Welcome, Spring!

“The Boys” Marvin & Phaethon

Spring officially arrives March 20, however, the mild early March weather makes it feel like it’s already here in northwestern Wisconsin. Spring on the farm is a busy and exciting time. We enjoy watching the flurry of activity as the waterfowl begin their migration and nesting activities.  The Sandhill Cranes, Mallards, Canadian Geese, and Wood ducks frequently pass over the farm on their route from ponds to fields.

We also find great pleasure in watching the goats and alpacas reclaim their (still dormant) pasture, picking between snowdrifts at the brown blades of grass poking through, seemingly preferring it to the baled hay in their feeders.

Spring is also the season for shearing! We haven’t received confirmation of the date for this year yet, but it typically happens at the end of April or early May. It takes just a few hours for the Top Knot Shearing crew (based out of Colorado but travels the midwest) to complete the fiber, nail, and teeth trimming process for our 7 alpacas.  This will be the third year that we’ve had this crew do the shearing and they do a fantastic job with the animals. They are gentle, efficient, and very professional, taking time to sort the various grades of fiber into separate bags for processing. This is always an exciting time for the animals and for us. The alpacas often race through the pasture with a spring in their step after shedding their heavy winter coats.

We are also very excited to announce that last year’s fiber has been made into lovely yarn, thanks to Mystic Water Fiber Mill located about 2 hours from the farm. I was fortunate to get a tour of their facilities last fall and was very impressed with the quality of their services and the yarn they produce.  We will share photos with you in the next post.

Welcome spring and may the “Luck of the Irish” be with all of you!