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Wednesday 31 August 2011

A close shave ...

I was upstairs just getting changed ( isn't it always when you have your clothes off?) that the alpacas in the front field all suddenly stood up tall and faced the same direction . PANIC! I have been watching a couple of dogs chasing my neighbours sheep this evening , and despite his and our best efforts we have not been able to catch them or their owner , so I immediately thought that they were back . I yelled for DH and we both shot out of the house , him through one door me through the other , taking our dog with me , just in time to see a very large fox , turn tail and shoot off up the drive - the dozy chickens were all standing looking at him ! Close call!

Sunday 28 August 2011

Safe and dry!

Thats the hay - we finally got the hay made on Monday night and worked late into the evening getting it onto the tractor and away in the barn, we were expecting heavy rain over night on Monday so I was really pleased and slept well , knowing that the hay was safely away for the winter . Woke to on Tues to ..... blue skies and sunshine ! The week has been largely lovely ! which is a bit of a pain in a way , ' cos the predictions were not good , and if we'd known we'd have cut the other fields as well!! However , our friendly farmer is happy to have them as silage if nec so it will all be fine .

The alpacas are all looking fantastic , Cerys had her meeting with Magic and everyone else is showing all signs of being pregnant. Fingers crossed.

we have another broody hen , which after the recent disasters , when DH took the eggs at the last minute and gave them to friends ... yuk , I am hoping will get me a few more nice hens before the winter .

DS#3 is happily heading to Switzerland as we speak - what it is to have nice friends .... I can't really speak after my trip to Mustique , but he does seem to do rather well on the holiday front!

Friday 19 August 2011

Fingers crossed

We have taken a chance and cut the first field of hay , well actually we cut it on Wed , but with 4 small children at home for the school holidays time is beginning to blur! So far the weather has held and I am quietly optimistic that we will be able to bale it on Sunday, which is supposed to be a very nice day! If not it will be silage and I will have to think again for the second field.

Th pacas are all enjoying a spot of the warmer weather , lots of sun bathing and general lounging around , everyone is looking very mellow! Today I tried the girls with some carrots , I know lots of people feed their alpacas carrots but I have always been slightly nervous of them choking ( yes i know that's slightly daft ) so today when the veggie box arrived with LOTS of carrots I tried feeding a few to the girls . I chopped them all up nicely and put them in the feeding trough , everyone came at a gallop and then skidded to a halt to look at these very strange things in their troughs. Lots of sniffing , and a fair amount of jumping about , finally only Bijou took the plunge and ate some , nobody else would brave it , so they all wandered off en masse to stand in the water trough! It's a little trick that Hermione has taught them all and I really wish she hadn't! Whilst it is very amusing to see all the alpacas taking turns to splash in the water troughs , at the moment , when the water supplies are very low it gives me a bit of headache trying to keep the water clean . I have tried buckets but Hermione tries to stand in those too and spills them all , fence buckets also get spilled but to a lesser degree .

Water is becoming a concern - two of my neighbours , one on either side have now run out of water , or more accurately their springs have dried up ! so we are being as careful as possible , flushing only when necessary - the beauty of small boys is that they are thrilled to be encouraged to wee on the compost heap- two birds with one stone so to speak!

Sunday 14 August 2011

ALLS WELL

The girls ( and the boys ) are all looking good despite the unseasonably cool weather . Tomorrow I have one more mating to do , Cerys has an appointment with Magic , last week when we did spit offs she was the only one to sit - great news for the rest , but she was mated a couple of months ago and I was hoping that she had taken , anyway , tomorrow is the day !
Still we are waiting for a good spell of weather to get some hay making done , every year its the same - the hay fields are not quite ready in June when the weather is hot , and by August the weather is too damp??
The hens are all beginning to get the hang of laying back in their houses , and the pigs are enjoying the glut of cob nuts - a last fling before the butchers on Thursday!

Thursday 11 August 2011

Exciting news at last !

Well , a long absence from blogging , largely due to the family holiday to the Vendee! Lots of sun and beaches and rock pools for small boys , kites for the not so small , and books for me!

The animals were all well cared for by a series of house sitters , and we come back to the same number we left - which is always positive!

For a couple of months now I have been looking around for a new stud to replace West , who sadly died last year , well I think I've found him ! I took a trip to sunny Devon on Tuesday for a hands on experience , and am well pleased with what I found. He is a youngster , not quite 2 , but with fantastic blood lines including Jolimont , Silverstream and pperuvian amongst others , a dark fawn , who i hope will add to my herd very positively. Awaiting vet checks before I bring him home , and then I shall reveal all!