31/05/2009 by Rosemary.

What a day!  Life is just so exciting!  Sherbert had her cria!  We were continuing with barn clearing.  Sam was moving out old bales with the bucket on the Leyland tractor whilst Carl was tugging the baler out of the barn with the quad.  I had been sent to manage waste as I was in trouble because somehow (allegedly) I had broken the cutting deck on the Westwood, flattened one of the tyres and broken the gear box.  I kept telling them it had been alright when I got off it last night but no-one believed me.  Anyway, waste management in the heat with no transport got really hard work so I went and got some cans of lemonade and trudged back down with them - hoping everyone would stop being annoyed with me and I looked back at the girls and saw them all crowded round their shelter with Sherbert half up and half down.  I called Sam and Carl and we rushed over to see the cria half way out. It was so amazing because Carolyn was stood at the side of Sherbert and she kept looking at Sherbert, humming, looking at her rear end and then back at Sherbert’s face - it really looked like she was giving her a commentary, “It’s OK, I can see the head.  Give it another push Sherbert!”  Anyway, out came the cria, straight into a pile of waste that I had not yet managed!  The weather was lovely and it soon dried although it still looks grubby in places.  Of course we were on tenterhooks to see if it was a girl or a boy and whether it was a solid colour.  The fleece looks glossy and has an appearance of some ringlets but it is too early to tell yet.  We do know the sex though - she is a girl!!  I am not totally sure if she is solid - I haven’t looked closely at her yet.  Sherbert is very calm and I can stand right next to her but really I need to hold the cria to check her properly but I am waiting for this evening to do that.

Well I was going to write all about the badger attacking the dog, the lamb gang with the bales of hay, Dobby and the rest of the boys playing with the lambs and Emily racing up and down the hill but I think Sherbert’s cria is enough for now.  Tonight we will have a proper look at her and decide on a name.   I will also try to get Sam to upload the photos he took on his phone.

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30/05/2009 by Rosemary.

Today was beautiful.  It really felt like we were in the mediterranean, we just lacked the sea. The grass in the fields is growing really well and looks good.  I am amazed at the variety of grasses and flowers you can see in it.  That brings us to today’s mystery - Who left the book?!  We spent all day down at the bottom of first field.  Carl was refencing one side of the boys paddock with stock fencing.  We had been advised that three strands of wire were just as good, cheaper and probably safer than using stock fencing.  No doubt that is all true but three strands of wire does not keep dogs out and is no good for sheep.  We wanted to put the lambs in with the boys for a while  so the fence had to be redone.  Sam and I were in the barn clearing it out.  It is really just a roof and sides and is home to the baler, hay, small beasts, the Big Baby when it is warm  and which ever other bits of equipment will fit.  We are going to have to have it ready as a shearing shed if it rains so all the old hay has to come out and space needs to be made for the generator etc.  We also had to mow all the grass and nettles around the edges and find the bale grab, mower and Haybob all of which seem to have taken root over the winter.  We haven’t finished yet but were just too weak to continue so tomorrow looks like another full day.  The day was punctuated by taking time to stare at Islay and will her to unpack - she didn’t.

Anyway, when we got back we discovered a wild flower identification book in a bag by the letter box.  Who left it?  Whoever did it is very good.  There are an amazing number of buttercups and I may not have creeping buttercup.  I rather hope they are hairy buttercups which sounds rather special.  I have also succeeded in identifying the weird plant I found in the hedge a few weeks ago - it is the common broomrape, which is what my mother thought it was.  A strange parasitic plant which makes no chlorophyll of it’s own but lives off other plants.  I think you could make a pretty good horror film out of that one much better than Alien or Predator.

The girls have been very hot all day and will keep standing in the water tub that is on the ground but I feel so sorry for them I have just been letting them get on with it.

Whoever left the book - brilliant, thank you, I will return it!

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29/05/2009 by Rosemary.

I have just realised what I wrote regarding the geese.  The man wasn’t flying overhead under his own power, obviously, he was in a microlight plane.  The geese were, however, doing their own flying alongside!

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29/05/2009 by Rosemary.

It’s strange how quickly female alpacas get interested in the boys again after having their cria.  Carolyn has taken little real interest in the boys over the other side of first field.  She has looked across every now and again but it wasn’t until today that she really started staring at them and they seem to be playing up to her.  Spike and Caedmon were having a good neck wrestle while Carolyn looked on ears perked up and tail raised!

Last night I saw my first real life badger and it was only about 3 foot away from me snuffling along in roadside.  Carl is not impressed - he says he has seen four at once and they almost brushed his trouser legs!  Tomorrow I expect they’ll be eating out of his hand and doing party tricks for him!  We were a little worried about Emily’s eye last night as it was watering but she must have just poked it because it was fine this evening.

Anyway, today we went to the Bath and West.  We made a reasonably early start as we couldn’t be too late back. Feeding the chickens and lambs took a little time first as we have to take care they don’t get together because the chickens have taken to head butting the lambs.  Except, that is, for the two new and very refined chickens we have acquired.  We call them Florence and Gertrude, despite being the same colour as the batteries they have totally different personalities.  They walk with their beaks in the air and always stay together, sleeping in a separate house.  They wouldn’t but lambs and I don’t think they want anything to so with the others.  Well, after sorting them all out we set off and had an enjoyable day once Carl had got over his moan about my new perfume.  It is called Berkeley Square (I think) and is supposed to be the heady aroma of the ’20s, reminiscent of Nightingales singing and tea dances.  Carl said he preferred the normal aroma of sheep and alpaca.

I have to say that I was shocked at the cost of the Bath and West.  We paid £42 for two adults and a child which seemed excessive but Carl told me to stop moaning and everyone else appeared to pay up without complaint.  The alpacas were great and I spent most of my time with them.  You can really get round and see them all which you can’t at some shows.  EP Cambridge seemed to be winning lots as did Classical Mile End, Inca and Popham.  Popham also had their apaloosa alpaca (spotty brown) there which was quite a sight.  We also saw Hannibal, Emily’s Dad, which Alpacas of Wessex were showing - Di Davies said he had been the Reserve Champion somewhere but I can’t remember where.  Inca alpaca were very friendly and good to talk to.  We also met a nice lady and gentleman from Garyanna Alpacas.  The other thing that was fascinating was the man flying overhead with a flock of geese - that must be amazing.   I tried on the brown boots I had been after and YES they were sloppy at the ankles!  No good!  I did, however, buy the most amazing sort of hair slide which keeps my hair in place!  Wonderful!

So, altogether a good day but just a little niggle about the price of it all.

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28/05/2009 by Rosemary.

I have spent what seems like most of my life on the phone trying to sort out my broadband.  We have been unable to browse anything for the last few days and apparently authentication with the server was down, according to Nathan.  Kieran had a different idea - he felt my proxy server was dodgy and a delightful gentleman from India toyed with the idea of an incorrect ISP.  All this was beyond me but eventually it has been sorted.  Throughout it all I remained serene and nodded sagely at the phone every time I was asked to enter foxtrot, delta, tango into my POP server or look to see which lights were flashing on the router (not an easy job as it is located under the settee).  Anyway - all is sorted!

No cria I am afraid but it won’t be long I feel sure.  We are off to the Bath and West Show tomorrow so news of that tomorrow evening.

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24/05/2009 by Rosemary.

I seem to have caught the sun a bit today which has left me with farmers’ neck and farmers’ chest (just a little band of brown on the back of my neck and a v of brown on my chest!) - not quite the super model look I should be aiming for.  We had a busy day outside changing the animals round in their paddocks.  The girls moved into end paddock so we could top theirs and clear it up so they can go back in for the two weeks before shearing and look pristine for the shearers visit (in my dreams!).  I am quietly pleased with my thistle destruction technique as there are definitely a lot less.  However, I now have creeping buttercups.  Carl thinks this is a joke and there are no such things so in a minute I have to look it up on the internet to prove I am right.  I am becoming a little obsessive about the state of the fields.  Tonight the girls’ old paddock looks wonderful and, if I can stop the chickens flying over the fence, messing in it and digging it up, it will remain looking wonderful.  Carl topped it and put some new gates on the holding pen.  Our wonderful field system plan is not working very well and I think we will have to rethink the whole thing.  Carl is not happy about this as three weeks ago he took the gates off the holding pen and took out the gate posts to use elsewhere.  It was me who told him to do it and he has now got his pursed mouth look which is not good.  His mum and Dad visited today and enjoyed themselves (or at least I think they did, I spent a lot of time sitting in a chair and thinking, which was a very important part of my business and weed control plan).

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23/05/2009 by Rosemary.

We awoke to a power cut this morning.  I had made the lambs’ bottles the night before and put them in the fridge to warm up in the morning.  The power cut meant they had to have cold bottles which was fine for all but Georgina who was not at all keen.  By the time Sam and I had coaxed a little down her Carl had located the barbecue and the camping kettle and started the tea making.  Three quarters of an hour later the kettle was just starting to boil and the electric came back on!  We then went down to the church to help get the cobwebs down from the roof.  There are going to be a lot of unhappy spiders in the church tonight!  Derek thinks I am teasing him when I tell him we are not waiting for our female alpacas to calve - we are  waiting for our female alpacas to unpack!

After the spring cleaning Mum and Dad and brother John arrived.  Dad got a trailer ride around the field from Sam and I think he enjoyed that.  Mum rode home from third field on the back of the quad with John, not sure how she felt about that!

The alpacas are all fine and lots of walkers have been stopping at the gate to look.  I wanted to put the girls nearer the gate so people could see Emily but it is not really secure enough when we are not there.  I was a little concerned this afternoon that Emily might be a little constipated - poo watch tomorrow.  Now I know I shouldn’t mention cria arrivals as it never happens if you do BUT I now have Islay who is 11 months and 3 weeks tomorrow and Sherbert who is 11 months and 1 week tomorrow so I cannot not mention it.  I am going to say that I think Sherbert’s will arrive first.  We will see!

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22/05/2009 by Rosemary.

Carl has just had a close encounter with a badger.  We have badgers on the hill and you can see signs of their activities but I have never seen them.  Carl has only seen them once before and that was a frightening experience when a hoard of them charged down the Drove (it’s a really lovely path between the hedges at the side of second field) when Carl was walking the dog along there late in the evening.  He said he heard a sound like horses galloping coming up behind him.  He’s no wimp but it scared him as he thought it was the five horsemen of the apocalypse coming to get him.  The dog started to growl and it’s hair stood on end and Carl was about to shoot up a nearby tree - leaving the dog to be carried off to oblivion when a horde of badgers rushed passed him and shot down their hole.  I expect it was really just a couple.  Well, this time it was a little different.  He was over in roadside contemplating life when he heard snuffling and looked round to see a badger walking towards him.  He froze and it simply walked past and continued on its way!  I missed all this as I was washing up.  The badger was only a youngster - about 2 foot long.  I like badgers but I don’t like them in with the alpacas and their waste smells foul to me but not to Amber (the dog) who likes nothing better than to roll in it.

Maybe there will be more cria news tomorrow.

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21/05/2009 by Rosemary.

Well, it has been all go since the last entry but no more cria yet.  I feel a little more relaxed about it though, now the first has arrived.  Emily is doing really well.  I don’t like to interfere much when they are first born so after weighing her we kept away until tonight.  Emily did not, however, keep away from me!  She sidles up behind when she thinks I’m not looking and has a good sniff.  Tonight we had a good look at her which she wasn’t that happy about but Carolyn didn’t mind.  Her fleece looks very nice, very crimpy but she has incredible hairy legs at the bottom!  She looks like she is wearing those boots - Ugg I think they are called (I have a bit of a boot fixation at the moment).  The fleece touches the ground so you can’t see her feet.  She discovered the chalk spot today and really wanted to roll in it like the others do but she couldn’t coordinate!  The chalk spot at the bottom of first field is all that remains of a bore hole we attempted to have drilled the year before last.  We don’t have water in the fields and so we have to take very expensive water from a private supply over from the house - at the moment by hand but soon in Billy the Bowser.  We tried drilling two holes but the first hit an enormous void under first field up by the gate.  The second just got stuck in greensand at 120 metres and the drilling company we used couldn’t go any deeper.  We can’t let it rest though and today we had a geologist visit to see what the prospects are.  He wandered around consulting maps, looking at springs, and dousing with his rods (that is really fascinating).  He sees no problem finding it and thinks the problems last time were the difficulties with the drilling BUT we don’t yet know the cost.  It may be prohibitive as it will all need lining due to something called the merle (I think)  which slides down the hole and seals off the greensand where the water is (I may have got that all wrong!)  We will wait for the report.

It has been a long day as we had to be up at 5.30am in order to feed the lambs so we could get down to the Ascension Day Service which was at 6.30am.  This was followed by breakfast in the Village Hall and that was really good.  Sam wondered why I couldn’t cook sausages and eggs like they did.  I must admit I wondered it myself.  My fried egg always has very crispy bits under it and my sausages are usually hard on the ends.

The day has not ended yet though as I now have to clear up a rabbit.  I actually saw the Big Baby catch it, quite remarkable how he managed  and carried it off in his mouth - he’s not a big cat.  What I have only just realised is that he brought it home and has been quietly playing with it behind the settee (it is dead!).  Then we have to feed the lambs and bring them back to their night time home in the bin shed.

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17/05/2009 by Rosemary.

We woke to rain pounding against the windows.  I rushed over to see the girls and they were all at the bottom of first paddock looking drenched.  Emily was beside Carolyn soaked.  I felt like crying at that point because there was very little I could do - we don’t have a barn to get them into.  At that moment the hail started so I went back to feed the lambs and consult with Carl.  Then the sun came out - all day it has alternated between windy and sunny /cloudy and rainy.  Emily has been very lively, charging round and round, driving Carolyn to distraction.  She weighs 9.2kg and everything looks normal.

Carl took me out to buy me a present.  This is very rare - it is not that he is mean it is just that he doesn’t do it!  Anyway, for ages I have wanted these brown boots - sort of posh wellingtons - there is a small alpaca breeder (small in stature not in alpaca numbers) who always wears them and we always sidle up behind her and imagine tipping her up and stealing her boots.  I had seen them in Sturminster so off we went to get the posh boots - - and they had sold out!  That’s the end of that!

If you have looked at any of the photos of Emily you may notice that Sherbert is no where to be seen in any that Emily is in.  This is because Sherbert will not have anything to do with her.  She is out there now as far apart as possible.  It is very noticeable as she is usually in the middle of everything.  If Emily goes up to her she just looks the other way in a very haughty manner!

I can’t remember if I mentioned one of the lambs had a bad foot.  It had swollen up but wasn’t troubling her at all.  Tonight it looked even bigger so Carl gave it a squeeze and lots of lime green puss oozed out.  She was very good but afterwards she stood with her foot up looking forlorn and is now lying by the gate looking as if the world is about to end.

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