Ah yes its March.  What a beautiful time of year, days are getting warmer, birds are singing and the snow is melting into rivers and lakes flooding the interior of my barn.  *sigh*

We purchased a 30+ year old farm and barn which was made as quickly and as cheaply as possible.  In other words neither proper location nor foundation was ever considered when erecting the 35’x75’ barn.  Instead the barn sits at the bottom of the hill with no excavating or site prep.  With rain or snow melt the 5 acres of pasture uphill from the barn has its entire run off focused straight towards the barn.  I’ve done my best over the years to elevate the stall floors by 4-6 inches and dig trenches to divert water flow around the barn but it’s still a losing battle.

Instead, with snow pack higher than the floors of my barn the melt still flows right inside and through the barn.  I’ve become accustom to this barn flooding season and know where to store items to allow the water to run through the barn and out the back side. 

It is still disheartening when I just put down expensive fresh bedding in a stall just to check the barn camera’s 4 hours later to see a reflective lake shining back at me.  All I can do is hope that the snow melts fast and leaves little damage in its wake.

Moral of this story: When building a barn make sure it’s on high ground and has good drainage.  Also take into account snow pack being higher than the barn floor and have all run-in areas slope down and away from the barn.

I thought I’d share with you the beautiful views I woke up to this morning. 

Snowmass Alpacas, the Cadillac of alpaca seed stock in the US had their auction this past weekend.  The results were pleasantly surprising with some big ticket items. 

For information about the alpacas sold visit Snowmass Alpacas

Lot A – $11,500
Lot 1 – $23,000
Lot 2 – $10,500
Lot 3 – $19,000
Lot 4 – $23,000
Lot 5 – $11,500
Lot 6 – $12,000
Lot 7 – $675,000
Lot 8 – $21,000
Lot 9 – $14,000
Lot 10 – $14,000
Lot 11 – $16,000
Lot 12 – $13,500
Lot 13 – $9,500
Lot 14 – $150,000
Lot 15 – $15,500
Lot 16 – $12,000
Lot 17 – $14,500
Lot 18 – $20,000
Lot 19 – $14,000
Lot 20 – $31,500
Lot 21 – $8,500
Lot 22 – $33,000
Lot 23 – $27,000
Lot 24 – $24,000
Lot 25 – $9,000
Lot 26 – $100,000
Lot 27 – $13,000
Lot 28 – $13,000
Lot 29 – $9,500
Lot 30 – $12,000
Lot 31 – $scratched
Lot 32 – $23,000
Lot 33 – $21,000
Lot 34 – $50,000
Lot 35 – $15,000
Lot 36 – $11,000
Lot 37 – $scratched
Lot 38 – $10,500
Lot 39 – $30,000
Lot 40 – $22,000
Lot 41 – $21,000
Lot 42 – $26,500
Lot 43 – $19,500
Lot 44 – $21,000
Lot 45 – Sub lot $17,000
Lot 46 – $14,000
Lot 47 – $15,000
Lot 48 – $24,000
Lot 49 – $28,000
Lot 50 – $16,500
Lot 51 – $21,500
Lot 52 – $40,000
Lot 53 – $37,000
Lot 54 – $14,000
Lot 55 – $24,000
Lot 56 – $10,000
Lot 57 – $29,000
Lot 58 – $25,000
Lot 59 – $9,000
Lot 60 – $8,500
Lot 61 – $20,000
Lot 62 – $13,500
Lot 63 – $16,000
Lot 64 – $19,000
Lot 65 – $14,000 cria only
Lot 66 – $11,000
Lot 67 – $13,000
Lot 68 – $21,000
Lot 69 – $13,000
Lot 70 – $12,000
Lot 71 – $13,000
Lot 72 – $10,500
Lot 73 – $20,000
Lot 74 – $15,000
Lot 75 – $20,000
Lot 76 – $14,000
Lot 77 SUB – $25,000

I mentioned in an earlier post that I recycle the twine that comes off my hay bales.  I really try not to cut the twine when freeing a bale and if I have to I make a conscious effort to cut it next to the knot.  This way I have a length of twine that is the most usable.  With most of my hay used up I have a healthy pile of twine ready for repurposing.  This time it went into a rug.

Recycled Twine Door Mat

Great for scrubbing dirt off your boots

Preparing the Twine

Step 1:
Twine around bales have knots in them.  You want to cut these knots off and toss them in your grocery bag.  Jute twine is a nice fire starter so I keep mine to get a camp fire going in the summer.

Step 2:
Knot each strand to another to form a long jute rope.  Make sure the knots are nice and tight and trim any extra twine hanging out on the off side of the knot.  Yes, I save this too for fire starter

Crochet Pattern

Row 1:  All SC – This row will be the Length of your rug – Add one extra SC and turn
Row 2: Into backs only! SC all the way add one and turn
Row 3-?: Repeat Row 2 until desired width of rug is achieved

By crocheting into backs only this creates a ribbed pattern which helps with 2 things.  It gives your knots a place to hang out and creates ridges so you can scrub the mud and dirt off your barn boots.

Though the pattern is very simple I would have to say this is an intermediate project for one reason.  Twine is a P.I.T.A. to work with!  It’s not flexible, carries a twist and every 6 feet you have a knot to deal with.  When you’re finished with your rug, your hook arm will be very very tired.

If you’re part of the Fiber Arts Friday crowd check out Wonder Why Gal for more cool projects.

Does your barn look like mine? You have an old feed bag or muck bucket that just collects baling twine each time you feed hay? If you really are like me, you pay close attention to how you take off the twine. I ultimately try to remove the twine without cutting it but if I must cut it I do so as close to the knot as possible just in case I find a use for my bucket-o-twine later.

I thought I’d share with you some things that I do to recycle my twine.

- Hold up a broken gate
- Tie down a tarp over a cattle panel to make a shelter
- Braided into a wisp to groom a horse
- Tie up horse tails into mud knots or to hold a braid
- Fix horse blankets
- Tie panels together for a temporary catch pen
- Chain some together to make a herding tape to round alpacas up
- Braid into leashes and lead ropes – bit itchy on the hands but good in a pinch
- Use as a break-away for cross ties or trailer ties
- Woven, knotted or crocheted into door mats
- Above mats wrapped around a post or on a wall for horses to scratch on
- Use in the garden for peas and tomatoes
- I have organic twine and it makes great kindling for fires

Sorry I’m having issues with comments.