it has started …. it stopped. It was raining now.

The patio chair ended up about 50 feet behind the house up against the chain link fence of my garden. The garden swing was tipped over, the chain link fence on one side was bowed out. Trees were down everywhere… BIG ONES !!! I went into the house, the electric had gone off… but we still had phone service, miracle of miracles. I immediately called the Day Care… there was no answer. I called the neighbor, Mr. Emerson. He was fine and said he lost a storage shed and a box trailer he had for auto parts had tipped over. He owns and operates an auto body shop at his home. I told him I was OK. Then the Day Care returned my call and advised me that the kids were all fine and the tornado had gone right past them.
I called my boss and I called Paul. Paul left work immediately for his long drive to KY. I put on Paul’s high rubber boots and rain jacket and grabbed the camera.

I first surveyed the area around the house to make sure everything was OK…. another miracle had occurred. There was NO DAMAGE!!! The barn under construction was OK, the fence posts stood at attention in the pasture, the house was ok… the roof was fine, the porch was fine. One of the adirondack chairs on the porch had flipped over, they were both moved about 8 – 10 ft from their original location. It’s amazing that they did not go through the sliders or french doors.

I walked down the driveway to the road and found three very large trees, 6 – 8 in diameter large, down across the road and the creek.

I was blocked in… no way out with the truck short of taking down the fence, driving through the pasture and creek. I decided to walk up to the main road.

As I made my way over the barbed wire fence that surrounds the house, through the creek which by now was running at full speed, to the pasture on the other side… I found spare pieces of roofing from the house that were on the ground had been strewn across the yard and even in the creek. One piece was near the cow feeding area some 200 feet from it’s original location. In the creek was a beach chair, a bucket and a plastic container that were in front of the garage. They had traveled about 100 feet. I walked through the pasture and it was then that I found the trees down in our camping area.

I walked up the road and sure enough, there was a tree across the road. Not a large one and it was the only one. Trees on the north side of the road on the other side of the ditch on Mr. Douglas’s property were down and into his pasture.

Once up to the Emerson’s we watched as people frantically drove by. The road where the day care was and where the tornado had hit was closed and they were routing people by. Since the Emerson’s daughter worked at the Day Care I asked that she bring Alexis home and she did. We then walked back home where I carried her through the creek and to the house. We then prepared for a night with no electricity, bringing down the oil lamps and gathering flash lights.

The electric came back on around 1:30 AM. Paul arrived at 5 AM after parking the car near the downed trees and walking through the pasture and creek with a small flashlight. On Saturday, the clean up began. We worked for a short while picking up branches that were strewn on the driveway and around the house. Paul went to the shed and got his chain saw and other equipment. After a couple of hours I made the decision to call our friend Barry Russell of Russell Excavation. Barry arrived around 2Pm with a track hoe and went right to work.

After 4 hours and quick break for a sandwich he had cleared not only all the trees from the road, creek and camping area but also one very large one and some dead ones near the back side of that pasture. Well worth the price he charged.

Last week was such a good week… our little girl born, Alpaca Farm Days !!! and Sunshine at last..

Short lived as this week has been a downer. We lost our dear boy Presidente on Wednesday September 30. Read about him here, where I blogged on his birthday. As is the way it is with alpaca, he never showed any signs of illness or distress until Tuesday. I saw him on Sunday, and although he tried to hide from me in the barn, I was able to catch up with him and get my paca kisses, how was I to know they would be my last from him. On Tuesday he started showing signs of illness and the vet was immediately called and she diagnosed severe anemia. She took some blood and fecal samples, gave him some pain medication and antibiotics and put him on an IV. But sadly he succumbed to what ever it was that had attacked his evidently weakened immune system and on Wed he traveled over that Rainbow Bridge to join other alpaca friends. I will miss him dearly as he was my first fawn alpaca, my favorite color. He was also a favorite at the farm where he will surely be missed and mourned by his caretakers and his pasture mates. R.I.P. Little Man

Coincidentally… 9/30 was also Trueno’s 1st Birthday and it was somewhat overlooked because of Presidente’s death.

FARM DAY !!!
Rain Rain Rain … all week long. What a mess. Farm day weekend on 9/26 – 9/27 was nearly a washout. I did not go to my agisting farm on Saturday, but they had visitors anyway. I did go on Sunday when the weather was much nicer. We have a few visitors, but I think people just stayed home to do their own work since it was the first nice day in a week or so. I had set up a canopy with some yarn for sale, but made no sales. My friends did sell a couple of small items and some mill spun yarn from their alpacas.

All in all it was a good day and I got to visit with my Pacas and take lots of pictures of my new GIRL !!!

After two years of breeding, waiting and birthing…. we FINALLY have a girl.

On 9/24 at NOON Sonatina delivered a lovely little white female…. did I say little…. 19 lbs !!! WOW what long legs she has !! She was up and nursing soon after the birth which was pretty much without incident.

By the time I saw her on Sunday she was running circles around Sonatina in the pastures.

I have named her —- September Rain