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Friday 26 February 2010

doing it again

Spring really is on the way ! there, done it again , but this time I'm right ( only this time ??) My daffodils are coming up along the driveway . Hurray! AND the soil in the poly tunnel is warm enough to start planting ( I think ) so tomorrow I shall commence planting with a few lettuces just to see how we do .

AND the chicks are due to hatch on Tuesday ! We have lent our incubator to the school , and Tuesday is the day of reckoning , pray something hatches , I cant bear the stress if nothing happens .

Tuesday 23 February 2010

My epitaph!

My epitaph will be ' spoke too soon ' ! The snow is back , I cant believe the length of time we have had bad weather , nearly 2 months now , that must be a record . The animals are coping with resigned determination , the weanlings are doing really well and I have to say that the whole weaning process was much easier this year - maybe 'cos there were 5 of them and 3 'aunts' , now we have the trial of halter training , generally I enjoy halter training , but I am itching to get on with it and the ground is too hard and slippy to be safe ......

Since last week we have escaped the cold of Wales for a trip abroad... to Disneyland Paris , and it was just as cold there! We took the 2 eldest boys and left the other 2 with my long suffering sister . I'm petty sure she enjoyed having them , and they certainly enjoyed staying, we have a constant whine of ' I preferred Aunty Nessa's'! Anyway , the rest of us braved Disney , sorry to say it does nothing for me and DH , we are just too old and sensible ! but the twins loved every minute of it . It really is a master piece of marketing , cos when you look at it dispassionately you spend a lot of money to stand in queues, run from one queue to another and walk alot without actually going on too many rides ! But we had some lovely family time and we don't get to spend much one-to-one time with the twins, so on the whole it was nice , but we could have done it at West Midland Safari Park for a fraction of the cost!!

The veggies are sprouting nicely , and DH has dug over the beds in the poly tunnel and redefined them , so we are nearly ready to plant something , the early potatoes will be my first planting - cant wait. Despite the snow the hens have gone into overdrive and are laying a dozen a day, which I am finding hard to get rid of! but luckily a couple of new mums at the school gate have asked if they can buy eggs from me so ...

Monday 15 February 2010

calm again , spring is coming !

the alpacas are back to being 'all fine' , Cerys' limp has gone and she is looking lovely - her cria is due in July and she is in really good condition , not missing baby Bilbo at all!

Finally I have got round to preparing the ploy tunnel - I have dug in a huge amount of alpaca poo , so handy to have a factory in high production - and have started my first seedlings. Last year we didn't get the polytunnel until June so we were a bit late starting, but this year I am determined to be off to a flying start . Sadly , my mentor and inspiration ( competition?) have moved to the USA , so I don't have quite the same level of 'go' that I had last season , but I see that Eliane has planted her tomato seeds as well , so who knows , competition from across the pond?

I have planted 6 different types of tomatoes , 2 types of couregetttes and some peas, the lettuce , rocket and radishes will go straight into the ground , and the potatoes are chitting on the window ledge. A little bit later I will plant runner bean and french beans ready for the glorious summer......

Monday 8 February 2010

spoke too soon !

Did I honestly say that life had been a bit on the dull side ? did I ? You may have thought that by my grand age I would have got the concept of tempting fate , but clearly not!

On Thursday Cerys was cushing a lot , When she did get up she was not weight bearing on her front left leg - oh joy - first thought , broken . But after a few minutes she did begin to bear weight albeit very gingerly , and as the day progressed she got better . I did have a feel but she was not impressed , and it is difficult at my majestic height ( not) to hold and examine a front leg whilst the examinee is trying to sit and spit .... I put it down to pins and needles ! On Friday morning I looked out and this time she was hobbling on left front and rear right - quite a feat- and clearly there was more of a problem than pins and needles. Call to the vet , a very nice 'girl' came out and had a look , she'd never really seen alpacas before , except once when she came to me to do some micro chipping when she was a student ( get the picture?) Cerys is normally pretty cool , apart from the kicking , which she is very generous with , but on Friday she spat and screamed , tried to sit and was generally the most uncooperative she could be . I tried to keep her calm by talking gently to her but she couldn't really hear me since she was screaming so much , more in an indignant fashion than one of pain , but still ear splitting . Eventually the vet agreed with me that there was nothing really to find , and it was probably a sprain in all the slippy mud . Hurray! A dose of bute and she was fine - now why didn't I think of that ?

Today all is well , and the snow has started again!

ps . can anyone explain why DH always splits whole bales of hay , when I have specifically bought racks which hold a full bale ??