Cinnamon gives up his coat for my spinning dreams, Nice visit with Lady, Piglets to deliver to Belle.

Cinnamon is a cashmere goat and he was in need of having his coat removed.  Mokie had been wanting to do the deed but we couldn't afford to buy the shears to do it, well over 200 dollars for a set.  We had decided we might just try to do it with scissors but I knew what might ruin the coat for spinning.  I got to thinking about this nice lady I meant at the spring fling that had mentioned that cashmere goat fleece had two textures.  If you shear it it lessons the quality of the fleece.  Cashmere's have a course and a soft textured hair.  She had said that if you pull the hair it is much better quality.  I told Mokie about the conversation I had had with the lady.  We decided we would try to pull his hair,  he has very long horns, he had been allowed to be a buck for sometime before some one had him neutered then gave him away.  We had Poppie help us hold him and tried to pull his fleece.  He was not happy about Poppie holding his horns.  He did not like two people pulling his hair.  I stopped pulling and just let Mokie do it, which seemed to calm him greatly.  Eventually we let Poppie stop holding his horns and I feed him peanut butter sandwiches.  He stood like a gentleman and we got a nice bag of fleece to card and spin.  We pulled it so there is very little vegetable matter to clean out.  I am hoping to get to practice with my drum carder with it as my first try. Mokie wants more cashmere goats,  they are actually a meat goat and we could breed them to Boer's......

I went to breakfast with Lady yesterday we had a nice much need visit.  It was nice to spend time together, we both have such busy lives with kids and grand kids we rarely get to visit.  We caught up, shared and sorrowed.  A cherished friendship to be sure.  Today I have to catch two piglets and drop them off at Belle's in the afternoon.  That will make us down to two of the little ones, one to stay and one to go soon.  I hope to get a little visit with Belle before I have to be home so Poppie can pick up kids from school.  The girls are going to go to spend the night, in a tent, with Drama Queen, Princess, Butterfly and Flower.  I am told when King gets home from work in the night he will swap Drama Queen out and she will get to go get some sleep in her bed.  Smart that, I can't imagine sleeping on the ground anymore, way to old for that. They should have a great time. 

I finished up the Swiss Cheese, it seems to be good can't wait to see what  it turns out like after it cures and ages.  I like to make mozzarella, feta and blue feta as they are pretty much immediate satisfaction cheeses, no waiting to see your results.  I am going to have to practice my patience skills with the hard aged cheese, 2 months to a year depending on the cheese.  It will be a good patience building endeavor.  I have learned to embrace practicing my patience the more I age, even as a Momma..... tomorrow.