Mobile shelter launched (nearly)

Yesterday, the new, modular alpaca rain and sun shade was assembled in position. Since I made them, the herd have been spending nights in the barn for obvious reasons, and due to the soggy ground it would have been too difficult to get the shelter over the hill, however yesterdays sunshine and a reasonable weather forecast suggests there will be some drying out this week, and indeed the herd didn't even head back last night, being happy to sit on the grass again.

I fitted a temporary cross-bar across the frame, so I could pick up each module supported across my shoulders, and one at a time headed up the still-slippery hill, resembling a tortoise - as I reached the top, the northerly wind started pushing me, and I had the option of testing it as an alternative hang-glider, but resisted that temptation and scurried over before the wind made the decision for me!

For anyone who's interested, here is a summary of the construction - the essence of the design was to be light, moveable by one person, and not requiring level ground - it isn't waterproof, but provides shelter and shade, like a hedge, and is cheap. The batten cost £50, the ground anchors £15 and the windbreak £60 for a 65% woven poly-something-or-other shade from www.allplas.co.uk , plus a bit for bolts etc.

I used 50 x 25 batten, but you have to be selective which pieces you use as it can be knotty. A patio with square slabs is useful for setting out the main triangle. The main joints are bolted.

Each module is 1200mm wide, and the roof and rear wall are cross-braced for rigidity.

The fabric is tacked on rather like upholstery (as if I'd know!) and wrapped around the edges for strength:

These anchors came from a camping shop - they are quite a good length.

I had these pins made 400mm long for anchoring fencing, as the longest tent pegs I could find are 300mm which isn't long enough (though it depends on your soil - ours is clay).

The pins are skew-nailed across the frame.

I've used 2 dog anchors where the modules join each other, tied with baler twine(!), though you could use a long bolt.

As I said before, they are suited to sloping ground:

I'll let you know, when they are tested by the wind....fingers crossed....

Meanwhhile, the boys have moved to the old tennis court for weaning, with Darcys older brother Camelot as head-boy, and halter-training has begun:

"No feeling in my fingers, no feeling in my toes..."

With respect to Wet, Wet, Wet, I've changed the lyric, you'll have to sing it yourselves. Yesterday there was a very slight thaw, under the snow, so the squelch had returned, but today it's been sub-zero, so at least I could get about without sliding or making a mess - so I tinkered with one of the gates until my toes went numb.

Before that, the hard ground meant I could get a wheel-barrow to the top of the hill, and spread hardcore in a gateway, and that was after mucking-out the shelter and spreading the straw around the alotment - the sure way to get up a sweat on a cold day!

The alpacas spent a few hours looking for grass before returning to the shelters. Meanwhile, one of the pleasures of snow, is the way it can turn ordinary things into fabulous sculptures for a while, so for anyone who is still waiting for their sprinkling of snow (Barbara), here are some scenes from our garden:

Snow moustache anyone?

No words required.

Autumn Gold, with daughter Golden Delicious

Bramley

Bramley

Camelot - deep down, my fleece is white, as pure as the driven sn........

Gimme shelter.

Three modules of the frame.

 When we bought our new field one of the tasks on the programme was to consider shelter, as there is only hedging to the eastern boundary, and the alpacas would need protection from the rain-bearing south-westerlies, in addition to sunshading (yes, we look THAT far ahead!). Planted hedging would take far too long (and get eaten), so on a train journey, I sketched out some ideas for a wind-break and sunshade that would be mobile, and therefore lightweight, cheap and quick to make - it's made in three seperate modules. With the materials delivered just before Christmas, I was able to make the most of my holiday, and avoided relaxing between Boxing Day and the New Year, and make good progress, so that it should be complete next weekend.

In between, we've fitted-in some body-scoring, halter introductions and fringe-trimming, and the usual muck clearing - we've had slow drying-out of the fields, so yesterday I filled buckets with alpaca-friendly hardcore (no sharp tiles) by hand and slithered up the hill to the stodgy gateway linking the fields - by the end of the day, my knuckles were dragging on the ground, but it was worth it to prevent a quagmire, for the benefit of the animals.

first module made, and two more end frames on the ground.

Laid on its back, fitting the fabric.

Until the shelter is complete, the herd are brought back over the hill to the shelter and barn, when there is heavy rain forecast. Coming soon... the completed shelter...how long will the alpacas take to try it out?...
Wishing a Happy Healthy New Year to all in the alpaca community.

Christmas stodge!

No, I've not started over-indulging, yet - the title relates to the state of the ground - our property has a rounded ridge, with a northerly slope and a southerly slope - after rain, it stands on the top and on the slopes - water is defying gravity now! Needless to say, we have no white alpacas for the time being. Since moving them to the new paddock, we've barely had a night when I've not brought them back to the shelter to avoid heavy rain. On the positive side, we are past the solstice, and the days are lengthening!

Mrs. Smallholder spent an evening explaining colour genetics to me - very worthwhile, and we looked into the BAS pedigree database to test the theory - there IS complete logic to colour genetics after all, it's the ancestry that can create uncertainty.

Cake by Mrs. Smallholder, Marzipan and Icing by yours truly.

Fortunately, my son took this picture today - the clean part of Autumn Gold:

"can we come in tonight?"

Wishing a Happy Christmas to you all, from Dave and Joy.

Ten, Tango and a Triangle.

We've been busy in the last few weeks using every spare daylight minute, and days off the day job, fencing one of our new paddocks to see us through the winter - yesterday, we released the herd into the paddock:

The charge of the light (and some browns) brigade.

Today we gave them all ADE injections.

They now have a south-facing hill.

 

"Race you to the top!"

Discovery galloped, pronked, and threw sideways 'shapes'

I collected Camelot from his agisting farm yesterday, and he met the herd from a distance - we're very pleased with his fleece too:

Camelot stays in his quarantine paddock, while Discovery checks him out.

...and the title? All ten of the herd are together again - the new paddock is a triangular because it suits the final layout of lanes and paddocks - and the tango? I'm 'Strictly' settling down for the dancing and Sports Personality!

Most fields in an agricultural holding have names which the farmers through history have evolved to identify them. When you divide a field, you then have to come up with new names - we currently have the Orchard Paddock and the Top and Bottom paddocks (creative aren't we?). The new field we will be dividing, but so far only has a triangular paddock, which we have ended up referring to, as 'the pi-angle'...have you some 'interesting'names for your paddocks?

'Movember' rain.

One of the roads out of the village lies under this water.

View towards the Quantock Hills & Exmoor beyond.

View towards the Blackdown Hills.

Fortunately we are located way above The Levels, so the flooding is just a picturesque inconvenience to us, but many others have suffered worse. We had Camelot castrated a couple of weeks ago on the wednesday when the flooding began to hit, and I couldn't get to the farm where he is agisted, due to flooding 2 miles from the farm - very frusttrating and disappointing not to be with him (the vet had to delay his trip until the afternoon, by which time I was 35 miles away). Then I was unable to get to the SWAG AGM on the following sunday, after more torrential rain the night before. We've put in the fence posts for the first paddock in our new field, and I've installed the gate connecting to the field - 3 more gates to fit, and then the badger-resistant fencing. Joy had seven ladies visit for a felting class on saturday, preceded by a couple of evening classes last week. I grew a 'mo' for Movember and before shaving it off, I offered it for spinning or felting but apparently it was too coarse, too short and with no crimp...