Cats

March 27, 2017 By Sandra Liggett Leave a Comment

Enter the Wizard

On Frilday last week, while returning from a whirlwind trip to the prairie lands of Kansas and Nebraska, we took a slight detour to pick up our new Great Pyrenees puppy, Gandalf.

Gandalf is the fourth Great Pyrenees pup we have purchased from Pankonin Farm and Kennel in Grant NE. We like that they breed working dogs, and actually have a herd of goats for the pyrs to work with. They are also delightful folks who know their dogs. When we called to find out what they had available, Diana was excited about a 5 month old pup describing him as mellow and very hardworking. Although he was very scared when we first met, even had to be carried out to our car because he would not stand, we could see his gentleness right away.

The great pyrenees are an important part of our operation because they guard the alpacas. They live out doors full time, all year round, and keep predators from prowling our acreage and our pens. They are gentle with our other dogs, including silly Salty and Yeti, and of course, the cats. Sundance, who is the oldest of the dogs, is now 9 years old. My how time flies! He is still an active guardian, but between his artriitis and his anticipated life span (10 years) we decided to get his replacement in training.

And Atticus, our 2 year old pyr, is the trainer. It was just a short while ago that he was in training under Sundance. He has turned into an earnest and dedicated guardian of the herd. And its his turn for leadership.

The introductions have been made and Gandalf looks up to the challenge. The shy pup has proven that he is up to the task. Easily greeting the rest of the dog herd, touching noses with the alpacas and cats, his shyness is replaced by a ready engagement.

Why the name Gandalf? We have named all of our Great Pyrenees after strong characters from favorite books and movies: Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Atticus Finch. Gandalf, of course, is a central figure in J.R.R. Tolkien’s amazing tales “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”. Gandalf is the last of the wizards and possesses great wisdom, powers, strength and ability that he is able to defeat the powers of the evil Sauran. We expect nothing less from our Gandalf.

Til next time.

Sandy

March 6, 2017 By Sandra Liggett Leave a Comment

And the Oscar for Best Fiber Goes To ….

Running an alpaca ranch and an entrepreneurial enterprise without a road map can be daunting. But, there are times when I have flashes of understanding why I do what I do. I had such an experience recently while skirting the remainder of our 2016 clip.

As I have written before, skirting is not my favorite activity. Skirting is the process of preparing the fiber for milling by removing vegetation, shaking out dirt and discarding fibers that are of inconsistent length, color or texture. Typically about 1/4 to 1/3 of the alpaca blanket (the prime fibers that cover the alpacas back and sides) end up discarded. The rest is now ready to go to the mill to be processed into batts that we will use in our felting. This process usually takes about 30 minutes per blanket. It is dark and lonely work. Often hard to find anyone to help me. Oh Lee, where are you?

While it is not my favorite process, I find the color, touch and handle of the fibers exciting. It’s why we are in this business, for love of the fleece. Today, accompanied by our barn cats Scampy and Pretty Boy, and with frequent visits from Atticus and members of the alpaca herd, I happily dug into the bags of raw and dusty fibers with my usual excitement. We have some fibers that are really fine, shiny and long. My exuberance over the fiber of two particular alpacas caused me to even shout out loud. WOW! If there were oscars for best fibers, these two boys would tie for first place.

Woodstock, our young dark brown alpaca who was mauled by a predator about this time last year, takes the Oscar this year for best fiber. I wish you could touch this great fiber through your computer. It has an incredible sheen, a rich dark brown, and crimp you can see from several feet away. That’s what I am holding in my hand.

Danito, another young male alpaca who is named after Danita our wonderful ranch hand (but that’s another story), has fabulously shiny, white crimpy fiber that is uniform in length, strong, and soft, soft, soft.

These fibers are going to be made into special items. Mmmm, jackets, coats, shawls? Which ever they deserve to be labeled with the animal’s names and pictures. Which ever garments are chosen, they will be special. Thank you Danito and Woodstock.

October 26, 2016 By Sandra Liggett Leave a Comment

This Year In the Cat Tent

We know you are a long term follower of our blog if you already know about the colorful cozy cat tent that Danita,
our ranch hand, erects annually in our barn. Danita has already perched this year’s shelter on top of the YUGE hay pile just delivered.

Alas, this year’s cat tent population is quite reduced due, we think, to a great horned owl who moved into our part of the forest. Of those cats who have disappeared, we particularly miss our longtime, very large black cat, Abbott. He had quite the personality. Scamper, Pretty Boy & Callie are still with us, have happily moved in (if you enlarge the photo you can see Pretty Boy peaking out) and are already enjoying their cozy abode with Danita’s hand-crocheted throws.

We should not have been surprised when Atticus explained to the cats that he will be joining them in the cat tent this year! Speaking of characters.

Besides the cat tent, other signs of fall and the coming of winter are the annual changing of color in our fields and gardens. Guess we had better start moving firewood down from the cord pile and getting it stacked by the back door.

As this blog goes to press, Sandy is winging her way to Ashland, OR, for Diane Ericson’s fall Design Outside the Lines retreat. That, of course, means by this time next week the FeltLoom will be smoking from processing all of Sandy’s new inspiration. Watch this blog as those new concepts take shape.

Until next time………. Sandy & Lee

September 21, 2015 By Lee Leave a Comment

It’s a Dog’s Life

When we returned home to our ranch from Wyoming, both Lee and I were eager to be with our dogs. We have five dogs now, Butch and Atticus, the two Great Pyrenees as well three mixed breed dogs, Osita (“Little Bear”), Yeti (yes she really does have large feet), and Salty (whose full name is actually Saltalamacchia, but that is another story). Just like a busy human family, it seems impossible to get everyone together for a group picture.

This dog herd is full of personalities and each dog has its own unique way of making him or her self at home here at Whispering Spirit Alpacas. Osita, the rule enforcer, guards the biscuit box to make sure that Yeti (who is a biscuit junky) doesn’t sneak one when no one is looking. Osita has all the house rules down pat and enforces them with her quiet insistence.

Salty and Atticus Getting Ready to Rumble

Yeti is the social dog. She loves her cats, biscuits, toys, chasing the neighbors’ dogs along the fence line, and accompanying Danita as she feeds the cats and alpacas.

Yes, everyone is friendly both with humans and with each other. Salty and Atticus still wrestle like they did when Attticus was a puppy, but the play has a more ferocious sound since Atticus found his large dog voice (he is still practicing his howl). And yes, he does pin the feisty Salty to the ground for brief moments. Sundance periodically lectures Atticus with a huge dog voice to remind the kid about the proper decorum around the mature Great Pyrenees.

And of course there are those wonderful moments when all of the dogs are sleeping and dreaming of the nights work of keeping the coyotes at bay.

Sandy

July 20, 2015 By Lee Leave a Comment

Dog Days of Summer

Thank you. We are humbled and flattered by the increasing numbers reading our blog and appreciate those of you sending us questions. We are passionate about our alpaca, their fleece and our fabrics. So don’t hesitate sending your inquires, we love to answer them.

Last week several of you wanted to know if things are slow on the ranch during the dog days of summer. There is NEVER a dull moment around the ranch. Seems like there is always a “wheel” falling off or an exciting project (like our new website), looking for time.

Spring always means shearing. We’ve always sheared the herd, including all the dogs, in the middle of May. But, not the cats. Definitely NOT the cats.

WIN_20150720_121257 — Sandy at the skirting table

Our dark and lonely work really begins once the shearers and volunteers leave. “Bringing in the harvest” means long hours of skirting. This is the first step in processing the fiber and the only part of the milling process we do here on the ranch. Skirting is not the most enjoyable step in the process. You stand at a wire mesh table, lay out the raw fleece and go over each section removing vegetation, coarse or short fibers and “stuff.” It’s dirty, time consuming and boring. But, has to be done before sending the year’s harvest off to the mill.

It is truly a family affair as alpacas and llamas peek in, Atticus sits under the skirting table as sentry, and the cats – gosh our barn is full of cats – love to roll in fiber.

Our spring and early summer production switches from warmer coats, jackets, hats and vests to our summer-weight vests, shawls and scarves. Sandy loves this part of the production because she dyes all the fabric. Sandy loves dying the fabrics. Most summer days our kitchen is hot and steamy from the dye pot.

For those of you sitting in air-conditioned offices, or enjoying the summer breezes at the Santa Fe Opera or any of the multitude of festivals around New Mexico, you may enjoy the Spring Fling Vest. No summer ensemble should be considered complete without a silky alpaca wrap like our Endearing Shawl to catch that delightful breeze.

See what I mean about Sandy loving the dying?

Until next week……. keep enjoying your summer. Can you believe it is half gone?

Lee