Monday 22 December 2008

Red Sky at Night !!!!




Tonight, I looked out of the window, just before bed time and I could not believe the beautiful sunset that greeted my eyes !!.....so needless to say I did not hesitate, I got the camera out.....and without the automatic function !!!!...managed to take these lovely photos of the alpaca boys against the sunset....it was a magical moment.

Friday 19 December 2008

The 'Stick Maker'......Hobbit on the Hill ...





I feel the need to share these photos with you...I know not Alpaca related at all.

My father who is retired, has taken himself of to his garden shed...spends hours up there, my mam has even called out for the local search party on occasions, although he does surface when the hunger strikes...can't work on an empty stomach !! for all who knows Mr Ward....!!

So he spends hours,.... days,... turn into weeks and he has become addicted....can't tare himself away from the good old garden shed...I know you are all wondering at this point what on earth does he do up there for hours,days weeks...so what do you think of these....

I have placed an order for any Alpaca one, but he said I've got no chance..

I am very proud of his creations...I know he is to..we are quite 'crafty' up here I'll have you know, although my parents do live in co Durham.

Here comes........Everette Green......


Ok, you didn't have to wait that long to meet Everette Green....he's a happy chap, singing and dancing to the good old Christmas Songs. A little encouragement, like a clap of the hands will do and off he goes...all singing and dancing the best little Christmas Tree...of all.

He has been visiting us now for 11 years and he never complains, a little battery request and he's happy. Then after a few weeks back to sleep in his box till next year !

I know some question the sanity of the writer at times, but well why not, us adults have to play sometimes...keeps you sane in this big wide world....so don't be shy, have a try....go on put a smile on your face !...Hope Everette has managed to put even a little smirk on you....that'll do.

Hang on to your Hat !!!!!.........



As I speak we are being battered by the mighty wind.....it must be 80 miles/hour or even more out there....thankfully, I hope the alpacas are all tucked up in bed, so they should not blow away !!...I wonder if they will have any fleece left in the morning !

I must admit, I do wonder if we will have any roofs on in the morning, no doubt the baubles will have blown off the Christmas Tree......it happens every year, I put the decorations on the tree in the garden and we are blighted by gales from hell !!

I have noticed that Santa has been early in Patou land.....must have a special early delivery slot !!....and there is some mighty fine pictures that have appeared on their blog, so much for the old excuse.....I don't know how to work it, and then you find the automatic/fool proof......button that turns you into an instant photographer. So there are no excuses about the picture quality for future photo shoots. I myself have a little digital camera, I feel that technology is leaving me behind at a rapid rate of knotts. So I will coninue to struggle to get my head around the technological advances. The good old spinning wheel is just about my pace. Although we have got the electric light up as far north as bonnie Scotland !

As there appears to be a photo opportunity here, hope you like these....not on automatic function either !, for some of us with a lot cheaper camera, ( jealousy gets you no-where) apparently !!

Have I mentioned Everett Green......its that time of year so, I will show you him shortly, I need to take some pictures. He comes out of his box this time every year, for the past 11 years. He is always greeted with excitement. Sings and dances better than Santa.

I have heard a rumour that there are places for Brown Alpacas, with red noses to pull this years sleigh, so if you have any get in touch with Santa, he needs a reserve sleigh pulling team.....for the far north of Scotland !!

Did you know that alpacas are preferred by Santa because, they can Hum....'Santa Claus is coming to Town' far better that any reindeer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ha...Ha..

Enough of this dribble.....Merry Christmas to you All....and a Happy New Alpaca Year !....Bring on 2009, can't be any worse than 2008.....can it !!..time will tell.

Saturday 13 December 2008

HALLELUJAH !!!!!!!!.........Ha.....Ha.....


Alexandera has won the X Factor !!!!!!!!!!!!!.......I know, you're asking yourself have I got nothing else to do on a Saturday night !!!....obviously not.....

Never mind, sitting in front of the telly, roaring fire, what else would a middle aged, country girl at heart be doing, apart from something constructive like, spinning my mounds of alpaca fleece up into something nice, or even dreaming of more alpacas........thinking of what weird and wonderful names I can come up with, for the pending new arrivals, all being well hopefully next year !!

Oh...did someone mention it was Christmas in two weeks, I suppose wrapping presents, getting into the festive spirit and eating to much....well that can be done through-out the year, can't it.

Enough of this dribble, I run the risk of going on about nothing, I might have something more informative later

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Well you asked for it !!!.......Herd Names !!


Well here goes, on the subject of herd names, I have been asked to account for myself regarding the name I picked for Zanzibah Alpacas.

So....where do I begin, It took me a long time to save for my Alpaca purchases and there was one good excuse to mention the dreaded 40th..birthday !!.... any one would have done at the time but it was that one....so,

As I was raiding the piggy bank, I had plenty time on my hands to think of a weird and wonderful name, me being a piece an, were quite creative and have a good imagination, have I mentioned my stories I have written....Gerry and Lucy know about them....I did bore them with the one about Sarah Bonnet!!!...shes is a legend in the chicken shed...oh !...see I have gone off the track already. I feel the need to mention that Im a little girl at heart, trapped in a larger adult body !!

After some weird and wonderful creative experience, I came up with the name of Zanzibah Alpacas, this came about solely because, after lots of thinking, I decided that I could actually draw the name and make an alpaca design out of it !!...strange though it may seem, I actually picked the name, because I like it and for that sole purpose.....so I designed my logo myself and drew the famous Zanzibah Logo, Just in case you have not seen it, here it is, I also came up with a mnemonic to go with the logo, Im sure you have seen this on my earlier blogs...Come on Mark you know what one of those is !! doing your day job..

So thats the story behind the Zanzibah name....now you know...as simple as that !

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Exploring the Snow !!





Today was a lovely brisk wintery day, so I decided to have a walk around and take some more photos of the alpacas out enjoying the snow.

We have a good coverage of snow probably about 4/6". The winter sun was shining and the gang seemed to enjoy their time out playing and exploring their new environment.

Apparently we are forecast much more snow over the next few days, so we might even get blocked in !!!

Zanubis even managed to collect some more Docking Stalks !!, I have even managed to find out where he is finding them all from, the bottom of the field.

All the girls and the babies went down to the bottom of the field, found the docking stalks and proceeded to rub and lie down on top of them, so now I know. Thankfully, they fell off, over the course of the day, so no 'Spit fest' tonight.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Alpaca with Attitude !!!....


Well, the story begins on Sunday evening when I brought the girls and babies in for their bed time. I shall set the scene, I have a multi coloured black and white female called Minstrel, she has a lovely rose grey baby called Zanubis. So as usual all came into the shed for bed, I noticed that Zanubis was covered in Docking stalks all over him, he had obviously collected them up through out the day !!!!...so my big mistake was I thought I had nothing to do but take them off him.....however Minstrel had other ideas and the saga started. I must point out that although Minstrel will happily refuse Zanubis his milk, he feeds only when she decides !! and she does not mess about with anyone, or any alpaca. I made the big mistake of daring to touch her baby !! and the experience was memorable, needless to say I was drowned in a Spit Fest !!!!! which lasted what seemed to be an age, simple task turned into a quest of the night....I was covered from top to toe in green stinking alpaca spit !!!! not a nice experience, and I still had the docking stalks to shift. At one point I was that fed up of her, I thought I'd fight fire with fire and I must admit to having a bit of a lack of sense of humour failure, so I decided to drown her with the water out of my bucket, I thought if she can spit, then so can I....I have to admit that I did soak her with a few good handfuls of water out of the bucket !!!!......I was stinking and she was soaked, both of us at this point were sulking a bit, she stopped spitting and I think she got the message...she then went into the huff, dropped lip and started drooling. I was then allowed to sneak up on the baby and carefully pick off the stalks. Thats all I wanted to do in the first place.

I must say, that Minstrel I think has a dual personality, it was just this summer, we used to share a lovely alpaca moment, she used to come over to me and lie down, we then used to have regular cuddles, she would lie there all day enjoying the moment. However I suspect that this is due to her now being pregnant !!! shes got her attitude back, must be the hormones !!!!!

Thursday 27 November 2008

Winter Wonder Land !!!.....



On Saturday we woke up to a winter wonder land of more snow....thats more like it, what the weather men forecast.....if I had a sledge I'd be out there, although theres nothing wrong with the nearest plastic feed bag !!!, it has been known that one makes a perfectly good sledging piece of equipment.....

Although on a more serious note, today Thursday I have been doing my routine worming of the whole herd...I usually do it a little earlier but better late than not at all. Hopefully this will be followed up in a couple of days by my regular Vit/Mineral drench for everyone also.

Thankfully, all appears to be well with the herd and the babies are growing up nicely, I think that they were a bit fascinated by the snow, although it had mostly all gone by the Monday morning, so they were a bit confused as to where all the white stuff had gone.

Saturday 22 November 2008

Just a little Sprinkle of Snow.....Bitterly Cold Wind !!




Well, as promised we have had a sprinkle of snow, but the wind is bitterly cold, I think we due some more snow later this evening, after our little drama this morning. All was well with the boys when I brought them in tonight. As usual all were waiting at the gate by early evening, and the girls and babies were no different.

Have I mentioned that my herd are classified as 'Soft'....well what can you do, when all those little faces are waiting for you to get them in for their bedtime !...I have been noted to tell the odd storey or two !!!!... after tea.

So, we all tucked up nice and cosy, lets hope no more dramas tomorrow.. The babies enjoyed being out playing in the snow, something new to explore as they grow up.

A Bloody Nose !!!!!



Ah, today I went down to the alpaca shed to find Zaninni, my first born, so special indeed, having a coughing fit, he was not happy and was snorting and uncomfortable to say the least.

When I looked carefully at him, I could see that he had managed, I don't know how !. to have a long piece of hay stuck right up his nose !!, so I went to the rescue quickly and we managed to remove the offending item, he was relieved to say the least. But he was not a happy bunny !!.....so he ended up with a bloody nose and he just about kept his self respect among the others. I felt sorry for him because he looked sorry for himself.....but it just goes to show, even a little bit of hay in the wrong place can do a bit of damage....we have photos to prove it, as I took my camera out to take some of the snow and ended up with a mini emergency !!!..Thankfully we are all recovered now and none the worse for our little hay experience. I gave him a big cuddle and we made it better !!!!, he is extra, extra soft !! but don't tell the others.

Thursday 20 November 2008

We're Waiting for the Weather !!!




We're waiting for the winter weather up here in Bonny Scotland.....Broth on the simmer !. Sheds full of animal feed. Good Fire on and so, were waiting for the snow !!We are all tucked up nice and warm, so bring it on.......

Although, we are near the coast, so we might miss it....I'll let you know, how we get on over the weekend.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Brace Yourself.......Batten Down the Hatches !!!..

Apparently we are forcassed some severe weather in the N.E.of Scotland, as of Friday, if the weather forecast is correct !!!!....we're due to have a lot of Snow, as of Friday and for the weekend, with really strong winds, the wind is already here, so they might be right about the imminent snow !!

So we are ready for the onslaught of winter, and if we get blocked in, which we usually do every year, the cupboards are full and we are ready !!...hopefully some pictures will appear with some of the white stuff on the blog.

I shall keep you posted, but maybe it won't happen, who knows, the weather men, have been known to get it wrong, especially around haymaking time !!...when you need them to get it right, more than ever.

The sheds are full with hay/straw for the winter and as long as the animal family are well, no emergencies pending, all you have to do is keep warm, eat lots and sit it out !!..I've topped up the feed today just in case, so we're ready...bring on the Snow !!!!.....I'm feeling back to normal, if I can call myself normal, many would disagree !!

Saturday 15 November 2008

All Quiet on the Blog !

Its been a bit quiet on the blog, as I have been under the weather. With a nasty bug !.....But I'm getting better, just thought I'd let my readers know, why no news lately. I hope to get back with some nice news soon. We're getting there !!

Tuesday 4 November 2008

My Wonderful 'Thank-you' Gift from my Visitors!!


What a lovely surprise, I received today when I went to collect my post !

To my surprise there was a package in the post box, that had me wondering what on earth it could be, I am usually presented with the usual junk mail, bills etc, although I did get a little bit excited when the Alpaca Futurity mail arrived, but more to the point, my absolutely gorgeous Thank-you gift, from the Aspen Family, namely, Richard, Anne Charis, Mirian and the little ones.

So take a look at this.......isn't he lovely, I am thrilled with my hand knitted Alpaca Teddy !.....I thought that Anne had been busy on the spinning wheel, but apparently not !!....but I'm not complaining....I have had a look on the web site and there are some lovely gifts and items hand crafted....ok I'll tell you where he came from....but only because I have to.....www.traidcraft.co.uk.

My Alpaca Teddy has put a big smile on my face.....Thank-you very much for your kind gift. He will be treasured.

This Time of Year Brings - Wonderful Passers By !


This time of year is a time I enjoy, because the country side is changing and preparing for the winter months.

I love the colour changes in the leaves on the trees and the frosty mornings, with the cob-webs and dew on the grass.

But best of all, I am often stoped in my tracks, by the sound of above, by the wonderful passers-by, Canada Geese.....flying up above.... sqarking to eachother.

Its a wonderful sight to see, I love to see them and always wish them well... and safe journey. Just like the sight of the first swallows in spring-time. I'm looking forward to seeing them also. So heres a picture...

My little 'Black Beauty'



I know you have seen her before, but I think she is lovely..(just my opinion, Im biased of course). Growing up into a little black beauty !....so heres another picture of Zanzibah Zakhura, now 2 months old and growing up nicely.

We might have cracked it !!



I think we just might have cracked it, after three attempts to introduce my younger boys with my older males, I think we might have cracked it !!!!.....heres hoping.

For some reason, the ones that you expect to be a problem are not !...and the ones you are expecting to be ok are not......but it has taken three attempts and lots of trial and error, to introduce my young ones with the older males.

You can never tell which ones will get on with others and vica versa...for some reason, my older white male was not tolerating the younger white male, and to make matters worse, the younger white male kept humming and was intimidated by the older one, but all the others were fine, I wouldn't have minded, but he's not the youngest of the baby boys.....so we have had to introduce them gradually over several weeks, eventually bringing them all under one roof, in the new shelter, with partitions in to try and get the young one to relax in the older males company, without the threat of any bullying going on.....I have perservered and continued to run them out together in the field, we are getting there......and its nice to see no bullying going on in the field, just grazing.....I guess their like people, some like eachother better than others!! ........and some don't, but might tolerate eachother and get used to eachother eventually.

Friday 31 October 2008

Nice and Cosy !!!!!!!........ over here !!!


We have had proper winter weather, although not as much snow as some.....not too far from us....the prestigious Coire Alpacas have experienced, more snow than us, we are bit further east !! nearer the coast.

Although, my alpacas are oficially classified as 'soft', not having to cope with the winter sleet, hail and snow showers, I know these animals are hardy, but tell that to this lot, not one desire to venture out into the winter blizzards..

So here we are nice and cosy!! in the shelter...where else would you find any self-respecting alpaca ?

Friday 24 October 2008

We have had Visitors !!!!



We have had more visitors today, checking out the Alpacas, and enjoying some 'hands-on' experience with my boys.

Anne and Richard came to visit us and see our coloured Alpacas, with their family, I think they all enjoyed spending time with the animals and getting to know them.

We even took they younger boys down the track for a little walk !!..

Zeuss was walked by Charis, Mirian lead Zaninni and Anne toiled with Zerquo, he's a little finicky on the lead, but everyone did very well.

I think the experience was enjoyed by all !

Anne, even left with some fleece, to spin with, I expect it will be turned into some luxury garment by the next time I see them all.

Have you 'herd' the one about the Horned Alpaca !!



Do you think that there could be such a thing !!....a Horned Alpaca...Great Fleece yield and Horns !!!....sounds to good to be true, well take a look for yourself.

Ok....so he's not quite got the crimp and comfort factor, but he's impressive,...you have to agree with me....

My name is Haggis, Im a Highland Coo (cow) for the English people !!...I'm 12 years old and I'm a pet !!!....my friend is Dougal, 6 years old and he's the baby in this photo !!....Handsome Chaps , you have to admit it.

Thursday 23 October 2008

Lazy Days in Good Company !!



Its a hard life in the Alpaca World !!

Time Flies - In Good Company !!

Coire Alpacas .....meet.....Zanzibah Alpacas

Today was one of those lovely days, when you meet nice people talking Alpacas, just not enough hours in the day. Time passes so quickly and we didn't even have the time to eat the cheesecake !!.... To busy chewin'the fat !!

But never the less, the company was good and we had a lovely day, it was nice to see that the journey wasn't to demanding on Finlay, and Sorcha definately enjoyed seeing the chickens and Mr Lurkey !!....my pet Turkey !!, not to mention Sarah Bonnet...shes a ledgend in the hen-house !!

Unfortunately, I didn't even get my camera out to record the event, too busy in the kitchen with my pinny on !!

So you'll have to make do with some other photos !!..

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Growing Up Fast !



I just thought i'd update some photos of this years new arrivals, boy don't they grow up fast, although, I suspect its all fleece !!...theres still a baby in there..


We've been preparing for the winter months ahead, moved the girls and babies into their winter field, although they do get a bit lost in the 10 acres !!..... all enjoying the space and can get some speed up across the field, another excuse to stand and watch them gracefully running about.


The babies are also enjoying the larger field, playing and chasing eachother, but winter is definately round the corner and the nights are drawing in, time to turn up the heating !, and to be thankful for that big fury fleece !!

Saturday 4 October 2008

Homeopathy for Alpacas.....It really works !!....


I just thought I'd share my experiences with you regarding 'Homeopathy'. I myself have used this form of treatment, for most of my animals, Chickens, Dogs, Horses and of course my Alpacas ..........with really great results.


I have used homeopathy remedies, independent of conventional medicines and also used them alongside conventional medicine to treat problems ranging from skin problems 'sarcoptic mange' to abscesses those dreaded abscesses !


'Silicea' is used to treat abscesses, it targets the abscess causing it to ripen, it also promotes suppuration and is valuable for chronic conditions where there is a long standing infection.


'Silicea' is a tissue salt and is essential for growth and development.


Dosage used are 6c and 30c depending on condition.

Usually one tablet/pillules three times a day for between 7/14 days, but DO NOT touch the tablets as you interfere with the potency !! Put into feed, the pillules are so small, they get eaten without being noticed !!


There is a very good article on the web relating to Homeopathy and Alpacas/Animals you can find it at www.calpacas.com/opathy.html. California Alpacas.


If you are dealing with a particular horrible illness it might be worth a try, you'll never know if you don't give it a try.


If you are disillusioned with conventional medicine it might be the way forward. After all it was evolved by a German scholar/Chemist over 200 years ago.


Homeopathic remedies are 'safe' to use, free from side-effects and environmentally friendly.


You can use them alongside conventional medicines without any conflict !!


I can only speak from my own experiences with Homeopathy, I have found that it really works, you just have to try it......why not ....nothing ventured.....nothing gained !!..so they say!!

Thursday 2 October 2008

Christmas is coming........... I couldn't resist this picture !!


Christmas is coming.......we have just got the winter feed sorted for the Alpacas, and you just got to believe that its only 3 months to Christmas.....so on a festive note.


I could not resist sharing this picture with you, I know.....its silly, but you just have to sometimes !!.........Make the most of your fury friends.....we were getting into the Christmas Spirit last year........Have you got your 'Party Hat'. Zanzibah Zaninni has !!

Wednesday 1 October 2008

My.....Zanzibah....'Alpaca Mnemonic' !!


A .....wonderful

L......ovable

P......recious Camelid

A......dorable to

C.......herish

A.......pleasure to own !!


Just a little Mnemonic I have devised .....thought id share it with you !!......Hope you like it and the famous Zanzibah Logo !!

Zanzibah Alpacas welcome this years New Arrivals !!



Just a few photos of this years new arrivals, Zanzibah Zanubis, Rose Grey Male born July and Zanzibah Zakhura, Jet Black Female born Sept.


We are watching these beautiful babies grow, day by day. Hope you enjoy the photos, just minutes old ! Taking their first steps ! and finding their feet !!

Tuesday 30 September 2008

Fleece..Glorious..Fleece..!!




Fleece Glorious Fleece...........This year we yielded 19kg of glorious alpaca fleece, ranging from White, Steel Grey, Mid Brown, Plum Brown, Chestnut Brown and Black and White.




Most of this years fleece has gone off to be spun into luxury hand spun/knitted garments. I myself have kept approx 4kg to spin into various items, I am self taught..... after a number of attempts, lots of frustrated trials and tribulations with my Ashford Traveller Spinning Wheel !!.So don't give up......keep at it, its like driving a car or riding a bike, once you have mastered the art....you've cracked it !!




Before you know it you'll be having to drag yourself away from the darn thing, I myself find spinning very theraputic and really enjoy the whole experience, from keeping these wonderful animals, the hours of fun, you spend wasting your time looking at them!!!, getting the luxuriou fleece on shearing day, time touching and appreciating this wonderful soft fibre, to the end product, something hand made unique.........something to wear with pride, with the knowledge that you have seen the whole process and the knowing that this animal has provided you with endless amounts of self satisfaction.

More Alpaca Photos !!