Tuesday 30 November 2010

All Fed Up !! ......

The horses....tucking into a new bale of hay !!
An orderley....queue......please !!

Haggis is waiting patiently...for his new bale !!.......

The girls on their way out into the snow this morning......
It has been another......freezing cold day...with the odd sprinkle of snow.....for a change !
Tonight I am all fed up.......not literally !!......just in a matter of fact. Today I have spent all afternoon.......doing one job or another.....infact...I have had my 'Jill of all Trades'.....hat on !!
I have had the tractor out......clearing the track.....then it was a case of putting some hay out for the horses....and the cows...to tide them over for another few days......whilst the snow is on the ground. Apparently it is going to get much colder......great....its already been minus 5.5.

I got all my jobs done....by tea-time......we had a walk down the track..with the dogs and for some reason.....I ended up at the post box !.....there's no way.....I was going to have any post !!

But it was a nice walk........the snow changes the landscape completely.....and I am really quite pleased with my track clearing.....snow-plough....even if I do say so myself. I just hope that we don't get any high winds or any more snow....that will just fill in the track. As it stands at the moment....its as good as I can get it....as long as I can get out ....if I have to.....that's the overall aim....in cases of emergencies.........

The girls have been out today.....knee deep in snow......they were quite confused...by the whole experience....you could almost see the confusion on their faces.....then someone decided to move and they all followed.....had a little walk round then it was into the field shelter......and to the hay !!

As evening approached....it was time to form an orderly queue at the gate...in for supper then off to bed....for an early night........so I am done for another...day.....just relaxing in front of the fire......its the only thing to do after..........another busy day .........maybe a snooze later !!!

Monday 29 November 2010

I have been OUT !! ......Hail the Hyundai !!

On my way back from the shops......a country road...leading to where I live !! Shortly after this photo...the snow slipped off the roof....on my way back down the track..... home !!.....
More snow this morning....the girls....are inside......!

My morning walk....down the track...to do a recky !!.......

Just before my quest to get to the shops........this afternoon.....

The crows......outside my window.....this morning !!

All hail the Hyundai !!......I have been out today....!!

We were brave and I was running out of essentials.....like bread and milk....so I was determined to brave the gauntlet of the track and see if I could get out.....mind you..the morning I woke up to...wasn't exactly ideal !!

We managed to get out onto the main roads...which weren't much better...than my track in places....but we got there and back in one piece.....I must say this little car really does impress me......we were united in our quest to get to the shops and back...safely.......and we did.....

So I have managed to stock up on the milk and bread...and one or two other items.......so hopefully we will survive, until the big thaw !!....I don;t know when that will be !!

Before I braved my escape, I was once again doing some track and snow clearance....just to give me a good chance of managing to get out......I have had no post.......now there's a surprise........I don't think the postman would be able to get along the road...to me....as there are a couple of little hills and unless you have a 4x4....I don't think you'd get up them....

The snow looks like its going to linger.....my water is frozen today...so just another jobs to do....on the list.......tonight I have.....drudged up the wood...to feed the birds....the snow is really deep.......up there....I don't think I would have got up there with the quad tonight......so hopefully the birds and the wildlife are fed.....for the next couple of days....

When I looked out of my window this morning.....there were loads of Corby Crows...sitting on the fence and feeding outside the window.....well every thing needs a helping hand in this weather.......!!

Sunday 28 November 2010

Battle to Get Out !!.....continues......

The tractor....with my home-made snow plough......its an 8ft strainer....chained on !!
View of the garden and the weather.....today !!!!

This is the view...outside the kitchen window......I have moved the car...!!!!


YIPEE......we got out......onto the main road !!.......I like my Hyundai !!!!!!....its wrinkle free Rob !!


View up to the farm this morning..before the snow-ploughing.....began and the quest to get out !!

Another snowy day and the battle to get out is in full swing !!

Today...I have spent most of the day......either in the tractor....with my homemade snow plough attachment....on !

After several trips.....up and down the track......pushing away the snow....that seems to be falling just as quick as I can clear it......I decided that I should scrape away the snow that has formed on my car.......there was at least a foot on the roof...and allover....it took me ages to clear it...I thought I'd better start it up just to make sure and to give the engine a chance to warm up. Then after last year...I was blocked in for 5 weeks...and a huge wave of snow built up in front of the car and it took me ages to get out....I thought I'd move it...to prevent that happening again.....after I moved the car...I thought....should I give it a go....to see if I could get out onto the road....I decided to go for it and see if I could get out and back with the car.

Now for some who have posh cars....I myself have a little 4x4 Hyundai...and it has served me very well indeed.....I actually like my car !!!!......and after todays performance...I like it even more......I have some decent tyres on it and they do make a difference...it did have just road tyres on...but it now has.....'town n country' ones on......and in weather like this they get a much better grip !!

I have actually contemplated getting some snow chains....just for days like this...to get me .....out of the track....and onto the main roads......I'm still thinking about that....but with this weather....you wish you had some......

So just for the record.....more snow....more...snow ploughing....and strangely enough...I feel just like I did.....earlier......on in the year.....waging a war...in an attempt to be able to get out !

I just didn't think it would be so soon !!!!!

Thankfully the animals are well.....and have spent the day inside.....the snow is so deep I can't get the gates open...and even if I did......there's nothing for them to eat...under all that snow !!
We will battle on !!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday 27 November 2010

Snow Storms.....never ending !!

Slightly.....snow dusted.....Alpacas.....
The girls watching.....Peter and Will collecting up the sheep.....

Up the wood.....tonight......with the quad....

Rounding up the sheep this morning......

View from the wood....looking down to the farm.......

What a Saturday.....snow storms off and on all day !!

We had more snow overnight.....and as usual...there was more and more snow through-out the day......

The sheep have been collected.....this morning...Peter and Will came together with three sheep dogs..to round them all up and take them back to their home farm.....for the rest of the winter months.......the dogs are marvellous......what a job they do !

It was nice to see the dogs working the sheep and although the weather has been bad, all the sheep were accounted for........so they made their way down the track to the tractor and trailer......as it was left about a mile away........just to be on the safe side......as its a bit tricky to get a good run onto the main roads.....and they didn't want to get stuck.....

The alpacas were intrigued with the commotion and were fascinated with both the dogs and the sheep....the girls have been out today braving the snow storms.......and were waiting patiently at the gate.....wanting to come in tonight...when I returned from my little scramble round the wood.....I decided to take the quad bike up the wood, as I usually feed the wild-life...instead of walking.......I was determined to get the quad up there..to put a few tracks down.....I also took the dogs with me for their night-time walk...so two jobs done at once.....I had a good......scramble round the wood...and managed not to get stuck......last winter I got the quad stuck about 4 times.....and its a 4x4 !........

So obviously photos...are essential......and there is no stopping me now I have the knack !!.....so here are a few photos of todays...little adventures......in the ever increasing snow !!.....

All in all........a good day.....its still snowing.....tonight......looks like its here to stay a while !!
I've just checked the weather station and its freezing outside...its showing minus 5.3 degrees !! I'm glad I'm tucked up in front of the fire !!....

Friday 26 November 2010

Its now 'Propa' Snow....and its getting Deeper !! :-(

Tremona, I have found Hay ..........
Back to the shelter.......

We have had more snow.....tonight !

Morning view....it has got much worse....tonight !!!!!!!!!

The Girls.....enjoying the snow !!!!!!!!!!!

What another day !!.....snow on snow...and then more snow on snow !!.....its now getting bleak !!......again...just like last winter !
Tonight....it has been snowing really heavily and I now can't see out of the windows....as the drifting snow has drifted......against the glass.....

We are now under about 8" and if it continues all through the night it will be into feet !!

So today I took some more photos......I have been down the track with the tractor....just to make tracks down to the road. I have also been out in the car for supplies.....well some Petrol for the quad and some diesel for the car....then a quick return to see to the animals...

I turned the girls out today for a couple of hours...they enjoyed the snow....had a roll and a pronk around.......for a little while..till the next flurry of snow and it was straight to the field shelter......they're not daft !!
We are all tucked up in bed.....out of the weather.......we have battened down the hatches...and the fire is on and hopefully all is cosy and well....

Who know what I wake up to in the morning.......

The sheep are due to be collected tomorrow......hopefully the sooner the better.....its no fun out there...for man nor beast !.......

Thursday 25 November 2010

Did anyone mention......Mud !!!!! ......and Snow !!!!

From one extreme to another......thankfully.....with snow.......no mud !!
Tremona....Trienza....and Zullulah....enjoying the MUD !!!!!!!!!!!!

Zullulah.......!! this is bouncy stuff !!..........


YIPEE !!..............MUD !! and Zullulah........


It has been a bitterly cold day today...with snow showers...off and on..the wind is biting cold.

Meanwhile......now that I have the ability to download my photos from my phone....I can now share some of them with you !!.....so earlier this month....I took some of Zullulah enjoying the mud.....long before the snow arrived......I wanted to do a posting but it would mean nothing without the photos...

So better late than never....here is Zullulah....enjoying some mud therapy......its nice to see someone who enjoys the stuff.....

We have had a light dusting of snow......today most of the animals have been inside and hanging around the hay rings........

I have been out shopping today to stock up on my animal feed.....so the cupboards are stocked and hopefully we have plenty of feed to last us over this snowy spell......

Oh....just to depress everyone.....its only one month till Christmas Day !!.......another year is drawing to an end.......

I have survived .............. I am hopefully,..... definitely....older.....and maybe......I would like to think a little wiser !!

I am looking.....forward to a Happier 2011 !!.......

Zanzibah Alpacas will be 5 years old in 2011......that's enough of my melancholy moment !!

We might even have 5 or 6 babies...to Welcome......next year !

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Winter Wonderland !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zeto and Duke....kicked out...whilst I got some bales of hay !!
White-out !!....its definitely winter up here !!

Haggis and Dougal....tucking into their hay .......


Phew....what a day !!......looking glam as usual....soaked and...muddy.....I need a make-over !!..without the mud...........somewhere under there is a glamour puss !!....honestly !!!!!!!! :-)


What a day !!......

Winter has definitely arrived.....and I had taken some action shots on my phone !.......and up until now I have not managed to work out how to download them onto my computer.....until now !!.......that is.....tonight I have managed somehow to do it....so all those lovely photos I have taken.....I can now share them with you !!........yipee.....the ones of the swans !....last week.....and the blizzards of today.......!!!!!!!!!!!

Now if I hadn't taken photos...I'm sure no one would believe me.....but the weathermen are right.....we have sleet......snow and blizzards....in fact as I type...the wind is howling and I can hear the hail stones....pelting down the chimney !!......fear not the fire is on and roaring....

Everyone apart from the Highland Cows are tucked up nice and snug !! Infact I have been not feeling too grand this week...but thankfully I felt able to do the chores of today, in preparation for this severe weather warning......we have been told !!....and apparently its going to be worse for the weekend ....

I had to kick the alpacas out briefly whilst I moved bales of hay out of the barn for the cows, the horses and into the top barn for the alpaca girls........I even managed to take a photo of me....looking not so glamorous...with a strategically placed bit of mud....on my face !! Looking ever so like the Cinderella as usual !.....oneday this cinders...will go to the ball !!

So here are some photos....taken off my swanky new phone !......technology is great when you stumble into it.....as I do......regularly......I haven't had the course...but I manage somehow !!

Monday 22 November 2010

High Alert !!......for some .....!!!

The girls......nothing exciting going on....here !
A little Blue-Tit.....enjoying the fat-balls....in the pine tree......

Boys are watching the fox.....some more than others.......


Mr Foxy....crossing the hill.......!

It has been a totally miserable day here today....so much so that all the alpacas have spent the day indoors.......me too.......mostly.....feeling a little under the weather !....

According to the weather forecast its only going to get much worse....and if they are right we are going to have heavy snow by the weekend !!......great !!!!!!!

Anyway back to Sunday, I happened to go out into the conservatory and by chance I noticed that most of the boys were on 'High Alert' well most were at least interested....and there was a good reason for the interest....

There on the hill was Mr Foxy !!....obviously looking for some afternoon tea !....well for those who don't know me, I actually like the wildlife....and I believe in live and let live !!......so by the time I could get the camera to take a photo...it had moved away....so the photos are not that good...but it definitely was a fox and.....caused quite a bit of interest in the alpaca boys field.

At this time of year...things are out and about searching for a meal or two.....and I regularly see the odd fox crossing the farmland. So long as they stay away from my chucks.....I really don't mind....anyway the alpacas do a great job of chasing them if they dare to enter their fields, I have personally witnessed them chase a fox out of their fields so its very true. The alpacas know who should and shouldn't be in their fields......and do not tolerate the odd fox. The foxes have become wise of this and take an alternative route.

Hopefully the alpacas will be out tomorrow....weather permitting.......I shall keep you posted as to the first snowfall of the year...........The little dicky-birds are enjoying the fatballs in the garden.........Winter has arrived .............Brrrrrrrrrr !!

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Winter update !!

The girls out grazing today....
Some of the older boys......one side of the field.....

The rest of the younger boys...over the other side of the field !


Zeto and Duke......in the baby paddock !!.......with a woolly friend !!


It has been quite frosty over the past couple of days......but its not cold enough to freeze the mud !! ...... :-(

We have had a bright wintry day today so I thought that I'd take the opportunity to take some up to date photos of the alpacas....out grazing this afternoon.

The grass has slowed down and at this temperature will definitely stop growing. Today I moved the cows down onto the 10 acre field for the winter, this is where they will stay until spring. This means if the winter is a bad one, I can manage to get to them with hay, lets hope its not as bad as last year !!

Thankfully Haggis is an old Gent and knows the route..he just slowly makes his way down to the new field and Dougal usually follows.

The alpacas appear to be well and hopefully are entering the winter months....in good health. The females are now about 4 months pregnant and we should be having new arrivals in June sometime.....its really quite strange how the days and year ticks on.

Sunday 14 November 2010

Back on the Blog !!.....

Ah...... Sumertime......memories...!!.....no mud ...........
Zerquo.......and the boys.....earlier this year......

Oh firstly I must apologise for the lack of blogging over the past couple of weeks.....I have been neglecting my duties as blog-mister !!.......

So we are back......I have been other wise busy what with one thing and another......DIY related....my parents have been here and we have been very busy indeed.....

Zanzibah Land is ticking along nicely albeit in various degrees of mud !!.....did I mention mud !!.....at this time of year....that's sadly what I seem to spend my life in.....sloshing around with muddy feet....muddy hands....and on rare occasions......even a muddy....nose !! It makes a change to the odd unpleasant....green covering that I have also been known to ware......usually provided by Minstrel......in fact it was only last week....I was lovely and clean.....for a brief moment......that soon changed as I was close proximity to Minstrel and she soon put pay to that !!.....

Anyway onto a different topic......I looked out of my kitchen window..this morning and watched a huge Heron land in the field...so I got the binoculars out to have a closer look.....fantastic....then today I went out.....into the normal world.....I had to go shopping and on my way I noticed a group of about twelve Hooper Swans had came to rest in the stubble field.....I stopped and took a photo on my camera....shame I haven't worked out how to download them onto the computer..but I am a bit on the slow side....where technology is involved.........then further along the road....a beautiful Buzzard flew in front of my car......I couldn't help thinking........how fantastic.....and beautiful nature is...and I am very lucky to be able to see these beautiful.....creatures.....

Then obviously...it was back to the Mud !!!!