Thursday, April 30, 2009

New HD Video: Sunset on the Farm

Last night while the sun was setting the Alpacas were relaxing after a long day and we got some amazing shots of them. We got some great shots of some of our newest Cria, they are just too cute and starting to love the camera! Enjoy!

Note: If you notice a stutter on playback - hit pause and the let the video fully buffer. If you have an older computer it might help to turn HD Off in the top right corner.


Sunset on the Farm - Alpaca Barnyard from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Free Alpaca Sock Giveaway

Everyone here at Golden Touch Farm couldn't be more excited about the overwhelming response we have received across the Planet about our Farm and Animals. Through the power of the Internet, we have been able to weave ourselves into others everyday lives with ease. Recently we have stumbled across Twitter and have been trying to decide what it's potential could bring to our Farm and in less than a month we are about to hit 1000 Followers!



We are firm believers in Quality over Quantity here on the farm so this will probably be the last time we celebrate a milestone regarding the amount of people following us. We are excited about the potential to connect with like minded people around the world and share our thoughts, ideas, and lives with each other in the process.



To celebrate - once we hit 1000 followers (993 currently) on Twitter we will be going through all of you early adopters and picking 5 random people to receive Free Alpaca Socks from our Farm! We will be giving away our Brand New Casual Dress Sock - which combines a durable body with lightweight alpaca knit to ensure comfort year round, regardless of climate!




Click through to find out more about these socks!



Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/goldentouchfarm


Visit our Farm Site - http://www.goldentouchfarm.com

Monday, April 27, 2009

Hummingbird Nest



Check out that little nest, Hummingbirds truly are amazing and if you might have already noticed - we are pretty passionate about them here around the farm. We look forward to capturing some great close up HD Video of them this year and keeping you all in the loop. Have a hummingbird photo or video from your yard? Let us know and we will post it for all the other bird watchers that visit this site regularly!

The hummers are back!

I've been waiting patiently for the return of the hummingbirds and this morning I saw our first male visitors! It was a great welcoming home sight as we just returned from a 4 day trip in Pennsylvania. Spring is in full swing!
If you don't have your hummingbird feeders out yet now is the time to do it.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Camelid Neonatal Seminar

This weekend I attended a Camelid Neonatal Seminar given by Dr Cheryl Dewitt, in Connecticut. I have to say that this was by far the best seminar that I have ever attended, and I have attended many. Every aspect of breeding, reproductive issues, and emergency deliveries were not only discussed in detail but we actually had hands on training in a laboratory setting. We worked with deceased cria in uterine simulators to learn to evaluate abnormal birth presentations and how to correct them when possible or know when to call your vet. The hands on session was just fantastic and it really made you feel that if you were faced with one of these situations on the farm you are well equipped to handle it. For anyone raising Alpacas or Llamas I would highly recommend this seminar.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

New HD Video: Lazy Spring Afternoon with the Alpacas


Lazy Spring Afternoon from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.

It was such a beautiful day and we had some free time so we got some footage of the girls in the barn yard. They are anxious to get out to pasture, hopefully that grass starts growing! You also get a glimpse at some of our newest additions to the herd!

Ted Talks: More Talks about Work/Agriculture/ and the Food we Eat!




Everyone seems to love when we post Ted Talks so I put together a short list of other Talks I think you all will be interested in.

If you happen to stumble across any that you think should be added to this list by all means let me know and I will include it!

 

Dennis vanEngelsdorp: Where have the bees gone? 

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/416

Dan Barber: A surprising parable of foie gras 

 http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/406

Michael Pollan: The omnivore's next dilemma 

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/214

Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

Ann Cooper: Reinventing School Lunch

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/348 

 

 

 

 



 

Video: Mike Rowe celebrates Work, of all Kinds!

I have been loving these Ted Talk Videos lately - There are so many interesting people out there doing amazing things and it is great to be able to get a glimpse into their insight. This one in particular hits home, as it is about the current "War on Work" waging in the United States. Mike Rowe does an amazing job in this talk - It runs about 20 minutes long so get a cup of coffee and check it out - You won't be disappointed!



Mike Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs," tells some compelling (and horrifying) real-life job stories. Listen for his insights and observations about the nature of hard work, and how it’s been unjustifiably degraded in society today.



Head to the original Ted Talk here.

Monday, April 13, 2009

10 Entrepreneurial Concepts to Live By

While browsing the Internet this morning I stumbled across a great list that really rings true in our neck of the woods. Over the years as we have ventured into different businesses and industries, the same general ideas and attitudes are needed to succeed. I agree with all of these points so I figured it would be a great resource to pass along.

10 Entrepreneurial Concepts to Live By
by Andrew Baron via dembot.com

1. Always work with people who are better than you. You can only do a few things really well. One of them should be understanding your weaknesses and looking for the best possible help to fill the gaps. Seek help to manage MOST of everything else it takes to run a successful business. Hire people who will do a better job than you.

2. Treat everyone with the highest regards and pay the people who work for you greater than their value. While most people do not want to be leaders, most people want to feel good about themselves and be fulfilled. If people are paid better than normal, have good benefits and get a lot of appraisal and bonuses, they will be happier in life and in return will likely be more productive too. The smallest gestures, even for a poor company such as adding a bit more onto a pay check (giving surprise bonuses), paying for a cab - paying for lunch, all go a really long way. The greatest implementation of value for people is to have positions that allow for infinite growth. Nobody that works for you should ever have a fixed ceiling of opportunity. Consider cutting back on material expenses and pay more for people. Aspire for everyone to have a greater life-style. No matter how important your business is, this is life we are talking about and it’s short. While being caught up with speed towards the future, remember others who live for the day.

3. Do everything right and fair. Make sure that you are always honorable, especially with yourself. Live up to your oral agreements. When it comes to operating your business, make sure and set it up correctly - pay every cent of tax that you legally owe. As long as you take the extra effort to do things right, you will eliminate a huge amount of stress. Even knowing yourself that you are keeping everything in order will make you feel better about yourself on a day-to-day basis. The people that work for you will also take you more seriously and also feel better themselves.

4. Learn to love consequence and happenstance. Things will happen all the time that will throw off your plans. Turn the stress around and into a challenge. Use the opportunity to think of new opportunities. Perhaps there are many new paths to take that you would like even more. Consequence is the stuff that artists dream of; It’s what creates new technologies and drives innovation.

5. Be transparent. This is almost cliche now, though this is why it is important and should not be missed: Without disregard for being humble, the more you reveal, the more people will understand where you are coming from. It’s not about blurting out some statement suddenly. It takes time to show yourself, who you really are. This motto applies to most aspects of life and business. The idea behind transparency is much more of a human personality trait. It’s for you yourself and the people that you care about; It’s for the audience that want to know when they ask; It gets to be that you no longer even think of this idea, it just becomes a part of your lifestyle. When you are fair, transparency will occur naturally because you will be proud and secure to reveal your true thinking.

6. Create a comfortable environment. A girl friend once told me about a miserable phase she went though when she and one of her girl friends were living in a basement with no windows, lots of dogs, mildew, low ceilings, old carpet, low lighting, etc. It sounded dreary to say the least. She wasn’t aware of the concept of space enough to understand that it was drastically effecting her mood. When she moved into a more comfortable apartment that was full of light and had higher ceilings, she regained her spirit. Having a great work environment is just the same. And websites are like spaces too. When you create your physical space or your space online, consider making it comfortable as possible.

7. Listen to your audience, friends and advisors. The more you can get feedback and audience participation, the more you will understand the positive and negative effects of your efforts. The more you understand the effects you are having, the more you can understand what to do in the future. If you trust yourself to filter the ideas and information that others give you, be quiet and listen more often. Allow the audience/journalists/experts in your field to describe your activity for you.

8. Have spirit and passion for what you do!

9. Time is of the essence. It starts with the age-old model of speed that can be applied to everything in life. In a war, for instance, the side that obtains the information first about where the other side is will have the advantage; The investor who knows the news first will have the stock advantage. The technologist who creates the first this-or-that will have that advantage to begin with. Speed=Potential. If you have something new, take action before it becomes old.

10. Stay in control by giving control away. The more you give up control to others, the happier everyone will be. Not only will the people who work for you be happier, it will allow you more time to focus on the things you do best.

Getting our Hobby Garden Ready!

Over the weekend we spent some time getting our Vegetable and Herb garden ready for the quickly approaching growing season. The garden is roughly 45ft x 20ft, with a total area of 800 sq ft usable planting area (minusing the edging and pathways). This will be our 3rd year keeping a fairly decent sized garden, considering it is more a hobby for us than anything else and we are really excited about it.

Hopefully in the next 4 weeks we will be able to start transplanting some hardy seedlings, we will certainly keep you all posted on our little side project!

A friend of ours pointed out that there are some wonderful videos on YouTube that help explain in plain english the most important aspects of gardening, here is a great example:

 

Basic Gardening: How and Why you should all Compost - You can find a ton more videos here - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gardening&search=tag

 



Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Hummingbirds are Arriving!



Map via http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Time to get those hummingbird feeders out! This is by far our favorite time of year around the farm, as you might have noticed by all the HD Hummingbird videos we shoot throughout the year. This year should be even better, as we are setting up special feeders that will allow us to mount our cameras inches away from the feeder, expect some extreme close up shots this summer!


Remembering the Sun from goldentouchfarm on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Video: Making Tea with Loose Herbs!

 

I stumbled across this video recently and I think it is wonderful! Over the last years our kids have turned us onto making tea with loose herbs and we will never go back to buying bagged tea again. It is cheaper, better tasting, and there are a ton of wonderful resources out there, especially on this site, to find great local fresh herbs.

 

Here is a video produced by Mountain Rose Herbs that will walk you through the basics of making your own Loose Herb Tea!