Heatwave? In October?

It is so hot again today I can't believe it is October.  I have a plague of flies in the bedroom who seem to have set up home in the curtains, the milk has gone off where I forgot to put it in the fridge and I am constantly filling waters as if it were high summer.  The alpacas are quite lively despite the weather.  Alf has now settled in his separate pen and, apart from occasional posturing between him and Dude, calm now reigns.  The dust bowl is very popular, with someone always either lying in it, rolling in it or just standing in it.  Here is one of the Dudettes with Striker behind and little Axle right at the back.

Now it is Striker's turn to lie down while Yossarian, as usual, picks a fight in the background!

Finally, a bit of  rolling while Striker does a bit of standing - and Yossarian chases everyone else out of shot!

I have had to come in now to put things in boxes and make numerous phone calls so it is all go here!

P problems

Okay - I am back, sort of!  Apologies to those loyal readers who have been checking for a new blog.  I confess it has been a trying time here and I haven't had the computer time or the heart to write.  However, that does not mean that nothing has been happening or that we have been miserable!  Despite the tropical weather here, the babies have been very lively.  Tilbo's leg is now fine and he charges round with everyone else.

We spent a lovely time  looking after the Shepherd's house and animals.  I was a bit nervous with how I would cope with all the sheepdogs and had visions of them all disappearing or getting ill - but they were the most impeccably behaved dogs I have ever known.  I have completely fallen for Jess and want to sneak her home with me.  The three legged one is gorgeous but had enough of the walks by the end of the day and just laid down and waited for the rest to return.  The two Kelpies kept looking round for the Shepherd and loved sitting in the back of his Truck.  I am now an ardent watcher of the sheep dog trials and have sent for a book to teach myself the sheep dogs commands - not that I think Amber, the Jack Russell, is going to be that responsive!  I have also decided I really want some geese as they are very funny.

Sam is loving his apprenticeship - he is power harrowing today and was fussing to be taken this morning far earlier than he needed to be.  He has passed all his basic moped training and now has the moped but it is not running quite right yet so I am still taking him everywhere!

The alpacas are all doing well and growing.  I think everyone who needs to be is pregnant.  Sam has given Bianca her course of medicines and she appears to have lost a little of the weight, although she is still rather a chunk!  The three little boys - Striker, Tilbo and Yossarian form into a little gang and stalk everyone else! 

Little Axle, Lina's baby, is still smaller but gradually growing.

On the negative side of things - I have sore nails!  People are always saying, "How do you do anything with nails that long?"  Well,  they are no problem (apart from a recently discovered contact lens issue) - until, that is, one of them breaks.  They have been long for a long time and the top of the finger is quite sensitive so when one breaks it is really uncomfortable until they grow again - one snagged so I sawed it off and now it hurts!  I have also been to get some trial contact lenses.  This is proving a further problem as my nails are so long it is difficult to get them out without skewering myself.  Once I get the next few days over I am going to have to tackle the nail situation.  However, that is the least of my problems so I shall put up with it for now!  My real stress at the moment is an extra P which has appeared somewhere it should not have appeared - I cannot reveal where at the moment but I can say that if this is not sorted in the next 48 hours I am done for!

Grace has recovered from her fly strike but now has slight sunburn on her back end where there is no fleece.  I am having to apply factor 30 Ambre Solair twice a day.  Luckily she is so greedy for sheep nuts and the sunscreen is a spray on so I can creep up on her as she eats!

So, bit of a heavy blog on pictures today but here are a few more.  Firstly, cria queuing up to drink!

Three little ones - and I am very embarrassed to say that I know these are the two female Dude babies - but I can't tell which is which!  Never had that before!

Finally, young striker who is a very feisty little thing!

Oh!  And just one more, three little cute faces!

Where next?!

The blogs have been getting increasingly sporadic of late and this is mainly due to a lot of difficult decisions being mad here and the necessity of being away from the house quite a lot!

Normal service will be resumed at some point but in the mean time please forgive my lack of regularity.  I think a lot of people realise by now that our house is up for sale and we are making difficult decisions about where we are going and what we are doing - all made even more difficult by Sam and his future.

We have also had to make a difficult decision regarding our land - and a decision we never thought we would be making - but life has very funny turns within it.  It should be a time of great excitement and plan making but sadly it is rather too difficult for that!  No doubt we will get through somehow and the right thing will happen but right now we feel rather like we are herding cats as one bit comes together another bit of the jigsaw flies off over the hedge (rather a lot of mixed metaphors in there!).  I have to say we are also pretty heartbroken at - possibly - leaving all the good friends we have made here not to say panicy about being homeless - with 3 chickens, 34 alpacas, 1 dog and two cats - not to mention 20 sheep!

It only remains to be said that we are pretty clueless about where we will end up now!   So - updates will follow at some point!

The alpacas are surviving all this trauma - in fact, despite me constantly telling them, they are completely oblivious.  All are doing well.  Lina's baby has put on no weight whatsoever in the last two weeks  but is lively and totally refuses the bottle.  Trouble, the Bert and Samson baby, is putting on weight steadily despite having very little of her bottle now.

From the left - Yossarian, The Slink, Trouble, String and Striker (Carolyn's baby and real name - Strikingly Cool).  He is a real little monster and very strong but lovely with it - here he is posing!

Sam continues to do his 'sort of' job' over at Stalbridge Weston - he loves it but I am not sure there is enough work there for anything anymore permanent.  He also makes frequent forays to Milborne Port which he now feels is one of the best places on this earth!  When we went over to pick him up the other day I made the acquaintance of a lovely young man who must be one of the leading authorities on cars - he was even able to tell me which car I had now - something I was unsure of - it is an escort and a very nice one with one drawback.  It has heat shield things under it and I have a tendency to bend them which makes them clatter if I don't change gear at precisely the right moment.  Carl says I am a fool to take it down the track in the field.

Ashton Lane came to visit at one point and as rain was threatening we set up a cosy cafe in the field (and yes those are the fleeces waiting to be sorted for the GWR show!). 

Luckily the luxury accommodation was not required but I did get the chance to show Carol and Peter Yossarian - sired by their Legacy.  He soon gave up scratchign and started to show of his baby orgling and jumping everything skills.

And finally - Greeves - doing well but refusing to look at the camera!

Cria photos

A busy day of knitting today and another pair of gloves almost complete!  Not sure I am that pleased with the patten I made up though - I prefer them a bit more lacy really.

I managed to get a few photos of the babies in between times.  String (Pretty Cool) discovered thistles and did not like them very much!  Yossarian is getting difficult to photograph as he moves so quickly and then gets too close or too far away - he is at the front and you can only see his side!

Tilbo's leg is a bit wonky but does not slow him down at all, or prevent him from posing.

Lina's baby is still a bit of a concern and he looks tiny compared with all the rest but he is very alert and runs around with the others.

Finally, Striker (Strikingly Cool) Carolyn's baby who is gaining weight well and enjoys the company of Yossarian - not sure if that is a good thing or not!  He's the one looking at the camera.

Now tomorrow we have a slightly worrying day - I won't tell you what it is about until tomorrow - and the I may go completely quiet on that subject if the news is not good!!

Lina's Baby

Today has primarily consisted of telephone calls - so much for relaxing with the alpacas, Judi!

We were very surprised that one of those phone calls was from the Police - not asking questions but just checking we had got home safely and that we were alright - lovely, very kind.  The policeman was the one who had been first on the scene and he said he was amazed that we had walked away from that one - he had got the fire brigade cutting stuff out before he realised we were already out of the car.

Any way, that is it on blog reports of the accident - hard to stop thinking of it though!!

Well, in the middle of our disaster Lina had her baby!  Sam was feeding Trouble, he looked round and there he was!  He started feeding fairly quickly and Sam did his navel.  He didn't weigh him so that has to be done - Lina is a fairly feisty mum!  She panics if he moves a foot away from her and then starts grazing, realises she has moved away from him and charges around screeching trying to find him!  Cool Dude is the father and we were thinking this might be the best cria as Lina is a good female.  I am not sure though!  I have a feeling there may be a touch of fawn in his top knot - I will investigate further!  Sometimes I find it is hard to tell if it is faint until they are a bit older.

Whatever colour, he appears well - if a little wobbly still on his back legs.  This is the best picture though as he is feeding - something which was a struggle for Lina last year as she did not have enough milk.  I am not topping up yet!

Tilbo, the little monster, had his splint off today and I think we are mended - if a little wonky.

He never stops!

The others are doing well - here is String (Pretty Cool)  - Dude and Flemenco's baby.

And this is little Trouble, the bottle fed from Bert and Samson - whenever I get the camera out she puts her head down!

Now Yossarian a right little B. . . ..!  He is the fawn suri attempting to mount Belinda.  String is at the front and Be Cool at the side.

And, finally, Be Cool - Belinda and Dude's baby,  still a bit yellow!

Sam and a bit of dodgy camera work!

We have had another busy day, well, this morning it was mostly Carl being very busy with the Shepherd's wife whilst I hid in the caravan - but more on that another time!

The new baby, Belinda's still does not have a name.  I want something with Cool in it as Cool Dude is the daddy but the best suggestion so far is Cool as a Cucumber - and I really cannot have an alpaca called cucumber!  Whatever her name she is a strapping great thing and very lively - she is already almost as big as the mammoth Slink and has to bend to get under her poor mum.  I sent Sam over this evening to get a few photos as I had forgotten during the day, but he seemed to be in a bit of an arty mood.  He took 200 photos but most were of black alpaca against dark hedge, views up Trouble's nose, out of focus or taken from strange angles.  These are the best of the bunch! 

Here is me and Bert's baby, Trouble, whose dad is Samson.  She is doing very well.

And these are Tilbo - brown with the broken leg, The Slink - white suri at the back, String (Pretty Cool) -  Flem's baby and on the right is Trouble!  We didn't manage one of Belinda's unnamed baby but she is in the video.

We then went into film producer mode - this is very hard!  Do not feel you must watch this clip - it's a few babies charging around, plus some grass and sky!

Belinda's baby!

Things have been a little hectic and the blog has got a bit behind.  Today should have been a peaceful day of cleaning fields with a quick trip to the hairdressers.  I had just put the phone down this morning when it rang again - it was Sam calling to say Belinda had suddenly popped out her cria!  I have been watching for it for ages and suddenly there it was - our third Dude baby and another girl!  This is another solid white and a stonker at almost 11kg.  Belinda delivered her in minutes with no dramas and it was soon up and feeding.  No name yet as we are still deliberating.

As usual I have completely overdone it with the iodine and purple spray! 


Trouble, Bert's baby, is now doing well with her bottle and proving the easiest bottle fed I have had.  We are doing 350ml at a go with 5 feeds starting at a respectable 8am and ending about 9pm.  Long may it continue, but I am not banking on it!  Bert and I are finding even this easy routine quite exhausting and have to have several rests during the day!!

Trouble has made firm friends with Yossarian.

And I am pleased with Tilbo's progress (broken leg) as today he started to play with the others and managed several jumps.  The Slink (the suri girl) is a bit of a menace as, despite Crispie having lots of milk and weighing 18kg already, she is constantly drinking from everyone else.  I have never seen a cria do it before but she has it off to a fine art and sneaks in for a quick drink while the Mother's own cria is drinking - I am having to watch her with Belinda as she was trying to get the colostrum which the new one needs.  Flamenco's baby - String (Pretty Cool) is lovely and doing well.