Frankly speaking...... being a parta Sparta
What’s the deal, anyway? Why should I, as a goat, care about where I live? So long as there is grain, hay, pasture, etc (so, FOOD) I shouldn’t really be concerned about my address. I was born in Verona, New York at the Warm n Wooly Farm. I moved to Lowville, New York when I was about six months old. The majority of my life, though, has been spent here, on the mountain top.
This is my contemplative look….. pondering my address
As a goat, I really don’t have a say in where I live, because, well, I’m livestock and I go where they take me. My philosophy has always been to “bloom where I am planted” and so I started this blog to keep the northerners informed of my activities, and to entertain whoever is listening.
IN ANY EVENT, I have found Sparta to be a welcoming place. In Sparta, we have a much longer growing season than in my birthplace. Like 4 or 5 months longer, which makes for more grass and browse, which is important to a goat. Not so important to a goat, but very important to my caregivers, are the other reasons for liking Sparta.
There is a rich cultural heritage here; steeped in the textile arts. We all know that mohair is a very important component to textiles, because goats make everything from fine lace weight yarn for beautiful garments, to rope and rugs and mens suits. I don’t understand why wool gets all the attention…. mohair is so much more important!
Arts education is a big deal around here. The JAM kids have their own house! (Junior Alleghany Musicians). There are music lessons available there.
The Writers group holds workshops to teach folks how to be better writers. I sent my scribe (wench, she hates when I call her that) to the lessons yesterday, so maybe she’ll be a little more attentive to this blog.
There are book clubs and painting classes and live music many nights per week.
There is the BLUE RIDGE FIBER FEST which is taking place June 7 & 8, 2019 for the 2nd year! With 70 vendors, educational non-profits, demonstrations, workshops, contests, and fun for all, this event will let you meet your “yarn on the hoof”. Make sure your calendar is marked for this event! Check out the offerings at www.BlueRidgeFiberFest.com
The point of this blog entry is that this is a pretty cool place to live. On behalf of myself and the flerd I represent, I’m glad to be a goat on the mountain top.
I promise a newsy, picture-heavy posting showing all the progress being made on the farm as soon as I can get that wench to do something around here. (sheesh!) We are all being shorn now so she can go sell the shirt off my back. It feels good. Thanks - for reading frankly speaking!
Frankly speaking.....new markets, new friends
We have had the opportunity this summer to meet a lot of new folks and pass out a ton of cards to people inviting them to view this blog and get to know us. You must know that I am a multi-talented goat, running this place with aplomb and sass, making sure my caretakers Wench and Builder are towing the line and doing the best by us.
Because the basic tenants of the Mary Kay Philosophy (which is how we operate) state that you never stop, never rest on your laurels (whatever those are), we are always seeking new markets. Fiber artist, Chef or rabbit enthusiast, we have something for everyone.
Here on the mountain top we are a many faceted operation - just in case you are unaware of what we do, here's a list:
(1) first and foremost, we are a fiber farm. As a fiber goat, and the GOAT COMMANDER IN CHIEF of this place, I can unequivocally state that fiber is number ONE around here and the most important thing we do. In order to achieve our lofty fiber goals, we are home to the four breeds of angora rabbit (English, French, Giant and Satin) and currently 18 angora goats in white and colors, with two token sheep thrown in for good measure (and wool).
the 'gang'
Our man WILLIS Herd sire for the 2018 kidding season.
some of the angora yarn, dyed to order
As a facet to the fiber farm, we are also a dye studio. We do import those yarns we cannot grow, such as super wash merino with nylon, bamboo, cotton or yak added for socks or lace - because we aim to please our clientele, and also because wench gets bored with the same ole thing and she wants to change it up every now and again...or, if you don't buy that story, because she has fiber A.D.D. and just can't get enough. (that's the real story)
yarn seeds
(2) secondly, we are providing yarn seeds for other fiber farms - in the way of breeding stock for the aforementioned breeds of rabbits and the occasional baby goat (never before 6 months of age). I do hate to see the little ones go on to new homes, but, let's face it, we can't keep everyone.
(3) We have eggs. Thirty nine hens to be exact, who produce around 3 dozen eggs per day. If you need eggs, call us! We have some markets available to us, and our garage refrigerator is the neighborhood egg store, but, seems these days we always have extras. Pastured chickens, happy hens, who get a non-GMO feed and all the scraps we and the neighbors provide (it takes a village after all)
4) We raise rabbits - lots of them. We started with and are continued to be dedicated to the American Chinchilla rabbit. Critically endangered, we seek to bring back the breed and build the best American Chin we can - for show, breed stock and meat.
American Chin (poorly posed and out of coat)
The Champagne d'Argent is rather new to our barn, we've had them about a year. These little fatties are very cute and hearty, and we love watching them fade to that pretty silvery color. These are primarily for show and backyard breeding stock.
The Commercial New Zealand's (non-pedigreed) are here for several reasons... when the demand for rabbit meat is at it's height (usually spring/summer) these guys can work to produce very well; we test our Chin bucks for the 'c' gene with the NZ does, and understand that not every backyard rabbit raiser is interested in a pedigreed show bunny to produce meat for their own table. For this reason we offer breeding stock from our healthy herd at a slightly lower cost than our fully pedigreed show buns. (no photos available right now)
So, you can see that we have our proverbial fingers in a lot of pies. I try really hard to (run that wench ragged ) keep my caretakers busy, as retired folks get lazy if you let them. It's a tough job, but good thing I'm a hard working goat who is up to the challenge.
Upcoming events include..... the ARBA convention in Indianapolis in two weeks. For the first time, wench has no rabbits for sale or pre sold at this event, and is only bringing enough carriers to bring home our contestants - Avillions Casse Noir (broken black senior french angora buck), Clems Marciano (his identical son, jr. buck); Clems Prasanna (satin angora sr. doe, even though she's only a junior, she's competing as a senior); Clems Piano Man (6/8 American Chin buck) and Clems Windsor and Annisette (Champagne d'argents - intermediate buck and sr. doe). We are hoping to not get the first off the table award.
SAFF. We are providing the Angora rabbit demos with Aunt June (my favorite) of Abbott's Rabbitts and will be offering about ten angora rabbits for sale there - yarn seeds as mentioned before in french and satin, and a couple of proven does who are ready to help other herds. We will have our english doe Willa on display, and be taking names of those interested in a future litter. She's not quite old enough to breed, but perhaps in the later fall or winter she'll be ready. All of our yarns and other products will be available over in Barn F at the Blue Ridge Fiber Works booth.
In between convention and SAFF I'm sending wench to a couple of local rabbit shows and generally cracking the whip to get her ready for the spring fiber shows - Carolina Fiber Fest - Powhatan - Toano
So that's what's been going on around here. We are happy to say we have three new (out of season) baby goats here - one bottle baby because Hera was pretty surprised when pistol pete dropped out of her butt, and she didn't know what to do. So now wench gets to feed a new baby. Good for her, keeps her busy, and she likes being a goat momma. hahahah Thanks, as always, for reading Frankly Speaking!
Here's my parting shot - if you notice, this post has a lot of photos but none of me? !! WTF?!?!?!?
kiss kiss!
Frankly speaking.....who's fooling whom?
Good morning and Happy first day of the month! April fools day is a great day for several reasons - the best of which is Spring has pretty much arrived here in North Carolina - oh, we may have a chilly day here and there - we had a couple of 30 degree nights recently, but, for the most part - this is it, winter is over! Soon our coats will come off (spring shearing) and the grass will green up and grow, all that happy stuff. I'm looking forward to it. Spring also brings the show season for the bunnies. As I previously reported, Bronwen went to Hickory in January and took a Best in Show. This year, wench took some rabbits down to the Dalton, GA show - Mutiara went and did very well. She is one of our more elderly does, being almost 5 years old, but still lovely in her show coat:
She didn't want to go to more shows this season; she is already granded, so while it's fun to travel once in a while, the grueling road show of the spring season is better left to the younger buns, so Mutiara will stay home and keep the rest of the buns in line while the youngsters go to the shows. At Greensboro, here's a photo of Windchaser's Daisy, who earned her first "leg" toward her grand championship there. In this shot, she is chatting with her neighbor, Windchaser's Peppermint Patty. (owned by Aunt June) Seems the girls discovered they both were born at Windchaser Angoras! what a small world. This weekend, Patty's brother Schroeder will be coming to live here.
Next up, Shelby, NC for the Gaston County Triple show. This is just a day trip. Here, DJ's Toblerone will get a try at the Satin Angora table, see if he's ready for Nationals. The pointed satin does, Tolinka and Sparkle are arguing about who will go to this show - with all these breeds to show, choices have to be made - so two french, two satins and two giants are all the spaces available. Well, in addition to the American Chins for Shelby.
After that, Powhatan's Festival of Fiber near Richmond will be April 25th, but no bunnies are going to that. Angora Nationals are in Ohio on May 1st, then Got to be NC festival on May 15 through 17; then Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival at the end of May. phew! I don't expect to see too much of wench in May.
These Satin Angoras may be for sale at Middle Tennessee. Two are already spoken for, and of course wench will decide who stays here, we're thinking a chin will need to stay:
Probably around mid-May there will be 11 angoras bred. This will take most of the adults out of the show lineup for fall. It may be that bucks are the only ones getting shown for the fall season. We are REALLY hoping Julianna decides to have some babies.
But ENOUGH about rabbits. Lets talk serious here - GOATS are so much more important. We said so long to an old friend this month - Faith - went to live with Tim and Joyce down on Route 18. She was a little confused, and I'm sure she didn't understand, but it is for her own good, even though we miss her terribly (she could be cranky) there will be no more babies for Faithy. She has a big pasture now and two boyfriends who can do no harm (they're fixed), and wench can catch a glimpse of her whenever she goes to Sparta.
Here are some random snapshots of the flerd for your enjoyment:
and of course, the baby shots:
These photos are only the random shots taken by wench throughout the month. We have a nice collection done by the staff phtographer (Dan of Forty6 Photography) but AS USUAL, wench is technically-challenged and can't figure out how to get them onto this page. sigh. One of these days she might figure it out. Until then, you'll have to be satisfied with my regular beautiful face, because let's face it ... there is no bad picture of frankie.
Frankly speaking.......................lion or lamb... you decide
Mother nature has a warped sense of humor. We retired to North Carolina because the weather was more suitable to goats - or at least that's what they promised... and we have been cooped up in the barn for more than two days at a time this winter due to cold or snow or wet or just yuk. ENOUGH. I'm glad I don't live in Boston, but still. I suppose I shouldn't complain. We have our hay delivered and clean water and grain twice a day. Now, if we can get mother nature trained as well as we've trained that wench...
In other news, all the babies are doing well. Neptune and Hera are slow growing, but then Hope, their momma, is really working hard to raise them right.
This is the last set of babies for Hope... she is retiring this year, and will join her kids Pinky and Gary up in Pennsylvania to live her life out in luxury. Faith will be moving down the road to this really cool place that has goats on the roof of the shed. She met her new parents, Tim and Joyce, the other day and really likes them, so let's hope she likes her new brothers, too. There are two other goats there, both wethers, so she can be the queen.
We were glad to see Sarah and the kids over the weekend, it's always such a treat when they visit...
Amelia really loves us, and even loves the baby chicks - who, by the way, were living in the people barn due to the cold, but now are in the garage, getting ready to transition into the chicken coop probably the first part of May...
Wench is getting ready to go to Dalton, GA for a big rabbit show. This will be Daisy's debut show and Mutiara's last show. The weather (again) has not been too cooperative for growing angora coats, so Mutiara has the prettiest coat up there. She will be the french ambassador, with Daisy representing the giants and Sparkle the Satin angoras. Apollo is going as the only Satin satin, and then there is the trio of American Chins: Zelda, Hey Jude and Lady Madonna. Wench will get opinions on Jude and Madonna, and see if they stay in the show string or if they retire early. Funny thing with those American Chins.... they develop slowly, so a not so great junior could be a spectacular intermediate or senior. Just look at Zelda... she was about first off the table at convention and now she's doing just fine.
Looks like today's weather will keep us in the barn again today. I know that wench has some torture in store for us - I saw the hoof trimmers out the other day. always something.
Well, that's the report ! Three months in a row, and I'm in the first week of the month!! who says you can't teach an old goat new tricks? social media? piece of cake! thanks for reading Frankly speaking.... til next time
Frankly speaking... just call me a one armed paper hanger
Seems to me that the word "busy" is a relative term. Some folks are busy when they have to go to the dentist and the grocery store all in the same day. Some just take on too much. A lot of this can be blamed on always trying to please everyone. I'm glad that I have the job I do and just get to tell people what to do to best serve me. Don't get me wrong, I'm busy, for sure, but nothing compared to my human caretakers. holy mackeral.
As previously reported, builder has taken a part time job at Lowes. This cuts into his building time. A LOT. So the progress on my suite of stalls has been slow. Good thing we live in the south, because it's not an urgent issue to get in before the big snows, because, well... we don't have many of those. In any event, it's coming along and will be lovely I'm sure and I'll post a picture when it is done.
Wench on the other hand, has been working toward building the business, selling breeding stock, contacting the yarn shops, doing farmers markets and craft fairs, and getting ready to go to Texas for the ARBA convention at the end of October. I see her breeze through the barn a couple of times a day, bringing hay, feed and water, (thus the name Wench) but she doesn't spend the time sitting and stroking my cheek and giving me the admiration I so deserve because she is just too busy. She is not complaining, I am.
I'm hoping we can get a little more on line presence so maybe she can stay home and take care of me better. Oh, the basics are met - and exceeded - food, clothing, shelter, but the admiration is lacking a little. ok, enough complaining
In other news, Smidge continues to grow, always getting in the way - she got stepped on yesterday and has a swollen foot. We're keeping an eye on it, though to make sure it isn't broken. She should stay up on her perch and not get in the way, ya know?
The babies continue to grow, now weaned fully from their mommas, our does are enjoying the peace and quiet, and the babes are bonding. Here is a butt shot for your entertainment:
in case you aren't sure, that's Carm on the left, then Willis, Brooks and Valentine. That Brooks is getting to be a big boy. He may be going to live in Grassy Creek, but if not, then he will be up for sale.
Speaking of sales, look for our products for the last time at Fiber Day in October (17th) at the Independence Farmers Market. After that we will be participating in the on line market. Our yarns are available locally at Unwound in Blowing Rock, NC, Purl's Emporium in Asheville, NC, the Wooly Jumper in Floyd, VA as well as here at the farm. You can always shoot an email to wench (deb@mountaintopfibers.com) to see what's available. Our lovely fingering weight yarn made from mohair and angora with added merino, is a big hit with weavers and knitters alike.
This weekend coming up, wench will be at the Floyd Art show with some of our stuff. Stop on by and say hey.
So friends, the people in my life can continue to be so busy busy busy... me too. I'll be busy doing what I do best:
laying in the sunshine on our little mountain, growing my fleece for your enjoyment. Till next time! kiss kiss.