Art on the Farm, Dec. 10th and 11th!

In past years, we've had holiday open houses in our farm shop, but we're really excited this year to offer Art on the Farm! We'll have several exciting artists offering their creations, from woodcarvings and paintings to handspun yarn and handmade ornaments, and from luminaries to handmade soaps. On top of all of that, we'll have luscious alpaca products such as the ever-popular socks, scarves, blankets and silky alpaca fur teddy bears.  Next week, I'll be featuring some of the artists and their lovely works on the blog :)

 We're far away from traffic and mall crowds, but you may want to make a day of it by visiting nearby Woodford Reserve Distillery or having lunch at the new Bootlegger's Run Restaurant in Millville.  We are located in the northern part of Woodford County, just 15 minutes from Versailles and Frankfort, and 30 minutes from New Circle Rd. in Lexington.

If you saw our listing in the Lexington Herald-Leader events section, please be aware that the map on there isn't exactly correct- we'll have signs up, and you'll need to come to the END of Watts Ferry Rd (for those that have GPS, it's 3605 Watts Ferry Rd., Frankfort, KY). We'll have heat and refreshments in the barn, and you'll be able to see our newest baby alpacas!!!! Admission is free. If you need additional information, don't hesitate to call Lindy at 859-873-1622.

If you are interested in purchasing alpacas, please let me know ahead of time and I'll send you a current sales list and arrange to show you the alpacas you desire.  Prices start at just $1,200 and up for females!

AOBA Nationals 2011

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo

We had a great time and sales success at Nationals in Denver! El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo sold for the hefty price of $120,000 (you'll be hearing more about the buyer), and Happy Hour will be heading to Chimera Ranch in Colorado!

Competitors in costume class, aren't they darling?

It was great to see old friends from around the country, to check out the vendors, and then to celebrate our sale with a big group of people at a neat Brazilian restaurant on Friday night. As fun as it was to make the trip to Denver, we are VERY excited with the announcement that Nationals will be back in Louisville, Kentucky next May!!!

The Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival was very enjoyable, though sales and traffic were a tad slow for many of us. Most of the vendors were grumbling that the crowds were thin, though people did seem to flock to the livestock tent this year! I had a great time on Sunday, and probably spent more than I made at the incredible booths of high quality fiber, buttons, pottery, yarn and more. Thanks to the organizers, it was bigger and better than last year but as is the case with so many endeavors the marketing budget needs to increase with the event.

We were blessed with a gorgeous, healthy black FEMALE cria today by Michelangelo! I am thrilled, as I'm hoping to maintain some of his daughters in our breeding program and this looks like a dandy.

After an incredibly busy week, I was really happy for a quiet day in the studio yesterday, you can check out my most recent felt creations on the other blog here.

Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival and AOBA Nationals

It's a big week around here for those that love natural fibers and handmade items, it's the 2nd annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival! To see some of the things I've been making, you can check out our other blog (click to go there). Seldom Scene will be sharing a booth with Alpacas at Booker's Corner in the vendor tent (we're not taking animals this year), and I'll be there on Sunday.

Also, don't forget this week is the AOBA National Show and AUCTION! We'll be selling the legendary El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo (Lot 7) as well as SSF Happy Hour, our beautiful black champion daughter of Snowmass Nova's Private Reserve who is bred to Michelangelo!

Can't wait to see our friends, either in Denver at the auction or in Lexington at the Fiber Festival!

Spring Shearing

One of the tasks that I used to dread but now not so much is shearing all of these fleecy critters! Our shearing days have really evolved... from me HAND shearing most of our alpacas and llamas, to using a shearing table with a professional shearer, to having a pro but still having to do a LOT of the physical restraint ourselves, to now.

For the last 4-5 years we have used a team of shearers from Ohio that come in for the day and pretty much do it ALL. My old bones are very appreciative! It's still an exhausting and long day of keeping the animals moved around, giving worming injections, scooping up the fleece and bagging it, and sweeping up the trimmings, but not as bad as before!

We have been inviting our clients with just a few animals to bring them here for shearing (and they all pitch in, too, which is appreciated!) and this year's total for llamas and alpacas (both ours and clients) was 80..... plus two sheep. Much better than the 120 or so we did in a day a few years ago! We're having good luck with getting our herd numbers down a bit, and I can feel the difference on shearing day.

The alpacas are always relieved to have it over with, too, and they are much better prepared for hot weather now!

Stay tuned for new cria photos coming soon!

El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo- FOR SALE!

Click HERE to watch the video!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted here, spring is just such a whirlwind on the farm! That being said, we have a few nice crias on the ground, shearing is behind us, and we're STILL waiting on lambs and more crias to be born.

Our big news this spring is that we're offering our elite stud, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, in the AOBA National Auction in Denver on May 20th! It was a tough decision, but our three partners and I all feel that Michelangelo has made a supreme impact on our herds but he's still in his prime at only 7 and 1/2 years old and he can benefit other farms now! For a while, I'll be feauturing Michelangelo here on the blog as there is just so much to say about him! (And, I'd love to tell you about the sons we've retained in our breeding program as well!)

For now, enjoy the video which features Michelangelo and many of his winning offspring!

Late Winter Hiking

We had a great llama trek last week with Gayle and Emily from Louisville. A lot of people don't think about hiking in the winter, but it's actually a GREAT time to be outside! The temps can be so pleasant with a few light layers to take on and off, and you can SEE so much more without foliage on the trees. There are no insects, and it feels extra nice to be outside!

Emily and Gayle helped us move some alpacas to a new pasture. Cherry Bomb, our 2010 bottle cria, enjoyed checking out Emily!

The Kentucky River is just beautiful right now, it's the prettiest shade of green and is very clear. Let us know if you'd like to schedule a llama trek- we only need a day's notice most of the time! The first show of the season is Southern Select on March 4th and 5th, our first spring alpaca crias are arriving at the end of March..... and then on to shearing in April

Spinning my Wheel!

I recently had a great opportunity to visit with friends in NE Ohio for a little fiber retreat (more here). Although I have recently been more in the mood for felting, that quickly changed as I was introduced to carding art batts and spinning art yarns at the retreat.

My friends Donna and Robbie have The Alpaca Fiber Studio in Chagrin Falls, where they create incredible yarns, dyed fibers, and felted products, as well as teaching classes in spinning. They are great teachers and got me excited about using my carder to produce colorful and unique batts for spinning and felting.

The coolest yarn I've ever produced was this skein of coiled yarn. It was tedious to spin, but using multicolored roving made it more fun as the combinations changed each time I added a coil. I just keep looking at it and thinking of the possibilities for using this in felt or as trim on knitted works. The thing I loved best about spinning art yarns? NO RULES, no "you're supposed to do it this way." That's my style.... and if I can do it, so can YOU!

Mikey's Back!

... the gorgeous El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, that is. We've owned him with two other farms since 2005 (purchased as a yearling at the Parade of Champions Auction), and he moves around for breeding throughout the year between Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. It's been a wonderful and amiable partnership with great communication and mutual respect amongst the three farms, I'm happy to say! Larry Johnson of Likada Farm and Paul Kezdi of North Coast Alpacas are wonderful partners.

Besides holding a beautiful fleece with record-breaking density, softness and enduring fineness and siring champions in every color group coveted by farms across the country, Michelangelo has about the best disposition of ANY alpaca I've ever known!

Last weekend we met Paul for the handoff in the back of the parking lot of Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati. I was frustrated that I had forgotten to bring a halter when Paul got him off his trailer without one. He said, "don't worry, I never use a halter with him." Yes, I've gotten him out of our pasture just by putting my arm around his neck and have led him that way to the female barn for breeding, but I was a little nervous about having him in a busy parking lot. My concern didn't last long, as he stood quietly while I hugged him.

Some passers-by stopped and asked to see him up close- we stepped back and let them hold on to Michelangelo while they got their photos taken! The woman was from Argentina and quite familiar with alpaca products, but she had never touched an alpaca before and she was thrilled!

Mike jumped willingly into the back of my Suburban for the ride home and laid down instantly, familiar with this semi- annual ritual. A security guard walked over and remarked that this was a new sight for him after several years of watching over the lot!

As we approached the farm, Michelangelo began humming and it was obvious that he knew where he was once again. He got out of the car willingly and pranced into the barn, looking for girls! He'll be with us through May, and is available for breedings at a new 2011 fee of $3,500.