Faecal Attraction.

Joy is busy creating products for the stand at the Futurity Fibre Arts Village. She has posted pictures on Facebook, of some of the collection of knitted and felted bears that will be 'attending' : go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/APPLE-Alpaca-Craft/136378046416571Facebook 'APPLE Alpaca Craft',

Camelot has been doing a lot of mud rolling...

Meanwhile, Camelot has settled into his weaning at home with Moira, Autumn Gold and us, while the other four are away at 'graze-camp' up in the village - I cycle over there with their feed in the morning after I've fed the other three, and then drive over from the office during the afternoon before dark to check up on them and deliver their hay-bags.

"...19,20... coming ready or not!"

In the picture above, the hen had just jumped off the gate, so is in mid-flight, though it looks like it is hiding under it's wings.
Last week I met a man with a thermal imaging camera which was very interesting, and I hope to have more on that another time.

"Can't stop, the gate to the lawn has been opened, and there's good grass to be had"

"hey, wait for us!"

We do our own regular faecal tests, and for two of them this will be weekly - having brought Autumn Gold back from 'graze-camp' we are watching to see if she's brought any 'passengers' back, and with Camelot being weaned, we are watching his parasite levels as he adjusts to being without his mums resistance. We want to try and avoid anti-biotic resistance, so will only treat if the tests indicate a need - so far, so good -  which reminds me, I must read Claire Whiteheads article in this months Alpaca World - there's also a good summary of the TB Bio-security Workshop by Mark Steele - (I didn't notice you making notes Mark, so the 'day job' has clearly had benefits in your powers of observation and recollection!). Incidentally, we are spoilt in having such a good independant magazine in our relatively small industry.

And so to accurate faecal collection - remember the 3 S's: spot, sprint, scoop - spot who is doing it and where, move swiftly keeping an eye on it as there will be other piles near-by, scoop it into your sampling vessel (I use plastic party beakers, and you can write the 'doners' name on it - sample collected, now hand it to your laboratory technician (Mrs. Smallholder in this case).
Trivia: Tonights accompanying music as I write this: Moon Safari, by Air - unexpectedly fantastic.

A thought I had the other day: we credit alpacas with being inquisitive, and rightly so - when you compare what I believe to be the average day on the Altiplano: chill air drifting beneath a blue sky, searching for minimal stalky sustainance in dusty scrub, while the (very) occasional Condor wheels overhead, and Puma lurk behind rocks, with an average day on this cramped island: fox, deer, rabbits, badger, crows, sparrowhawk, buzzard, people, dogs, cats, aircraft, cars - it must be like the difference between living in our countryside compared with a day trip to London.

Cosmic microwave background...

No, I didn't understand it either, but I do enjoy 'Stargazing Live', and astronomy, in a simple way. So lacking photo's of clean alpacas, here is a picture of our young Oak tree in the moonlight a few (very early) mornings ago - I only got up to answer a call of nature and got lured outside in dressing gown, with camera and tripod - just an experiment...

Anyway, I'd mentioned a while ago, that our trailer was trapped in the field, waiting for better weather to allow the car in to retrieve it without getting stuck - so saturday morning I noticed that the level of frost looked capable of supporting the car, but I had guitar-based business to deal with, and decided to get up early on sunday to attempt a rescue - 7.00 sunday morning, went out - no frost - the going was 'good-to soft' is the racing term I think, and no good, even for a Subaru 4 x 4, due to the slope of our hill. However, yesterday, dawn broke with a frost, and I went for it - up the neighbours hill which faces south and is in much better condition, over the brow, into ours, down the bottom, hook-up, foot down, up the slope, bit of wheel-spin starting, turn across the slope to slacken the gradient, and... yes! made it. So today, we started Camelot's weaning, by taking his mum, Minnie, over to the rented orchard at the other end of the village to join the others, and brought Autumn Gold back for additional company, along with Moira who was already here. Autumn is rather large, and yet they all get the same feed in individual buckets, and she isn't a bully, so at least with our sparse grass, she can't gorge on the lush grass of the orchard. Camelot has also started his halter training.

Last thursday morning during the gales, I had just fed the three remaining here at home, when a gust of wind came roaring acrooss the vale, into the open face of the shelter, and lifted the shelter and corner (tree trunk) post four inches off the ground - just as I pondered whether to grab hold to keep it down (!), the gust passed and it settled down - phew! I quickly tied it to the hay shed for good measure.

Regarding the Futurity, we've made bookings, but we've also made some economies compared with other years - it seems that perhaps the NEC's proximity to the airport, and perhaps the large number of exhibition halls means the hotels can charge a premium, so the whole event can be much more expensive - that's not a complaint, because hopefully, there will be a much greater footfall of the general public, with follow-on benefits to all breeders, but it does mean you have to be careful to weigh-up the benefits against the costs a little more carefully.

I've put our expected birth dates into the calendar along with shows, and Joy has some bookings for felting, and is preparing 'goods' for the Futurity, so there's plenty to look forward to.

Hippy New Year!

Here's hoping everyone has had an enjoyable festive period. Once we were left 'empty-nesters' again after Christmas, we gave the periodical Vitamin ADE injections, and then yesterday, we walked our four halter-trained alpacas, two at a time, a quarter of a mile through the village to a lush orchard for new grazing. Camelot has stayed behind for halter training, with his mum and Moira, which began today.

lush new grazing

Further to previous blog - Barbara, you may be delighted to hear that Santa brought me a string of solar-powered l.e.d's, which I've strung through the shelter - post-Christmas it's like a fairy grotto/hippy den!

Moira enhanced her thin coat, with an idea from the  Worzel Gummidge collection.

The previous blog also referred to the newly-launched Appleknit web-site - but what I hadn't realised, as it was 'top-secret', was that the 'incompleteness' wasn't due to tardiness by the web-developer (son), but because our three 'children' had all played a part in secretly creating a short video introduction for the Homepage and Youtube, which was only uploaded on Christmas Day as a pressie for Mrs. Smallholder - Kerry filmed the action sequences and photographed the still shots, Phil' edited the whole, and Ross made it 'web-suitable', each using their particular professional skills. So please have a look, and if you 'share' it on Facebook to spread the word, it would be appreciated greatly! www.appleknit.co.uk

spoiled for choice.

Talking of Facebook, I have to confess to be dragged screaming and kicking into joining today - I had been registered eighteen months ago, but buried my head in the sand and refused to activate it, and this evening was coerced in a weak moment - due to my wanting to fully support Appleknit, naturally - after all I am a shareholder. Now it seems, every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to be my friend! If you are Tom, Dick or Harry, well sorry, I only have room for one of each, and I'll be holding interviews/auditions for those places in due course...

Meanwhile, it's fun looking forward to the show schedule, conferences, training days, birthing 'schedule', new grass, longer days, and I'm updating up the administration while I've a bit of holiday left. Best wishes for a happy, healthy, safe, satisfying and prosperous year.

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.