Kid Tracks: Learning about fiber arts with 4-H

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Learning about fiber arts with 4-H

The kids' 4-H club visited two farms this weekend to learn more about fiber arts. The club met at one of the member's houses and while waiting for the rest of the group, G. spent some time with her friend's goats. But she learned that goats are tricky.

While G. was petting one goat, another was making a grab for her camera bag.

And it seems that G. has a knack for taking interesting photos of animals. I think because she loves them so much, she can capture a look or action that makes the pictures more fun.

The club's official first stop was at the Long Plains Alpacas farm in Buxton. The kids were invited to walk around the paddock with the alplacas and try to pet them. They were not aggressive, but a bit skittish and seemed to prefer the kids over adults. So with some extra patience, L. was able to get a animals interested in getting close to her (and of course the bribe helped).

Alpaca wool is really soft.

And G. didn't have any trouble getting close enough for some photos.

The young alpacas are sheared in early spring so their wool will grow back thicker in time for fall.

The farm also had a friendly goose.

If you're interested in learning more about alpacas, you can visit the Long Plains Alpacas farm during their Open House and Education Day on Sunday, May 27 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. For more information, visit their website: www.longplainsalpacas.com

The club went to Shearbrooke Farm in Standish next to learn about sheep and try their hand at carding wool.

Unwashed wool feels wet because it still has its lanolin.

Carding doesn't look hard until you start to do it. It's a labor-intensive - and time-consuming - process to get the wool to all go in the same direction on the carding brush.

And then G. was back to taking pictures of the animals.