Attrition

Well, didn't the overconfident little farmer wannabes take a fall this week! We had a turkey tragedy.

Last week, Trixie hatched out 5 poults and we gave her the 6 we had hatched in the incubator. She was frantic to get them outside and we stupidly let her. One disappeared. And then there were 10.

She was doing fine with them, but kept sleeping out in the woods rather than near the house (probably to avoid Milo!). But my husband and brother-in-law dug a couple dozen post holes for the new, improved goat yard they are building. Sunday morning, we found that 3 of them had fallen into the holes and, unable to get out, had died. And then there were 7.

Meanwhile, the survivors were standing around in the cold, wet grass while their mother tried to rescue the victims in the holes. One died. And then there were 6.

The boys brought the survivors into the house and we put them under a heat lamp while we set up proper housing for Trixie and the poults. One of them just couldn't warm up. And then there were 5.

We made Trixie a nice setup right in the turkey barn, with a board across the door to keep the poults from getting outside but allowing the other birds to come and go. We brought the babies back to their distraught mother and she stepped on one's head.

And now there are 4.

Well camouflaged, aren't they?

Everyone left seems to be doing fine at this point. We are sadder but wiser now and, as with so much around here, have learned from the experience. I feel responsible for the loss of most of the other poults, but such is life on the homestead. You can't dwell on it.

Spring is full of contrasts, especially that of birth and death. Although this week is cold and windy, the weekend was a lot nicer than the forecast predicted. Here's Dave under the cherry tree:

Tulips and grape hyacinths:

My younger stepson home for the summer (do all guys just love tractors?):

The new, fortified goat fence in progress (the permanent part, which will now be electrified so we won't have quite so many daring escapes):

I have been busy in the shop. I shipped off my order to yarn4socks.com and have been concentrating on fiber. Some of you asked about my new Pat Green Triple Picker and what it does. Oh, I'll tell you. Here we have a couple of pounds of scoured Romney fleece from a local farm:

There's some VM, and while it looks quite fluffy, those locks are a bit too intact to put through the drum carder. You put on your leather gloves, feed the locks into the Triple Picker, and within a few minutes you have this:

A lot of the VM has fallen out, and the volume of the fleece has more than quadrupled. It's like a cloud of Romney! Now we can card.

Someone mentioned that they'd like some local fiber pulled into roving instead of sold as batts. I thought that would be fun because it opens up the option of space dyeing and keeping the colors separate. The good news is I tried it. From batts to roving:

It's lovely. The bad news is I discovered that pulling batts into roving takes approximately FOREVER. I will dye this stuff up but the price is going to reflect the labor involved in handling a raw fleece at every stage, from scouring to drying to picking to carding, to re-carding, to pulling into roving, to dyeing, to rinsing, to drying, to packaging, photographing, and uploading. On the bright side, there are not very many sources for non-mill-processed fiber from known sources.

Speaking of mill-processed fiber from an unknown source (weren't we?), I have updated A Piece of Vermont Yarn and Fiber with bamboo/merino top. Before I shop you the new stuff, look what I did with mine. I had meant to spin enough for a Clapotis, but after one skein I realized the colorway was a bit too My Little Pony for me. My daughter loved it. So, here's how it went:

Finished in two days, it's the Shrug This from One Skein Wonders. Like others on Ravelry, I question how this could ever have been intended for an adult. My gauge is smaller than what is called for, but even so... Anyway, it was a quick knit and my daughter (don't you love the summer bob, even uncombed?) modeled it and then wore it to school today. Now she wants a poncho from the same merino/bamboo.

And so we come to the shop update. I posted the following 60/40 merino/bamboo bumps to A Piece of Vermont Yarn and Fiber today:

Spring Fling, Mist, Three-Day Weekend, Mossy Stones, and Farmer's Market:

ETA: FARMER'S MARKET IS SOLD. YOWZA THAT WAS FAST.

Farmer's Market (the last one, above) comes with a special quantity discount. There are four bumps of that colorway totalling over 16 ounces, and if you buy all four at once, each one is $1.50 off, plus you get automatic free shipping for orders $60 or over. I know how tough it is to buy bigger amounts of fiber or yarn without breaking the bank, but this stuff would make a fantastic summer sweater or shawl. Of course, the discount will only work as long as all four bumps are still available.

And I just have to share the surprise that came in the mail for me yesterday:

That's real Oklahoma alpaca blended with silk. Gorgeous and buttery and I can't wait to do something with it. It was part of a thank-you gift from Susan, a.k.a. Red Dirt Knitter, to whom I recently introduced the magic that is real maple syrup. (I think she likes it.) Thank you, Susan!!!!

So, I have a little time before my daughter gets home to go for a run. I'm up to four (slow) miles a couple of times a week and I can still walk and take the stairs, which is nice. Standing up after long periods of sitting requires a bit more time than it otherwise would, but I can do it without yelling almost every time.

We're throwing a big Memorial Day barbecue/potluck on Sunday night. If I don't get another post in by the weekend, have a good one.

Comments

[Carrie]

Poor lil turkeys. We had a particularly lazy puppy from the one litter we had, and he fell in a post hole and fell asleep. We looked and looked for him and only found him when another pup fell in on top of him and cried to get out.

[Michelle]

HA! Your right, those are "My Little Pony" colors. I like her new haircut. Too bad about your poults. This weather has been a pain.. cold/warm/cold again. Hopefully these last ones will hardy up bit. (ok, how redneck was that last sentance?) : )

[stephanie]

Too bad about the poults. :( Birds can be so dang difficult!!

Love your daughter's new haircut. :)

[Sonya]

Babies are so fragile. Alas, mortality rates are part of critter farming. We have friends who got 6 baby ducks this spring. There's been great weeping as one by one they are added to the mortality rate, so to speak.

Mmmmmm, real syrup. We have a little on our oatmeal every morning. This means it's practically a line item on our budget.

Adorable shrug!

[Sara]

It certainly is a learning experience, isn't it? I am sorry to hear about the baby turkeys... but, I am understanding that these things happen when one owns a farm...I just think it is great that you do the things that you do!

Love the jacket for your beautiful daughter. She is so cute!!!

[Rosa]

Sorry about the poults. You are right, it is a lesson learned and time to enjoy what will come ahead. Your dd looks so cute in the cardi and her haircut is divine. Amazing fiber colors, as always.

[Andrea (noricum)]

Poor little poults! Well, probably eleven was a rather large number... either for running around the yard, or for fitting in the freezer. Your fiber looks lovely!

[KatyaR]

Glad to see the alpaca made it to you--Susan wasn't sure she wanted to give it up! I need to teach that girl to spin . . . .

[courtney]

Pretty roving! I especially love Farmer's Market. It makes me wish I had the patience to really learn to spin.

[trek]

Dumb turkeys.

The sweater/shrug looks great on the young'un.

[Teyani]

So sad about the attrition rate of the baby poults. Yes, there is truly nothing that can be done about it... alas, life on a farm..
How cool to make roving. (You know, your local mill will most likely do it very cheaply, ours did - but then again, you lose a bunch of fiber in the commercial processing of it... such a trade off)
LOVE those bamboo colors and that adorable shrug

[Susan]

I should have never read this post. Now I am convinced I need a Triple Picker!:)

Sorry about your little poults. Hopefully the 4 left will do well.

[Susan]

Oh I'm glad you like it and wow, USPS did a quick job on getting it to you!

So sorry about the poults. From the back of my memory on the farm, it seemed like there was "always something" but the good things (at least to a little girl) seemed to outweigh the less than good.

[donna lee]

Poor babies. I keep seeing the Looney Toons character saying "the turkeys fell down the hooooole". The fiber is glorious. Beautiful colors. I am moving into the dark side and am spinning some truly awful yarn but it's all mine.

[Monica]

Poor little turkeys. Maybe 10 were just too many for her.
The fiber and the yarn is beautiful. Your daughter looks quite happy in her sweater, and the colors are gorgeous.

[Kristen]

The candy stripe shrug is perfect on your daughter in her pretty new 'do!

[jackie]

Sorry to hear about your baby turkeys.
I know what you mean about pulling roving for batts taking forever! I tried it a couple of times and now I just spin from the batt. Nice job on the shrug, and I do like her hair cut. All my kids need a spring trim.

[Robin]

So sorry for your little turkey loss. I can imagine how upset momma must have been. LOVE LOVE daughter's short haircut! It's so cute! Great yarn and roving as usual!! Wonderful colors!

[Patricia Mbengue]

My daughter and I enjoyed visiting your website. We enjoyed the colorful yarns and socks and most of all the land and live stock amazing. The Mbengue family from the Bronx