so far so good

well , so far the cria who have moved out from their mums are doing quite well . Alot less stressful than when we weaned Athena a couple of months ago I can assure you , although Artemis is very pleased to see me and cannot quite believe that I do not come bearing gifts or at least a bottle of milk - somehow the armfuls of hay and alfa-a don't quite cut it !

More of my chickens are laying and we are back to a surfeit of eggs every day - I am able to get rid of any that I have spare to a variety of friends and teachers who are more than happy to take delivery of fresh eggs . I am going to have to find homes for some of my cockerels - they are getting to an age when they are becoming very competitive and starting to fight over the girls !

Sadly I am suffering with a corker of a cold and that is not filling me with much in the way of Christmas spirit , luckily presents are all bought and tonight I started to wrap gifts for my in-laws who are visiting on Sat. still have all the gifts for the boys to wrap - DH will undoubtedly have a small fit about the quantity , but they are only small for such a short time ..........

Separated

I have finally bitten the bullet and separated the cria from their mums . i find it very stressful , as do the cria for a day or two , but the mums are clearly ready for the break and seem to put up a token resistance , but quickly get on with the daily business of feeding and sunning themselves . Artemis tried harder than most to get back to her mum ( which is odd since she has always been bottle fed ) and managed to get herself stuck in a thicket on the wrong side of a 6 foot ravine . I very nearly couldn't rescue her , she is so heavy now that I couldn't lift her and we both ended up sprawled in the bottom of the ravine - me in my pink pyjamas ( why do I always do these things in my PJ's and not my work clothe s??) and Artemis is a heap too frightened to move . Eventually we both got out and she is none the worse for wear except for a few scratches on her nose .

Finally the bottle of Vitamin supplements that I have been waiting for has arrived . It is really important for alpacas to get a vit A D &E during the winter months to prevent rickets . This afternoon we will inject them all and then every six weeks until the sunshine improves , also a bit of toenail trimming wouldn't go amiss!

Children are off to visit Santa this afternoon , so they will be really hyped by bedtime - oh joy

succumbed!

I have finally given in and switched on the aga ! wow , what a fantastic difference it makes . I am still determined that we shall only have it on at weekends and over the Christmas break , but it is lovely .

here he is ..!

This is Teifi Magic , who , if he lives up to his name , will be the new foundation for my black girls . He looks so special , and has already won best black male and best black huacaya (intermediate) at the 3 counties show 2007.

dressing up..

why is it that people look at me in abject horror when I suggest that putting on an extra layer in the winter is not an unreasonable thing to do ? Seems perfectly logical to me . The day will come when more and more of us realise that dressing up more is not only good for our pockets but also good for the environment . T-shirts are not really sensible items of clothing when worn on their own in December !

so exciting....

Well ..... I have just bought another alpaca!!!!! actually I've bought half a share in a beautiful black boy called Teifi Magic - lets hope he is . A picture will follow , however , I am on DH computer and cant upload . I am sharing Magic with my good friend Susan , who bred him , and he has a fab pedigree and has won lots of prizes even though he is not yet 3. DH is quietly pleased , hard to believe I know , since he senses an income - I get stud fees from any matings that Susan arranges and vice versa . I shall pick Magic up in June , when Susan has finished her matings for her own animals , which is perfect for me , since I will be ready to mate my black girls from June onwards! The cria should be fantastic .

The alpaca actually came in and slept in their stable or under their shelter all of their own volition , that is such a big step forward .


anyway , photo of Magic will follow as soon as it is warm enough for me to go out to my study ( no heating and single skin walls - v. cold ) and use my own computer.

busy busy

This has been a manic week - by that I mean more manic than usual when you have 4 children animals and a husband to run around after .
It has been school play week - don't get me wrong , I think its great that the little ones get to stand up and strut their stuff , however, watching for an HOUR seems excessive even in this day and age when we allow even the most untalented to perform . Bring back the good old days of nativity , when Mary and Joseph sat in a stable surrounded by silent , still animals who did not converse, tell 'jokes' , dance or in any other way take up precious time. My children , of course , thoroughly enjoyed themselves , and I spent far too much time at school , trying to persuade parents to part with their money for school funds . Bah humbug.

The alpaca have come up trumps and finally come in to sit under their shelter in a bed of straw on cold nights . How pleased am I ! DH was beginning to have a slight sense of humour failure about the amount of work he puts in on their behalf , and in which they largely take no interest . For a man who doesn't really like animals , he does work hard fro them .

We are still largely free of central heating , but have given in for an hour in the morning , it is really too cold to get out of bed with no heating at all and I do not have time ( on present schedule ) to build a fire before breakfast ! I guess I could get up earlier , but I am a night owl and find early mornings hard - 3am to check alpaca , no problem . 7am to build fires - no chance!


I have found some hilarious blogs and some very informative blogs from across the pond - checkout the blogs I follow, very interesting.