27/04/2010 by Rosemary.

My wordpress blogging days are over!

I have struggled with some of the features and have finally managed, I think, to convert to Google.

I hope you will continue to follow our adventures - the new blog can be found at -

www.westhillalpacas.blogspot.com

or click on the link on our website.

Hope to hear from you on Google and please tell me what you think of the new, hopefully improved, blog!

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26/04/2010 by Rosemary.

A hectic day yesterday meant I ran out of time for the blog and we had to miss the Great Western Region Alpaca Show meeting which was very annoying.  The show now has a website!  Go to

www.gwr-alpaca-show.co.uk

and take a look!  I shall put a proper link to it on the website tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the show, not only as part of the organising team but also as it will be our chance to enter a fleece.  We have almost decided which ones but now we are in a panic about getting the entries in as there are limited places and I know they will fill up soon.  You can find the entry form on the website.  The rosettes are also going to be very lovely - now, I know that isn’t the most important thing, but I, for one, would love a beautiful multi tiered rosette!  I did have a dream the other night about the championship sashes (gold braid, lettering, lined . . . ) but it turned rather bizarre and involved a Jack Russell and a large tub of Raspberry Ripple ice cream so I won’t go into that!!

Anyway, the show is going to be very good and I hope lots of people will come and lots of breeders will enter because it is always good to meet up with other alpaca people.

On the home front it also looks like things will be eventful.  Carl is away on Wednesday - going up to Scotland with his motorbike.  I feel very sorry for him as he has had no time to practise and even finding time to MOT the bike is a struggle.  The SFS who is going with him got stuck in the Dominican Republic and only arrived back at the weekend so it is all a bit last minute.  Carl is now glued to a Scottish pre65 video!

This evening our little orphans arrived - Teddy Bear, Snowdrop and - Sam is not sure what to call his yet.  They are three little ewe lambs.

No movement on the cria front and I am not really anticipating anything until next week and then I think it will be Belinda before Carolyn.

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24/04/2010 by Rosemary.

Just a very quick blog tonight as I still have not washed up from yesterday and it is getting very late.  Lovely weather today and we have been busy.  Sam has strimmed lots of docks and stingers while Carl moved a pile of poo which I had accumulated in the wrong place.  I gathered more poo and managed to get the shopping which was urgent as the freezer was getting dangerously empty and a pig’s head had emerged from the depths and looked at me accusingly.

Sam and Carl went off to help the Shepherd move some sheep and Mini Valtra Man appeared looking for his rigid cultivator - it appears someone has stolen it from the field in the night.  It was in the field next to the girls which is disturbing.

This evening we went to visit my three new additions!  I have adopted three more orphan lambs - lovely little Cheviot/Texel crosses.  They will be here Monday so tomorrow I have to sort out the bin shed for them to sleep in.

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23/04/2010 by Rosemary.

First bit of shearing today - just the three wethers.  It is earlier than we usually do it but things have conspired to make it impossible to leave it later or we will not get the girls done at the right times.  All the shearing equipment was new so it was a bit of a trial to see if everything worked as it should - and it did, perfectly!  Carl and Sam set everything out very professionally.

Shearing is not easy, although the real professionals like Colin Ottery make it seem like it is!  But the boys did an excellent job - they do need to work on the top knots and the tails though.  Caedmon now looks like a marine and Spike is a bit lopsided with what appears to be a parting - they were not terribly pleased with my comments and offered to improve by doing my hair - I declined as I have enough trouble with it as it is.

Carl doing Spike and below - Sam doing Caedmon.  All the boys were very good - no crying or spitting and getting them down in the harness was very easy.

Trouble is, once they are done they look so tiny and there was a lot of bottom sniffing where they were checking out who was who as they didn’t recognise each other.  Alf, the Suri, is not being done until later next month.

After we had finished everything was disinfected and cleaned and it is now time for baths and an early night.

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21/04/2010 by Rosemary.

Another hat done - and it is really nice!  Thank goodness the planes are starting to fly, I might have a proper model soon, one who does not dissolve into giggles every time the camera comes out.  The only way I could stop laughing was to hold the dog - and Carl’s prancing around was not helping.  I also knitted the gloves!

Carolyn and Belinda are looking enormous but  they have both still got a week or so to go before we start getting nervous.  I am also keeping a close eye on Islay.  If you read the blog last year you may remember her mating was not a happy event and we were very doubtful she was pregnant, her scan was not conclusive and we resigned ourselves to her being empty.  But, she does look a little possible!

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20/04/2010 by Rosemary.

Tonight I am blogging in the dark with a rope burn on my wrist.  The lights have suddenly fused and Carl will not sort it out until he has finished doing something with his bike.  My rope burn (which Carl says is my imagination) is a result of a further adaption to the shearing harness and a need to trial it.  Sam flatly refused to play the alpaca so I had to do it and I am truly glad I am not an alpaca!  All dignity is out of the window and a very helpless feeling comes over you - it also makes you spit, I was spitting feathers by the time they had finished mucking around.  Bondage really is not my style.

Last night was another late night as I was up until 2am finishing my latest creation - yet another hat but it is really nice.  We were going to start photographing items tonight but when we got over there and had a go Carl tried but said he could not find my, ‘best side’  - I am sure I must have one.  The one photo he managed I was laughing so much too many teeth were showing and I had lettuce stuck in one - Camera’s too good.  The artistic one of the wool was hopeless as an ex battery hen was relieving itself in the background.  I had hoped to have the lady SFS as my Supermodel but she is stuck in The Dominican Republic and goodness knows when they will return.

This has taken a lot of time to type as I can’t see the keys and my touch typing is a little out.  I did have a candle but Carl got a bit annoyed about that as there is so much paper and knitting everywhere.

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19/04/2010 by Rosemary.

I was up until 3am this morning knitting.  It was an eventful night as the dog had a fit at one point and Cruella, one of the kittens, was going mad as I had to keep her in because of her trip to the vet today.  The wild cat was outside the door calling for her and she was charging around trying to get to him!

I didn’t think the vet would operate but her cold was better and she said she would.  Smudge also went to be neutered and he took it in his stride but Cruella cried all the way to the vets.  The operations were fine and when I went to pick them up I could hear Cruella from reception!  The vet said to offer them a little food but not to worry if they would not take it - Cruella has eaten a whole tin of cat food and is dashing round the house and garden attacking everything.  Smudge has knocked over the dried back up cat food and spilt it all over the kitchen, killed two flies and climbed a tree!  I think they will be fine!

Something was up with the girls and Dude this morning.  When I went over the girls were all standing at the fence filthy while Dude was dashing around, sniffing the air with his tail up.  I think they had been rolling in the dust by his fence and the sight of their enormous underbellies flashing before him had excited him rather - Carl says he knows how Dude feels (not sure how to take that!).

The boys and sheep have also been very excitable this evening.

Alf tries to jump on the older boys - here he is before his charging around -

- - and during -

Now I know this photo looks a little strange!  Stumpy loves a good rub of her behind and Mossop is continually lining up for a head butt!

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18/04/2010 by Rosemary.

It has been a very busy day today.  Yesterday was rather disappointing and I felt a surge of misery overcoming me as a plan fell apart but I am over that now and am moving on.

Carl and Sam spent the morning trawling ships chandlers looking for the correct size rope and pulley to construct new shearing equipment.  Everything has now been sorted and Sam has pretended to be an alpaca for testing purposes - luckily he didn’t need his teeth grinding as he was at spitting point by that time!  I have, as usual, cleared waste (rather a lot as yesterday it did not get done) given the new plants their weekly drenching and communed with the girls about their impending births.  Carolyn was not impressed with my pep talk and began snoring.

I have been desperately stuffing food in the cats as they cannot have anything after 8pm due to their vet visit tomorrow and I know they will be ravenous.  I don’t think their operations will happen anyway as they both have occasional sneezes.

I now have to get some more knitting done - didn’t even make it to church this evening as time just flew.

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16/04/2010 by Rosemary.

Sam was left in charge this morning while I went over to Mum’s and delivered half a pig for my brother.  Half a pig is very heavy and one of it’s trotters attempted to escape from the rubbish bag which was all I could find to put it in.  First attempt was to lug it to the cellar and leave it there for my brother to collect.  After trailing blood all through the conservatory and losing the liver a new plan was constructed.  Mum fetched the wheelbarrow and between us we managed to hoist it in to that.  We then wheeled it up to the shed and left it there.  There was an anxious moment when the dog seemed to have disappeared and we feared he would come flying past with that recalcitrant trotter in his mouth - but no, he was asleep by the cooker.  I hope my brother remembers that pig tonight as I don’t fancy it’s chances over night!

By the time I got back Sam had sorted all the animals, including cleaning the chickens, but sadly had not collected waste - I had to do that this afternoon.

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15/04/2010 by Rosemary.

We have had one of those glorious days when you get all fired up over all things alpaca!  It was the meeting of the Great Western Fleece Show Committee this afternoon and so, after leaving the alpacas in the hands of the Chippendales, we rushed over to Wellground.  Rob and Les have been doing mammoth amounts of work on the farm and it all looks stunning.  I don’t know how they manage to do so much and still have shiny, sparkly paddocks - totally without ruts and bald bits.  They must have had a very superior sort of fencer at work, I am sure he must have polished the stakes as he put them in.  The meeting was great, the people involved are all so committed to the concept and easy to work with - and the judge!  Well, he is a very good looking young man!  Actually, when I think about it, all men involved in alpacas are lookers in their different ways - must be something that rubs off from the animals!  There will be more news about the show soon and it will be very well worth going along to - and entering a fleece!

After the meeting we gazed longingly at the cria in the paddock and Rob finally took pity on us and took us over.  They were all gorgeous, one in particular, Faberge, made my fingers go all tingly - such a good fleece!  We also had a look at Close Encounter, he is a good looking boy and Lina is expecting a cria sired by him - that will be an exciting birth!

Now we have to sort out a pig the Shepherd has just delivered (a dead one for the freezer) and then I have a little research to do as a little purchase may be brewing!

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