Spring has arrived and the
grass is growing. Here in the Pacific Northwest we’ve had a rather
wet spring and my own goats are having trouble keeping up with the
growth of vegetation. Now, mind you, if they would be brave enough
to stand out in some of the more brief rain showers, they would
spend more time grazing. But goats are not fond of wet weather and
they run for the barn the moment they feel that first drop of water
hit them. Heaven help the poor chicken that might be standing in the
doorway!
With the price of gas and the time required to mow some of the
unfenced areas on my farm, I invested in some portable electric net
fencing from Premier 1 (http://www.premier1supplies.com/).
I have a little over eight hundred feet of it and it comes in
manageable rolls of 164 ft and 80 ft. It only takes me minutes to
install it and then connect up a fence charger. I’m able to set this
fence up in areas that I couldn’t make available to my goats before.
With a few extra step-in poly posts I can install the fencing around
sensitive areas that contain trees that I would like to protect. My
goats are in hog heaven and so am I! They get access to free food
and I no longer have to drag out my gas powered weed whacker to keep
the foundations of the barns free of weedy/grassy growth. The area
behind our garage, although close to the main pasture, is now mowed
on a regular basis by my four footed maintenance crew! Each week I
find new ways to use this fencing and I’m happy to say we’ve only
had to mow with the tractor once or twice in very small areas as
compared to years past.
This year, for the first time, I have been focusing on developing my
skills as a spinner and learning new techniques and ways to use my
fiber. In February, on Guemes Island in the San Juan Islands off the
Northwest corner of Washington State, along with a couple of other
PBA members, I attended a weeklong spinning retreat taught by Judith
MacKenzie. Judith teaches at fiber workshops and seminars across the
country each year. If you ever get a chance to take a class by her,
I encourage you to do so. She teaches with humor, anecdotes and
personal stories, and her knowledge and experience will astound you.
It was a wonderful experience! We learned basic wheel mechanics, how
to spin the kind of yarn needed for certain projects, how to select,
wash and prepare fleeces for spinning, and much, much more. Judith
also took us outside on a beautiful day to the dye pots and showed
us various techniques for dyeing yarns and rovings, including the
use of acid dyes and natural dyes from lichens.
We had so much fun dipping and “cooking” in the dye pots that I
though it would be a fun thing to do at home. So, on a Saturday in
April, I invited lots of fiber friends over for a day of dyeing and
spinning. Terry Mattison, a PBA member who also attended the Guemes
Island retreat and has prior dyeing experience, agreed to be our
master dyer and share her knowledge and skills with the other folks
in attendance. We had our propane burners, crockpots and roasters
set up on tables in the driveway between my house and garage (dyeing
is something best done outside ‘cause it can be a bit “drippy”).
April weather in Oregon is iffy at best and despite the fact that
the weather service called for a nice day, it rained like a son-of-a
gun!! Terry, bless her heart, remembered to bring her large canopy
to set up over the dyeing area so we remained dry while tending to
our yarns and fibers while they were in the dye pots. If you’d like
to see a few photos of our lovely and colorful yarns, type in this
web address into your browser:
http://slaphog.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album18.
We all had a great time and learned a lot. Everyone brought an
edible treat to share and also brought their knitting, felting or
crocheting projects for a fiber show and tell. Take a look at the
“My journey in choosing a portable spinning wheel” by Melinda Weer
to learn more about the fiber fun day we had.
If you have fiber enthusiasts in your area and would like to expose
them to your beautiful Pygora fiber, consider having an informal get
together at your home or local community center or grange hall.
Invite people to bring their spinning wheels and fiber projects and
to share their knowledge and experience. If possible, share a little
bit of your prepared and process Pygora fiber so that others can try
it and learn why Pygora is so wonderful. This is a great way to make
new friends in the fiber world while promoting the Pygora goat and
its fiber at the same time.
On another note about Pygora fiber – the Fiber Committee (which
consists of PBA members Louise Douglas, Pat Copa and Erica Trainer)
is hard at work putting together information about Pygora fiber and
how to use it, a list of resources for where to get it commercially
processed across the country, and other helpful information, tips
and photographs. All of this information will be loaded into the PBA
website when it is completed and will be of great benefit to all PBA
members and newcomers looking to learn more about Pygora goats and
their fiber. This is an exciting project and we’re really looking
forward to seeing the end results. Special thanks to the Fiber
Committee!!
Be sure to read the cute article in this newsletter about Ruby, the
goat who went to school. Susan Krueger, a third grade teacher and
Ruby’s owner, found a creative way to make history come alive for
her class members. We thank Susan for taking the time to write this
article and for submitting it for the PBA Newsletter. If you have an
article you’d like to write for the newsletter, please contact our
very capable newsletter editor, Theresa Esterline, who will happy to
help you.
This is a busy time of year for PBA’s registrar, Fran Bishop. By
now, many Pygora kids have been born and the pre-registration forms
and photos are coming in fast and furious. Thanks, Fran, for all the
hard work and attention to detail!
Susan Prechtl
Hidden Meadow Farm
pygora@clatskanie.com
