Break-out report, conclusion

Posted on March 8, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

The investigation into the great break-out continues to evolve…

I have so much to tell you. It's too much for one little alpaca to bear...

After turnout, little Missy approached Mom and came clean. “Well, you see, about the time the sun was coming up, Auntie Brittany chewed the chain loose on the man gate. But then, she got her head stuck and she panicked, and when she jerked her head out the gate flew wide open! My momma started hollerin: ‘Heads up ladies! Follow me!’ ”

Brittany chews her way out.

Photo Evidence 1: *munch munch* I don't have an oral fixation. *chew chew* It's not like I'm dealing with a serious carrot addiction. *twitch*

Taking a deep breath, the brave little alpaca continued, “Auntie Tulip was the last one out, but of course, my momma was the first. I just followed momma. Auntie Brittany followed me, and Marcello and Tripoli followed her. We explored the lower barn; Marcello was extremely interested in the Tri-Cycle by the lower barn’s front door. Then we all meandered back to our paddock. Tripoli fell into a snow bank up to his chest. That was really funny. Momma got her leg caught on an old weed stalk.”

Photo evidence 2: Mikayla's fiber stuck on a ragged weed stalk, down by the lower barn.

“Auntie Tulip was pretty sure that we weren’t allowed to be out, so she headed back in. At about that time, Dad opened the garage door and started toward the barn. The minute we saw Dad we froze like marble statues. He high-tailed it back into the house and we just stood still. Then Dad came back out and headed straight for us through the riding arena! We didn’t even know that he could do that. We all went back in peacefully. I don’t think I saw Dad take a breath the whole time.”

I told them not to do it! Why did I go out with them? To make sure they didn't do something even worse out there!

Conclusion: Man gate on northwest side of girl’s paddock was not secure. New security measures to prevent future escapes have been put into place. See photo.

Cliff House Ranch security has taken corrective measures to prevent a repeat escape.

End of report.

Note: Mom composed this incident report, and yesterday’s. If you liked this first-hand account of the ranch goings-on (and Mom’s first blog posts!), let her know in the comments.

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Incident report from security team at Cliff House Ranch – alpaca division

Posted on March 7, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Special guest post from the security team. Transmission follows…

Mom and Dad report: at approximately 6 am, Tuesday March 6th, 2012 the naughty Cliff House Alpacas broke out of their paddock. At 7:15 am Dad spied the whole girls’ herd looking at him from the north side of the barn. After going for backup he headed straight across the riding arena to the waiting Alpaca gang, who had decided to stop misbehaving and to await his instructions. No Alpacas lost or hurt, but Mikalya, code-named “Saucy Minx” insisted on knowing why Dad was so anxious when asking them to return to their paddock.

The gang was spotted here, at the north side of the barn.

After Dad left for work, Mom conducted interviews of everyone at the ranch for clues concerning the break out. Questioning started with Alpacas in the girls paddock. “Saucy Minx” was asked: “What do you thing you were doing?” Her response; “I’m the ring leader, it’s what I do.”

*Sniff* I have no idea what the problem is here. I am the leader, I lead...everyone right out the gate.

Tulip, code-named “Benign” when questioned, broke down and cried; “It’s not my fault”. Marcello, code name “Wienie”, was unusually aloof and  simply stated, “I know how to follow orders.” Brittany, code name “Trouble”, was as usual, full of crazy, “I chewed us all out. What are you going to do about it? The chain on the gate was easy pickings.” Tripoli, “Trip” was hiding behind “Trouble” and said only “Mmmmmmm…”. Marseille, “Little Missy” asked for some time to compose her thoughts.

If we coulda broke out, we totally woulda. What, you think we are sissies or something? We are SO that brave.

As witnesses to the crime, the boys were also questioned. Tuscany and Morocco would only say; “If we coulda, we woulda.” Bravado primly stated; “I am sure I have talked to you about that gate being a weak point before.” When asked what he saw during the breakout, Merlin confided “At my age, I just want Mom and Dad to let me stay in.”

Heidi, the Paint horse, responded tartly, “When did I become the head of security?” Boogey, her paddock pal, asked, “What’s an Alpaca?” The Kitties, Zipporah and Whisper, both had “No Comment” on the incident. Squeaky, always matter of fact, wanted to know; “When’s lunch?”

No comment. Alpaca security is beyond our jurisdiction. Now, if it was mice...that'd be a different story.

Stay tuned for the drammatic conclusion! One witness has yet to give testimony…will she rat out her fellow herd mates? Will she stay silent and stoic? What all did the gang get up to?!

I have seen so much. It's too much for one little alpaca to bear...

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The great escape (2)

Posted on March 6, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

This morning, Dad had a surprise waiting for him when he headed out to the barn for the morning feeding. He opened the garage door, stepped into the weak morning light, and took a moment to survey his domain. In front of him, the low sun cast long shadows across the riding arena, just beginning to warm the south side of the barn beyond. He inhaled, tasting the rich scents of the farm on the fresh south breeze, as his gaze swept north, to where a herd of alpacas stood in a tight cluster, absolutely and completely free in an unfenced field. He blinked. They blinked back.

We aren't supposed to be out here, are we?

Calmly, Dad went inside and told Mom that the alpacas were out. Then he went back outside and clambered over the arena fence (twice), so that he wouldn’t inadvertently herd them in the wrong direction. Mikayla stood at the front of the group, head held high, watching him approach. The others were arranged in wedge behind her, looking from her to Dad, clearly very, very aware that they were breaking the rules.

“Alright then, get back in your house,” he said, spreading his arms wide and walking towards them. For a moment, they were completely still. Then they turned and calmly filed back into their paddock through the still open north gate. Mikayla entered last, one can almost imagine her disdainful sniff as she did, “Well, I didn’t want to be out anyway. Just wanted you to know that we could do it.”

We have no idea how they got the gate open, but we’re guessing it hadn’t been open long. No one uses that gate, so it might have been poorly latched for weeks. Well, no harm no foul, I guess. I like to think it keeps the parents young 🙂

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To the mill!

Posted on March 2, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Dad and Mom toured one of our local fiber mills this week. We made a family pact that if our next shearing day rolled around and we still hadn’t finished with all the fleeces, we’d take them to the mill to be turned into roving. Since we’ve already scheduled our shearing day (May 15th), it was time for us to do a quick inventory of all the unspun fiber floating around. And despite our best efforts, more than a third of our fiber hadn’t gotten any farther in the process than “off the animal”.

Shearing day last May. Jared holds Morocco's head steady and Dad stands by to remove the fiber.

The mill guy specializes in alpaca, and even this time of year (winter not being the best time to shave animals, it’s sort of off-season), there is 4-6 week turn around time. It’s much longer in the summer. He will wash, pick, and card our remaining fleeces, turning them to roving. Which basically means all we have to do is spin and knit (which are most definitely the fun parts). We’ll finish up the odd bits of fleece we have around; Mikayla’s is almost done.

At first I had trouble giving up control over every step in the process. But we’ve done so much of it by hand already, and it takes so long…well, it’s just impossible to do it all with each of us holding down full-time “real” jobs. Now I’m just grateful we have help. And I admit it, he flattered my spinner’s vanity when Mom showed him the handspun suri alpaca yarn I’d made from his roving (this is the mill where Archie’s fiber was processed). Obviously, he recognizes and respects a job well done :P.

Note: Autoposted! I’m at the closing for my house today!

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Good fences make…

Posted on March 1, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

…brave alpacas. Tuscaninny is…well…a ninny, most of the time. But not when there are TWO fences between him and a perceived threat.

Don't look at me! I haven't put on my face yet.

Whisper the attack cat is a busy guy. What exactly he’s doing is anyone’s guess, but he’s always doing something. While Mom was cleaning the horse paddock, Whisper decided he had something to do out there with her. It probably involved complaining loudly.

Anyway, Whisper wandered out into the paddock meowing. The alpacas, ever un-trusting of other species, spotted him immediately. Tuscany sized him up, watching as Whisper drifted closer and closer. Then, suddenly, he charged at Whisper, stomping his feet and carrying on as if there weren’t two fences between him and the hapless kitty.

Whisper turned tail and ran, also apparently unaware of the impossibility of Tuscany ever getting any closer to him. Mom tsked, and said to Tuscany, “So much for my heartless trained killer.”

But it was big and scary!

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And I thought I was organized

Posted on February 29, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

I’m moving in 3 days, so it’s time and past time to start packing. Nearly half my boxes are crafting related, and that’s after I reorganized. I had to sort through this mess first.

The box on the left was “fiber and stuff” the box on the right was “more tool type thingies”. Turns out, I haven’t been as good about staying organized as I thought I had, though, and I ended up just dumping everything out and starting over.

Anyway, the moral of the story is: organize your craft closet every now and then. You’ll be amazed at what you find stuffed in the corners. I found some handspun llama wool from Argentina. Also, this fabric:

Awesome, right? I think this is originally from Mom’s craft stash! I wonder what I should do with it…any ideas? It’s way too awesome to stay in the box for another 20 years.

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The first confirmed kill

Posted on February 28, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

As you may have figured out, I don’t live at the ranch. I’m a big girl *puffs out chest proudly*. So I often get my dose of animal antics over the phone. For example, I called Dad’s cell phone on Sunday, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: “So, what’s going on?”
Dad: “We’re going on a Sunday drive…look at this guy! He’s clearly got his head up…ok, sure, cut me off without a turn signal.”
Me: “Well, you’re talking on the phone and driving…so…”
Dad: “And I’m still driving better than this guy. What’s on your mind?”
Me: “I don’t know…I was supposed to call, but I can’t remember why.”
Dad: “RIGHT! We got our first confirmed kill!”
Mom (in background): “OOOO! Yeah! I wanted to tell her about that!”
Me: “…uh…”
Dad: “Ok. So. We think a mouse wandered into the grain room where the kitties live.”
Me: “That was a mistake.”
Dad: “Definitely. Whiskers…uh…whisp…”
Mom: “It’s WHISPER, honey.” (I can hear her roll her eyes just in the tone of her voice, Grammy is in the background too, giggling)
Dad: “Right, whatever. WhisPER pounced on it, and then the three of them spent at least half an hour passing it back and forth, playing with the poor little thing.”
Mom: “Poor little thing! It’s a MOUSE!” (outraged, as if this is on par with “felon”)
Dad: “Still, it wasn’t very nice. Anyway, it was a group effort, but Squeaky wanted the credit so he brought it out to Mom.”
Mom (still in the background): “And I gave them all a treat! I’m training them to be heartless serial killers.”
Me: “I wish I could say I was surprised.”

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Happy Birthday Dad!

Posted on February 27, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

On this day, February 27th, an undisclosed number of years ago, my father was born. It seems only fitting that we use our daily post today to honor him, since he was the driving force behind us becoming alpaca ranchers. As it says in our “About” page, Dad once drove by a field full of funny looking animals standing on little hills, and said “We need to have those.” And now we do, and they’ve brought us closer together than ever.

You know how every pet seems to have a special affinity with one family member? Bobbin (the beagle) is my bro’s dog, and Olive (the poodle) is Dad’s, and Heidi and Boogie answer first to Mom. Well, Dad is the unofficial alpaca herd leader. If something is not to their liking, he is the one they all look at.

Dad dries off Marseille as Mikayla looks on. I bet he's saying "Yes Mikayla, you made a pretty baby"

Maybe it’s because he’s also quiet and calm, but they definitely have an affinity for him. Even the standoff-ish alpacas like Tuscany trust Dad. And Dad is Merlin’s clear favorite (and I’m sure it has nothing to do with being hand fed his crumbles).

What is this thing on your head?

The affection obviously goes both ways. So happy birthday, Dad! I’m sure we all looked at you like you were nuts when you came up with this whole alpaca thing, but it has been more fun than a barrel of laughing monkeys.

Maybe for his birthday, I should have gotten him a new hat, eh? Blech. 🙂

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The journey of a thousand yards starts with one twist

Posted on February 24, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Because I am a closet hippy with superstitions of religious proportions, I saved the first yarn I ever spun. Making yarn is magic, and this lumpy, coarse, overspun wad of material is the first spell I ever cast.

If you’ve been thinking about learning to spin, stop thinking and start learning. It’s not that hard, I promise. It, like so many other things (apparently), is like riding a bike. Once your body figures it out, it’s actually pretty easy. I recommend starting with sheep’s wool, because it is cheaper (and nostalgia aside, you’re never going to actually USE your first yarn for something). The individual fibers in wool also cling together better than alpaca, making it ideal for beginners.

I also basically insist that everyone learns to spin on a drop spindle first. They always argue with me and try to skip straight to the wheel, especially the men. It’s just so much faster, they say. But I promise, it will be a train wreck. It’s kind of like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time, if you have never patted your head before. Good luck with that.

I spun my first ever yarn from corriedale sheep wool on a wobbly drop spindle, using YouTube for guidance. I saved it, and the first yarn all my friends have ever spun, because it represents my first step on a completely different path, a shot in the dark, trying without knowing I would succeed, and we all need reminders to take risks.

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The color wheel for crafters

Posted on February 23, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

An artist friend first introduced me to the color wheel. I had been going by gut feeling to decide what colors to use on any given project, but the wheel gives you a way to organize your thinking about color.

These early color wheels, designed in 1874 by Bezold Farbentafel (looks like he was German), are a great example. Sir Isaac Newton is generally given credit for first arranging colors in a circle, but I like how these two wheels also show shade. The top wheel fades to white and the bottom to black, going through different shades of the color in between. You’ll notice that the order of the colors as you go clockwise around the wheel, is the order of the visible light spectra in nature (think the colors of the rainbow).

Anyway, what does all this mean for your next knitting project? Well, if you don’t have a natural eye for choosing colors, you can use the wheel for hints. In the wheel below, all the white dots are shades of one color, red. These shades will all look good together. The black dots are complementary colors, colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Theses colors also *ahem* complement each other.

For contrast, go for colors directly across from each other on the wheel. The black dots below are orange and blue, two colors that make each other pop. If you need more than two colors, you can also grab the complementary colors around one of your main color, in this case blue-green and purple-blue.

Tulip’s fiber has a distinct orange tint. I like to pair her fiber with greens, blues and blue greens, in a color scheme like the wheel above. See how the brown is a shade of Tulip’s color, and the greens and blue-greens are across from it on the wheel?

Aunt Geri likes shades of the same color, as in the scarf below. She tends not to do across-the-wheel contrast as often. I don’t know why, but contrast does usually read more formal.

Anyway, that’s my two cents on the color wheel. If you have stunted creativity, like me, it’s a great way to think about color.

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