Fiber Prep: Making Punis

While exploring different ways to prep fiber, I came across some techniques on fiber prep, making punis! Punis are more compact than rolags and seem to spin a bit better. Now you can pull out your drum carder or you can take out your hand carders to make these simple punis. You can do this on a trip, during a time you will be sitting idle for a while or just in your spare time. I choose some angora rabbit wool (on the left from Tawny) and some white alpaca (on the right) to blend.

Alternately layer your fiber and wool, catching it on the teeth of your carder.

Begin to card holding the one in your left hand that has the wool handle up (If you are left handed you would do it opposite). The other carder will be handle down and begin  to brush.

Soon you will have fiber on both carders all aligned in the same direction.

I was actually at the Colonial Home I work at for an Open House when I took these photos during a rain storm, that explains my floral dress! I am sitting very unlady like straddled on a bench.

So at this point you will place the handle of the carders between your legs to hold them, take two very long knitting needles or dowels...

Place one in front of your fiber and the second one behind it. I tried many techniques, viewed some different videos, looked up different sites and gathered many altering opinions and found this worked for me. At this point begin to roll, not too tight towards you.

As I roll I pull ever so slightly separating some of the fibers, elongating them just a bit until I get to the end. You will find that the top will be somewhat "hooked" with the fibers wrapped around the top teeth. I pull it off and brush them back ever so slightly, straightening them out.

And there you go, some punis ready for spinning!

The tale of two queens

Today I went to Bee Commerce in Newtown, CT and purchased these two queens along with some attendants. With one hive struggling with a weak queen and the other split that has refused to raise a queen it was time to bring in some queens. This is something I have never had to do before. In all my years of beekeeping the bees have always come through with raising their own queens. This year however, the bees just have a mind of their own!

So I installed both queens into each hive. As suggested I taped the top so they don't get them out of the queen cage too fast. I will check in on them in a couple of days and see how things are going. These bees always keep you on your toes!!!

Spinning black mohair goodness

Last year I bought this fleece at a Fiber Festival I was a vendor at. I had bought a fleece from the same person the year before and it was fabulous and priced very fairly too!

The fleece bag was close to 5 pounds so away I spun...

and spun and spun...

and spun!!!

So far it has netted 3 skeins with a lot more on the wheel and a bunch more in the bag, I am going to spin some a little thicker for some weaving projects I have in mind. Just a beautiful fleece made into some gorgeous yarn!

An Apiary split

This year our bee yard seems to be split down the middle. The three hives on the left (above) are thriving and doing so well. The hive on the right is what we call "The Beast". An amazing hard working queen with her workers to match. The hive on the farthest left is Kisha's hive and it is a split from "The Beast". It is strong and thriving with a laying queen and working workers too!

And then we have the hives on the right. The hive on the left was over wintered and continues to struggle. The others are splits from "The Beast" that are chugging along like the engine that could! Each year, beekeeping brings it's certain challenges, this year appears to be one of them!

Happy bunny 1st birthday!!!

Happy 1st birthday to our not so baby angoras, "Peachy" on the left and "Chester" on the right. I can't believe it's been a year already. These two produce the most amazing wool! Believe it or not they have just recently been sheared. Such puffballs with different personalities too. She is fresh and awnry and he is sweet and so laid back. Also a shoot out to their brother and two sisters too! Gotta love them!

Bottling Vanilla goodness

I had a batch of vanilla brewing on the counter and it was time to bottle it and begin a new batch. The smell was unbelievable, strong and sweet. Even baking with it taste so much better than store bought watered down versions. It is so much better!

As we gear up for Fair season and get our stock replenished, these will add a wonderful aroma to the studio room!

DId you know worms love paper?!!!

Did you know, worms love paper?!!! We got a lot of old documents...

to shred. We are Spring cleaning and have a lot to get rid of. Somehow it just piles up. Only shred paper though, not plastic! Window envelopes should never be shredded as the plastic will make the worms sick! They cannot digest plastic.

We take the shredded paper and turn it into the compost bin. The worms just love it! It also helps your compost bin from getting too wet, absorbing the water, The worms then turn this into beautiful black gold! Just another way to be sustainable and responsible for our earth!

Blessing on this Memorial Day!

Coon Hollow Farm wishes everyone a Happy and Safe Memorial Day Holiday, as we all pause to remember our Veterans and their sacrifices.

Pick your eggs today!

We have an array of eggs in different colors and in extra large sizes! Just $3.00 a dozen ! We are home for the weekend, it's the driveway with the bird house!!!

Well looky there!

Today I looked in on the bees and look what I found! This was actually in "The Beast" hive, doing what bees do this time of year, attempting to swarm! I accidently broke open one of the queen cells, but if you look right under it, there is another. I moved this over to one of my hives that is struggling a bit. They have a terrible queen in there and I have just been waiting to find some queen cells to replace her. So with a little hope that this little girl or one of the others on the other side is strong and kills the older queen and take over this hive and save it. The other cells above also look to be queens along with some drone cells. Fingers crossed!!!

The undaunting task of grooming the angora rabbit

Spring here in Connecticut doesn't seem like it wants to warm up. So grooming the rabbits who live downstairs, not outside, been put off because it has just been too cold. The hard part is they will matt if I put it off too long. These two girls above need loose those wool coats.

"Tawny" was first on the schedule. Her staple length can be as long as 8 inches. She is a broken chocolate Vienna marked English Angora. Her wool is just gorgeous!

Half way through the process and still so much to go. It's not easy trying to groom a moving target! You also have to be careful not to stress them. When my bunnies come in for a hug I know it's time to stop and give them a break.

Her she is somewhat completed. She wasn't have it  so we will revisit her in a few days and clean her up.

Next on to "Fluffer" who is a sweet boy and so much easier. This priceless wool is worth every step of effort!

We call her "The Beast"

When you open a hive, this is what you are hoping to see! Lots of bees! In this picture they are up in the feeder, lots of them!

We already have a queen excluder on because she is everywhere!

Frames like this one make up the hive. Capped brood, larvae stages and lots of eggs everywhere you look. This frame has brood in the center with honey stores capped and ready to go to feed. Many of the frames looked like this one, with end frames consisting of all honey stores. A very healthy hive doing what bees should do!

As I was inspecting the hive I found her, "The Beast"!!! I placed her in a queen marker for her safety as I was going through the hive. Never can be too careful with her majesty! While I had her out I brushed up her mark of white. This mark indicates she is a 2016 queen and makes it all that much easier to find her amongst thousands of bees.

This was a very sweet shot, after I released her they appear to be comforting her, cleaning her and feeding her before she gets back to work!

Wild Edibles, they are everywhere!

When you see this plant in the Spring, you can eat it! When the tops are flowering, the plant is in it's second year and is ready for harvest. This is Garlic Mustard, an invasive plant.

I gather the plants, wash them, dry them...

toss them into a food processor with some olive oil, chopped walnuts, parmesan cheese, a little lemon juice, some garlic salt, salt and pepper. I add a little bit of this and a little bit of that until I get the desired texture and taste.

The finished product. Place it over pasta or just use it as a dip. I find this pesto much better than basil pesto!

Lavender and Rose Water cookies with wild violets are also a favorite this time of year.

I also baked a lamb's quarter quiche for today. I am teaching a class on wild edibles today. We have much to feast on as we explore all the wild edibles that are so abundant this time of year! So get out, explore and eat what Nature has to provide for us!

Suspicious Minds!

Today was shearing day and with our moving about the gang began to grow very suspicious. The stares and the humming was quite funny as they knew we were up to something.

The shearers showed up as we were racing against the rain and got right to work starting on the goats...

then the alpacas.

Haircuts, teeth and hooves were all trimmed in about an hour...

and we put it in the books for another year. Naked animals and some beautiful fiber for some future projects!

Well at least they use it!

Well at least someone is getting some use out of it! We have been a bit busy lately with not a lot of time to just sit back and relax but the chickens do! Relaxed chickens make good eggs!

We are in eggs up to our ears!

Going back to December, I posted that we were being forced to buy eggs due to our chickens coming to a complete halt in production! Well now we have so many eggs, they are piling up! This is our production just over the weekend! Remember our farm sells our X-large brown eggs for just $3.00 a dozen!!! Stop by and treat yourself to some fresh, delicious tasting eggs!!!

The greenhouse gets a Spring makeover

The greenhouse needed new shelves so Tim set out to change them with some new shelving and the proper tools!

The plants were momentarily kicked out but the day was wonderful Our Bay trees and some herbs that are not quite ready to go out enjoyed the sun.

Tim worked around the chickens and supplies to remove the old shelves. He put in more support beams to make the shelves more steady and heartier.

New beautiful shelves that aren't sagging! I was using wood wedges to hold the plants level. A new outer wall was also replaced and the greenhouse is like brand new!