pnfcashmeres.com Blog

We are in a mild spell again. This winter has has been different, that’s for sure. We have a few days of really cold temperatures, then a week or more of mild temps. We have been in a very strong inversion the last few days. It was in the 20’s in the valley and in the 40’s up here! Our snow has really settled the last couple of days. We did have around a foot of snow, but it’s settled down to about six inches or so now.
I’ve started trimming the goat’s hooves. There are a few of them that are starting to shed their cashmere already! I brushed a couple today. Maxwell and Nicolas are both definitely cashgora. I think I will sell them for pets. They are so cute and friendly. They would make someone a duo of excellent weed-eaters. They are way too cute to put in the freezer! Since they don’t have the top quality cashmere, I’ll sell them pretty cheap; $40.00 each. They do have nice fiber for spinning, it’s just not top quality cashmere. Maybe I’ll keep them and spin up their fleece, then sell it as cashgora. We shall see.
I got all eight of the yearlings done today. Tomorrow will be the four bucklings (that will be a smelly job!) and then start in on the main pen of does. I should be all done by Friday, Saturday at the latest.
I made a really nice looking cashmere beret out of the hand painted skein of yarn that wasn’t selling fast enough, and a rust colored skein. I just might have to keep it for myself, instead of selling it. I really like it!
I’m trying to get as much yarn spun up as I can this month and next. After the middle of March my spinning time will will decrease by quite a bit. Kids start being born around the 22nd. After that, I won’t have much time for spinning. I need to get some more accessories crocheted, too.
The chickens laid five eggs today. I hope this is the start of the egg laying season for them. We got a Murry McMurry Hatchery catalog today. I was looking through it at all the various breeds of poultry. We might try raising some meat chickens this year. We’re discussing that now.
I’m letting some of the chickens hatch out some chicks this year. We need some more laying hens that are young and will lay lots of eggs.
Well, that’s it for now. More as it happens…

2009 is a thing of the past, and 2010 is now here! It’s going to be a year of wild and wacky happenings, with lots of good things thrown in, too. I’m looking forward to it!
We are having a pretty mild winter. There are only about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it’s a wet, heavy snow. It’s been in the mid to upper 30’s temperature-wise. I’m rather enjoying it. I think May is going to bring a ton of rain, so the lack of snow isn’t bothering me.
The goats are all doing fine. The chickens still aren’t laying very many eggs. I hope they start pretty soon. I’m tired of having to ration them. The turkeys are all well, and the guineas are being guineas.
Yesterday some mountain lion hunters killed a 120 lb male lion about half-way down our forest service road. When I was out feeding in the morning, I could hear the hounds baying not too far away. They worked their way all around the perimeter of the “bowl” we live in, and ended up back down on the fs road. When the neighbor came home, she saw the hunters on the road with their lion. It’s kind of sad really. Here this lion was just out minding his lion business, not bothering anyone, and gets chased down and killed in the matter of a few hours. He must have been one tired cat at the end. He led them on a very long chase! The hounds probably slept pretty good last night.
At 120 lbs, he wasn’t a young lion, so he’s been around for a while. Never has bothered any of our animals, just killed the deer that are plentiful around here, just like he’s supposed to do. I’ll bet the deer are a bit relieved, at least till a new one moves in. One less predator to watch out for. It’s still sad, though. Who knows, as the winter wears on, he might have come here to try his luck with the goats, or something. Then again, he might not have. We will never know, now.
I am still in the “getting rid of stuff” mode. It’s nice to get rid of some of the clutter around here. I want a fresh start to the new decade.
Well, that’s all for now.
Happy New Year!