Blue Oak Canyon Ranch

I recently got the opportunity to work with the wonderful folks of the Blue Oak Canyon Ranch to build them a website to help get the word out about their fiber farm and the work they do to with heritage breeds of sheep. To quote them...

"Our beautiful, dry dry dry ranch is ten miles north and east of San Miguel, California. We are on the east edge (Diablo Range) of the southern Coast Ranges, in the Paso Robles area of California wine country. We cherish our landscapes, with Coast Live and Blue Oaks, Foothill Pines, Junipers, Chaparral, and grasslands. We raise sheep, llamas, turkeys, and chickens and specialize in heritage breeds of sheep: Navajo-Churro and the very rare Santa Cruz Island."

Check out these cool animals!

Santa Cruz Island Sheep

Navajo Churro 

Llamas!

Chickens, too!

It was so much fun working on their site and learning more.  And it was neat to find other folks that are interested in fiber animals and fiber processing like us!  I hope you will check out their site, Blue Oak Canyon Ranch, and click on their shop to see the great fleeces and processed wool they have.  (I think I may have to get some for us to spin!)

Ash

Oh, how I want to be a fiber farmer

My hubby and I have recently begun talking more seriously about finding a home of our own.  But even more specifically, a mini-farm.  It is my dream to own a small piece of land, and have a garden to sustain our food needs, and fiber animals for our craft needs!

As the conversation has become more and more serious, we have begun our research on animals.  Hubby wants goats, I want sheep and a friend of ours that might join us on this journey like llamas and alpacas.  

So...we hit a huge fiber show that comes to town once a year called the Black Sheep Gathering.  It is freaking huge!  With about 3 huge fairgrounds-sized rooms full of fiber related wares like roving, spinning wheels, drop spindles, felting supplies, and much more, and about 3 livestock areas, we were in heaven!

I, of course, forgot to take pics of anything but the animals... so here are some adorable fiber animals!

Sheep!

And goats!!  Ok...the goats are pretty freakin cute....I do have to give that to my man....

Bahahaha!

And the pink goat!  Isn't that weird?  The owners sold safe fiber dyes and they showed it off by dying a whole goat!

Yuppers....I want to be a fiber farmer something bad!

Ash