Fiberton Acres Blog: Australia

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Next stop...Australia! (Who says you can't shear alpacas for 24 hours?)

It is almost here! Here are a few quick updates on the upcoming trip and our shop!

In less than a month the following awesome and craziness will happen....

1) The Etsy Shop will go on Vacay...

On November 4th, Fiberton Acres online shop will go on "vacation" while I head to Australia for about a month. It will open back up on Dec 8th, so if you need a lovely little handmade item prior to that, make sure to get your order in prior to Nov 4th. Oh! And if you are in need of a special order, you can message me while I am on the road and I will work hard to accommodate the order for the holidays! Check out the Etsy shop here!

2) I will be one of the roustabouts for an epic and important record breaking fundraising event...

At 4pm, Friday, November 22nd in Australia (so 11pm, Thursday, Nov 21st in the U.S.) I get the honor to help Pete and Nigel, two of the best alpaca shearers in the world break an incredible record for shearing alpacas for 24hrs. What could make it cooler, you ask? How about making it for mental health awareness and suicide prevention all over the world? Pete and Nigel are raising funds for organizations all over the world. If you are in the US, funds will go to the Montana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. If you are in New Zealand, Australia or the UK, we have charities set up as well!

I will be the roustabout for a large chunk of the 24hrs (the person helping wrangle and hold the alpacas during shearing) and we will have a live feed set up for you to see how it's going! More info on the event, how to help and how to watch the live stream can be found at at www.shearforlight.com as we get closer!

And if you want to donate directly in the US to this awesome event, click here!

3) Follow Fiberton Acres on Instagram or FB for any updates while I am in Oz...

I will not be able to blog much (or at all) while I am in Australia, but if you are on social media, I will work to put up a few updates there! Find me on Instagram or Facebook!

-Ash

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Australia bound...New Adventures for Fiberton Acres...part dos...

So where did I leave off....

Hitting the road in my sort-of-converted van!

Well...let me back up a little.

After my split, I had decided to begin a whole new career. As you are well aware of if you follow my blog or social media (or Etsy shop), I am an avid yarn crafter and love working with animals. About 5 years ago or so, I met an alpaca shearer who I was quite impressed with at a shearing day and I caught the bug. I asked to help out whenever he came through the area. It was fascinating work, and it dovetailed so well into my passions for travel, animal husbandry and fiber arts. And it was a physical challenge that I loved.

And in 2018, I was invited to be the worker for Shorn Shearing on all of the California and Arizona loops of the shearing season. It was an eye opening experience, and I was excited to begin learning to actually shear. I sheared my sheep at the time, and then those of a friend with a small herd. I was slow and it kicked my butt, but I loved it.

Shearing Champ, my wether ram...very slowly...

Then I got the invite of a lifetime for a girl who wanted nothing more than to see the world and do this work. Working with the shearer at the largest recorded alpaca farm in the world...in Australia.

Me?! Could I do it? Could I keep up and work with 150 lb alpacas all day long for close to 4 weeks straight? I knew I could, or at least I knew I was stubborn enough to do everything I could to make it happen. There was no f'ing way I would let this opportunity pass me up.

So that is when I quit my day job, made the difficult decision to find loving homes for my animals, and made some tearful goodbyes to family and friends.

I took a train from Paso Robles down to LAX and then boarded my 15 hr Virgin Australia flight to Sydney one late October evening. Is there a word that means scared/excited/self-doubting/eager/proud all wrapped into one? Because that was me. (Scexselfdoeagpro...? No...that sounds like something weird you'd find in an unsavory location online...hmmm....don't google that. lol)

Soon enough I found myself on a new continent for the first time in my life. I got into a car on the wrong side, and drove down the wrong side of the streets, which was both exciting and terrifying after sleep deprivation.

A cool alley in Cooks Hill, New South Wales

Merino sheep sculpture/building!

I spent my time there getting to do some sight seeing, as well as working the hardest I had ever done. I liken it to running a marathon (which I have only done a full marathon once)...you question what you're doing (and why) over the course of it many times, but you feel an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment at the end. My hands were swollen to the point where I had to cut several rings off and I was exhausted but I grew quite a bit stronger, both mentally and physically.

My first day...and first view of a truly full shearing shed. Soon to be much cooler alpacas!

After cutting my first ring off...

And after the first week and an empty shearing shed!

Our biggest day! 113 alpacas sheared!

I also proved to myself and those in the shearing shed that I could do it. (I was the first female worker they have had in there in that capacity...) And I made some awesome new friends.

It was bittersweet heading "home"... I knew I was going back to the uncertainty of my new life...to a packed up van ready for new travels but to places I was still unsure of. I was also excited to see my friends and family back in the states and recount some of the tales...like of the crazy (to me) animals I saw, and the lovely beaches I relaxed on and the great food and show off my new muscles.