Shiny Happy 'pacas (or, "can we have the paddling pool out?")

For a day that was forecast to be dull and damp, it has been fantastic, with warm sunshine - so much so, that I spotted one of the girls trying to get her feet into the drinking bucket! Hint taken, I pulled out the water trough, not used since last autumn, and had barely turned on the hospeipe when I had a queue of jostling alpacas - Pelachuta was in it before the water had reached the far end!

Minnie sat down ready to be splashed by the others, but instead, when the trough was full, I sprayed the hose and she and Autumn Gold stood in the spray. It was a bit like an alpaca version of 'phone box cramming, or Mini cramming: how many alpacas can you cram into a foot trough! Having had their bath, they trotted off to roll in the pit, getting dirtier than before! But I could see that they were 'happier' for it.

Bramley has been weaning for two weeks, starting at six and a half months, and because we are sending them up the road for a holiday to rest our paddocks, we wanted to be sure she wouldn't sneak back to Mum once they were out of our sight, so yesterday brought them all back together - there had been a clear paddock between the groups for one week, then due to grass pressure, we let them into adjoining paddocks, so there were some kisses through the fence, and finally we put them together yesterday afternoon - after one attempt at the milk bar which brought a few kicks and remonstrations from Pelachuta, she has kept her distance, and we've been able to keep a close eye on them.

"Race you to the rolling pit!"

Smallholder to Stallholder

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Mrs. Smalholder became Mrs. Stallholder at The British Alpaca Futurity - we took part by taking a Craft Stand, as shown above, with our knitted and felted garments made with fleece from our own herd, hand-spun and felted at home (with knitting by Joy's sister Hilda)  - other producers of excellent alpaca fleece products attended too. A large and high quality entry of animals in the show ring was accompanied by a shorn fleece competition, a fibre craft competition, and photography competition - one of my entries, a picture of an alpacas eye with another alpaca reflected in its eyeball, won a First in its class. Once I'd had the idea, and taken this picture, I tried to improve on it, but after several hundred attempts, this remained the best - Moira, whose eye is in this picture, was very wary of me getting too close, and either backing away, or constantly moving her head, looking around, or there wouldn't be an alpaca reflected, or there would be too many, or the others would come and put their noses up to the lens to see what was going on - some have said I obviously have too much time on my hands, but then any owner will agree that there are few better ways of passing time, than with your animals, is there? It was good to meet existing friends and make new friends with breeders from the alpaca community across the UK and Europe.

I had looked into getting a paddock cleaner while there,  but was 'trumped' when Mrs Smallholder revealed she had bought a weaving loom, and after carefully assessing the back of the car (an estate), I conceded that it wouldn't fit along with our luggage, the stall products and the several bags of alpaca feed that I had already bought, taking advantage of the Show discounts on offer.

So on return this afternoon, I cleaned the paddocks with the existing paddock cleaning equipment: trowel, scoop, bucket and barrow - job done - healthy exercise, no fuel emissions and no money spent (well not by me).

Returning to our hotel after the Fashion Show and dinner, I was amazed to hear in the hotel car park, a blackbird and other birds chattering away at 1.30a.m! -  must be the street lighting (no it wasn't the effects of too much liquid refreshment!).

Bramleys weaning continues, and I led her by halter for some lush lawn grazing with Minnie and Ambrosia, while letting the other three into the big paddock - this means they are now in adjacent paddocks, but after a little re-union kiss through the fence, they settled down to their own grazing and haven't shown any signs of distress - I checked at dusk and I'll look out again and check by torchlight soon.

Hats in the ring.

Above, Bramley and her mum Pelachuta, enjoy their last evening together for a while.Yesterday we started Bramleys weaning - she is just over six months, and with a settled spell of weather, pressure to moveall the girls and rest the paddock, and show-time looming, it was time to act. We've divided the herd, keeping her group in the paddock with a shelter - they stay a way from the shelter though, opting to stay as close to the other group as possible. This paddock is also next to the garden, so we have started her halter training with visits to the lawn for good grazing, and to take her mind off mum. We are hoping that Minnie is still pregnant, and so she is in that group, and can get some good grass too.There's been a bit of pacing along the fence line and  humming, but that's true of several of the group - they don't like being seperated.

I was bent over poo-picking yesterday and Bramley came up to me and ducked under me looking for a suckle - I couldn't help though!

I've packaged my photo's for posting to the Futurity tomorrow, and checked that the suit trousers still fit. 'We' are taking a craft stall there, which Mrs. Smallholder (Joy) will be 'manning', under the a.p.p.l.e brand name - she's been very busy making all sorts of items for the stall - so do stop and say hello - I'm looking forward to every aspect of the show - if you  read this blog but you don't have alpacas yet, it's a great way to spend a day, with the seminars, the show ring, the fleeces, crafts, trade stalls and breeders to talk to - then later there's the fashion show, auctions and dinner -it's a great weekend absorbing all things alpaca -(11th & 12th, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire) - last year we missed the first day, as I was 'trapped' doing jury service.

We've had a letter from the Planners with queries about our project, referring to our "flock"!

We cast a critical eye over over Ambrosia (above) and Autumn Gold to see whether they should be shown this year, and we have reservations about both, but Bramley will definitely be putting her hat in the ring - meanwhile, hats made with Ambrosia's fleece and Autumn Golds' fleece WILL be on the craft table!

To finish, here's Pixie surveying the garden:

Perfect weather...

...for catching up on indoor work, like the accounts, and herd database. It's rained from dawn to dusk today, but yesterday was lovely, and we've not had much in comparison to Wales and the north. While poo-picking yesterday, I noticed a tiff going on between Moira and Pelachuta:

Ambrosia joins in and her tail goes up - I've noticed she's been raising challenges to Moira's authority frequently in the last few months

Bramley didn't like this carry-on, and headed for the comfort of the milk bar, while the grown-ups sorted out their differences!

Mrs. Smallholder held a modelling and photography session for her products.

Excitement, and progress on the property front, which I alluded to some months ago - we have submitted a Planning Application to build a fleece preparation workshop and craft studio on the site of our existing boarding cattery, which came with the property when we moved here - in addition we have a couple of possibilities to rent some land - this will give a much-needed rest to our own paddoocks, and enable us to look forward with our breeding programme, knowing that the comfort and well-being of the herd, which is paramount, has been planned.

In other news, our chicks are growing-up - these hatched from the incubator 11 days ago, and are clearly not impressed with the goon pointing a camera at them:

Eye in the sky.

The week began with a Burns Supper in the village hall - it's an extra special date, as I met Mrs. Smallholder at a Burns Supper, so it's an easily-remembered date (that's handy!), and great fun if it's done with all the traditional aspects.  It's continued cold and frosty this week, mainly over-cast, but today has been sunny all day. The alpacas all had a good roll in the rolling pit now that it is drying out. I gave them all their monthly ADE paste, and all were well -behaved.

Yesterday the South-West Alpaca Group held a Fibre-to-Market day at the premises of Classical Mile End Alpacas. It was well-attended, with talks on all aspects of fleece production and processing, and as always, good for socialising. It was bone-chillingly cold, so much so, that with frozen water pipes, we had to flush the loo by hand with jerry-cans - Rachel ensured we all kept warm with a great lunch.

On friday, I scored a hat-trick, having watched three films in the last couple of weeks, without falling asleep! In the past, I've even  fallen asleep during a James Bond film, to mention just one - but we've just seen all of the trilogy of The Girl with the Dragon tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Mrs. Smallholder had read all three books in six days over Christmas and the New year, so they were highly recommended.

Just as I was coming in at sunset this evening, a flock of Starlings flew over, heading towards the nature reserve that was shown on Countryfile last week, where they perform their roosting aerial ballet - the flock must have been two hundred yards long and twenty-five yards wide- in the garden, Starlings are the bullies, but their air displays are amazing.

Potty trained?

With all the recent talk about egg-laying, I had to share this with you - the eagle-eyed Mrs. Smallholder spotted this tiny hens egg in the chicken-run - now you know how newspaper reporters compare the size of things with Olympic swimming pools, elephants or double-decker buses? well, here is the egg with a normal egg and a double-decker bus...

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I was poo-picking outside of the alpacas shelter this afternoon, when Autumn Gold sniffed around the bucket, reversed, and promptly deposited her contribution into the bucket, saving me the effort! I didn't have the camera with me, and let's face it, who would have believed me anyway?

Eats, shoots and leaves...

To give an example of  being thrifty, the newspapers always state that the Queen saves pieces of string to use again - I have coat pockets and hooks in the shed full of baler twine - after all, it comes in useful for tying up sacks of hay, gates, this, that and the other, and of course, my trousers - but I'm still accumulating faster than I can use it, so rather than make a New Years resolution this year, I've decide to search for a new use for baler twine - current possibilities are perhaps a woven fireside rug or maybe a beach mat...

Today, I noticed some grass seed that I had optimistically scattered around a newly-planted tree in November has sprouted, and daffodil leaves have poked through this week - even the birdsong today sounded optimistic - yes, it's still the middle of January, but we're over the hump, and it's great to be looking forward to the year ahead - at least a wet sunday afternoon in January is an excuse for indoor planning.

We gave the alpacas a pedicure this morning - three of them decided to kush, which is more awkward, and Minnie put up her usual resistance, but we managed without getting kicked, while the air turned green around us.

All of a sudden the next six months looks busy, as we were trying to find a convenient period to take the herd to another field to rest our paddocks, while accommodating all the herd-related husbandry events coming up. We've resumed the lawn grazing treat since the snowfall, and the girls love it, though we had to go to great lengths to cordon-off the laurel (poisonous), and the garden shrubs.