A is for Autumn

I know it is kinda late to be jumping on the ABCalong bandwagon, but since I'm a relatively new blogger I'll give it a try. In the coming posts I'll try to show you what rocks my world.

Autumn always seems to be a very brief intermission between triple digit summer days and biting cold winter nights. I wish it would last a little longer, as I really cherish those temperate days. We have 35 acres of scrub oak on our property, and this time of year they turn a brilliant red and gold. Unfortunately the turn of color only lasts a few days. My DH has been busy this weekend cutting down dead wood, and we now have plenty of oak to keep us in firewood throught the whole winter.





A is also for Apollo. We have had our llamas for a year now. Apollo is the guy I instantly fell in love with. His fleece is very fine, but he doesn't have a lot of it. This past summer was our first time shearing the llamas. Lisa and Linda from the knitting group came out for the occasion. I had hoped to get a lot of gorgeous fiber from all 3 of the boys, but only Apollo had fiber worth saving. Bummer. Llamas are very weird animals. They are extremely aloof animals, and tend to want to keep some distance between you and them. However, they are very curious and they were watching the DH this weekend while he was out cutting down dead scrub oak in their pasture.

A is for Anatolian. Nugget is our first Anatolian shepherd dog. The breed is from Turkey, and they are used to guard the livestock. At a skinny 160 pounds and the size of a Great Dane, he is a formidable character, but he is a sweetheart.

A is also for Andalusian. I have been riding horses since I was 6 years old, but I was always riding other people's horses. When we moved to Colorado 6 years ago I was finally able to realize my longtime dream of owning my own horse. Andalusians had always fascinated me, and Ballade is my first horse. We now have 5.

Agapito de Luna is our first surviving foal. The story of our first foal that didn't survive will come later on in the alphabet. "Pito" is a heartbreaker. He is 2 now, so next year we'll be able to start working him under saddle. He is so sweet and gentle (very unlike his half brother, but that story is for a later time as well).

Finally, there has to be some more knitting related content in the ABCalong. Below is a picture of some of the Angora I am currently working with. This angora is handspun by a co-op of chilean women, and it is a dream to handle. This is the stuff my jacket is made of (see previous post). When I'm knitting with it, I keep having to stop and fondle it. That's how soft it is.