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.

Beach in Terrigal, NSW

Just a normal sized lizard to Australians...

And a 'small' spider...

At the zoo...these are like seagulls over there!

Sydney Opera House

Blowhole rock feature in Kiama, NSW

A koala at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney

So really...it was then I hit the road...

More soon!

Ash

5 Small Things to Start Today...Cuz life is hard, but the only way we fail is to not try.

You'll get strange looks of obvious disapproval and disbelief. Telling people your goals and dreams may seem scary at first but it is how you make it a reality. When we decided to leave our day jobs and risk everything to start a small farm in another state, we heard more than our share of “Why?” and “Can you make any money doing that?” And the best responses we have are usually, “Because it makes me happy.” and “Maybe not.” That first answer is the most important.

The world is not against you, the world simply is. You can make your world, make your farm, write your book, choose your friends, record your album. If you have to be a barista, get a retail job or rely on the kindness of strangers and friends to get it done then do it.

When we moved across the country so I could attend school (taking our farm with us) we got even stranger looks than the first time. It was the roughest trip we could have imagined. We broke down for a week and ran out of money, all while driving directly away from everyone we’d ever known. But we knew we could survive, and you can too.

Life sure does throw some curveballs.

This isn’t about how hard we had or have it, this is about you. This is about you doing it. What do you want to do? How can we help you do it?

Time is a limited resource, I know it sucks to think about, but you have only so much time to be happy and every second spent not being happy is a second lost to the winds. If you fear the possible failure, let me tell you something.

Not trying is failure.

I’m not saying to drop everything and do whatever you want, I’m saying we are entitled to the pursuit of happiness, and we need to chase it. You can pursue happiness relentlessly -be that cop who gets suspended from a case for “Being too close” and keeps searching for the facts until he brings down that suspect. You are that cop searching for your happiness.

Making the best of an inconvenient and stressful situation.

Honestly though, here is a short list of things you can do to pursue your thing. Because as George Watsky says “It’s gotta be somebody. So why not you?”

Podcast.

We started ours last year, we have over 200 plays already and it makes us feel good every time someone listens. I takes us about 5 hours a week to do, and we record on the mic built in to Ashley’s computer. If you have questions, we'd love to help you get started.

Write something.

Write a blog, write a short story to share with your friends, write a poem. I write every time I need to create something. I’m writing a book of poems, a fantasy book, a blog post, and a romance book if i ever get past the opening line. Maybe someone other than Ashley will read one of these, maybe nobody will, but I made them and that makes me proud.

Farm/Plant Something.

Plant some things and watch them grow, care for them and if you have excess share with others and enjoy the bounty of a harvest like man has been doing for generations. Food is at the core of humanity.

Sing.

As cheesy as it sounds, sing. I can’t hold a note or carry a tune, but I sing. Try it out, miss all the notes and give it your all.

Above all of this, practice compassion and love.

It’s hard to be kind and compassionate toward those you see as opposing you, but just remember the concepts of John Green in a speech written for an ALAN Conference, He tells us to imagine others complexly. No person is entirely what you think they are, you can’t fully understand your own thought processes let alone those of another. I try to assume the best in others as much as I can, and I’ll be the first to admit it is the hardest thing I have ever done (And I’ve moved an entire a farm across the country in a broken down Winnebago.)

In closing. You have time to express yourself and pursue your happiness, in fact the only thing you don’t have time for is to not.

- Ric

Time flies when you are....

Having fun?  Homesteading? Knitting, crocheting and spinning?  Playing with silly animals? How about all of the above?

A quick check in.  I promise I will return to my Granny Chic series very soon, but in the meantime, here is a little of what we have been up to at Fiberton!

In the business and crafting side of things:

Ric made me this adorable felty friend!  I wool always love ewe. little felty friend!  We will be releasing these in out etsy shop in the near future, too!

These lovely custom knitting needles are shipped off and on their way to their new home...

 Three more sets of dryer balls dropped into a lovely customer's mailbox this week!

And we are finishing one of these awesome pom pom rugs up for a customer as we speak!

On the animal front:

This guy got an awful haircut.  He would not stop fidgeting!  But he feels sooo much better!  (One person told me it looks like I glued cotton balls on him! hehe)

Rocky and Adrian (and Ric and I) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a little lamb...

See?  Can't you see the excitement in Rocky's silly little face? (Oh, and mine...)

Then of course the house animals have been keeping us entertained, too....

Silly kitties!  Sister love...

I couldn't help myself but try for another animal selfie.  This time with the old guy.  We took a little drive in the '63 Comet and boy did he enjoy it! 

 And on the volunteer and business front:

I am on the Board of the small Chamber of Commerce in the area, and we put on a Business Expo this week.  I helped with planning and outreach, as well as had a table there.  It was a great success all around!

Whew!  Now that several big projects are off the plate, expect us to get back on the ball with posts!  Hope your February was filled to the brim like a tub full of good stuff! 

Ash

Looking into the future - a.k.a. - New Year's Manifesto

As we wind down the year, I have been thinking about our new year ahead, as well as the hopes and goals for our business and lives.

But I can't set normal resolutions.  It is impossible to stick to them.  It makes me feel bad or make some excuse for why it was a stupid resolution when I don't stick to it.  A while back, I found another blog (which is sadly down right now) which they showed their beautiful manifesto for the new year.  It was perfect for me!

So I have tried each year since to create my own manifesto.  It is something to hang on the wall to remind us of things we want to try for or try out.  I love Google Drawing, so I went in and put this little ditty together, and we would love to share it with you.

I will be printing one on nice paper and hanging in the house where I can peek at it from time to time to remind myself of the things I want to do.

We hope it inspires you to think about things you'd like to do more of, try out or just the small things that make you happy that you want to infuse into your new year.

Ash