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Here are a few of our cashmere goats in their winter coats! Hmmm ... guess that rhymes. Don't think Itty Bitty, pictured at left, cares about poetry though. Like the rest of the small goat herd and the donkeys, food is the real issue. "Feed me! FEED ME!"

From left to right, Itty Bitty, J.J., Boeing, and P.J.. Note Boeing in the background, resting his chin on the salt lick. Boeing was named quite aptly, too. He flies over the fence with the greatest of ease and is often out of the pasture. Fortunately for us, he and the others are homebodies. We've never had to leave the place to round up strays.

Yup! The critters pictured above ... that's where all those wonderfully soft, warm sweaters, scarves, and hats come from. Cashmere goats. Not all cashmeres are white. Ours just happen to be. There are also brown ones, gray ones, ect.. During the winter they grow a downy undercoat, thick, and fluffy. It's difficult to feel the goat's body beneath it all. They shed in the spring, and that's when we comb them to collect the fiber..

After the fiber is collected it's then dehaired. The coarse guardhairs are picked out by hand ... very time consuming, indeed! The cleaned cashmere feels like a soft, warm cloud in your hand. It's actually hard to describe ... there's no weight to it ... just warmth. People are in awe of the sensation when they experience it for the first time.

Then on to the cards and spinning wheel! Cards are best described as large wooden brushes with metal 'bristles' slanting in opposing directions when in use. The fiber is loaded onto them and is 'brushed' out to fluff, and straighten it. Then it is spun to form fine, soft yarn.