OUR SMALL HERD

Our original four boys came from Ardo Alpacas in Aberdeenshire. We are not alpaca breeders and have our boys purely as pets. Our experience is that you don't need to be a breeder and that a 'batchelor herd' can give much pleasure to the owner. We have 5 acres including our big garden and grazing for the boys, 15 miles north of Inverness, Scotland. I spin, knit, felt and crochet with the fleece from the boys.

Clicking!!

Just a reminder that clicking on (most) of the photos will show them greatly enlarged.

Sunday 22 July 2018

A busy week.

Another week of lovely, warm weather.  The sun hasn't always been visible because of cloud cover but the temperature has been great.  We had a couple of days of much needed rain early in the week which has caused all the grass - and weeds - to grow furiously again!  Faro is enjoying just chilling out here.
The sand pit continues to be popular with the boys.  Here are Fyta in front and Fergus behind him.
We stopped cutting all grass a couple of weeks ago because of the drought and scorching of the ground but this week following the rain we've been cutting again.  The boys are on the other side of the fence from the mower but they are not bothered enough to  move.
The tractor mower goes past and the boys settle down in the sand pit again.  From the left, Fidget, Faro, Fyta and Fergus.
Colour is returning to the grass after quite a scorching this summer - it's a long time since we've seen that in this part of the Highlands.  The boys are on the move here as visitors are approaching and that must mean carrots!

This week we've had a visit by a group of Learning Disabled adults and their support workers from Inverness, a lady who came by bus and taxi from Nairn to see the boys that she had heard about and a family group including a lovely baby who captivated Fyta!  These two young ladies were impressed by Fergus who stood still to be petted - having been fed carrots as a bribe!
The veg garden is producing!  These early tatties are the 'Rocket' variety and taste lovely.  The pea pods are now swelling, the broad beans are ready to eat and the runner beans are covered in flowers so they will soon turn to beans. The Grumpy Gardener is kept on his toes harvesting the veg whilst I have filled umpteen containers with rasps and black currants for jam making.  A great season for soft fruit.
And finally........... these irises are a brilliant colour and really stand out in the garden.

1 comment:

  1. Hi I cam across your lovely blog and would like to ask if you would consider sending a short article to the BAS Alpaca magazine on the joy of keeping pet boys? I am editing the next issue and my email is liz.mason@phonecoop.coop Thank you

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