September 12, 2005

A lot has happened since I last wrote. We took a trip to the farm of our cousins, near Fargo, North Dakota, the end of June, where we played with Brown Swiss cattle and explored huge farm machinery. This is where Clark got his desire for farm life and working with animals. It was a great, relaxing time. We then traveled to Kansas City where we enjoyed the rural river town atmosphere of Weston with an old friend, Josie, before going to south central Missouri to visit with our son, Eric, and his family. Jansen is 20 and was soon to leave for a trip to Australia as part of his college studies. Susanne, 16, was busy with the summer athletic practices. She was anxious to expand beyond the knit stitch in her knitting, so we had what was to me a delightful time working together as my grandma worked with me.

To skip to the current activities, Clark and I won ribbons on our fiber arts at the Salt Lake County Fair and had a delightful time with the rides, animals and exhibits there. School started with a new cria, Hershey. I meant to name him something in line with the name of his mother, Heidi, but he was such a melted chocolate color with a "Got Milk?" chin and mouth!

We could not do the four days of the festival in Soldier Hollow, which is in conjunction with the International Sheepdog Trials, so a great group of spinners met on my deck to spin, knit, and share goodies until sunset. A little girl (cria), Coco, was born that morning so it was a special day. She looks just like Hershey with no white so I had to give her a chocolate name.

We are now getting 8-9 eggs a day; some of them green, so it is sharing time at school. Breeding began Wednesday, and some of the boys are happy and some aren't.

State of the Farm:
-Two girls are due in the spring.
-The micron reports are back and are wonderful. The diet, which has taken weight off many of the girls, has resulted in finer micron counts, so Clark's plan is showing a good rate of success.
-Clark is building a pergola along the drive which will provide a shady arbor for next summer, hung with gourds and other plants. There will be a "water feature" inside and we all want to sit and spin there.

Till next time,
Enjoy the Harvest,
Sit, Spin, and watch the 'Pacas.
Janet

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Janet and Clark Otterness
Alta Mist Alpacas
2531 North Mountain Glen Road
Pine Canyon, Utah 84074
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phone: 435-882-0790
cell: 801-557-4162
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