Snowshoe Farm Alpacas

Snowshoe Farm, along with two other Vermont fiber farms, is eagerly awaiting our first batch of socks from our farms’ fiber. Early last year we joined with Vermont Grand View Farm and Stonesthrow Farm to combine our different natural fibers to produce what we hope will be a very nice mix for socks. We sent the mix of alpaca, wool and mohair to Zeilinger’s to be spun and knit into socks. The first batch of socks is on its way to us. We hope to have them in time for the Buy Local Market at the Vermont Farm Show on Wed, Jan 25 from 4 – 8pm at the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds in Essex Jct, VT.

Look for our socks – and perhaps more products in the future – under the Vermont Fibers label.

It’s that time of year again…we’ve weaned most of last year’s crias and they are big enough to wear halters comfortably. This means it’s time to start lead training. We start by fitting the alpacas with halters and letting them wear the halters for short periods for a few days. Sometimes they seem unfazed and one session is enough. That’s how it went this year with the weanling boys. So the second day we clipped on the leads and started to walk. Not bad. The photos below show Larson and Musketoon on their first outings. No drama, no throwing themselves on the ground. They’re going easy on us this year!

Those of us who farm in colder climates have to work around some challenges posed by the cold, ice and snow. One challenge is to stay warm while working outside, especially if you can’t wear heavy gloves for the task at hand. Another is to find good days for using things such as a digital scale that does not cooperate in the cold.

We’ve had a spell of mild weather – which is forecast to end tonight – and we’re experienced enough to know we have to take advantage of it. For the past two days we’ve spent the afternoon in the girls’ barn weighing, checking body conditions and trimming toenails. 47 done; 17 males left to go. The next time we have a mild day and not icy conditions, we’ll walk each of the males to the girls’ barn for weighing and toenails. It doesn’t take long and it’s good to get each of the boys on a lead once in a while. They rarely complain about going to the girls’ barn, but seem a little disappointed when they leave with just a pedicure.

Here at Snowshoe Farm we are looking back at 2011 and counting our blessings. Despite a down economy, we’ve managed to sell quite a few alpacas this year; we had a beautiful crop of crias – mostly female (yes, that’s a good thing); our homegrown herdsire, Snowshoe Aristides, won another Championship (his sixth banner) and our fiber business continues to grow. We are both in good health and have the love and support of our large families and very dear friends.

Ron and I appreciate all our customers – alpaca buyers, breeding clients, shearing clients and our many fiber friends – more than we can say. We have been very lucky to meet and work with some wonderful people through our alpaca business.

Tomorrow begins a new year and we are making plans to serve our customers better than ever. Check our website soon after Jan 1 for reduced prices on select alpacas. Our online farm store will expand to include more yarn selection as well as needles and hooks, Greener Shades dyes and knitting patterns. And plans are in the works for a fiber newsletter.

We are looking forward to a busy and productive 2012. We wish you all a very happy and healthy new year!

We woke to a winter wonderland this morning! A definite improvement over this week’s ice and mud. It looks like we’re having a white Christmas after all.

We at Snowshoe Farm wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012!

This time of year is as close as we get to “down time” on the farm. Outdoor chores are limited: no gardening, no mowing. Breeding chores are limited; no breeding, no birthing. We stick very close to home in the spring and summer, but this time of year we have a lot more freedom.

This week were spent a few hours with our good friends Ian and Jennifer Lutz at Cas-Cad-Nac Farm  and had the opportunity to look at their crias from this season and preview some of their 2012 show hopefuls. What a treat! There will be some amazing competition in the juvie classes next year!

For some reason, seeing really beautiful fleeces is always inspiring to me whether they’re on our own alpacas or in someone else’s herd. This is why we raise these wonderful animals and seeing these new crias with fine and incredibly crimpy fiber somehow justifies all our hard work.

Our herd was due for its dectomax injections this week, so we took advantage of the gray, wet, but still fairly mild weather to get that chore done today. Snow is in the forecast for tonight and more seasonable temps to follow. It’s time…

Tomorrow the crias get their oral Vitamin AD&E paste. After weighing and body scoring all crias and mothers this week, it looks like it’s time to wean a few babies. Most of the  crias weigh 60-70 lbs. Time to wean them!

The next chore: toenail trimming. We’ll pick away at that by spending an hour or two each day until we’re done. 65 alpacas = a LOT of toenails!

The 10+ inches of snow we received last week are melting fast! For the most part, the November weather has been lovely – mild and dry. It’s such a bonus this time of year to get good weather for the many chores involved in getting ready for winter. The gardens have mostly been cleaned up and are ready for spring planting, firewood is stacked in the woodshed and cellar and more is being cut every day, the snowblower is ready for the next storm and the chickens have been moved into their winter coop. The list goes on and on and every nice day gives us the chance to accomplish a little more.

Today’s tasks: finish unpacking and rearranging the farm store, then cut greens for Christmas wreaths before it starts to rain. Gotta love this mild weather!

Our last fiber festival of the fall season was this past weekend in White River Junction, VT. Please check it out and plan to make it next year. The Green Mountain Fiber Festival is lots of fun and growing every year. The festival is located in the historic Hotel Coolidge, close to I-91 and the Amtrak station. The festival offers a nice selection of vendors including local yarn shops,  handcrafters and fiber farms. There are workshops both days and a full service yarn shop located in the building. White River Yarns has changed ownership and is now located in the Hotel.

This is a festival that is growing! Watch our calendar for next year’s date!

I’m all packed up and ready to head to White River Junction tomorrow morning for the Green Mountain Fiber Festival.  This will be the last festival is what has been a very busy fall season. I really enjoy participating in fiber festivals, seeing so many of our old friends and customers and meeting new ones. Nothing beats getting out and seeing all the wonderful new fibery creations from both vendors and the public to get one inspired to start new projects!

Now that the fiber festival season is coming to a close, I will be updating our website with new selections of yarn, patterns, roving, dyes, needles and hooks. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.