A Visit to the Yak Ranch

In a past life, I thought I was going to be a documentary filmmaker. Did the internship, the film classes – all of that. While I still LOVE documentary films, I know that career path isn’t for me. However, I do love a documentary style of storytelling, so when the opportunity presented itself for me to visit a working yak ranch that produces fiber that’s used to make yarn, I realized I could tap into my documentary roots to share a fascinating glimpse into this unique corner of the world.

Of course, the farm I visited was the Bijou Basin Ranch, the yarn company I recently worked with to do the Delta Hat Knit Along. It was sheer serendipity that my husband I and were visiting Denver for a brief getaway recently. When I mentioned our trip to the Bijou folks, they said they’d be delighted to have us out to “meet the kids”. Take a look at this mini documentary about our experience getting to know the herd.

Click for a larger version of this photo.

As I say in the video, this was one of the most special animal encounters I’ve ever experienced. Could you imagine this being your everyday life? While I don’t think I’ll leave the library and big city behind anytime soon, I think I’ll need to make more mini docs about different corners of the yarn world like this. The best part? The more I make, the less rusty I’ll get! Stay tuned. :)