Halter ego...

"Anyone for cricket? I didn't have a mirror handy when I put udder salve on my nose and may have smudged a bit".

Did a bit more halter training today. Both Autumn and Ambrosia were fairly accepting of the halter. Then I put a lead rope on, and let them follow their mums to show them it wasn't harmful. Funny thing was, in a bitter northerly wind with frost on the ground, it didn't seem the same experience as indicated in Marty McGee Bennetts' video, where shorts and a tee-shirt are required...if we waited 'til it was warm and sunny, we'd be too late.

I fixed up the weather recording station as you can see on the post behind the girls - and as if on cue, the wind started to blow.

One of our cria we had shorn at 5-weeks as the adults were being shorn, however, the other hadn't been born, so she now has her shaggy baby fleece above the later fleece - does anyone know whether show judges see through that, or is it normal to carry out a surface trim - it must be a common situation.

Tickly in the west...

Things are a bit quieter with the weather settling down for a while, and doing the quarterly accounts and VAT for the day job. I've set up the weather station mast so we can collect data on available wind on our site. Talking of weather, I've always been bemused by the TV weather presenters talk of the weather being "quieter" - they never tell us when it will be louder...and I like the idea of tickly weather, as in: "today there will be showers and rain - 'tickly in the west" - (particularly). Listen out for it on the next forecast - tickly weather can only brighten your day.

You'll see we've got a logo which we created for the advert in the SouthWest Alpaca Group Yearbook - watch out for the polo shirts, balloons, flags, banners etc. etc. ha ha. All in good time - concentrate on the alpacas first.

Have booked for various elements of the Futurity so hope to meet some of you there - running out of time to take a winning photograph for the competition - had to give up teaching them to juggle...and the chickens just refuse to sit on the pacas...

We were re-arranging the compost heaps, and while we do use most of what the girls produce, Mrs. Smallholder had the idea shown in the photograph - everyone wins.

Nosey 'paca

Carrot? wot carrot? I never saw no carrot!

Snow - it's all been said hasn't it?

"Mum, will you keep me warm?"

"If you run around Moira, you'll keep warm" - Mrs. Smallholder advises Moira, who was shivering (very little fleece you see). Once a teacher, always a teacher...

"What's this white fluffy stuff between my toes?" - Ambrosia.

"Dad, why haven't we got doors on our house, like the other alpacas?"

Mrs. Smallholder, happy before we took a 50 minute journey to Bristol Airport, only to find her flight to Glasgow had been cancelled after we had left".

Pixie - snow collected around her feet, until they resembled Ugg Boots!

Snow can make the most beautiful sculptures, and enhance dull pieces of furniture, trees etc.

I had no intention of posting, after all, we've all seen snow before, there's nothing left to say... then couldn't resist sharing these with you.

Listening to the fantastic Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid' album.