wahoo!

Yet again , Eliane to the rescue !

The snow has gone and for the moment spring is here - not counting my chicks just yet - the grass is showing signs of growing , did you know it has to reach 10 degrees before the grass grows properly , and we are all progressing nicely .
The changes are many and enormous , and eventually ( when BT gets its a*** in gear ) you will get to see them as well as read about them . DH has done a sterling job , building a new entrance into the field for me ( well the alpacas really ) which the builders have very kindly helped with and now we can drive a truck across the gully which used to be 6 ft deep and now contains drainage pipes and a beautifully cemented crossing point ( why we want to drive a truck across ...?) Dh has also repositioned a fence line and re-sited a satellite wire - telly in bed , yeah! If he could just resist the urge to ask my opinion and then disagree with it all would be well with the world .

The house marches steadily , well quite speedily actually , forward - today the foundations were poured I believe , cement is cement in my book but the builders are pleased and so is the building inspector , so, so am I . And my builders are very nice chaps , permanently cheerful , have their own tea and coffee facilities in their truck , politely refuse all offers of biscuits and put up with DH 's attempts to 'help' . The brickie arrives tomorrow for the first layer of bricks ???

Alpacas are loving the warm dry days and not eating quite so much hay , althou ' with first cria due in 6- 8 weeks Kirsty is still packing it away , but she is looking good and relatively relaxed ! Everything still crossed for a safe delivery . I would be happier if Woden could miss me with his customary dinner time spit - unfortunately I seem to have been in the firing line for the last few days althou' not the target I think , and it is getting rather dull and very smelly ! Veronica continues to take her pills without a problem , and the news on Athena is good ,with some room for backtracking , her knees are not as bad as I had feared in fact the degree of bend is within the acceptable limits for an alpaca . I believe that they may straighten as she grows , my vet , feels that he cant be sure ! Anyway all looks fine for the alpacas .

Hens are laying well , and I have a broody who is sitting on 7 eggs . I am slightly dubious about her hatching ability but so far she has stuck at it ...... 2 weeks to go . Tomorrow I am taking an incubator into school so that the children can hatch some eggs in class , shall let you know how that works out ! My lucky hens ad a lucky escape the other weekend - midday , we were all outside helping ( one way or another ) DH with his bridge building , when the gas lorry arrived and as it reversed down the drive it spooked the most enormous fox who had been hiding in the same gully on which DH and I were working , not 5 metres from us , waiting for the hens to mosey up the field in their foraging mode ! Foxy took off so fast that had I had a gun to hand I would not have got it together fast enough to shoot , b******!

Anyway enough for now , BT are promising connection for Thursday - dont bet any money on that one !