Spring Cleaning !!

Its great to to get this job done !

The horses were waiting for their tea....!

My big pile.......better out than ..... in !!

I thought that I was going to have an easy day today....how wrong was I !

For some strange reason...I found myself in the mood...to muck out the barn, the weather was much better than yesterday, the wind had disappeared and the ground was drying out....

So I rolled my sleeves up got the muck tynes out and off I set....to wield war on the barn !

During the winter months, I deep litter the horses and the alpacas, so there was plenty deep litter to remove.

Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed the whole process.....its a great feeling of achievement when you get those jobs crossed off the list. It took about three hours from start to finish.....I was finished around 4pm and went in for a well deserved cuppa !

If the weather stays nice..I intend to also clean out the alpacas ready for Spring ! I will be on top of my job list if I managed to get this done by March time....I am hoping to get the manure out onto the hay fields.....as this makes excellent organic fertiliser.

Oh the excitement of muck-spreading.....I can't wait......funnily enough...I also enjoy this task..its almost like a bit of a challenge.....and its a great feeling when you manage to get a good job done !

So Knockie Nora...has worked hard today......and is all tucked up in the barn having a well earned rest.....

Oh...the joys of Spring...well the moral of this story is....if you fancy doing something.....then its a real pleasure..to get the job done !!!!!!

A willing work-force is a happy one....and we are all done and dusted....for tonight

Tomorrow is another day

I wonder ....what ... I get up to !!!!!

Spot the Difference !!....

My lovely little friend....Zoretah ....always first for a cuddle !!

Zeto...tonight waiting to come in for bed-time !

Zeto's full sister...Zimushka ....spot the difference...Zirrianna in the background.

We have had a dry day today, mind you the ground is soaked after the little snow fall earlier last week !

I have been putting bales out for the cows today as they had eaten up all their hay and needed some more. Looks like I will have more than enough of both haylage and hay....I might even have some left over if the weather stays good.

I managed to take some photos today of the alpacas, I decided to do a comparison between the lovely Zeto (Irene's favourite) and Zimushka, obviously there are differences and you can tell them apart without stating the obvious...but its quite amazing just how similar these two are, I shall wait with interest to see if we get another little grey munchkin this year. It is really quite difficult to predict your off-spring and sometimes you do get a complete surprise... which is exciting.

The weanies are now into their 5th week of seperation, Im hoping to do phase 2 of the weaning at the beginning of March, this is when the girls will go back into the main herd with the ladies and Zirrius and Rufus will come out and join the Nick Nacks.....

My babies are due July this year so we are currently just over the half way point with the pregnancies. I have two maidens due this year, Zullulah who is mated with Zanubis and Zienna who is mated with Zerquo.

I am hoping for 2 babies from Zeto, which will be really exciting to see if he passes on his characteristics onto his progeny........it will be lovely to see all my years of dedication .....making their way into this world...

On that note....it is 6 years this year since we began our Alpaca Adventure.....wow... How Time Flies !! ......which can only mean one thing...I'm 6 years older !!!

Snow ...Rosie & Albert !!!

Duke & Zeto...enjoying the snow !

Albert & Rosie.....so cute !

and so well trained !!!!!!

The girls ....with Max, Zirrius & Rufus also enjoying the day !

The babies and the Nick Nacks !.....having a roll ! ....

We still have a dusting of snow here in Scotland, although it has been a bright sunny day.

I managed to take some photos of the alpacas out and about today in the snow, its the first time the babies have experienced the white stuff !

Because the ground was covered with snow, I decided to put out some haylage for them all to eat...they usually get fed in the barn, on a help yourself basis. The weanies always have access to haylage as there is limited grazing on the small paddock.

Today I went to visit friends who had a bit of a surprise .... for me to see. I was quickly introduced to Rosie & Albert who are fantastic ! They are Kune Kune piglets, full of mischief and very friendly indeed. Its just great to meet new animal friends who are so cheeky and full of life, apparently the Kune Kune pigs are unlike most other pigs who rut, they graze which was amazing to see them eating tufts of grass....obviously they can be trained to do tricks...as they both sat down for some special feed....which was great to see, more highly trained than my dogs !! I know that pigs are very intelligent creatures...looks like they are going to provide many happy hours of amusement !

Tonight we still have snow, however its a much more calm evening. The snow always changes the landscape, making everything it touches quite magical.

The babies enjoyed rolling round in the snow this morning along with the girls and the boys..they do like a roll in the snow !

Dusting of Snow !!....and still here !!!

Zimushka and Stravinsky....with a Blanca~bottom !!

We are still here.....we have had a few technical issues regarding the computer !

Hence the lack of blogging, hopefully the issues will be resolved soon, I am actually managing to use the old one for the moment ....but I think its on borrowed time !!
I have been moving haylage into the barn, as we are forecast snow, and a cold spell ...we have had a mildish winter compared to the last two.....it has been positively tropical..up to now !
The babies are now into their 4th week of weaning, I have also been doing a spot of worming, all the herd, at this time of year I use Combinex, which deals with the general worming and the liver fluke threat. I decided to treat myself to an automatic syringe to help make the job more efficient and faster.....it was the first time I had used it and it worked really well !

I have also been doing a little bit of halter training with Stravinsky & Sparky, they are both coming along nicely. Tonight the wind is up and we are wondering if we will awake to snow.
In fact we have had snow flurries all day today.... its nice to be able to handle the youngsters at an early age, its great for building up their confidence around people.

I am still sorting out the fleece for yarn processing, at the moment, I am humming and haring as to how much of what I will decide on .....its a bit of an experiment for us as it will be the first time that I have decided to have some of my fleece professionally spun, obviously I will keep some back for hand spinning.....as when I have more time....I do like to do a little bit of spinning....

So its all quiet here at the moment, the animals are fine and we are just ticking along, I must mention....that the other day I saw the Red Squirrel....for the first time this winter, I usually feed them on the edge of the wood...but this one was spotted on the Fir Tree in the garden, a nice surprise for me as I have wondered how they were doing, but I worry about them coming down from the wood, as the cats are never to far away.

I have Snow Drops in the garden and there are little Daffodil shoots peeping through...so Spring is just round the corner.....then it will be that lovely time of year..when my friends start to arrive......the Swallows.....I just love to see them here safe and sound for the summer.....

Freezing February !

Time for a cuddle !! Zoretah has a dribble on her chin, as she has just had a drink !

Stravinsky and Sparky.....

Zimushka is looking at the girls through the fence ....Zadi~Blanca has an itch !!

Its hard to believe that this is the second month of the year already....

February has come in with a frosty feel...its really cold here at the moment and the ground is rock hard.

The alpacas are all in good spirits and are enjoying the cold snap, no mud to plodge through, we are forecast snow over the weekend...

Today I have been sorting out the hay for the cows, yesterday I spent the afternoon checking the tractor levels, mending the door on the tractor, the spring had broken and it wouldn't stay shut.....I have repaired it once before a couple of years ago.....so thankfully I managed to fix it again with a new spring !

I filled up all the bird feeders in preparation for the pending snow, we are now approaching the 2 week mark for the weaning, the babies are all doing fine, they all have the bed-time routine off and are waiting at the gate to come in at dusk.....its just great to have them friendly and also it gives me a helping hand when the alpacas are waiting to come in for bed...

I have also had a bit of a rummage through some fleece this afternoon....I really must decide what I'm going to do with my stash...this year !

I just can't make up my mind at the moment...but all in good time, the nights are definitely getting much lighter which is great as I have a bit more time to do all the things.....I have to do !

Obviously.........I need the extra time for bed-time .....cuddles..... with the babies...and any one else who happens to be near by !!