Merry Christmas....from Zanzibah Land !!

A Christmas Kiss....!!

We started with a group......it quickly turned to chaos !!

Two escapees !!.....Duke and Zeto !!

Merry Christmas.....my Mam and Dad (Santas...helpers)

Well its hard to believe that its nearly Christmas already !

As Rosemary threw the gauntlet down....for a festive field shelter.....some of us have tried to do a bit of a festive theme......and along with those who have taken part...have had trials and tribulations....trying to create a festive blog !

Great minds think alike and after having a bit of a read of the blogs.....Barbara at Beck Brow obviously had the same idea as us .....not a festive field shelter, but a festive theme of sorts.

I also picked the most suitable alpacas for the job.....sadly Duke was not one of those on the list, but he decided he was going to be in on the job...and squeezed out with the ones I wanted....he is very highly strung to say the least...he is very 'gorgeous' but he is a handful and is probably my most difficult alpaca to handle...I have had the odd.....moment and have came off the worse for the experience.....especially when doing feet......

My secret Santas.....have given me an alpaca handling pen......for which I am very grateful......( you know who you are !!) as I had quite a nasty experience with Duke the last time I trimmed his feet......he knocked me in the face with his shoulder...as I bent down, then he continued to barge me into the stone wall of the building.....I scraped all my head...and it was not ideal......the pen will hopefully make things much more safe !! especially for me !

Sadly he is so silly he can be dangerous.....and needs careful handling..apart from that he is lovely.....I'm hoping he might mature and grow out of it !!

Today we donned the Christmas Tinsel.....and tried to do a festive photo shoot.....well we managed it in a fashion.....we have no snow...but we do have the festive MUD !!

I would just like to wish all,

~~~~~~ A MERRY CHRISTMAS....AND HAPPY NEW YEAR ~~~~~~

To all those who either follow my blog through their own free will....or happen to stumble across it !

Here's hoping that next year is a fantastic one....for all of us.

Bitterly Cold....!

Sitting it out...in the bitterly cold !

The girls......on route out It has been freezing out this week !

The tree....a casualty of the gales !

The Nick Nacks.....

This week has been bitterly cold, with biting winds snow and ice !
I have been putting the alpacas out, however they are not bothered about sitting out in the freezing cold wind and the snow....the alpacas are very good and know their route into the 3 acre field.
I decided to take some pictures of them going out one morning......mind you, that day they were all waiting at the gate....before 3pm some shivering and couldn't wait to get into the barn to get at the haylage, all the animals just seem to love it and tuck into it as soon as they get in !
When I was moving some hay earlier, I noticed that I thought I had a tree down. I went to check and in the 10 acre field, one tree had snapped off...in the high winds the other night.
We have gotten off lightly I suppose and the wood will come in handy for the fire, there's another job on the 'to do list'.
We are currently skating on ice.....as we have had a bit of a thaw...but then frozen again....!
So its a bit tricky to say the least....I am waiting for the warmer spell forecast for the rest of the week.

Frozen Mud !! .....Yippee

Thawed but now frozen.....!

Zaninni.....standing by the gate with a dusting of hail stones....waiting for bed-time !

I have been graced this week with frozen mud...which is a great change from the horrible soft stuff !

I seem to spend about half the year squelching through the stuff...thankfully the depth varies.....however when it freezes ...its great....just like concrete !

We have had a bit of a mixed week for the weather, sleet, winter sun and now frozen mud, not to mention the wind returning briefly.

The alpacas are always ready to come in for bed, they are usually found loitering around the gates from 3pm onwards.....

The onset of Christmas has crept up on us here at Zanzibah Land....I can't believe that its that time of year again......I have been busy sorting out some Christmas decorations tonight......Everette Green has been taken out of his box and is sitting pride of place, so we are getting into the festive spirit !

I have my feed in, the log store is full and the coal man has also been.....we are stocked up. I'm looking forward to my parents coming up for Christmas.....

Time to try and take it easy......

Well that's the general idea...I wonder if its going to be a reality !!

Stocking Up.....& Swans !

Ruby...with the supplies !!

The Geese and Swans.....having a well earned rest ...

Today I have been busy stocking up on supplies....

I have received my delivery of alpaca feed to last me over the winter, I have always fed my animals on Carrs Billington Alpaca Coarse Mix. It is essential to feed your animals a correct diet throughout the year, this helps to make sure that they receive the correct vitamins and minerals essential to keep your alpacas healthy and free from deficiencies which can lead to much more serious health issues.

We must never take for granted that these animals can just survive alone on our grasses in this country, after all they are not native to our climate and rely on us to provide them with a balanced diet !

I have today received 20 bags of alpaca feed, this will last me most of the winter, I will need another delivery probably around mid Spring. I have also found that my alpacas love Apple Chaff, this is very high in calcium, which is excellent for helping maintain good bone development especially in the babies, it also help provide them with fibre, essential for camelids as an over rich cereal diet can also cause problems !

I was out and about the other day posting a letter, when I drove past a nearby field, it was full of what I think was Hooper Swans and Canada Geese....stopping off for a well earned rest.

I managed to take a photo before some of them flew off.......what a magnificent sight.

It is fantastic to see such beautiful birds so close, this time of year nature always has a nack at surprising you.

Tonight the winds are getting stronger and we are forecast more windy weather and maybe some more snow.....!

I have a delivery of 'Ovoids' coming tomorrow...for the fire to help keep me warm and there is an oil delivery booked for sometime next week.......I don't want to be caught out with bad weather.....and I'm determined to keep nice and warm.....the logs are chopped....and stacked.....ready for the winter....so I think, we are nearly organised for the colder weather.

I do like to have plenty supplies in....just incase !!

We Survived ..to Tell the Tale !!..

Zanubis......and Socksy in the snow !

The girls.......before the snow....!

Zeto, Socksy and hiding is Zelqui !!

The view from the top road....towards...the farm ....

For those who may be interested.....we survived the storms and the gales !

I woke to a much quieter morning, when I went to check everyone, thankfully we had survived with minimal damage......a few loose slates off the old steading roof....but we came off lightly !

The buildings had a good test, and we must have done something right...as all was present and correct.....I must admit, I was worried, as this was the first big test of the winter, we do tend to get battered by really strong winds at this time of year.....I'm just pleased we all managed to get through the night.

We have had a bit of a melt of the snow.....which had fallen the other day, but we have had a little bit more snow, so we still have a dusting, tonight the land is frozen along with some of the water troughs.

Ruby has been employed again doing more bale moving, I had to bring a haylage bale in for the horses this afternoon, and also move another straw bale. I've had a bit of a carry on, yesterday.....I shall put it down to having a blonde moment ! I was checking the levels on Ruby, to make sure all was topped up.....I'm not very familiar with her ! I managed to loosen off....a nob that I shouldn't have....and all the hydraulic oil spurted out ...what a mess....then I lost the rear lift, due to the lack of oil....I then spent ages....filling her back up....only to realise, that I had used the wrong oil.....(slightly too thick )....and still the lift was not working...thankfully the front loader was not affected....!!(Phew) A quick phone call to the Siromer dealer....speaking to a very nice helpful man.....who told me...that all I had done was over tighten the nob.....(the one I won't be rushing to loosen off again soon !!) a couple of turns......back to loosen it off...and everything was working as it should !.......apparently if you screw that nob tightly.....it diverts the hydraulic oil....to a trailer, if you are towing one.....

Its easy when you know how !

Oh....today hasn't been much better, I have spent most of the afternoon......under one machine

or another, I had a wheel to put back on the little Kubota..as it had a puncture, and had been away for a repair, my Dad took it off......but I was left to put it back on ! Why do you have days like these....I kept saying to myself.....what doesn't kill you makes you stronger !!!!!

I have struggled......cursed, nearly chopped my finger off.....!! on the big fan on Daisy !! after doing some minor and major...adjustments ! I have survived to tell the tale.....I have nearly tripped myself up...on the sleeve of my overall....as I was getting too hot wrestling with the wheel.....I took the top of my overall off....and then I was attacked by my sleeve.....!!!!

Oh.....what a day...!!

I have ended on a positive note !! I have accomplished...all I was hoping to do today....with a bit of ......determination...that seems to appear...every time I have another hurdle to jump....in this never ending experience....you call life !!

And.......lets face it....you just never know, what life is going to throw at you.....from one day to the next !

Today.....I have struggled......achieved....and once again.... I live to tell the tale !

I wonder....what tomorrow.........has in store !

One thing for sure.................. this life definitely has a way of testing you to the limits....and as my Mam would say............'Its a great life....if you don't weaken !'

Winter is here with Avengeance !!

Socksy......out in the snow !

Duke and Zeto.....tuck into the Hay net !!

The boys earlier this week.....

The track.....snowed over as usual......

Ruby....doing a bit of work ...going to feed the sheep !

It has been a while since I last blogged.....I have replaced my battery on my computer....as it gave up the ghost !!....

Now I am back.....what a night....we are currently being battered by 80mph gales...the whole of Scotland has a severe weather warning in place...according to the news......then to round it all off...we are forecast blizzards ......gggrrreeaat !!

It has already snowed last week....I have had Ruby out doing a spot of work, shifting bales of hay and straw. At the moment I have some sheep here doing a bit of winter grazing, but due to the snow...I have been putting some hay out for them.

The alpacas have been mostly inside due to the bad weather and the wind....mind you I don;t think that there are any complaints.....when it is really windy, I can't open the big barn doors...and that combined with the snow.....its not fit for man nor beast out there at the moment !

I was quite surprised last week just how deep the snow was on the track, I have however managed to get out to the shops.

The country roads were completely white, mind you I haven't resorted to the snow chains....just yet !

I've already had the quad stuck......up the track to the wood....but I managed to get it out and walk the rest of the way.....I feed the birds during winter time up the wood and sometimes take the quad up instead of wallking !!

Tonight....I have locked up early.....I am hoping all is well when the morning comes......and its not a case of anything being blown away.

The wind is supposed to die down later tonight.....then the blizzards are due.

Zorba appears to be back to normal after his ordeal, the homeopathy worked a treat to bring the swelling down and things seem to be working as normal......which is excellent news.

Just goes to show...no matter how well you look after your animals....things still come along to catch you out.....its still a complete mystery as to what happened.

What a difference a day makes !!

This is Zorba....tonight !! what an improvement !!

This was 1day ago.....when he was having his 3rd injection.

The view.....from the wood the other night.....when I was out with the dogs !

This was 2 days ago...with the lumps !!

Regular readers will know I have been treating Zorba for a very swollen sheath, I have one more injection to do.

However until yesterday, there was improvement, but he was still very swollen, I decided to turn to the homeopathy to help with this as I believed that the injections were dealing with the infection side of things, but the swelling was very apparent and there were a couple of swollen pockets that had appeared.

After a bit of research, I decided to order some Apis Mel 30c, this is used to treat swelling/inflammation and pain.

I received this in the post last night.....and unfortunately for me......there was a massive power cut ! six and a half hours...to be precise......I was wandering around in the dark....getting the candles out and the battery operated lights.......thankfully the power came back on...at 9.30pm.

As I had received my homeopathy I went back down the barn to finish off the night time jobs....and gave Zorba his first dose......what an improvement overnight.......now some will be sceptical and have an air of doubt, but I am always very impressed by any results that I have had when I have treated my animals.....with homeopathy....I have obviously combined both forms of medicine and I believe that combined they have worked very well.

Zorba is much improved I think you will see that the swelling has reduced considerably, there is still a little way to go, but thankfully we are heading in the right direction.....

I'm hoping he will soon be back to his normal self, its hard to believe just how swollen he was. At this time of year I'm often racing against the dark......like most of us who have animals to look after........I'm grateful for facilities such as light......when you haven't got it.....sitting by candle light........its a long old night.

Thank goodness for the log fire........to keep me warm......lets hope I don' t have too many power cuts this winter !!