New Arrival ... Rose Grey & Blue Too !!

 Today started with excitement, at 9am this morning Zakhura gave birth to a beautiful Rose Grey Boy. I have decided to call him 'Zanzibah Zazu'.  He was up on his feet within minutes, thankfully we have had a nice day here in Scotland so he has been out with the others enjoying the better weather.  Zakhura's pregnancy has been 327 days, which makes him 2 weeks earlier than Zirrianna last year.  It looks like its going to be a Blue year ....here also, but I am not complaining.  He is lovely and its great to see them here safe and sound.

 The first new arrival is now just over 2 weeks old, full of life and a real character...he loves racing round the fields at top speed.....he now has a playmate which is good.  Its funny how sometimes it takes a little while to decide on names for some babies, whilst others just appear to turn up...and suit a name.  I have eventually decided on a name for my little fawn boy.  He is to be called 'Zanzibah Zavia' . The name Zavier is Hebrew and means 'Bright'.  As he is a lovely Bright fawn I think it suites him.  Mind you....I have thought of a few others ..... nuisance, trouble etc !!

 As you can see, Zavia is racing round the field as I took this photo of our new arrival just getting to grips with those long legs and balancing.  Tonight he has mastered the art and is already joining in with Zavia and being pestered already.

 This is a dry photo this afternoon, he is just like his Dad, Zanubis, he has passed on his lovely colour once again this year to his offspring.

 Spot the difference...this is the other new arrival her in Zanzibah Land.  I have ben so inspired by my felted Teddy Bears made by Calamity Bears'   I decided to have a go and see what I could make.  This is my first attempt and I have really enjoyed making him.....not quite a Rose Grey...but he might as well be a little Boy !  I can feel a bit of felting addiction creeping in !

And finally........ I think this photo...just sums up the bundle of mischief, who I now know to be Zavia!!   

Pacosha ... My Special Keepsake !

 Most regular readers will know that at the beginning of this year I lost one of my very first alpacas, she was called Pacosha.  Pacosha passed away very peacefully here with us.  I believe her name is Spanish for  Alpaca.  I'm not quite sure exactly how old she was, but she was one of the very first alpacas to be imported from Chile in the early 90's.Most of these alpacas were age estimated, I had always thought she was older than her recorded age on her papers.

This was her last photo, taken on her last day out with the girls, she is sadly missed.  I had a big soft spot for her, its funny how they make their mark in your heart.....

I had decided ages ago that I wanted to do something very special with her last fleece.  I wanted something that I could cherish and keep, something to remind me of the good times and the start of our long lasting friendship.  We did have our moments in the early days, but like most, we both mellowed with age.  I shall never forget the mighty kick from her one day, which gave me a massive black 'n' blue leg. Pacosha was a bit of a character to say the least. 

Unfortunately I was never to manage to have any cria from her, despite being sold as a pregnant female, she never did manage to have any offspring. This was something that I was to find out over time !

I decided to do a little bit of research and found the answer to my quest.  This came in the way from a lovely lady called Elaine and 'Calamity Bears'

http:/www.calamitybears.co.uk

This was exactly what I had been looking for, I sent off Pacosha's last fleece and then all that was left was for Calamity Bears to work their magic !!

This is exactly what they have done....I received my lovely selection of keepsake's today.  The large bear is handcrafted especially for me, using Pacosha's fleece.  She was a multi-coloured alpaca and they have made a fantastic job of her.  Obviously she is called Pacosha.

The darker one of the two smaller bears is also made with Pacosha's fleece, she is a lovely dark almost plum brown shade.  The white bear is made with a different fleece this was made from Zeuss one of my white boys, with the lovely brown toes made from Pacosha. 

These bears are very special indeed and will be cherished .......for years to come !

We must remember, that our journey in this world, might take us on different paths....some happy some sad, but ultimately, every thing we love and cherish in this world is only temporary, nothing can last forever.....we should try to make the most of those special things in life,

But our memories can never fade.

I am thrilled with my Bears, a Great 'BIG' Thank-You,  to

Elaine and Calamity Bears and obviously Pacosha !

 

Look what we've Got !!

 This is the first of two Special deliveries today !  I was only saying last night I wondered what today might have in store.....well its been an exciting and busy day here today.  I think it would be fair to say we have joined in with the start of the new arrivals here.  Holly has given birth to a lovely Fawn Boy, he was born around 11.15am this morning, with no complications...in fact he had just been born when I managed to take the first photo.

 Well we have officially joined the birthing window, he was up on his feet and feeding within the hour.  We have had a lovely sunny day here today, he had a coat on for the first few hours and somehow he must have walked out of it, this afternoon, as when I checked them he was nice and dry, lying next to his little jacket.

Holly has a lovely Fawn Boy, he is the first baby born here this year, he is yet to be named.  Tonight he is tucked up in the barn with the other girls, in a special new arrival area.  He will be in there for a week or so, just to make sure he cannot get injured by mistake from the other girls.  It also gives them a safe area for him to bond with his mother in the first hour or so.

 This is the second special delivery today.  My long awaited yarn has arrived back from the Mill.  I am really pleased with the colours and finished result of the yarn.  This is the first year I have managed to branch out and have a selection professionally spun.  I have a selection of 6 colours in total.  It took me ages to decide which ones I wanted to have processed.  In the end I decided on two batches of grey, one from 'Zanubis' blended with Wellground Stravinsky, & one called  'Zeto' not mixed with another fleece.  A selection of Fawns, one called 'Autumn Gold', this is a blend of Trienza with Wellground Vital Spark.  One called 'Sahara Mist', this is a blend of Tremona with Wellground Vital Spark. One called 'Zayamara' this is a blend of Zorba with Aymara and a White called 'Snowflake' this is Duke's fleece not mixed with any other. It is lovely to see the finished product, I am really quite proud of it.  I think I shall be kept busy with this selection of yarns, I cant wait to see the wool knitted up into a selection of quality hand crafted knitwear range from the 'House of Lady Zanzibah Fashions' !!

This is the evening photo of our new arrival with the herd taking lots of interest in him.  All being well we could have around nine of these beautiful bouncing babies.....I wonder if its going to be a Blue year......after all I manged to have four girls from five babies, last year, so I can't complain.  At least we have officially joined the  Baby Party !!

Grampian Country Fair

 We have been out and about ....with the boys, Zeto, Zanubis, Zerquo & Duke

 We caused lots of interest, on both side of the fence !

The boys behaved very well, to say it was their first outing

We have been out and about, spreading the 'Alpaca' word.

On Saturday it was The Grampian Country Fair, held at Fyvie Castle not far from where we live, we were asked by the Scottish Rare Breeds Society.....if we might like to attend, for a Charity Event sponsored by Inspire.

It was an early start for us all, my mam and dad were here to help and my dad had a nice display of his hand carved walking sticks.  We were hoping for an early night on the Friday evening, but true to form...that didn't happen !

On the evening when I got the boys in...I noticed that Zelqui was limping...he came hobbling into the barn, I thought I'd better have a good look at his leg, there was me thinking that it might need a good bathing and maybe a quick spray with the Terramycin spray, job done !  No chance of that one, after a close inspection, it was very clear to see that he had a massive tear across the majority of his knee, it was very deep...not a patching up job....but a stitching up job required !

Needless to say the vet was called..after a bit of a wrestle with Zelqui, he is little, but he has a big personality and he is a fidget at the best of times....he was sedated.  We managed to restrain him, to allow the vet to stitch him up ....by this time it was nearly 1am......we were eventually finished and by then....I wondered if it was actually worth going to bed !  I didn't get much sleep...and up bright and early around 6am to check and see to the animals before we left.....true to form...Zelqui escaped out of the barn...as I was taking the others out to the trailer, to say he had been injured and should be feeling under the weather, well he was not....he ran up and down the track a couple of times, he was eventually caught and put back in the barn with the others...to have a restful day !

Off, we went to the Show, the weather was typically Scottish Summer, light drizzle and eventually by the afternoon, the sun decided to make an appearance !

The alpacas were wearing their new summer look, this did not seem to detract from their crowd drawing abilities....most of the boys were well behaved, Zerquo spent most of the day humming and Duke decided to leave the pen for a brief moment, by the time I had managed to find a lead rope and imagined myself chasing him round the show ground....thankfully he had jumped back in !

We had a lovely day, meeting lots of lovely people and seeing some lovely rare-breeds and some strange breeds.......but I think it was fair to say it was a success.  Most people who know me, know I do not take my animals anywhere, however this was an exception for a very good cause. 

We got home safe and sound, the alpacas were back grazing in their field by 7pm as if nothing had happened.....everything was ok when we returned and Zelqui is doing just fine, he has been on several days of injections and pain relief and you really wouldn't know he was injured .... if you didn't know. 

It is quite exciting here as of this week..... I am awaiting the arrival of my yarn, I had a lovely conversation today with John at the Border Mill, it is in the post and might be here tomorrow !

Finally as of today....we are officially in the 'birthing window'

I wonder what tomorrow has in store. 

Gremlins !!

 Spot the Difference !

 Zeto, getting sheared ..

 Rufus being sheared ... for the very first time ! Ah ... Bless him !!

All the young boys are now done !

Zimushka ... looking very different

Mother hen with her chicks now 4 weeks old !

Zeto, sporting his new summer look !

Zanubis has a smile for the camera

 

Zoretah is as cute as a button !

The Big Boys... checking eachother out

As of Thursday we are all done and dusted !

The alpacas are all wearing their new cooler summer look.

Although the weather is fine during the day, it is still very cold on an evening.  Hence they have all been coming in for bed.....this will be until they get acclimatised to their new ....sleek look.

Their fleece is so thick before shearing, that I think it is unfair to expect them to acclimatise immediately and it usually takes a week or two for them to get accustomed to their lack of coat.  Last nigh several of them were shivering inside the barns.

The babies especially seem to feel the cold, this is their first time being sheared and it will take a week or two before they harden up !

So this is a good job well done, I had 31 alpacas for shearing not 32 as previously mentioned.....!

It will soon be time for the babies to start arriving all over again, I have one girl who is due as of yesterday then the others are due mid July.

So we only have a few weeks to go, until the pitter patter of tiny feet !