A Fiber Life | ordinary moments on the fiber farm – Details, episodes & analysis

Let's be real—do you struggle with making decisions? Do you agonize over the next step, spending so much time weighing risks and doing research that you end up stuck and wanting to quit? Since moving to the farm, we've had our fair share of flops—some of them quite funny. We're sharing a few of those stories with you. Plus, we'll talk about the forest thinning project that Greg and our neighbor Josh are working on. So, if you need a nudge to make your next decision or a reminder that failure is a consistent part of the journey to success, this episode is for you. Let's dive in and explore how embracing those ordinary moments and decisions can lead to extraordinary outcomes. Important Links:  Connect Lisa and Greg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afiberlife Check out our website: https://afiberlife.com/ Shop their Fiber products: https://afiberlife.com/shop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know how frustrating it can be when you’re exhausted and you finally get to lay your head on the pillow at night and then that thought comes in, “I didn’t get anything done today.”? It’s an awful feeling. And then the next thought is, and “When I wake up, I’m going to have to repeat all those things again.” It’s not very satisfying and it can be totally overwhelming.  Well, I’m going to tell you about how farm life inspired us to try a different way of approaching work. Greg and I will talk about our careers and how our relationship to professional work was so different from the relationship we have now with farm work. And I’m going to tell you about my grampa. He’s the one who showed me a different perspective on completing jobs and projects.  It’s taken decades for me to realize he was onto something special, and I really want to share that with you. So, if you want to find a nicer alternative to the “to-do-list efficiency approach to work”, I’m so glad you are here. I hope you get inspired by our farm life lessons the way I was inspired by my grampa's life lessons. Important Links:  Connect Lisa and Greg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afiberlife Check out our website: https://afiberlife.com/ Shop their Fiber products: https://afiberlife.com/shop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our goats, Daisy & Milo, taught us how to love better. In this episode, I tell you the story of how I found them and share a little bit about their breed (Pygora) and why they are so special. My husband, Greg and I will delight in our love for them. And I will tell you how I intentionally engage with their open-heartedness for my own well-being–especially when dealing with one particularly difficult female guanaco. Finally, I will play you a delightful clip of my dear mother singing to these sweet babies. Because, really, who doesn’t want to hear a loving open-hearted mama who sings to her daughter’s open-hearted goats.  The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's the story behind the wrench in your junk drawer? It probably has a story. When was it purchased? Who used it first? What problems did it solve? In this episode, host, Lisa Mitchell, shares her thoughts about handmade tools. Greg and Lisa share their favorite handcrafted tools. And Lisa talks with Ed Jenkins, a very popular spindle maker. He tells you the secret of why spinners line up to buy his beautiful spindles. Linda York, one of his loyal customers verifies Ed's secret and talks about her collection of tools. Handmade tools are more than just the things we use to make our work easier. They are works of art crafted by people who love to make just as much as we do. Join Lisa and Greg as they explore how tools help them feel more grounded and deeply connected to the bigger world of making. The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.com This podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fear is a fickle thing. We all feel it. It's part of the human experience. Yet many of us are also told to "fake it till you make it." Therapist turned Fiber Farmer, Lisa Mitchell lived by this motto for years. But, once she started raising wild animals she realized "faking it 'til you make it" doesn't work with fear. In episode one, of Season Two, Lisa and her husband, Greg, talk about nervous systems and survival instincts and the easiest trick to prevent adrenaline from taking over the situation. They talk with the one and only Marty McGee Bennett who taught them the invaluable lessons they needed in order to learn this new approach. Listen as Greg and Lisa give you a front-row seat to what it’s like to see the world through their guanacos’ eyes.  Full Transcript can be found here: www.afiberlife.com This podcast is part of the Bright Sighted Network.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our second season of A Fiber Life, “Homegrown and Handcrafted,” we are going to transport you to a life of making from nature. We are going to introduce you to our baby goats, talk about the tools that we use,  and chat with many of the maker friends we’ve had the privilege of meeting along the way. From spinning guanaco fiber into yarn,  splitting and stacking wood, and growing our own food and botanical dyes, these stories provide life lessons that are powerful. I also think they can be helpful and healing.If you are someone who loves to make things with your hands, or if you love animals and nature, or if you feel like you need some help reconnecting with that maker part of yourself, we’re glad you’re here.Our hope is that this podcast will do for you what it has done for us: inspire you to live with every fiber of your being. Join us at "www.afiberlife.com"  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pride is a tricky thing for many of us. We’ve been taught to dismiss compliments to keep us from attracting too much attention or getting a big head. We’ve been warned that focussing too much on accomplishments can suck the meaning out of living.  But there are times in life when we do something really great. In this episode, we are going to tell you about what goes into shearing our guanacos. After all, we did get these animals for their special fiber. We are going to tell you about our brave shearer, Clint, and all the many things we’ve tried to make shearing a better experience for everyone.  Then we are going to tell you a bit about this exquisite fiber and exactly why making yarn out of it is so challenging.  The story of my championship ribbon and the spinners who shared that moment with me is wonderful.  And, finally some tips on how to feel pride with joy.  Survey link: https://forms.gle/YVWJmSdVKqr9YmNq5 Episode Highlights:  Embracing our accomplishments & feeling proud  Learning how to shear guanacos  To sedate or not to sedate guanacos  Learning how to spin guanaco fiber Becoming a master spinner  Links: Website: https://afiberlife.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afiberlife/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alientoluxuryfiberfarm Email us: info@afiberlife.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing death, losing loved ones, it’s a universal experience. But it can challenge you to the core. In the gut wrenching sadness, death can make you question everything about your life and your choices. In this episode, Lisa and Greg’s son, Mitch, joins them as they open up about  two beautiful guanacos that they held in their last hours. They pay respects to those beautiful boys by letting you in on the experience. This is a difficult episode.  But the story teaches something important. Something that might possibly change the way you see farms and pastures and the wool sweater you love to wear. It might just help you remember that we all have grief, we all face death, and in that basic human experience, we are all connected and held. Survey link: https://forms.gle/YVWJmSdVKqr9YmNq5 Episode Highlights:  Learning that Ace is sick Comforting animals in their last moments Learning Andes, the baby is also sick Connecting to other farmers through grief  “More Than A Sweater” (The story behind what you wear) Read Full Transcript Here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about waiting for the birth of our guanacos. It’s my hope that this episode helps you see waiting as a normal part of life, in this case, a whole new life. Because as you may already know, every one of us is waiting for something. Life is filled with waiting. I don’t know anyone who likes to wait. And, everyone copes with waiting differently.  It’s also impossible to end waiting.  This concept seemed to hit me when it came time for our guanacos to give birth.  Episode Highlights:  How can you tell if a guanaco is pregnant?  What it’s like to wait for the birth of a baby guanaco called a chulenga Listen to the actual birth of a chulenga sounds like What happens in the moments right after a chulenga is born?  Nature vs Human Interaction: How much should farmers be involved?  What waiting tells us about life.  Read the Full Episode and Transcript HERE.  Connect with Lisa Mitchell:Website: www.afiberlife.comInstagram: @afiberlifeFacebook: @alientoluxuryfiberfarm Listen To These Episodes Next: Ep 5: Guanacos In Love? (What Breeding Taught Us) Ep 4: The Great Guanaco EscapeEp 1: How It Started  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breeding animals is like sowing seeds. They are both acts of hope.   And when you perform acts of hope, you are not only doing something for your future, but you are enriching your present. This episode is a love story within a love story.  Lisa and Greg will explain how and why they established a breeding program at their farm. You’ll learn great gossipy tidbits about guanaco seduction and hear from their vet who explains exactly why it takes guanacos 45 minutes to breed. You’ll meet guanacos Angie and Coacher, who may have found true love and leave feeling like no matter how worried or scared you are about the future, plant seeds in the present.  Click here to read the full episode and transcript.  Learn more about Lisa, her Guanacos, and more at afiberlife.com Links Mentioned:  https://afiberlife.com/ https://www.instagram.com/afiberlife/ https://www.facebook.com/alientoluxuryfiberfarm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices