Greetings all!

Not a bauble in the barn, nor paper-chain on a 'paca, but all is prepared for Christmas at Apple Vale HQ.
The herd aren't perfectly coifferred for a photograph, but we are all suffering from rain and mud at the moment, and at least they are getting out for exercise, 'sun'light and air. Camelot is performing like all cria do at this stage, and being the mobile hay-rick - he's sitting back left next to mum, Minnie. Pelachuta (fawn) and Moira(black), as elders watch the open entrance on the right, while Bramley, Ambrosia and Autumn Gold fill the space in the middle - a fairly regular arrangement of herd hierarchy.
Weekends have been spent slithering around in the mud, spreading gravel around the over-trodden areas around gate and shelter, and eeking out the thinning grass, by allowing them into the tiny orchard and keeping them off the alotment with some chestnut pale fence. We've been offerred a temporary paddock in the village needing some grazing, so we'll be taking a few of them up there soon. Due to the construction of the workshop and studio, we kept the trailer in the field just a bit too long, and won't get it out without borrowing a tractor and creating a lot of mess, so it will have to wait for the ground to firm up - we'll lead the halter-trained girls through the village to the new paddock.

Joys' website offering spinning and felting workshops has been launched and can be found at www.appleknit.co.uk - spread the word.

So here's wishing all readers best wishes for Christmas, and thanks for joining in with your comments, quips, advice, and encouragement.

In a spin.

No doubt about this being a tasty bit of grass!

On tuesday, I attended a Defra-funded 'Camelids and TB bio-security' workshop, with three speakers, who specialise in different aspects of the subject - it's vital to take note of the available knowledge and advice on a subject such as this, in order to minimise the risks to ones herd. It took place at a farm just past 'the middle of no-where', almost at 'the back of beyond'.

Camelot

With the increasing herd comes the increasing poo hoovering, and that means the original manure heap fills quite quickly, so I built another today, located at the top of the veg patch so that it's easier for emptying the hoover. Talking of the 'poover', I know there are many people who are interested in how I'm getting on with it (no, really!), and it certainly has its quirks, can sometimes be cantankerous, and I'm sure deserves a blog dedicated to it one rainy weekend when there's nothing else to write about - "like now", I hear you say. I'll spare you that for now.

Mrs. Smallholder has been working on her web-site with her designer, and is spinning like mad to meet the demand for her products - more news on that soon.

Slap and tickle!

There I was, poovering away in the warm sun, in a tee shirt, when a Red Admiral fluttered around and settled on my head- I wondered if Wimbledon had begun, but then, hang  on, IT'S NOVEMBER!

Minnie in the crush, after her pedicure.

Minnies mite-affected legs have been getting some Udder Salve 'slapped' on this week - while she is concentrating on her feed bucket in the morning, I have crept around with a handful of goo and rubbed it up her legs.

"I'm next!" - "no, it's my turn!"

Her toe-nails needed trimming and she's never enjoyed having her legs touched, so today we made a crush out of hurdles, gave her some Hazel leaves and Alfalfa for distraction, and I clipped them on the ground - it worked a treat.

Moira - enjoying her new-found treat.

Moira has always been timid and never eaten from the hand, but yesterday, I wanted to give Minnie extra feed in the afternoon as she is nursing and pregnant, so I took just two buckets of feed, which Minnie guarded well, and I distracted the others with carrot strips, and Moira joined in, and I repeated the exercise today.

Camelot - learning a new taste.

And the tickle? - for lunch we had 'Tickler' cheese - sorry to disapppoint!

Fibre studio opens.

Bubbly flowed, scones were scoffed, and sandwiches were swallowed, as we held an open afternoon

to mark the completion of our Studio & Workshop. On wednesday the vinyl floor was laid, and late on thursday afternoon the mains electric was connected - we had started imagining a candle-lit opening if there had been any major power interruption to delay the connection, but there was no hiccup.
Mrs. Smallholder, two of her sisters (Hilda the Chief knitter, and Gaye) and our daughter (Kerry) worked tirelessly to make all of the sandwiches, scones and other nibbles, serving drinks and selling products, and demonstrating spinning and weaving, while I was in charge of livestock...

We were supported by good friends from the village, and the alpaca world, with some travelling from as far away as Ilfracombe in North Devon and Salisbury in Wiltshire, which was greatly appreciated.

My one reservation about events like this, is not being able to spend proper time in conversation with people without having to break off to welcome new arrivals or wish farewell to departees, and worrying that someone has decided to leave after hanging around too long for a chat. The weather was warm and sunny after heavy showers, so although the ground was soggy, it was a perfect day for November, and the numbers of feet didn't destroy the garden or paddock. I've not posted any photographs with people here, as they filled the room, and it's just the backs of heads, so you'll have to trust me - or maybe some will crop up on other blogs in due course.

I had lured the herd onto the lawn for un-grazed grass and the Eucalyptus tree to browse over, so that they were close for visitors to view - I picked some Hazel stems and wedged them in the hurdles, as they love the leaves, and soon the leaves will have turned and fallen in any case.

Today, as I had noticed Minnies rear legs showing signs of rawness due to mite itching, I gave a topical treatment of Eprinex in pig-oil courtesy of a plant sprayer. I then spread two barrow-loads of sand and small rubble in the paddock to firm-up the deteriorating gateways.

 

So it's great to finish six months of building, and start a new phase of fibre processing, product development and craft training, and hopefully we'll make progress on pasture and livestock development.

ScannedADE

Our three pregnant girls all scanned positive on friday - we were sure about Autumn Gold in any case, as she has become a lot more 'feisty' since mating. Camelot had his ear-tag and microchip fitted.

Workshop side - flooring and more tables awaited.

 Today we gave ADE injections to each, and a few toe-nails were clipped. Bramley has a bit of a crusty skin on her legs so had a 'shampoo' and  'oil' treatment, made all the more difficult as she chose to kush throughout - she is as good as gold, but it was hard work rolling her around,and lifting her to open her legs up to get into the joints.

Clothes are models own...

Otherwise, it's been all-go in the Workshop & Studio - both the external doors had two coats of stain this weekend, thanks to mild and mainly dry weather, though I rigged up some protective polythene so we could leave the doors open and keep the slight drizzle off.

Studio side - each side has a mezzanine store - in this picture, supported by the roof truss in the background.

No time for alpaca pictures this weekend, so here are some sneak previews of the studio looking a little bare.

Hoovering acorns.

Heads down for afternoon tea - no time for posing for cameras.

I put a lot of effort into the title of my blogs, trying to make them true to the content, witty  and worthy of a quality newspaper or magazine (no, really, I do!). You may be thinking, 'ooh is that the title of the latest novel by Diana Gabaldon, or the title of the latest hit 'chic flic', or perhaps the title of the latest album by Mumford and Sons'? but no, I literally decided to hoover the acorns from under our Oak tree, as we will eventually allow the girls some grazing on the lawn. Now, the 'poover was quite happy to suck the individual acorns up, but eventually would have too many in its 'trunk' to swallow, and I would have to deftly lift the trunk above my head to aid digestion into the storage tank - if I did too quickly, I had a shower of acorns flung into the air!

The impending heavy rain brought by (unusually) south-easterly winds concentrated the efforts this weekend: yesterday I put up the guttering and down-pipe on the hay shed, and today I put the primer coat on the Studio and Workshop doors as they will get a direct hit from the rain - checking the weather forecast tonight it seems we may not get much rain tomorrow, as it is forecast mainly for Devon and Cornwall - this week should see the 'completion' of the Studio and workshop, with final fitting from electrician, plumber and carpenters. Mrs. Smallholder completed the emulsion today, so it is all looking wholesome. She's also been carding, spinning and plying, to build up stocks for our opening and Christmas.

Poovering the lower latrine had been difficult yesterday due to the length of the grass (like combing Play-Doh through a toddlers hair!), so this afternoon, I mowed it twice.

Camelot is showing interest in feed supplement  now - the girls all get a bucket each, and this week he has been cleaning up their buckets when they have finished. It's comical how despite having a bucket each, the girls have to bother each other so it ends up like musical chairs but with buckets, even though there are enough for one each!

Buff and sweep.

Mrs. Smallholder asked me to feel her biceps tonight - after emulsioning the ceilings and walls in the studio/workshop for two weeks, this weekend she's been rubbing wax into the exposed roof trusses, supporting posts, beams, and braces, and then buffing them - and it is all looking great - (and yes she does have some definition in the biceps). Meanwhile I've shifted even more rubble arising from the path and flight of steps that have been laid, and swept tons (alright, half a bag but it was a large area) of sand, dust and grit off the drive, patio and paths. Now that the building work is just about complete and tidy, the leaves are starting to replace the dust! hey ho.

"Bramley, what do you think this is?"

I've also laid slabs between the 'non-grazeable dry matter storage facility' (hay shed), and the 'livestock extreme weather defence shield' (open shelter).

"I've looked on 'PacaPedia', and I think it's an elephant"

Since buying the 'poover' in the spring, I'm occasionally asked how I'm getting on with it, and I mutter, 'yeah, fine' - not very helpful. When the herd was three in number, hand-collecting was easy, as it grew to five, it was manageable, then once the five were all adults, plus a sixth, it was time for an alternative, or quit the day-job and become a full-time pooper-scooper. So I bought the 'poover'. It's been very reliable - I've learnt not to walk too fast with it, or it (literally) throws a wobbler - our field is one side of a hill, so it makes sense to start at the top, and work down so I'm not pulling the increasing weight up hill - it's very obedient and follows me down the hill, without asking, if there's a south-westerly blowing - when the field is dry, the 'beans' make a satisfying rattle as they scuttle up the hose
 - occasionally, a dumpling will resist and keep dropping out of the tube, and then I have to wave it in the air, and ask gravity to help - emptying the bin requires a knack (doesn't everything in life), as the machine will fall forwards unless you have something to lean it against - and if the bin is full it's difficult to lift and empy into a four-sided manure heap, so it's best to try not to be too optimistic - we have around 14 hens, but Mary, the light coloured, is always there in a flash, up onto the heap to start raking over the new manure, like the men at the re-cycling centre!

All the herd were given Lambivac injections yesterday, which went smoothly. The most notable aspect was Autumn Golds reaction - she has been the most amiable of the herd until Bramley came along, but clearly some pregnancy hormones have kicked-in, as she was very reluctant to be held, and spat at us for the first time ever.