Better weather - and visitors from Greece!

The sand-pit is a favourite place to be for the three boys, Faro (left), Fyta (middle) and Fergus.  On warm days they like to lie on the sand and with better weather this week it has been much in use.

Fergus is still limping with his injured left front leg but he manages to get into the sand-pit now, something he has not been able to do comfortably for a while.

The weather has been better this week and we've been able to cut the grass in the paddocks for the first time in weeks.  The grass has grown thick and long with the amount of rain we've had and the fact that it has not been cut.

Due to his injured leg we've held Fergus and the boys in two paddocks so that he did not have to walk too far. This week we have opened up another paddock for them to graze in.

As if to show that he is able to stand up and walk even on this sloping paddock, Fergus obliges by posing for the photographer!

Now here is a lovely story.  We are used to tourists stopping nearby to look at the alpacas but yesterday, three campervans stopped en route to Loch Ness and this extended family from Greece visited to look at the boys.  They were a lovely group and even used a drone to film their visit - much to the surprise of the alpacas, that was the first time they had seen and heard a drone. This photo was taken after I had done some impromptu spinning to show them how the fleece is used.  The children especially liked the soft fleece and took away some samples to take back to their schools.  Thank you all for your visit, it was lovely to meet you, and thanks for the lovely gift which you gave us from Greece.  We hope you found Loch Ness and 'Nessie!'  Take care and enjoy the rest of your holiday in Scotland.

And finally............ the Echinops (Globe thistle) flowers on the left attract lots of bees and they make a nice contrast with the red berries of the Rowan (Mountain Ash) behind.

Fergus improves - weather does not!

The rainy weather continues here unfortunately with grass growing thick and lush and everyone struggling to get theirs cut.  The boys are not concerned by this - more for them to eat!

Faro (left) and Fergus whose leg injury continues to improve - albeit quite slowly.  He has some chunks of carrot to eat here.

And here he is chewing the carrot!  His left front leg is still bent but he is putting more body weight on it now.

Of course he still likes 'Mum' to give him a cuddle and to hand feed him every afternoon!  Faro and Fyta look on.

The damp, muggy weather this summer has made all the plants grow well and Fyta and Faro are shown here with the Gunnera plant behind them.  The plant was quite damaged by late frost but has made a terrific recovery.

And finally........... another photo of Fergus who has been spending quite a lot of time recently lying down in his favourite field shelter.

More rain than sun this summer!

Faro (left) Fyta and Fergus enjoying a rare sunny morning lying in the sand pit together. The weather has been generally miserable this week with lots of torrential rain and thunder - we even suffered power cuts one day when a thunderstorm broke right over this area.

Fyta (front) and Faro who have been very supportive of Fergus during his recent struggles with his injured left leg.  We have opened up a third paddock to allow them to wander more freely, but not too far, as Fergus can only still walk a short distance without lying down.

The three boys with Fergus on the right, still not putting full weight on his injured left leg.

Faro, always the security guard and always ready to run to the aid of his two pals if he thinks that a human is going to interfere with them.

Fergus, taken a couple of days ago with a handful of hay to keep him chewing! He enjoys his hay and because he hasn't been grazing so much as the other boys since his injury, we make sure that there is always hay available for him.

And just to prove that he does enjoy his hay, he gets up and starts eating it!  Note his injured left leg.

And finally............ this is a daily gathering of some of this summer's House Martin broods, under the eaves of our house.  We've only had six mating couples this year but they have produced some lovely youngsters who are all now on the wing and getting stronger ready for their migration south in a few weeks time.

Fergus and a 'Painted Lady.'

Fergus (left) is still struggling with his injured left leg but is managing to get about the paddock better than he was.  Here he is (left) eating his hay whilst his pals Fyta (middle) and Faro are nearby.

Here is Fergus having managed to limp over to the poo pile!  You can see that he is holding up his left, injured, leg.

We have been surprised at how much attention Faro and Fyta have been giving to Fergus, lying down next to him in the shelter and never straying very far from him.

Fergus enjoys his daily piece of carrot which is what is in the bowl.  He is also grazing now, both whilst standing up or lying down, so that is good.

All three boys like getting into the sand pit, especially on a warm day and Fergus seems particularly pleased to be in there with his pals.

Taken yesterday about 8.00pm after we had collected 29 bales of hay from Tomich Farm Shop at Beauly.  Karen and Dave who own the shop and farm have 7 alpacas and a variety of small animals on their 'children's animal farm'.  Fergus and Fyta can be seen in the adjoining paddock, more interested in the musical sounds coming from the nearby 3 day Belladrum Tartan Heart festival than the arrival of their winter feed!

And finally............ a couple of days of strong sunshine has brought the Buddleia into flower and attracted different types of bees and swarms of the 'Painted Lady' butterflies.