http://fiberguild.com Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:57:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Alpacas and covered bridges can peacfully co-exist. Check out alpaca-tour.com.  A 60 mile trip across rolling farm land and the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountains that crosses 6 covered bridges and visits three alpaca farms. Kind of like a wine tour on steroids - and without the buzz or hangover (unless you BYOB).   This has ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=97 Protecting the livestock can be a real problem, but is a basic responsibility of the farm owner Good farm fences are the first line of defense. But, they aren't perfect. Thus, I have struggled with the issue of firearms. We have neighbors within about 300 yards, so the choice of ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=96 Project Honey Pot is a collaborative effort to stop spam.  From their website: Project Honey Pot is the first and only distributed system for identifying spammers and the spambots they use to scrape addresses from your website. Using the Project Honey Pot system you can install addresses that are custom-tagged to ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=95 I was privileged to have been invited to Kinney Valley Alpacas in Ontario, WI to talk about the alpaca fiber industry here in the US. Just got home late last night (Gawd, all joy has been taken out of flying anymore. Take the train whenever possible!!) It was a ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=94 We have been raising alpacas for over a decade now.  These are by far the easiest livestock we have dealt with. Two steers run last summer and turned into locker beef in the fall did more damage to fences and buildings that 20 alpacas have in a decade! The downturn in the ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=93 CNN reports that consumers are becoming suspicious of the "Organic" label: The percentage of consumers who believe organic products are good for them is down to 45%, while those who believe they're good for the environment has fallen to 48%, according to the latest survey from consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail. ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=92 I am not a real picture guy, but this is one worth keeping record of. April 20, 2008 - This is the latest, most significant snowfall I have seen in over 35 years in the Wllamette Valley. April often has unsettled weather, and freezes are not uncommon, but these kind ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=89 Better than half way through the month of April, and it is snowing in the Willamette Valley! NWS says to expect "unseasonably cold" weather patterns. Well, I'd have to agree. About 1 PM we started getting dime sized hail and lightening. This transitioned into sleet, then snow, and we ended up ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=88 Boy, I feel like I am beating a dead horse. BBC reports: "US President George W Bush has ordered the release of $200m in emergency aid to alleviate food shortages in Africa and other parts of the world." Meanwhile, the farm bill languishes in Congress and is facing a Presidential veto. Congress ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=86 I have just watched (for about the third time now) the movie "Sicko". Not sure why I do this to myself, given how angry I get every time I watch it. In my mind it is downright criminal that this country, the most prosperous in history, does not have universal health care.  ... http://fiberguild.com/?p=85