Life on The Farm

Hi everyone! I am so excited about everything I have been doing and learning here on the farm I just have to share it with you. So, here is a peek into the beautiful world of Carol's farm and Tattersall Mills in El Guique (wee-kay), New Mexico!

This is the main house. It was built in the 1800's

Here is the jailhouse. Also built in the early 1800's. It was originally the home of the mayor and the one and only jailhouse for the area. It is an original adobe building. The walls are 3 feet thick! Legend has it that a man was hung in one of these rooms. But, as I am sleeping in the jailhouse I really don't want to know which room it was!

This is the mill where I spend most of my days.

The wash house where we wash the wool.

But it all starts here at the Rio Grande river. This beautiful place would not be possible without the life force of the river. The farm is truley a vibrant oasis in the New Mexico desert.

La Capilla de Estaca (about a 1/4 mile down the road)

Casita Gate

The farm is full of life!
Chickens, Ducks, Goats, Sheep, Dogs, and Cats.

Ladybug - a very sweet boar goat

Grain time! They LOVE the grain!

But what have I really been doing here? Ahh yes, Spinning beautiful yarn!

You can't have yarn if you don't have sheep!
This is Amos. What a handsome guy!

Amos and his lovely ladies! These are Deboulliet sheep. They are the only breed of sheep that is native to New Mexico and originated here.

These are Bob's Navajo Churro sheep.

And so from the sheep we have WOOL!

Pete, Robert, Lelan, and a whole lotta wool!

First the wool must be washed (its kind of stinky!)
This machine washes the wool without agitating so it prevents felting.

Drying Racks

Next the wool goes through the picker (not pictured) and sprayed with a lubricant to replace some of the natural oils that are lost in the washing process. Then it goes into the seperater.
The The picker and the seperater have 2 purposes. One is to pull out any remaining vegetable matter. And the other is to fluff the wool.

This is what the wool looks like when it comes out of the seperater.
Getting fluffier!

I am so happy to have my hands in soft fluffy wool all day!

Next the wool goes into the carder.

When it comes out of the carder it has been made into roving.

Robert spinning!

The roving is fed into the spinner...

And spun into yarn!

The yarn is then put onto the plyer.
Here we can make 2, 3, 4 ply yarns and more.

Finally the finished spindles of plyed yarn are put onto the skein winder.
This machine measures out yardage and winds it up into skeins.

And so we have yarn!

BEAUTIFUL YARN!

Snowberries

Cottonwood Trees at Sunset

Sandhill Cranes

This is a video of the spinning in action. I love to watch the bubble of yarn as it spins around the spindle! Its mesmerizing!