Tigh Mhor Alpacas

New grass and happy walkers

2012-03-18T12:59:00.000Z

Another week of good weather, frosty at times with a cold wind but plenty of sunshine too. We penned the boys one day this week so that we could do a bit of nail trimming. Fidget did very well (unusually) and stood still whilst his were cut but Fergus was in one of his moods, arguing with the others in the pen so that by the time it was his turn he was not up for a pedicure. We'll have better luck next time. We also opened up the third 'top' paddock this week to give the boys some new grass. This is the paddock which is boggy at the bottom due to a dodgy field drain, so it has to be sectioned off. This photo is of the boys getting excited because they know that they are going onto new grass. Lots of humming going on. Faro (left), Fyta and Gaucho are here with Fidget in the background.

Twenty hurdles in place with only a few to go. The boys are getting ever more excited with Robbie walking back and forth and in danger of losing his trousers as the work rate gets to him! Gully is not bothered - he just wants into the new green stuff.

At last it's time for the boys to be let into the paddock and you can see the excitement as Fyta, Fergus, Rufus, Wee Eck and Gully come charging through the gate.

Yippee, new grass at last!

Now the boys can check out the temporary fencing with the boggy ground on the other side.

Silence!

And finally.......we had a visit yesterday from a lovely group of walkers with Floris their leader, who came to meet the boys during an all day trek around the area. The boys were on their best behaviour with Wee Eck pleased to show off his prominent dental work and Fergus (as usual) giving a display of how to demolish a turnip! I managed to show some of the boys' spun fleece which I hope added to the group's knowledge of 'pacas. Lovely weather for a visit as the boys were dry and not covered in mud as usual, and great to see so many smiling faces despite, perhaps, aching limbs. Haste ye back folks!

Super pooper scooper

2012-03-11T13:08:00.000Z

Please note that only the most modern technology is used at Tigh Mhor for paddock cleaning! This is it, cutting edge poop patrol kit, with built in backache and moaning husband but runs quite cheaply on coffee! Faro is quite indifferent this time to the work of the patrol, but depending on his mood he often walks up to the 'cleansing operative' and nudges him or lifts his hat off his head as if to say, "Leave it!" He can be quite persuasive, following the patrol around and giving frequent nudges and 'in yer face' looks, but then next time he won't bother at all.

The rest of the guys completely ignore the poop patrol which can be seen parked, top right. Fidget and Faro are out of this picture.

And this is what it's all been for - a barrowload of goodness! Looking more like a barrowload of grapes (!), this was the 3rd load in a week and is destined for the composting area of the garden. These boys really are 'sooper poopers!'

'Hunkey-dunkey' (Duncan) looking majestic but a bit dishevelled in the high wind this week. He is in top form now that Spring is almost here, chasing his three hens around - frequently! We've had several cockerels over the years and they have all been characters. Our last one, Horace, used to come out of the henhouse first each morning, then go back in and chase the hens out - really funny watching the hens come flying out one after another. Duncan is more gentlemanly in his approach - he waits until they are all out then he starts the morning chase.

This is Tiddles who is 9 years old and was one of a brood we bred ourselves. She is still in excellent condition, looking lovely in her new Spring feathers although she no longer lays eggs. That doesn't stop Dunkey giving her a chase several times a day however, but at her age she tends to lie down and 'brace for impact!" At night all 3 hens are on the perch with him, and Tiddles was under his wing a couple of nights ago.

These are Woad plants (Isatis Tinctoria) which I hope to use later as a natural plant dye. The plant gives a blue dye by tearing the leaves and soaking in water - sounds easy but there is a bit more to it than that. If successful, I hope to use the dye with some of the boys' white fleece.

And finally........I suppose you could say that this a is a black and white photo! Fergus is on the left and Wee Eck is on the right.

I love alpacas!

2012-03-04T12:35:00.000Z

The cowl scarf neck warmer is the latest thing to come off the knitting needles with white(ish) fleece from Fidge and brown fleece from Rufus. The hat was knitted and felted some time ago with a crocheted band added and I used a mixture of fleeces for this.

Another view of the unsmiling face!

It's a lovely but cold day here and we went out to the paddocks to see if the boys had finished their sugar beet. Looks like they've been there and eaten it all and only the bowls remain!

It was not long before the boys come to see what was going on, led as always by Faro the boss, who likes to be the first to check out whatever is happening. He is followed by Fergus who just wants to see if there is anything else to eat! Rufus is behind Fergus.

Gully in front with Gaucho (left) and Faro behind. Behind them lies the veg garden, almost ready for the first dig over before Spring. A dusting of snow appeared over the hills again last night, so it is pretty 'nippy' today.

The grass is well cropped at the moment but the boys seem to like that. They will spend hours nibbling away at nothing it seems, but they can obviously get at small shoots and blades of grass.

And finally..........I couldn't resist putting up another photo of Gully with his inquisitive look - and the usual piece of moss sticking out of his mouth!

Mild weather

2012-02-26T13:16:00.001Z

We moved the boys into the top paddocks this week which always gets them excited. When it comes to feeding time, it doesn't matter how quiet we are when we approach the paddock from behind the hedge, they always seem to know that we are coming with food and this is the scene which meets us. Ah, bless!

The boys coming into the fresh grass, although there is very little of it around the gates where the drainage has been put in. Fergus at the front, with Rufus, Wee Eck and Gully behind.

Even before we get the straw down, which we normally do before the boys get in the paddock, the boys started rolling in the shelters. They do this every time they come into new paddocks - straight to the shelters for a roll! Here is Fidget getting acquainted with this shelter again.

It might appear that Fergus has fallen asleep here, mid chew, but he is just enjoying his supplement! All the boys like to lie down from time to time whilst eating, whether it is their supplement, hay or haylage. They always look very contented when they do this.

Gully has just had his roll in the shelter and is going to join the other boys. He has fleeced up nicely over the winter, including his furry ears which were bald when we first got him. He had some skin problems at that time but he's turned into a bonnie boy with lovely fawn fleece.

He's at the drainage again! Having moved the boys out of the lower paddocks Robbie has been putting in more 6 inch coily pipe to try to keep the steading area better drained. Another 6 barrow loads of stones finished this part off. One further trench has to be dug and piped in this paddock then all of this digging practice will come in handy when it will be time for the veg garden to be dug over! No rest for the wicked!

And finally.........I took this photo of a rose at the back of our house this morning, a sight that we usually associate with summer. With all the very mild weather around just now, insects and birds must be very confused by it all - I know that the humans around here are!

Work in progress and rainbows galore!

2012-02-19T12:52:00.000Z

Over the past couple of weeks I've been experimenting with my spun fleece to see if I can knit some alpaca images. These knitted squares can be stitched for instance onto cushion covers. The squares are knitted using yarn from Fidget (white) Gaucho (brown) and Rufus (dark brown) and these are just laid on a cushion for effect, they are not stitched on.

This is definitely 'work in progress' but I think you can see what the finished square will look like once the lettering is finished and the ends stitched in!

This probably gives a better impression of what I'm aiming for. For those interested in this type of work this was knitted using Fair Isle technique whilst the previous picture of the alpaca head was done using 'Intarsia' technique (you can Google it!) I got the alpaca ideas from the web site: http://www.mountlehmanllamas.com which shows some vintage camelid photos, knitting, toys etc - a very informative web site.

Outside in the paddocks the weather has generally been kind to us over the past week. There is a heavy dusting of snow around today but the sun will soon shift it. One day last week, under a threatening sky a rainbow appeared in the bright sunshine as a shower of rain passed. Here are, from the left, Gully, Rufus, Fergus, Fidget, Wee Eck (front) and Gaucho.

Gully (left) and Fergus

From the left, Gully, Fyta and Faro

"ello, 'ello, 'ello - wots goin' on 'ere then?" If there was a prize for nosiness, Wee Eck would win it every time. As soon as a camera is produced he has to stick his nose and dental features into the aperture!

Good weather and 'skirts.'

2012-02-12T12:37:00.000Z

We've enjoyed a week of really great weather, frosty at night but beautiful during the days. There is something very odd about looking at the weather forecaster's charts on TV and seeing the whole of the south of Britain bathed in frosty blue with -10 etc and the north of the country at +7! No snow here thank goodness, apart from on the hills, so hope that those blog readers in the south are getting around OK in the cold weather. Here are some of the boys coming up from the bottom paddock early one morning this week to see what is going on. Fidget is in the front followed by Wee Eck and Fyta.

Gully arrives followed by Rufus.

Gaucho.

This was such a lovely morning that Fergus started paddling in the water trough - unfortunately the picture of that didn't come out, but here is Fyta standing over him with Gully watching in the background. We take the water trays in for the winter and only leave the troughs out but as the weather gets warmer the trays will be deployed.

Fergus and his pals waiting for their feed in the late afternoon. All the boys have dirty knees and some, especially Gully are still covered in dried mud. They all still enjoy using their rolling spots, especially when the sun shines, but at this time of year the rolling spots look more like mud baths.

Rufus with Faro, Gaucho and Gully behind. At this time of year the boys' fleece is very dense and several of them appear to have 'skirts' - you can see this on Rufus. This is mostly guard hair, tough outer coating to the finer fleece underneath. Faro's fleece is shorter and he doesn't have this skirt but Fidget has a really thick one.

And finally..........alpacas often have a superior look about them, as if they are looking down their noses - especially at humans! Fyta takes this to the extreme however!

It's an ice-age thing!

2012-02-05T12:38:00.002Z

In last week's blog I described the drainage trench which Robbie was digging in front of the field shelters. On the next day he hit this massive slab lying at right angles to the trench and blocking the route of the coily pipe. Speculation was rife as to whether it was the 'lid' of an ancient burial chamber, perhaps there was a gold or silver hoard buried under it or perhaps it had some other ancient purpose. One thing was for sure, it was too heavy to move by hand.

Enter our farming neighbour Willie, with his digger, in front of an expectant audience of Robbie and the boys in the other paddock. No problem for this machine.

The slab is lifted out, sadly no gold, silver or skeletons underneath - just clay! The boys have lost interest in the background too!

And here is the 'precious stone' - somebody has been promising me one of those for years, but not this big! So it looks like this slab was 'dumped' here as the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age, a sight which can be seen on many mountains and hills in the north. Now several thousand years later it is likely to be cleaned, up-ended and used as a house sign. The 'ancients' would be impressed!

Also this week we had a welcome visit from Sue and Sonia who came to satisfy their curiosity about all things alpaca. Look out locally, I can see more 'fleecy beasties' appearing in another part of the village in the future!

Faro gives Sue and Sonia a look over and hopes there will be snacks for the boys (there was!) Fyta is on the left and Rufus on the right.

And finally..........not quite from the last ice age, but a sight which will be familiar to most alpaca owners recently in UK as the water troughs freeze up.

Frost and floods

2012-01-29T13:12:00.000Z

Wee Eck this week covered with a dusting of early morning frost. Gaucho is in the background.

Having been outside all night, all the boys are frosty but Eck's black fleece really shows up the frost.

Gaucho is a pretty laid back sort of Alpaca and this shot confirms it. Whilst most of the boys are feeding up on their feet, Gaucho is lying on his spot, a pile of haylage by his side, just enjoying the early morning view.

Always on the lookout for food, Gully (front) and the boys are milling about in the hope that grub is on it's way!

Having dug a 35m drainage trench at another part of our muddy land Robbie decided to start another trench in front of the field shelters to try to redirect the water which build up in this area away to another part of the paddock. This one will be 25m long, have a 4" coily pipe buried and covered with stones and end up in a 'sump' at the far end. After that the bottom paddock shelters will need re-draining and the present pipe replaced with 6" piping in an effort to move the huge amount of water which builds up in that area. We have found that over the years the rainfall has increased in this part of the world, showers of rain are now heavy downpours and flooding becomes a problem - especially for the animals.

Just as if to prove that all these guys do is eat, here they are this morning, tucking in again!

Bleak mid-winter

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000Z

Here's a sight to lift the spirits in the bleak mid-winter! A bunch of Snowdrops in our back garden surrounded by Daffodil bulbs which are just breaking the surface. With the appearance of these flowers and the lengthening daylight it is a sure sign that Spring is on it's way.........hopefully!

In the meantime the weather continues to be foul - high wind, lots of rain and sleet but very little snow - a complete change from this time last year. The boys make full use of the field shelters , especially when hailstones fall - they just do not like them! Rufus in front, Fyta and Fergus at the rear with Gaucho taking things easy with his tub of hay. Photo taken at dusk just as yet another squally shower hits.

Breakfast time and the boys are still squelching around in the mud. Faro (front) , Gaucho, Rufus and Wee Eck. One funny incident happened this week when the boys were eating their sugar beet from their bowls. A strong gust of wind came along and several of the bowls were blown away on the icy ground, pursued by indignant alpacas!

Rufus, a big strong lad but even he had his head down, squinting through his eyes before dashing for the shelter when the hailstones started!

Gully does not appear to be getting any cleaner even though he has been out in lots of rain.

Nearby in the chicken run, Hunkey Dunkey is sharing his breakfast with half a dozen Blackbirds, as well as Dunnocks and Robins. Unfortunately before the camera is organised most fly off, except one Blackbird intent on filling up!

And finally........ the hay is lasting better this winter with 23 square bales still stored. The past two winters have seen shortages of hay generally but that doesn't seem to be the case this time. Still a few months to go, so hopefully this lot will last.

Lily pays a visit!

2012-01-15T12:54:00.001Z

As we were going to have a visit yesterday from old friends Dorothy and Barry and one of their grandchildren, Lily, we thought the boys would at least try to spruce themselves up a bit. Instead there was a mass rolling session in the mud. The result, as worn by Gully here made him less then cuddly!

Grandad Barry supervises whilst Lily feeds Fyta and Fergus. Lily was keen to meet the alpacas again having met them last year for the first time.

Wee Eck gets the bowl to himself.

Wee Eck (L), Gully (M) and Fergus get some tit-bits.

Fidget (L), Gaucho (M) and Rufus wait their turn for a bowl. Gaucho has his trademark piece of grass or moss in the corner of his mouth - he's never without it and reminds us of an old sailor chewing his tobacco!

All the boys enjoying their haylage earlier yesterday morning. The last few days have been bright and sunny, but quite cold and the nights have been very frosty - conditions which the boys like.

And finally........'Hunkey-Dunkey' looking good in his new feathers watching over his three hens. The old Rowan tree in the background is beginning to look a bit sad and will probably get a trim up soon to encourage new growth. The two chicken runs stand on the site of a very old croft house and the Rowan tree was always planted nearby to keep the witches at bay - a tradition which is still maintained today.

Red eyes and jigsaws!

2012-01-08T12:38:00.000Z

It's nice to be greeted at the gate each morning at haylage time by a friendly face! This is Fergus and the following shots show him and his pals about 8.30 am today and still in the dark. Apart from the wet and dishevelled look most of them also have a touch of the red eye from the camera flash - scary!

Fyta with Fergus behind and Rufus at the rear.

Gaucho, not his best pose, but loving his haylage!

Gully looking really scary (but also enjoying his haylage!)

Mud, glorious mud - a sight most UK bloggers are used to this winter. This is the view from the steading door, but it is repeated throughout the paddocks. I can't recall seeing the ground so wet and muddy during our 16 years at Tigh Mhor. We moved the boys from the top paddocks to the lower ones to give them bigger shelters and slightly drier conditions. The coming week is due to be drier so that should give the boys - and the muddy paddocks - some respite and a chance to dry out.

And now for something completely different..........we usually work away at a couple of jigsaws during the Christmas break - anything for a bit of relief from the re-cycled TV programmes! This one was a bit of a challenge, 1000 pieces with all the curly edges and cut outs, but a lovely picture.

Much more fun at only 500 pieces was this 'back to front' jigsaw - wasgij - where there is no image on the box lid to work from only a picture of lots of people staring at the scene which you have to make. As you can see, the scene which was revealed was of a lot of workmen doing their version of 'the full Monty!'

All the best for 2012!

2011-12-31T14:03:00.001Z

SEASON'S GREETINGS

2011-12-19T14:21:00.001Z

FOR ANIMATED VERSION WITH MUSIC, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW. HAVE A NICE CHRISTMAS.

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Boys, bobbles, birds & cat!

2011-12-18T12:37:00.006Z

This is the normal sight at the gate for the 8.00am feed of haylage! Wee Eck with his prominent dentistry waiting to pounce on his pile of feed, with Faro and Fyta behind.

The weather has been less stormy this week but the temperature has dropped further. Each morning the ice has to be removed from the water troughs and by lunch time it is normally frozen over again, albeit with thinner ice.

The clear frosty nights are enjoyed by the boys who spend them lying out in the open. This is the site of melted patches in the frost which we normally find in the mornings! At least when the weather is like this the boys go to the toilet outside - when they are bedded down in the shelters, the morning requires another poop-patrol!

Like many bloggers I find that knitting takes up a lot of spare time during the long evenings. I've just finished a hat and maxi scarf with big bobbles, courtesy of Fidget's fleece. Interestingly I've been using some of his second cut fleece and it has knitted up OK although smaller sized needles might have been better.

Have you noticed the horrendous cost of bird nuts these days - apparently the Chinese are buying them up wholesale and getting oil from them. Can you believe that? We have a bird table at the back of the house which operates like a mini Heathrow with hundreds of arrivals and departures during daylight hours. Normally a feeder full of nuts will last several days and the one on the right of the table with a Blue Tit on it shows the 'normal ' level. The feeder on the left is a lot emptier because of the Coal Tit inside! He/she does what Coal Tits are famous for and that is that they carry the nuts off and store them in various locations around the garden to be eaten later! The feeder has a 'dodgy' top so the Tit pushes it aside, drops in, pinches a nut, flies off and stores it and within a couple of minutes has returned to repeat the procedure. It had emptied the feeder a couple of hours later! We should call him/her ' Tesco Tit' as I'm sure it is running a store for the birdies around here!

And finally.......our ageing pussy cat, Pansy Potter who is now 16 years old. She is slowing down quite a lot these days and prefers to spend most of her time under the radiator in the kitchen where it is nice and warm.

'Gael' force winds!

2011-12-11T12:46:00.000Z

Bit of a stormy week just gone but no damage done thank goodness. We lost our electricity for nearly 24 hours but don't you just love those electricity linemen when the lights come back on?! We find that snow on the ground means a lot more work with the boys. They get bored quickly when they can't get at the grass so we tend to make a 'track' through the snow in the paddocks so that they can have a nibble. Unlike sheep and deer who 'paw' at the snow to get at the grass, the boys don't seem to do that at all - wonder what your experience is with them? This is Rufus having some cold grass to eat!

Morning haylage time and Gaucho likes to lie down and enjoy the moment!

Fidget looking a bit wet and dirty. On Thursday, as a prelude to the gales, the ankle deep snow melted very quickly helped by heavy downpours of rain and sleet and this flooded parts of the paddocks. All our hay, straw etc stored in the Steading is on pallets so survived the water flooding over the floor. The boys were wet, dry, wet, dry all week as the weather changed but were none the worse for it. They had Verm-X worming granules in their feed all week with Gully the only one who takes a bit of coaxing to eat them.

In the hen house, Dunc was being a bit of a 'Jessie' and refusing to leave the comfort of his surroundings and venture out into the snow! The cold did not stop him feeling a bit amorous however and having chased the two brown hens out of the door he turned his attention to the Maran. Here he is 'cock-a doodling' like a cockerel possessed with the Maran ready to close her eyes and think of Scotland! We've had half a dozen cockerels over the years and every one of them has hated snow and ice but Dunc has taken it personally and has only ventured out today now that the snow has gone.

We mentioned Faro's left eye in last week's blog. Repeated saline bathing failed to stop the 'gunge' from coming out of the eye socket so we applied Orbenin ointment which we'd got from the Vet. Pleased to report that his eye is now a lot cleaner and drier.

And finally......... snow or no snow, when you've got to go - you've got to go! Scruffy looking Fyta doing the necessary with equally scruffy Fidget and Gully looking on. The snow has now cleared so the 'poop patrol' will take longer than usual today I think!

Hurdles and snow

2011-12-04T13:18:00.000Z

The boys are still in the top 2 paddocks at present but due to the very boggy area in the 3rd adjoining paddock we haven't allowed them in there. We have plans to get some drainage organised but in the meantime we decided to buy some more sheep hurdles to allow them onto at least part of the affected paddock. The grass there hasn't been touched since summer so there should still be some goodness in it. Here are Gaucho (right) and Fidget (rear) waiting to get into the new area of grass. Fyta's black 'trousers' are on the left!

Also waiting at the gate (from the left) Fergus, Rufus, Wee Eck and Fyta. A certain amount of spitting had been going on just before the photo was taken - you can probably tell!

Fyta (left) and Fergus enjoy some fresh grass in the sectioned off part of the paddock.

After a long day in the howling gales and driving sleet the boys settle down after their late afternoon feed watched over by Faro (left) who is on permanent sentry duty! Pity about the shiny eyes on the photo. Speaking of eyes, Faro has had a runny left eye this week so we've been penning him and bathing his eye with warm saline. It has improved greatly but we're keeping a close watch on it. He has had this winter problem before, especially when it is very windy. Antibiotic cream has not really helped in the past.

It's been a fairly wild week weather-wise with 3 days of continuous gales. The snow started to appear mid-week when this photo was taken and the hills started to take on a blanket. Today, the snow is falling thick and fast as I type this and the next couple of days don't look much better. The boys will be looking to pack in as much haylage and hay as they can now as their new grass - after all the fuss with new hurdles - is now covered in snow!

Slurp time

2011-11-27T15:02:00.000Z

The weather has turned really wintry this week with gales, sleat and snow. Plenty of snow on surrounding hills so that keeps the temperature down and the winds cold. We started giving the boys their sugar beet too earlier this week, and after an initial hesitation at being presented with different food in coloured bowls, they then got stuck in. They all like the beet but some are more messy, and more noisy, than others when eating it. This is Fidget who is not happy unless he gets his face plastered in the stuff!

What!? (Gully)

'Hot lips' Rufus - the noisiest eater with plenty of 'slurping' noises coming from his bowl.

This is Fyta's cunning anti-theft plan when one of the other boys fancies his food. He will either pick up his bowl and carry it off or will overturn it with one foot!

This time Fyta fancies Wee Eck's sugar beet, but after Eck growls and moans at him, Fyta backs off. Faro is looking on.

Peace and quiet as they settle down with their bowls - apart from the 'slurp-slurp' noises from Rufus on the right!

And finally, I've been doing quite a bit of spinning this week, dark nights and bad weather help this task, and I also managed to knit up two hats from Fidget. Both are cable stitch and the hat on the right has a moss stitch border.

Dunc at dawn

2011-11-20T12:55:00.000Z

Thought I'd give Duncan (Dunc) top billing today as he is looking good again after his recent moult. This was taken just before 8.00am today and he looks surprised to be met by a photographer after stumbling out of the hen-house for breakfast! Dunc is a Buff Orpington, a lovely cockerel and very good with his three hens all of whom have been going through their moult over the past few weeks. The Maran still looks like she has been 'dragged through a hedge backwards' but her feathers are at last coming back in. No eggs at this time of year from the hens, it's usually early Spring before they start laying again.

An uneventful week for the boys - no visitors, no penning, just ever watchful for signs of humans approaching with apples, carrots, haylage etc. Another week of really good weather for the boys including frosty, clear nights which they all enjoy. Fidget looks as if he needs an appointment with the clippers to even up his fringe.

Fergus bearing the brown spot on his right cheek which he inherited from his mum. He's about to give a warning spit up in the air as Wee Eck approaches him. Fergus cannot tolerate Wee Eck being anywhere near him (herd dynamics again, Barbara!)

Gully wearing his quizical look. He's always interested to see what humans are up to!

Fyta, a lovely natured alpaca. He does not welcome stroking or hugs (unless he's standing in the water tray) but stands close and is not nervous.

Gaucho, a wary 'paca who tries to keep clear of trouble!

And finally Wee Eck - we should have called him 'Fearless Fred with the curly head!' He has curly cheeks and a mop of curls and although the smallest of the boys, fears none of the big fellas! Enjoys it best when he is in the middle of a scrum, creating mayhem with the big guys.

Heavenly haylage!

2011-11-13T12:37:00.000Z

Another week of unbelievably good weather with plenty of sunshine to please the boys. Here are, from the left, Fidget, Gully, Fergus and Fyta enjoying the November rays. This time last year we'd already had snow to contend with so this spell of weather shortens the winter for us.

We started feeding morning haylage to the boys this week - well it is winter, regardless of the summer weather! They really love the smell and taste of the 'Silvermoor' haylage and as soon as they are given their individual 'pile' most of them lie down and contentedly chew it. Fyta is at the front, then Gaucho the Fidget at the back.

Fergus prefers his own company but loves his haylage too.

Rufus (front) and Faro enjoy that chewing moment!

This clear weather is giving us some amazing dawns and sunsets. This was taken just before 8.00am on Thursday, looking to the south east. If you look closely you can see Fyta in the foreground.

And finally...........an atmospheric shot, taken in the veg garden about the same time but looking towards the north west with the full moon still in the sky. Dung has now been liberally applied to the plots, the final total from last week's 'barrowing blog' was 47 barrow loads. Thanks for the wave of good wishes for Robbie's sore back after this task........well, thanks to Barbara (Beckbrow) and Jayne (Zanzibar) anyway! 'Barrowman' is still lying in a dark corner somewhere!!

'Dunbarrowing?'

2011-11-06T12:28:00.000Z

We've had a week of really good weather, frosty at nights but sunny and warm during the days. It's unusual to be able to do lots of work around the garden at this time of year, but thats what we've been doing. We also penned the boys, haltered them and gave them a check over. We cut Fidget's and Gully's nails and they were both well behaved. Wee Eck has some small spots appearing near this mouth so I've applied 'Ruggle-it' with a base cream - that should give his food a peculiar taste for a day or two!

A nice head shot of Fyta with Wee Eck in the background.

Having cleaned up the veg plots, Robbie has been barrowing dung from the composting area up to the garden. This excellent dung is over a year old and looks a bit like the peat bank we had when we lived up in Caithness some years ago.

The barrow - described by Robbie as one of man's better inventions - loaded and ready to go! Twenty loads yesterday with even more to go today. He is threatening to save up his pennies from his old age pension starting next year and buy a quad bike with an attached trailer, which should 'help the aged' with this job. It will either be a very small quad or the Chancellor will have to do something about the state pension though!

We also had a visit from friends Ann and Duncan, who are visiting in the area for a few days. Ann is giving Fergus some carrot with Fidget, Wee Eck and Faro waiting patiently.

And finally.........we have lots of Blackbirds around the garden but one came to grief a few days ago when it was targetted by a Sparrow-hawk who frequently patrols the area and suddenly appears and disappears in an instant. This time he obviously found what he was looking for and this scattering of feathers was all that remained of the Blackie. That's nature I suppose.

Carrots and rainbows

2011-10-30T12:54:00.000Z

Rufus earlier this week as he waits for some carrot. When he joined the herd last summer Rufus was quite shy and wouldn't come too close even at feed times. He would never try carrots, apples or any other tit bits which were offered at first but was always interested in why the other boys were munching these strange things! Since then he has grown to love any snacks on offer.

Fergus on the other hand was never a shy lad when it came to food and here he is leading the queue for carrots.

If you enlarge this photo you'll see that Gaucho has a piece of carrot and is happily chewing it.

This trio, from the left Fyta, Gaucho and Wee Eck, all trying to get the piece of carrot on offer...Eck won!

Gully (left) and Gaucho. These two boys joined the herd two years ago and are firm friends, often having a wrestle or nipping each other's ankles. When it comes to food however they will still growl or spit at each other if there is any stealing going on from the food bowls!

Early one morning last week the variation of sunlight, shadow and the appearance of a bright rainbow made for an interesting photo. Pity about the limitations of our camera (and the male photographer!)

Wee Eck - "Rainbow?" "What rainbow?"

The Sunday Post!

2011-10-23T12:12:00.001+01:00

It's been a week of really dismal weather, lots of rain making the paddocks very muddy, gales, some sun and earlier in the week, a heavy dusting of snow on the hills. This morning dawned brighter with Fidget up and about early on for a nibble on the grass. He takes on this quizzical look when the camera is around, unsure if it's something to eat!

We've also had frosts this week as can be seen on Wee Eck's back.

Gaucho standing near the catch pen and showing off his lovely colour. It's good to see that the boys' fleece is now thickening up nicely for the coming winter.

Fyta and his Bermuda shorts!

Gully with his two-tone coloured top knot.

Next door to the boys in the bottom paddocks are the chicken runs. Now that the weather has turned much colder, the birds have decided to moult and the chicken house is full of discarded feathers. It happens every year and the hens start to look like a sorry bunch with one losing it's tail feathers completely. 'Duncan' doesn't look at his best now but he'll be resplendent in the new year ready to show off to his ladies. The Maran (top left) is a young bird but the other two hens are now 8 years old and have taken on a new lease of life since Dunk arrived in early summer.

And finally........ adding a splash of Autumn colour to the garden is this Acer tree with the remnants of the Crocosmia (Montbretia) plants beneath it.

Visitors galore!

2011-10-16T12:17:00.002+01:00

This has been a week of visitors, much enjoyed by the boys because they know there will always be some carrots and apples on offer! Last Sunday we had a welcome surprise visit from Mabel and Imantz who have alpacas, Kune Kune pigs and various other breeds at their Aberdeenshire croft. Mabel presented me with a bag of Hebridean sheep wool to spin and I'm finding it to be a totally different 'feel' when spinning. Thanks Mabel. Gully (left) and Fergus weigh up the chances of getting some goodies.

Is this looking at the finer points of male alpacas or just deciding that some members of the herd would do well on a Weightwatcher's course?

Early in the week we had a visit from friend Iona, her two girls and their friends. This was a first time experience of alpacas for the children who followed this up with a look at the hens. Following a question from one of the girls Robbie was left explaining how the one egg in the henhouse arrived there and how it could end up as a chicken. An interesting lesson in biology, although probably a bit scrambled! Thank you for the chocolates girls - the photographer really enjoys them!

Mid week saw a visit from Dwynwen and her family from Inverness. This was interesting because the family had previously seen the boys in their paddocks as they passed and Dwynwen got in contact to arrange a visit, not only to see the boys but to talk about spinning, fleece etc. She is a terrific hand-knitter and designer with a very interesting blog ( www.dwynwen.wordpress.com) which now has a feature on the boys and the family's visit. The boys loved the carrots they brought - spoiled again - thanks folks.

Later in the week we had a visit from neighbour Joan and her two visiting grandchildren Ryan and Lisa. Again, a first introduction for the children to alpacas as well as a look at some of the fleece and garments produced.

They're behind you Ryan! Faro (left), Fyta and Fergus get close for a photo! Thank you for the home baking which you brought Ryan and Lisa - Robbie didn't leave much for me!

And finally, yesterday Heather came back to see the boys again - this time accompanied by the whole family and a bigger camera. We mentioned Heather's last visit on our previous blog and the 'stash' of carrots and apples she brought. This time there was even more apples for the boys to enjoy - thank you. These boys have never been so spoilt.

Cold weather snacks

2011-10-09T13:56:00.000+01:00

Earlier this week we moved the boys to the bottom paddocks to give them fresh grass. Great excitement as always as they ran into the paddocks and familiarised themselves with their new surroundings again. Quite a miserable, rainy week but today the sun has come out. Since last week we've been giving them a daily tit-bit of apples and carrots gifted to them by Heather (see last blog) but this has the effect of making them run to us each time we go in a paddock in the hope that we have more carrots and apples! Fine in bleak mid-winter, but not necessary at this time of year so we try and change the time of day we give the tit-bits otherwise their in-built time clocks have them lining the fences looking for a snack! Thats what this picture is all about with the snack-happy boys running up.

No prizes for guessing who will be first in line for food - Fergus - that well known belly-on-legs! He was more than a little disappointed to discover that there was only a camera on offer, not a bowl of 'five a day' portions!

Line-out time as the guys realise there are no more snacks and they'd better get on and nibble the grass. Nearest the camera is Fidget and last week we took a sample of his poo to the Vet Lab in Inverness because he has been a bit 'loose' in his motions of late - not runny, but not 'bean-like' either if you get my meaning! Normally we send a 'pooled' sample from all the boys for analysis twice a year, but on this occasion we just delivered Fidget's so that it could be thoroughly checked. We got the result earlier this week and were pleased that it was negative.

Gully looking for one of the dogs from the neighbouring farm.

Fergus was still not entirely convinced that the photographer did not have lots of apples and carrots stuffed up his jumper......................wrong, Fergie boy!

Not sure if you'll be able to see the boys in their shelters with the hills beyond. This was taken by Robbie on Thursday at 8.00am, on a very cold morning with a dusting of snow on the higher peaks beyond. Hat and jacket weather again - already!

The boys were totally unconcerned by the cold weather as they snuggled up to their hay buckets which as always have been emptied then thrown and kicked around the place! Faro is on guard outside with his tail up and Fergus prefers his own company in the steading.

A generous visitor

2011-10-01T15:20:00.001+01:00

'Nosey Parker' Wee Eck knows when there are visitors around because he reckons he will get some tit-bits as well as having his photo taken.

We had contact from Heather in Inverness who wanted to come out, see the boys but also find out about spinning fleece. She very kindly brought with her a large bag of apples and carrots for the guys and here is Faro looking for more apples which are his favourites! Heather rides her friend's horse Henry so is used to feed times but this is the first time she has been up close and personal with alpacas.

Fyta next, always keen to smell the hand that feeds him!

And Fergus of course who will lick the very last morsel out of any food bowl around! Thanks for the apples and carrots, Heather, they are going down a treat every day. I was able to show Heather what I get up to with the fleece, through spinning, felting and knitting so I hope there was a bit of inspiration. Good luck with your plans for spinning lessons!

Fyta, never shy to have his photo taken, with Rufus in the background.

We've had some good weather this week so we penned the boys as we particularly wanted to trim Fergus's nails. He and our other white boy Fidget need their nails cutting regularly, especially Fergus as he has the type of nails which grow curled, and if not trimmed would grow under his pads. These are Fergus's front feet and the nails on the left of the picture show how they quickly curl under. One of his back feet also has curly nails so this is the second trim since James and Kym the shearers were here at the end of June. For a pleasant change Fergus was very well behaved and nails on all 4 feet were trimmed.

And finally, Nerines growing nicely in the autumn sunshine earlier in the week. The south of the country is basking in hot sunshine today again whilst here it is ..............pouring with rain!

Queue jumper!

2011-09-25T12:37:00.000+01:00

It's been a wet week but this morning dawned bright, and a bit chilly and autumnal. Not the sort of morning for midges and beasties to be flying around, but they were about - and the boys knew it. When the beasties are about the boys either use the water trays, the sand pits or the back of the shelter - or a combination of all three, to get out of their way. Fyta was first to trot up to the tray and dunk his feet.

This seemed like a good idea so the other boys gather round, Fergus (left) with Gully grazing behind, then Wee Eck (note his teeth!), Rufus, Gaucho and Faro looking over the hedge.

It's not long before Fyta is nudged out so he gives the water trough a try........

He's back into the tray but by now Fergus has decided to get the deckchair and towel out for a bit of poolside sunbathing whilst Wee Eck and Rufus work out how to tackle the '4 in a tray won't go' problem.

Not one to bother with queueing for anything, Wee Eck shoo's the other boys away and gets in! Rufus is not happy about this and the pair start moaning and groaning at each other and showing their visible warnings - noses facing up in the air, ears back, teeth showing - this will lead to spitting if one or the other doesn't move!

Now this is a first for Rufus - we've never actually seen him standing in the water tray before. He and Wee Eck joined the herd just over a year ago and whilst Eck is always in the thick of the herd action, Rufus is much more reserved and usually to be found on the edges of the group. Over the past year he has become much less of a loner and more willing to participate in the herd's activities, although he can be troublesome at feed time (as last week's blog describes!) We've often seen him watching the other boys going into the tray but he's never been bold enough to try it himself. Well done Roofie!

But the last word goes to Eck, who perhaps because of his deafness, is rarely deflected from what he wants to do - he just pushes forward and goes ahead and does it! So having moaned and groaned and got rid of the competition, he now has the tray to himself for a morning soak. Result!

Ladders and 'boys from the green stuff!'

2011-09-17T20:16:00.000+01:00

This has been a week of mixed weather, some days very wet, some very windy and wet but on Thursday it was glorious. Now that the wasps pose less of a problem, we've been trying to get our very long hedge cut before the winter. The routine is always the same, the rain stops, out comes the orchard ladder and up come the boys to check it out. All except Faro (front) that is who prefers his guarding duty of checking out the photographer.

Although they've seen the ladder many times, it still needs to be thoroughly checked each time it is erected! From the left, Fyta, Gully, Fidget, Wee Eck and Gaucho.

'Ol blue eyes' Gully with Fidget behind.

Gaucho with Faro, Fyta and Rufus behind.

As soon as the next heavy shower of rain comes on the boys bolt to the field shelter - no point in being wet when with little effort you can be perfectly dry!

Fergus (front) and Rufus sheltering from the rain. Rufus looks like 'butter wouldn't melt' but he got a severe telling off on Wed at feed time. Just occasionally, when the feed arrives, he will spit at all the boys around him as if to shoo them away from the food. It certainly works because his spit smells horrible, all the others can't eat, then they start sneezing. Rufus started sneezing too, his mouth full of green stuff but that didn't stop him eating! All the others stand around, unable to eat and looking at him as if to say, "What's he like?!" One particularly smelly mouthful hit Robbie on the back of the head (tee he!) ensuring that Rufus got the pointed finger, stern look and "Bad boy, Rufus" routine !

Best pals ( despite the halitosis), Rufus (left) and Wee Eck lie down whilst the rain pours down outside! We also had a flying visit yesterday between the showers from Lorna and Sandy of Ardo Alpacas, where all the boys came from. They seem to know Lorna each time she visits and gather around her, something they don't do with any other visitor. Perhaps the fact that she was feeding them a grape or two from the greenhouse had something to do with her popularity this time!

A couple of heavyweights and a hungry rabbit!

2011-09-11T13:02:00.000+01:00

Not one for missing out on any food, this is Fergus in the foreground, sporting a healthy girth! A mention of slightly heavy 'pacas from Barbara at Beckbrow Alpacas (www.beckbrowalpacas.blogspot.com)) in her recent blog has prompted me to display our heavy twosome, both white boys, so perhaps it's in their genes. In the background is Fyta, with black trousers which just about get around his waist!

White boy No2 is Fidget who also likes his food. Here he is having just polished off his feed, he hears a dog barking at the neighbouring farm so gives the possible threat his immediate attention.

Some of the other boys pick up the noise and assess the threat. All except deaf boy Wee Eck at the front who hears nothing and in any case prefers to have his photo taken!

A head shot of Gully having just had his feed. In the background a serious discussion ensues as Wee Eck decides to clamp a plastic lid in his mouth and give it a good chewing!

And now, the pesky rabbit! Some years we have serious amounts of rabbits in the area, and some years we seem to have none. This is a bad year for them and try as we do to keep them out of the garden, especially the veg garden, we often fail miserably. One wee bunny continues to manage to hide and escape from the veg garden but whilst there manages to create this type of damage to the Savoy cabbage. The older plants are in the background but the rabbit prefers the younger plants at the front. He/she has also given serious chew-time to the carrots, broccoli and cauliflowers. Fortunately the swedes being grown for the boys have not yet been attacked. We've tried all the nice ways to get rid of it (leaving the gate open and 'shooing' it out), but to no avail. Eventually the blunderbuss will have to get used if it doesn't decide to emigrate soon!

In an effort to beat the rabbits we planted some cauliflowers (right) in the Keder greenhouse. They have grown huge leaves due to the warmer growing environment and the heads are only now beginning to become large and white. This is really an outdoor vegetable, but at least we've beaten the bunny! The remainder of the carrot crop are on the left and the two vines are at the bottom end.

And finally the score...............Robbie 1, Rabbit 0!

Ready, steady - GO!

2011-09-04T12:21:00.000+01:00

A change of paddock and new grass coming up for the boys any time now. It's almost as if they sense what is going to happen! Ready.........

Their suspicions (and hopes) are raised when mum arrives and starts fiddling with the gate. Steady.........

GO!! Yippee, here we go then with the charge being led by Faro, naturally, then Fergus, Fyta, Wee Eck, Gully, Fidget, Gaucho and Rufus standing back being a bit suspicious of what is going on! After this the boys go running and jumping around the paddock, checking out and rolling in the field shelters then settling down to a bit of grazing. We've been changing paddocks around every 5 weeks during the summer so that the boys can get the best of the grass.

Next morning it's lie-in time in the shelters - (it's lie-in time every morning in the shelters!) with Fidget (left) Fergus (back) and Fyta lying down and Faro on his feet and guarding! This shelter has an opaque sheeted roof which makes it lighter inside.

Next door things are stirring - just! Gaucho (left) and Rufus (back) are lying down whilst Gully (middle) and Wee Eck are up and about. Wee Eck has had his head in the hay bucket and is sporting his 'adornments'. This shelter has a dark sheeted roof, making the inside much darker and preferred by some of the boys when the insects and midges start biting as the insects don't seem to gather in darker places.

There is more than enough room for the 8 boys in 2 shelters although they can often congregate in just one, but they do also like to spread themselves around. No point in having 'pacas if you can't spoil them eh? You can see the effect the different roof sheeting makes to the inside of the shelters.

Faro calling time on the photographer again - I think his expression means, "Shove off now!" He too has had his head in the hay buckets to achieve his morning 'adornments!'

Autumn already?

2011-08-28T13:13:00.001+01:00

Wee Eck waiting at the gate. Always curious as to what is going on around him probably due to his deafness, Eck will often stand looking at things, or people, much longer than the others.

We've had some mornings this week when it felt more like autumn or early winter rather than late summer with the heavy dew almost turning to frost on the ground. Faro above on such a morning taking to the water tray, about to get the top of his head wet which he likes. The sweat glands on his lower rear legs are clearly visible and whilst these glands are rarely mentioned in publications we believe that shearing all the way down the legs keeps them clear.

Wee Eck at the front, Faro in the middle and Gully at the back.

A line-out across the paddock as the boys get their heads down for an early morning graze. Ben Wyvis is in the background with the drifting early morning mists still visible.

Faro will only take so much photography before coming up and sticking his nose into the lens as if to say, "Enough now!" He is the guard after all!

A colourful bunch of Crocosmia (Lucifer) against the hedge and covered in dew on one chilly morning.

And finally.... thought you might like a view out of the covered balcony of our house, looking west and as the sun was sinking one evening last week. Unfortunately, not being great photographers we managed to get the reflected camera flash included!

Feeding frenzy!

2011-08-20T19:22:00.000+01:00

The boys love their feed supplement which they receive every day about 4.00pm. By mid afternoon they congregate near the paddock gate in anticipation of the humans approaching with grub! They have individual bowls as trough feeding does not work for us - too many arguments. They had Verm-X granules every day last week mixed in with their feed and this is given on a monthly basis. Here the boys have just cleaned out their bowls and Fyta (front) carries out a double check of all of them to make sure there are no morsels left!

Fyta (left) is getting very clear audible and visual warnings from Wee Eck to keep out of his bowl. Eck is normally last to finish but refuses to budge from his bowl if any is left and will jump at any of the bigger boys if they persist in trying to steal his food. Some of the boys, Faro for instance, will back off his bowl if any of the others approach and trying to make sure that they all get their share can sometimes be difficult.

Here is Fidget (rear) growling at Rufus and warning him not to come near his bowl! Rufus often tries stealing food and if discovered and challenged takes up this pose of standing absolutely still, neck down, ears back waiting for the aggro to subside. Fidget will not allow any of the other boys near his bowl - except Wee Eck who can't hear the warnings and doesn't care anyway - and just pushes his way in!

Gaucho doing his happy camel impersonation after his feed!

Our friend Ken travelled up from London for a few days holiday and this was his first meeting with the boys. Gaucho is wary but prepared to check out if there is anything in Ken's hand. We had other visitors this week when two local ladies called to arrange a future visit by their ramblers group The boys will enjoy all the attention that day.

So now we know what Ken really thinks of Fergus (front) and the other boys!

Windy days in the garden

2011-08-14T12:37:00.000+01:00

It's funny how the animals decide to lie down as a group sometimes. Often they prefer to be spread around the paddock with yards between each alpaca, then at other times they gather together. When this photo was taken there was a very strong wind blowing and we've noticed that the boys often 'go to ground' during gales, so perhaps it's a protection thing. Certainly other animals like cows and sheep seem to do the same thing in certain weather conditions.

Fidget (left), Gully (Front) with Fergus at the rear. We had a lovely couple visiting yesterday from Skye and Fergus was on his best 'visitor friendly' behaviour getting plenty of neck rubs. Yesterday was the best day of the week with plenty of sunshine whilst the rest of the week has been a bit of a wash-out, so the boys got to sunbathe for a while.

Fyta with Gaucho lying next to him, Rufus's head just appearing and Wee Eck in the background. Whilst Fyta is not into neck rubs and stroking unless he's feeling very generous, he is perfectly at ease with us and we can walk all round him when he is down like this and he does not move.

An unusual pose from Faro who, being the guard normally gets to his feet when humans are around. His tail is up in recognition however and he watches every move we make. He's a lovely chap and he gets plenty of neck rubs and hugs from us because he does enjoy that.

Now to things gardening. Here are the maturing grapes in the Keder greenhouse, just beginning to turn from green to a ruby red colour. They are already sweet to taste. We are not quite at the point of taking off our socks and shoes and tramping them yet though!

At the edge of one of the paddocks is this Tulip tree (Liriodendron), part of the magnolia family and seen blowing in the strong wind. They have a distinctive leaf shape and take 25 years to produce flowers! It is steadily growing and we were a bit concerned that it may be harmful to the boys as they can try to nibble it through the mesh fence, so we keep it trimmed. I checked on the internet and it seems that alpacas have been known to eat it without harmful effects - but we will still keep it trimmed!

And finally.........this strange plant is in a shaded part of our garden. We planted it several years ago, but as usual, the name tag has gone with the wind - ages ago! We think that it is a member of the Trillium family and this year has produced these colourful seed pods looking just like big plums. If anyone out there knows the correct name, then please let us know. Ta.

Rainy day routine

2011-08-07T12:23:00.000+01:00

We're catching the heavy rain which many of you have had in the south. Yesterday's TV weather forecast showed that Barnacre Alpacas (www.barnacre-alpacas.co.uk) in Northumberland were going to get a soaking (and they did!) before sending the downpours north into Scotland. Thanks for that Debbie! Here are Gaucho (front) and Faro looking out of the steading into the pouring rain. It hasn't been like this all week though and we've had some good, warm days. We managed to get 48 square bales of hay during a good day from Karen and Dave who have 3 alpaca boys and who farm and run a farm shop at nearby Beauly (www.robertsonstomichfarmshop.co.uk)

Wee Eck(L), Fergus(M) and Rufus(R) looking out of one of the shelters into the rain and wondering whether it is worth getting wet - again! As always the hay buckets have been emptied and kicked/carried around the shelter.

Wee Eck does his dental flossing smile whilst Gully peeps around the door, with Fyta behind and Fidge in the background. The boys are looking a bit sleepy this morning probably due to the fact that last night was the final one of the nearby Belladrum tartan heart music festival so 12 hours of throbbing music and a fireworks display around midnight would have interrupted their snoozing. The festival has been a great success again with the 16000 tickets being sold out months ago, the weather has been pretty good - until last night when the rain arrived and the wellies proved their worth! Eat yer hairt oot, Glastonbury!

You have to get wet at some point and Faro leads the machos out of the comfort of their bed & breakfast accommodation into the rain.

Gaucho gets out in the rain for his breakfast.

It's that time of year again!

2011-07-31T12:58:00.000+01:00

It's the time of year when the sun is at it's hottest that these horse flies appear in the paddocks. Thankfully they seem to fly around singly or twos and threes and not in swarms. The boys don't like these monsters landing on them and they stamp their feet and shake them off. They are fairly easy to swat when they land on fence poles but it gets a bit tricky when they are on or near one of the boys as the boys think they are being swatted and not the horse-fly!

Apart from keeping cool in the sand pit, the boys know to lie down when there are flies around so that the flies can't get underneath them where it is most irritating. Here are (L to R) Wee Eck, Gully, Rufus, Fergus and Gaucho.

Another hot day (we've had several this week!) and the sand pit and water trays get full use. Faro has his tail up and is checking out the photographer whilst Fidget lies on the grass and (L to R) Gaucho, Fyta, Fergus and Rufus are in the pit. Gully and Wee Eck have wandered into the adjoining paddock.

We had a visit from old friends Alan and Kath this week and here is Alan asking Wee Eck, "Whey, can ye speak Geordie, marra?" He's deaf Alan - try hand signals!

Guess who has just been spitting? Several of the boys, if they have been spitting, pick up mouthfuls of hay and just stand, letting the foul taste get soaked up by the hay. Fidget is doing this having had a slight disagreement with Wee Eck behind. Unfortunately for Wee Eck, being deaf, he can't hear the audible warnings the boys give each other if their personal space is being invaded and if he misses the visual warnings too - then thats when spitting starts. Eck then gets the message and usually gives as good as he gets!

And finally..........all of this sunshine is clearly doing wonders with the veg. Swedes in the nearest bed, then Rooster main crop tatties behind, peas behind that and at the rear are onions and root veg. The freezers will soon be bulging with peas and beans after hours spent shelling! One disappointment this year is in the orchard where we have very few apples but plenty of growth. Clearly the late frosts have nipped all the buds so the boys won't have so many to eat this winter.

Sunset & halters

2011-07-23T21:04:00.000+01:00

At the end of a long day there is nothing the boys like better than to lie down and watch a lovely sunset - nothing as strenuous as 'roamin in the gloamin' for these fellas! Gully (left) has settled down next to Fergus, which he often does. Fergus does not mind Gully lying next to him, but he won't put up with Wee Eck, our black boy coming anywhere near him!

Gully and Fergus again with Gaucho lying further away from them and Rufus in the foreground.

Fergus likes his neck rubs, but Gully isn't into that - unless he's in the catch pen! Fyta has appeared, always the nosey one trying to find out what is going on - and if there is any food about! Sometimes Fyta will tolerate neck rubs, but just as often he walks away.

We also put the boys into the catch pen this week so that we could check them over and put their halters on. I put some Neem cream on a couple of bald spots on Wee Eck's ankles and also on Gully's ears which are much furrier than they were but still need some occasional cream. The flies have been a menace again for the boys this week but the awful smell of Neem does help to keep them away. Here are Gaucho (right), Rufus (middle) and Wee Eck at the rear, waiting to be haltered.

And finally......Gully, haltered and ready for walkies. He walked quite well, as they all did but Fidget as always did not like having the halter put on. He's OK when it's on it's just getting it over his nose which he does not like - obviously a sensitive area for him. More practice needed by humans in this procedure I think!!

Hurrah - shearing is finished!

2011-07-16T19:23:00.000+01:00

James and Kym Dixon have really 'played a blinder' this season for alpaca owners in the north. Having been rained off several weeks ago they returned north to dubious weather forecasts and to catch up on all the 'stragglers' they had missed. Today we were delighted when the weather in the morning was lovely and warm and friends Angie and Liz, each with their respective small herds, were due to have their animals sheared. We went to help Liz with her 4 boys, and as usual, when an alpaca is sheared, the other animals look at them as if they are total strangers. Here are Torquil (rear) and Ragnar when they see Hector after clipping! Hamish has already rushed at Hector and a spitting match started. Only after a lot of sniffing each other was peace restored. Ragnar (front) is quite an old boy and was in need of a good short back and sides, dental attention and pedicure...............

And here he is - doesn't he look smart after James and Kym have spent some time on him?

Here are Torquil (left) and Hamish, two of Liz's boys waiting James's attention.

After James and Kym had left to continue their work in the north, we went to visit Angie and Ian who had had a visit from James earlier in the day. This seems to have induced Bianca (left) as she gave birth to Bailey (the same colour as a certain Irish creme!) about an hour earlier. This was James's second visit and the second time one of Angie's girls had given birth as a result - James obviously has this effect on girls! Bianca and Bailey were safely inside as thunder and lightening struck followed by torrential rain!

This is Twix (he takes the biscuit!), another one of Angie and Ian's family.

Earlier in the week we had a visit from sister-in-law Sheila, husband Jim, daughter Pauline and grandson Matthew. Sheila is trying to coax Gully to come closer - without luck! We also had a visit earlier in the week from Lorna and Sandy of Ardo Alpacas and the weather for these visits was fantastic. As the week has progressed, so has the rain and storms. Really strange summer weather this year.

Our Cardiocrinum Gigantium ( Himalayan giant lily, introduced into this country by the explorer George Sherrifs) is excelling itself. It's now about 7 feet tall with these fragrant, beautiful flowers on display.

Heat n' hydro

2011-07-11T20:39:00.000+01:00

Those of you with alpacas will know this heart-stopping scene, when you first look into the paddock and there are animals lying all over the place! The boys are just testing our pace-makers of course because they are all actually sun bathing. A scorching start to the week saw them all flat out in the sun, using the sand pit, the grass and the water trays to try to keep cool. Good job they've been sheared recently. The weather for the rest of the week went downhill rapidly and ended with localised flooding, thunder, lightening and torrential downpours. Those golfers amongst you may have seen on TV the landslips and damage caused by the weather during the Scottish Open just along the road near Inverness.

We've had a busy weekend with friends Ken and Sandy visiting. Ken is a great photographer and got shots of the local birdlife, including an Osprey, as well as some terrific head shots of the boys. From the left, the boys in this photo are Fyta, Rufus, Gully, Gaucho and Fidget's rear end!

Sandy gets acquainted with Fergus and Wee Eck.

On Saturday we all piled into the car and drove the short distance to Dingwall to see friend John McKenzie who is an alpaca owner - and much, much more! John has worked hard over the past 5 years to establish his farm and set up a number of electricity generation projects using renewables. He has a wind turbine on the hill, solar PV panels on the barn roof, planted a small wood for a future renewable wood source, and most impressively, built a dam and uses the water to create hydro electricity! Over the years he has thoroughly researched these power sources and his farm has now become a source of knowledge and research into these energy uses for farms. On the animal front John keeps cattle, including belted Galloways, Saddleback pigs, his four alpaca boys and Barclay the black Lab! The informative plaque above is fixed to a huge granite boulder near his hydro generation shed. John is a mine of factual information on renewables for farmers - details on the plaque above. A really interesting visit John - thanks again.

And finally..... it's getting bigger and the 'trumpets' are beginning to appear!

A 'harrowing' experience.

2011-07-03T12:22:00.000+01:00

The harrow is the latest bit of kit being employed to try to keep the buttercups at bay so we dropped the grass collection box and fitted on the new purchase. We don't like spraying, so try a lot of different methods, including liming the soil, to try and stop the weed's unceasing march across the paddocks. No doubt that the harrow does a good job of scarifying and raking, so hopefully this will help - in due course! We've seen several fellow bloggers harrowing like crazy, so we'll see how we get on with this idea.

A lazy Sunday morning in the sun for four of the boys. Fidget is at the back, Wee Eck on the left, Fergus in the middle and Faro on the right. We moved the boys down to the bottom paddocks a couple of weeks ago ready for the shearing and they like being in this steading as it's deep and dark and the flies don't get in there!

Here they are emerging into the sunlight with Rufus lying on the ground. The flies have been a real pest this week and the boys don't like them, spending hours lying inside eating their hay and chewing the cud. They enjoy the cool evenings best when even the midgies have gone. We've put the boys into the catch pen a couple of times over the past week and lightly sprayed them with fly repellent to help them. Gully's ears and between his front legs have had Neem cream applied as he has been scratching quite a bit. Wee Eck also had some applied to bald patches on his ankles. The cream works, but boy it stinks!

And now for something completely different.... we bought this Cardiocrinum giganteum 4 years ago from the Explorer's Garden in Pitlochry when we visited on the day before we got our first four alpaca boys. During the past 3 years it has grown no more than a foot high, been ravaged by slugs, then died back. This year - probably due to a very warm April - it has shot up to over 6 feet high and is still growing. If we are lucky, white trumpet-like flowers should appear soon. Watch this space for a photo!

Whisky with rain water!

2011-06-26T12:39:00.000+01:00

What a week for shearing! On Monday, James & Kym arrived after shearing on Skye, did our boys and 3 other small local herds then moved on to Jayne at Zanzibah. We got the best day of the week as Tuesday turned out to be a dreadful day although Zanzibah were sheared as you will have seen from Jayne's blog. The weather for the rest of the week stayed wet with sunny spells. This played havoc with James's shearing list and he will be returning to finish off those he could not shear. I think we all know how differently many of the alpacas behave as soon as they are sheared as they look different, and perhaps smell slightly different to each other after the fleece comes off. This is Faro, herd guard, immediately after shearing when he strutted his stuff around the paddock.

The rest of the boys are in the catch pen waiting to be sheared and can't quite understand why Faro looks so different. Faro paraded in front of them for quite a while as if to say, "It's OK guys, it's me - honest!" Then as each boy in turn was sheared there was a lot of smelling of each other and quite a bit of spitting until things settled down.

No chance of mistaking Wee Eck, even after shearing, with those big radar scanner lugs and his shiny tooth!

What a poppet - Fergus!

Gully looking a little bewildered shortly after the clip - but he soon recovered and was running around with the others, jumping in the air, high kicking with his back legs and obviously pleased to have his fleece off.

Rufus has ended up looking rather elegant after the clip. He had his protruding teeth seen to and his fighting teeth snipped but he didn't enjoy that part of the procedure. Within minutes however he was grazing peacefully with the others.

And finally....... as we have a bachelor herd we can't compete with all the lovely cria photos from the other blogs. However, friends Angie & Ian had a visit from James on Fri morning but unfortunately the animals were too wet to shear. Coco (mum) had a due date some time in July, but 2 hours after James had visited she decided that as shearing wasn't an option and the rain had stopped, she might as well give birth to Whisky. This is Angie and Ian's first alpaca birth, so well done you two and Coco - and welcome to Whisky country - Whisky!

Shearing is nearing!

2011-06-18T17:04:00.000+01:00

It's an alpaca's life, lying in the sun, soaking up the morning rays! Fyta is a real sun lover, getting down and pointing his belly at the sun whenever he can. It's always a bit heart-stopping seeing an alpaca like this initially, as many of you know, and it's always a relief when the animal lift's it's head to confirm that it is OK. Fyta is lying here next to Gaucho with an assortment of hay buckets thrown around the shelter - also the work of Fyta!

Heads down, grazing time again. The cloudy sky was the first sign that heavy rain was about to descend . We still have a section of this paddock 'fenced off' as the large pool of water refuses to budge - normally by this time of the year it is completely dry but we've had so much rain over the past month that it is still there.

Rufus (left) and Gully grazing head to head. The boys are due to have a visit from James the shearer on Monday afternoon so their thick coats will soon be in bags! When this photo was taken this morning they were all nice and dry but would you believe they are now soaking after another day of rain. The forecast is a bit better for tomorrow (Sunday) which I hope will give them a chance to dry out, if not they'll have to be inside tomorrow night to make sure they are ready for their Monday perm. James will do the small herds in this part of the world before heading along the coast to Jayne at Zanzibah to do her lovely beasties. On Tues and Wed he will be in Moray and Aberdeenshire shearing bigger herds and we hope to catch up with him again then.

And finally........... an update on Duncan (Hunkey - Dunkey) the Buff Orpington cockerel we were given recently. He's settled in really well with his three hens and this is a shot of him with one of them, 'Buttercup.' We bred her ourselves with several others 8 years ago, so she is doing very well. Her mother was a Sicilian Buttercup breed, well known as 'flyers' and this little girl can still get over an 8 feet high enclosure with no problem! She is still laying as is another of the trio who is also 8 years old, and the third is a Maran who is 5 years old, so they must be happy hens for sure.

Early ablutions

2011-06-12T12:51:00.000+01:00

Fyta loves water, as did his mum, Ardo Pie. Here he is getting ready for the morning ablution. The boys have just over a week to wait before James arrives to shear them. Fortunately the weather hasn't been excessively hot this year, the sun only very hot on occasional days and often cooled by wind or clouds. The boys are grateful for this but it will still be a relief for them with their coats off.

It looks slightly undignified, but he knows what he is doing.

Almost there now.

Thats it - now for a soak!

Gully is not over keen on water and he doesn't get in the water tray at all. Here he is with his pal Gaucho behind in the shelter.

The veg garden continues to work it's wonders. This photo was taken early this morning with the mist just beginning to clear in the background. The peas, runner beans and broad beans in the middle plots are doing well with the tatties behind them also growing. The brassica (cabbage, cauliflowers etc) are growing slowly as are the two plots of swedes which are for the boys during the coming winter. The poly tunnel is producing lovely early tatties and baby carrots from thinning will start this week. The wee plants have had to put up with some horrendous weather since they were planted, but once they get going, they soon catch up.

And finally.......the fact that we are going through peanuts by the sackful just now is down to this little fellow and his pals! We have families of Blue Tits like this, totally unfazed by humans at this early stage in their lives plus Sparrows, Siskins, Green Finches and Woodpeckers devouring the nuts as if they are going out of business! We also have a red squirrel who loves peanuts but he's harder to photograph with our modest camera as he's shy and keeps his distance. If the RSPB wonder where all the Sparrows have gone from the south, they're here in our hedge!

Lazy bones

2011-06-05T12:37:00.000+01:00

The boys are not the earliest of risers in a morning and are usually still lying in or near their shelters around 8.00am when we change their water and hay. Occasionally they are up early for a spot of grazing, but they drift back, lie down and get on with cud chewing. All our shelters face east with the back of the shelters against the prevailing westerly weather. This means that on most mornings, especially sunny mornings the boys can be found in the shelters, lying down, facing the rising sun, eyes closed and slowly chewing the cud. A peaceful picture but one not easily captured on camera because as soon as we appear, they get up and start moving around. Here are some of the boys having an early scratch and stretch! Only then do they get on with the serious business of grazing.

'Bonnie boy' Gaucho with his dark eye surrounds, gets up and is ready for another day.

Wee Eck can be slow to get going, and being deaf, he takes his lead from what the rest of the herd get up to.

Any opportunity to pose for the camera suits Fergus, with Fyta behind.

And finally.........even though this looks minuscule on the photo, it is actually adult size. May was such an awful month for bad weather I spent some time knitting this waistcoat. It is Fidget's fleece, chunky spun with a hand made birch button. It knitted up quite quickly.

Lonesome Doves

2011-05-28T19:46:00.000+01:00

Here is Fidget doing his 'Lonesome Dove' routine! There are times when he really does prefer his own company but some of the other boys do that too. Often Fergus or Rufus will wander off to the far side of a paddock, kush down then stare into space, chew a bit of cud, happy in their own wee world and keeping an eye on the other boys from a distance.

This is Gully, suitably covered in hay and straw after rolling in the field shelter. The boys have endured another week of terrible weather for May - the 60+mph gales, lashing rain and today is the first day that they have been reasonably dry all week.

Faro, having just had a roll in the field shelter. It's dry and dusty in there and the boys love it, taking it in turns to have a roll, especially after their supplement feed. They then give themselves a shake and clouds of dust rise off them.

And finally........ we were delighted this week to welcome the supported learning group and their staff support from Inverness College, on a trip out to meet the boys. Robbie worked for many years (and still works) with adults who have Learning Disabilities and we are both involved in a local charity which raises funds to support them. Last night we had our monthly fund raising disco and lots of these adults and their staff come along to have a great time. They are lovely people who unfortunately are seeing many of their interest activities being curtailed due to severe cutbacks in local authority funding. It was a real pleasure to see them enjoying their socialising with the boys.

Duncan and the Highland boys.

2011-05-22T19:55:00.000+01:00

Today we travelled a few miles across Glen Convinth to visit friend Deborah who has two 8 years old boys. Paddy (L) and Bo look totally at home amidst the wonderful Highland scenery with distant views of the River Beauly and the various peaks of Strath Glass. This week has seen plenty of rain, gales and light snow down to 2000 feet with 60mph gales forecast for tomorrow! The boys share their home with some chickens and plenty of deer on the other side of the boundary fence.

Bo (front) and Paddy get to meet a chilly visitor!

Back home, this is Faro en route to new grass in a paddock. He does not have great depth of fleece, but he is a lovely colour. Faro is a really friendly chap, always alert and usually up for a stroke or cuddle from his favourite humans.

Several blogs this week have been mentioning the size of alpaca rear ends - so we thought we'd add another couple of bums. On the left is Fyta and on the right, doing a pretty good impression of a polar bear, is Fergus. They all look pretty big at present but after shearing in a few weeks time, they will shrink considerably.

And finally...... when we were at Deborah's she told us of the problems she was having with her two Buff Orpington cockerels. 'Dora', pictured above, was so named because at birth she was thought to be female - however 'she' blossomed into a fully fledged male giving no end of aggro to the other male. As we love Orps and have owned both hens and male Orps in the past, Deborah's offer to us to take 'Dora' home with us, and out of harms way, was too good an offer to reject. So Dora is now 'Duncan' - and that will probably become 'Dunk' as all Duncans get called in this area, and the photo above is of him in his new home having just spotted our three hens on the other side of the fence. Shortly afterwards he was able to introduce himself to the ladies in no uncertain manner!

It's the pits!

2011-05-15T12:53:00.000+01:00

At times this week the weather has been the pits! We went from T shirts and shorts back to woolly jumpers and jackets as a dusting of snow appeared on the hills and Friday saw hailstones. On the days when the sun shone however, it was nice and the boys enjoyed it - they don't like hailstones! Another type of pit is the 'sand pit' and these are frequently used by the boys. Here are L to R, Gully, Gaucho, Rufus, Wee Eck and Fidget enjoying the feel of the sand. We are often asked why we put sand pits in the paddocks and it's because we read somewhere ages ago that alpacas like them. Sand is much cooler than grass on hot days, they seem to like the feeling of the sand on their pads and they love rolling around in the sand. They also like playing 'pushing and shoving' games in the sand.

Rufus (rear) and Fyta are enjoying a lie down but Wee Eck is intent on getting into the pit. He looks as if he is saying something threatening to Fyta, like "Move, big man, or else!" Nobody messes with Wee Eck!

See what I mean?

The boys look like average sized alpacas until they get on their hind legs and rear up, then they look more like bears! Gully and his pal Gaucho engage in some macho activities.

It's all too much like hard work for Fyta (L) and Fergus who move to another pit for a bit of peace and quiet! Finally, our community newspaper has produced an article and a couple of photos of the boys this week, which is nice.

Doing our bit for tourism!

2011-05-07T20:22:00.000+01:00

The Highlands plays host each year to thousands of foreign tourists and each year we have a few coming to visit the boys. I had a phone call yesterday from an Inverness taxi firm asking if it would be possible to bring some Chinese tourists out from Inverness as they wanted to see alpacas. No problems! Here are our guests getting an inspection from Faro, the herd guard. He ended up being more interested in the polythene bag than the people!

Our guests loved the look of the boys' faces and were obviously pleased at being able to be in close contact with them. The lady was a little nervous of them however.

Plenty of photos were taken so we hope that they enjoy them when they get back home. They have visited our blog and will email some photos in due course. After having a look at the spinning wheel and various garments and fleece, they continued with their touring holiday. Hope you enjoyed your visit to Scotland - haste ye back!

Sister and brother in law, Sheila and Jim, also paid a visit but from just along the coast at Nairn. Sheila had just been feeding a carrot to Fergus and Gaucho who were now looking for more. We've also had several friends visiting the boys during the recent spell of lovely weather so they have been on their best behaviour and using their water trays to maximum effect!

But showing off to an audience can be pretty tiring work in the heat, so Fidget decides to cool off and have a roll in the sand.

Messing about.

2011-04-30T20:07:00.000+01:00

Nice weather this week, frosty first thing until the sun gets up, then really nice. It gives the boys an opportunity to laze around or mess about in the water trays. Faro keeps a wary eye as usual on the photographer whilst his pals Fyta and Gaucho play in the water. Gully is on the far left and Wee Eck on the right. This week we put a dung sample into the Vet Lab in Inverness and have since had the 'all clear' for fluke and worms, which is good news. We do this dung analysis twice a year.

Still watching the photographer, Faro is in front of Gaucho who is now in the tray. It's taken Gaucho a wee while to venture into the water but he's now doing it.

Fergus is lying by the tray with Fyta in it as usual and just about to pick up the watering can! Fyta has a habit of picking up watering cans, hay buckets and feeding bowls and depositing them in other parts of the paddock. He loves Robbie's work gloves and pulled one off and ran away with it on one occasion. Fyta was one of our original 4 boys, four years ago and initially he was very wary of us, always holding back. Now he's always on the front line when something new is going to happen and loves to play. Faro and Wee Eck are looking on.

Boss-man playing with Faro in the key of G!

After a fairly hectic event last night at a neighbours to celebrate the royal wedding in the Highland tradition, it was a kilt swinging, bagpipe and fiddle playing, Gaelic singing session with a slightly slurred rendition of 'Mhairi's Wedding' and rounded off with various eightsome reels and the 'Dashing White Sergeant' - it was good to relax in the veg garden this morning and clear the head! Some of the veg plots have been planted up and others wait for rotovation with the excellent Mantis rotovator. The early tatties are well advanced in the Keder polytunnel so we are looking forward to the first tasting.

Happy Easter everyone!

2011-04-23T19:51:00.000+01:00

This is Gully with Fergus behind him. We've had him for nearly two years and for some time we had to use different creams and 'Ruggle-it' on his ears, between his front legs and on his belly because of bald patches. The skin on the inside of his ears in particular was dry and 'crusty' looking. Now the inside of his ears are nice and hairy and we haven't had to use the cream for some time although we keep checking him. He's a lovely boy, blue eyes and a bit deaf and light fawn in colour with long eye lashes.

First thing in the morning and it's chill out time for the boys with their individual piles of haylage (we're on the last bag!) They always look totally relaxed like this although Faro, 3rd from left, remains alert with his tail flicked up in recognition of Robbie taking the photo. Faro is one of those alpacas who is very choosy with his food, will not push and shove in the queue and is easily distracted when eating his supplement. During the past couple of weeks or so he has decided that he does not want his supplement, taking only a mouthful then carries on grazing, whilst all the other boys empty their dishes. We're keeping an eye on him and he's had a mineral drench today but he's grazing well and does not seem 'out of sorts.'

Time for a catch pen check-up today and here are, from left, Fergus, Gully and Fyta all with that "Here we go again" look on their faces! Fergus was not in the mood for nail trimming today although we persevered - only for him to 'cush' continually. Some days are diamonds etc.......

Same catch pen, same look of resignation! From left, Fyta, Wee Eck (look at his one tooth showing!) and Gaucho.

And finally..........Pansy Potter lounging around the conservatory. She's 15yrs of age now so she's ageing gracefully and does tend to sleep a lot. She keeps her distance from the boys who when they see her are all immediately 'on alert' and run towards her at the fence line.

A busy week.

2011-04-16T19:38:00.000+01:00

Here's a lovely piece of seasonal marketing - Easter chocolate slab, all the way from the Island of Coll! Clever eh? This was given to us by Gill and Ian who were visiting Inverness from the island, and being alpaca addicts, really needed a fix. So far I've been able to keep Robbie away from the chocolate, but with Easter fast approaching I think I'm onto a loser.

Here are the bearers of the lovely chocolate gift, Gill and Ian, soaking up the 'paca atmosphere whilst the boys enjoy the last swede from the winter veg garden. Fyta is at the front, Fidget behind Ian and Faro and Rufus at the side. The weather just about held during the visit and didn't stop Fyta getting into the water tray for a splashing.

Gill and Ian managed to get some hands on work carried out with the boys in the catch pen which everyone enjoyed. Faro is being led by Gill here, going off in a westerly direction - probably towards the ferry as she tries to sneak off home with the brown boy! Ian and Gill live on a lovely island, have croft land with a beach and are just dying to get their own 'pacas. Just a matter of building their house first, then a field shelter........or vice versa if Gill gets her way! Spinning and felting are two of Gill's hobbies so there was plenty to look at and sample. A lovely visit and the pair are now experiencing 'paca withdrawal symptoms back on Coll!

More visitors this week with a flying visit from Lorna and Sandy of Ardo Alpacas who were in the area making a delivery to a new owner - congratulations Deborah! Here we are with the boys getting re-acquainted with their old Mum & Dad. Wee Eck's transitional teeth are causing some amusement with one large tooth still in place whilst the other one was acquired recently by a tooth fairy.

Faro gets a kiss from Lorna whilst the other boys line up for their one...........all except Fergus who lets nothing get in the way of food!

And finally.........Rufus! Often a bit of a 'hummer', like Fergus, but a lovely boy who has settled down well with us over the last 9 months. Apart from visits this week I also attended an afternoon course on 'Animal communication and animal healing', run by Louise Wallace at Dingwall. The course was very informative and included alternative therapies which I find very interesting. Happy Easter to all bloggers when it arrives!

This is more like it!

2011-04-10T19:20:00.000+01:00

This is more like Spring weather - at last! Like most of UK we've had some lovely weather this week, a bit misty sometimes before the sun burns it off, but by afternoon it is really warm. The flowers and plants are opening up and the bees are out and about. This 'over the fence' shot shows some of the border colours, then over Robbie's veg plots waiting for some spade action, to the paddock at the far side where some of the boys are lying in the sun. We moved them this week from the top paddocks to the bottom two paddocks so that they can enjoy the fresh grass. We've had them in the catch pen, trimmed a few nails, snipped a fringe and had their halters on to give them a little 'walkie.' We've also had a visit from a gentleman who writes articles for the local community newspaper, so we hope to see our fellas in the local 'Boy's Own' soon!

Much to the delight of some of the boys the sunny weather meant that it was time to get one of the water trays out. As soon as it was on the ground and almost before we could get water into it, Fyta had got down to cool off his (remaining) bits! He loves this and Fergus also loves the water - here he is waiting for Fyta to clear off.

Yeeeeeeesssssss! Fergus gets his turn. He likes to stand in the tray and flick the water backwards and upwards between his legs. He stands there whilst I flick the water for him too. Faro has a different approach - he likes to stand in the tray then bend down, get his top knot dripping then stretches out his neck so that I can flick water under his chin. Spoiled? My boys? - Never!

Fyta stands in the increasingly muddy water with Faro watching the photographer, Fergus behind and Rufus in the background.

And finally..........Gaucho tries the new grass with Wee Eck further away and Fidget at the bottom of the paddock, keeping an eye on sheep in the adjoining field.

Drookit!

2011-04-02T18:29:00.000+01:00

March went out as it came in - with a gale and plenty of rain. In fact we've had a real mixture of weather in the last week from warm sun, gales, rain and last night a dusting of the cold white stuff reappeared on the hills. All 4 of our field shelters for the boys are permanently open and they choose when they want shelter. Sometimes they will be out grazing in the pouring rain and think nothing of it then sometimes it will start to rain and they all run in, in a long line. Hailstones have them running for cover every time! Here are Fyta (left) and Fergus having put up with lots of rain deciding that they will take a bit of shelter and chew the cud!

Standing in the rain and looking suitably 'drookit' are Gaucho (left), Gully (centre) and Faro who has bent down and flicked up his tail in recognition. The water has built up at the bottom of the paddock again but the temporary fencing is keeping the boys out of most of it.

Faro with his tail flicked up again, the only boy to do this. He does not like the camera being pointed at him, unlike Gully (left) who will pose all day! Rufus and Wee Eck are in the background.

And after all the rain comes a little bit of sun and Fyta takes advantage of it. Shortly he will start to sunbathe, lying on his side with his belly facing the sun. Rufus is grazing behind him. We're going to put the boys in the other two paddocks next week which will be a pleasant change of grass for them. They've started looking over the fence and humming, so they obviously want a change! They will also have daily Verm-X granules mixed with their food all next week and we'll do a Vet lab check of their poo later in the month. Deep joy!

Heavenly haylage!

2011-03-27T12:48:00.000+01:00

The snow has all gone now, thank goodness, the weather has been more Spring like, and the grass is beginning to grow. The boys still love their morning haylage and this is Wee Eck enjoying a mouthful. He has a new tooth growing in on the bottom left (on the picture.) Fidge is lying in the background enjoying his breakfast too. We are going through less and less hay as the grass comes on, but these guys do like their haylage.

Faro enjoying a mouthful with Rufus and Fyta standing behind, and Gully, Fergus and Gaucho lying down to eat. Faro is a lovely alpaca, very gentle, slim - like a deer, and the boy who always comes to greet us ( and check us out!) He doesn't have a dense coat, but it is a lovely colour. Always alert and the first to spot anything or anyone approaching.

Fidget - a beefy boy! Shortly after this was taken he got into his favourite muddy rolling spot and changed to a lovely brown colour! Fidge is very much part of the herd, but he likes to keep himself apart from the others, preferring his own space. He does not take kindly to having his food being pinched by others - unless it's Wee Eck who is scared of nothing!

And finally.........Gully, another lovely, gentle alpaca who has his supplement feeding routine off pat. He gobbles the feed down as quickly as possible keeping an eye on me all the while, then comes running over for another handful - which he always gets. He is always so pleased he starts 'dancing'.

Mad March weather!

2011-03-19T16:48:00.000Z

Whilst we were doing last Saturday's blog it had started to snow lightly, but by late evening it got heavier and heavier. We lost our electricity during the night and it came back on at 9.00am. When we opened the back door on Sunday morning, this was the scene which greeted us! Bummer! My car is in the middle of this shot. Quite pretty of course but it means lots of extra work - first job is to get the snow shovel out....

The boys were the first to be dug out with a large circular trench so that they could get at their morning haylage. They were not bothered by the depth of snow although boredom soon sets in when they realise they can't get at their grass. We also dug a trench leading from their field shelters to their poo piles to stop them completely messing the shelters overnight.

Next job was to get to the henhouse even though we know that the birds will not come out when they see the white stuff lying on the ground. Couldn't get the gate open because the snow had drifted behind it and the white on the left of the photo is the snow filled fence. Eventually another trench was dug to the henhouse door - and the girls steadfastly refused to budge.

At least the flowering heather can stand the depth of snow whilst all the crocuses have been flattened. We managed to get into Inverness on Monday to find that there was no snow there whatsoever! It's taken all of this week for the snow to shift because of frosty nights but at last the boys have got most of their grass back now. We had stopped the sugar beet last week but started it again when the snow returned. We'll stop it again as of tomorrow. They've also had their Verm-X granules for a week and are none the worse for another week of snow. We hope that this will be the last time we have to mention snow until next winter!

More snow - and a budding alpaca farmer!

2011-03-12T14:56:00.000Z

A look of resignation from Fergus as he eats his breakfast haylage in the snow again. We all thought we'd got rid of the snow for a while, but no such luck.

We've had a couple of days this week when we were back into mid-winter. Fortunately the temperature has stayed above zero most of the time, so the snow does shift. Sometimes it has been really sunny, then it gets very dark, and we get dumped on again. Here, the boys happily eat their haylage whilst in the background, on the hill road traffic came to a standstill as usual, skidding and sliding all over the place. There's plenty of grit in the Council depots apparently, but we rarely see the gritting lorry. Until a couple of years ago piles of grit were left on all the hill roads so that drivers could get themselves out of trouble - those were the good old days! Now drivers have to find a friendly farmer with a tractor to pull them - clearly much cheaper for the Council to do it that way.

Last Sunday however it was cold but not so wintry and the boys had a visit from Rauridh, Callum and their dad Pete. They were up from the Borders with mum Lesley and Rauridh likes to have his 'paca fix when he's in the area. We're convinced that he's going to be an alpaca farmer later in life! Here he is showing total control of the herd with his bowl of goodies!

Rauridh with Faro.

Now that's one happy junior alpaca farmer as he feeds Fergus and checks the thickness of his fleece.

Rauridh keeps his dad right on the finer points of feeding Wee Eck! Unfortunately Callum missed the photo shoot - next visit for sure, Cal.

And finally...........I started with Fergus the Big Man, so I'll finish with him. He's looking for food as usual.

A Busy Day

2011-03-05T19:20:00.001Z

After a week of mixed but mild weather, today was a 'real beaut' with warm sunshine for most of the day. A day to get things done and even the boys sensed there was a bit of action to come. Left to right here are Gully, Gaucho and Rufus all looking as if butter wouldn't melt etc! First job then - round up the guys and get them into the pen.

'Get ahead - get a hat' as the saying goes, Robbie in the catch pen wearing Fergus, who is at the front left, with Gully on the right. Faro is behind wearing the blue halter and Fyta at the rear. It was Robbie's turn to fit the halters today, we do it time about, and I joined him so that we could trim some nails. For the first time we've had to trim Gully's back nails and he was as good as gold - Fergus was also obliging today! We trimmed Wee Eck's fringe as we're convinced that he couldn't see through it - now we can see his eyes quite clearly so he must have better vision. I've noticed that Eck has been chewing the gate bolt recently and wondered if he was teething, so we had a look at his teeth. He had a discoloured tooth at the front and I've now discovered that it is missing but it looks as if there is a new tooth coming through. Their incisors are deciduous as we know and a couple of years ago Fyta had double teeth at the front for a short while until a couple fell out. Scary looking!

One of the paddocks has a drainage problem and after each winter there is always a large pool in place. We wanted the boys to get the benefit of the grass but firstly had to section off the pool. Robbie spent more than an hour shifting most of the gates whilst the boys looked on, knowing that shortly they would get into the new grass. Here the gates are lying on the ground waiting to be connected.

After a stampede down to the new grass, the boys immediately start tucking in whilst Fyta checks out the gates. The pool is out of sight on the right but there is a lot of boggy ground around it, just the sort of place for alpacas to wallow in given half a chance. The boys were enjoying their new grass so much they had to be called later in the day for their supplement - normally they are waiting by the gate for it.

Couldn't resist taking this photo of a flock of Waxwings on our Scots Pine, having earlier descended on our Cotoneaster hedge and polished off what red berries were left after the Blackbirds, Fieldfares and Redwings had almost stripped the hedge throughout the winter. Our digital camera doesn't take the best pictures but magnified, the tufts of feathers can be seen at the back of the birds' heads. Lovely migratory birds which we don't often see in this part of the world.

And finally............wanted to take this photo today in the Spring sunshine. The Snowdrops and Crocuses are all out and the Daffodills are beginning to form heads. There were two honey bees flying around the flowers, so considering we have been suffering from a lack of bees over the past few years, to see two honey bees this early in the year must be a good sign. At the top right of the picture can be seen the covers for the winter over the Gunnera plant and they will stay on until April until the worst of the frosts are over - hopefully.

Satisfaction guaranteed

2011-02-26T20:40:00.001Z

Another day, another bowl of sugar beet! Fidget enjoys his beet and insists on getting it all over his face. We have reduced the amount of daily beet we are feeding the boys now and were going to stop it altogether but the sight of 8 boys lined up at the gate with a look of longing on their faces was too much for me - I had to go and organise a rapid hot water soaked bowlful each for them!

Fyta is eating his beet from the bowl, Fidget is in the background and then Rufus appears. He has already scoffed his bowlful, plus some more, but insists on trying to push the others off their bowls. Rufus is a bit of a bully at feeding time.

A typical audible and visual warning between the boys - heads up, groaning or screeching in the hope that one of them backs off. This has the makings of a bit of a 'stooshie' if one doesn't back down.

No eye to eye contact, Rufus looks away but they are still moaning at each other. (Note that Fidget in the background is more interested in scoffing his food than getting involved with his sparring partners!)

Rufus chances his luck and moves in to get Fyta's food. However, Fyta has a cunning plan to deal with this type of situation - see how his left foot is raised...........

Fyta's plan works as he puts his foot in the bowl putting Rufus off his stride!

Gotcha! Get out of that one Rufus.............after Rufus moves away Fyta nudges the upturned bowl with his nose and eats the beet off the ground. This trick never fails and if you look closely at Fyta's face you'd swear there is a smug look of satisfaction!

Frosty weather.

2011-02-20T12:31:00.000Z

We've had a lot of overnight frosts this week and one day when a couple of inches of snow fell. It's gone now so we are having clear days and frosty nights. This is Gaucho enjoying his breakfast haylage. He is one of those alpacas who always seem to have grass or hay sticking from their mouths! Gaucho can have grass and moss sticking from either side of his mouth, eat his sugar beet or supplement and still have the stuff sticking from the sides of his mouth - how does he do that? He's a lovely boy, gentle and gets on well with the others. Gully is in the background here - having a scratch!

More of the boys and their breakfast with Fidget (front, left) wondering where his pile of haylage has gone (he's eaten it!) Gully is in the middle with Gaucho on the right, Fyta behind and Rufus and Faro in the background. Fergus and Wee Eck are out of shot, also munching on their haylage.

Frosties for breakfast! Wee Eck enjoying his breakfast with the overnight frost showing clearly on his back.

This is the imprint left on the ground by an alpaca having slept outside all night in the frost. Often there are 8 such imprints scattered around, not close together but spread about.

And finally............something to gladden the heart! The Snowdrops have emerged from frozen ground with Daffodil and Crocus coming through more slowly. It's a joy to see them again.

Check it out, boys.

2011-02-12T19:43:00.001Z

Robbie was topping up the sand pits today and this was the cause of great interest amongst the boys. All except Faro of course who was standing a short distance away having checked out what was happening and decided it was pretty boring! Gaucho is sniffing the sand and shortly after this, Fidget (far left) got into the sand pit for a closer inspection.

Echo (Wee Eck) has been the subject of much scrutiny by us this week. We have suspected that he may be deaf when on one or two occasions he did not appear to hear us, but this week he was grazing completely on his own in a fold in the land which hid him from view. When we found him only about 30 yards away, we called loudly several times and he carried on grazing, then suddenly he looked up, saw the herd was missing and ran towards us. We now know he is not hearing things and explains some of his actions and reactions. For instance, he frequently barges into the middle of the herd oblivious to the groaning, moaning and general gnashing of teeth going on around him. He is only a wee chap so often the spitting goes over his head, literally, then he realises it's being directed at him and he spits back. He obviously misses the audible warning signs going on all the time when the boys are in close proximity to one another. The fact that he is deaf makes absolutely no difference to us of course as he is a real charmer - and a bandit!

Here is Wee Eck with our other deaf boy, Gully, behind. If you look closely at his front left foot, there is a white patch at the back. Some alpacas carry the 'white spot gene' which is connected to deafness. So, does Wee Eck carry this gene and is that why he is deaf? He has black eyes and is solid black colour otherwise, but Gully has blue eyes which can be associated with deafness. The Alpaca Vet, Leo Van Merwijk explains the 'blue eyed white' (BEW) alpaca condition very well in his June 2009 blog (www.dierenarts-en-alpaca.blogspot.com) and there is a link to a scientific paper on the subject. I mention all of this because alpacas are well known for hiding physical ailments or abnormalities - obviously hard wired into their system so as not to appear to be the weak animal to any interested predator! We know from Gully's behaviour that deafness is very hard to detect sometimes in an animal within the herd - we have to look very hard for a sign in him that he does not hear because he covers it so well. Clearly, Eck is obviously also good at hiding his inability to hear as we spend a lot of time with our animals and we've only just managed to confirm it. Wonder if anyone else has an alpaca within their herd who might be deaf and it has not been discovered? Interesting! Robbie is always saying that Wee Eck won't do as he's told - now we know why........he can't hear him!

I've crocheted this curly wurly scarf from Fergus (white) and Ardo Gottit (black) fleece. I carded the two fleeces together before spinning them to see what it would look like. I'm pleased with the result. On the right is a ball of Gaucho's spun fleece and I've made a label for it.

And finally............the boys are having a nocturnal visitor in their field shelter. Mr (or Mrs) Rabbit is becoming a pain in the rear end burrowing holes in the ground! We blocked one hole with a boulder two nights ago only to discover this morning that the rabbit had made a hole right next to it and scrapped away all the earth and straw as shown above. The rabbit is either not scared off by the boys in the area or it's a very big rabbit and the boys are scared!!

Doggone!

2011-02-05T20:25:00.000Z

Why is it that I never have my camera handy when something interesting happens? Our neighbouring farmer's sheepdog decided to go walkies on his own along the road and this immediately had all the boys heading towards the fence and facing the threat. Tails were up, ears pointed forward as they watched the dog. By the time we got the camera the dog had wandered back to the farm but the boys watched it all the way - all except for Faro the guard! His attention was taken up with the new threat of the camera - he does not like it being pointed at him and does not like posing.

Can't say the same about this trio of Gaucho (L), Gully and Wee Eck (R) who will pose endlessly and come right up to the camera lens if allowed to!

Our two (dirty) white boys, Fergus at the front with Fidget behind.

Rufus in the middle with Gully (L).

Fergus is a really laid back character so whilst some of the boys still keep an eye out for the dog and others start grazing, he decides its time to chill out and lie down. Shortly after this Wee Eck came and touched his back which had Fergus spitting up in the air as a warning to keep off!

And finally, Gully showing his thick fleece which he's needed this winter like all the boys to keep the cold weather out.

Anticipation

2011-01-30T12:16:00.000Z

We gathered up the boys this week into the catch pen. You can see the the anticipation on their faces - or is it dread? We didn't have to use the long white sticks to guide them into the pen as they almost went in of their own accord, clever boys. Faro who is at the very front of the photo is the least comfortable in the pen, always anxious to get out so when we've finished doing our work with them, we lead him out first. He is then completely relaxed.

The halters are now on, at the last hole of the fastener due to the thickness of their neck fleece. The three guys in the middle are Fidget (L), Fyta in the middle and Gully (R). Fidget is the least happy to have the halter fitted, but once it's on, he's fine.

Here is Rufus, halter fitted and (almost) ready for a wee walk and getting a neck rub with the back of my hand. I always use the back of my hand for neck rubs. I've noticed that Rufus is now quite relaxed whilst having his halter fitted whereas when he first arrived last year he usually tensed up, although never refused the fitting. As he's settled into the herd he's become more dominant, pushing and shoving himself into the group and spitting into the air if he's not happy with the others. He's a lovely chap though and when he gets a bit above himself Wee Eck comes along and brings him down a peg or two!

Fyta eating his sugar beet. I've been trying to capture on camera something which only Fyta does in the herd. If another animal comes near his bowl when he's eating, he puts his right foot into the bowl as if to say, "This is mine" and if necessary, will overturn the bowl. He frequently does this but never when we have the camera handy........one day!

And finally.........a long shot from a dip in the field showing the boys on the sky line in their paddock with the snowy Beinn in the background.

Better weather

2011-01-23T12:56:00.000Z

At long last the frost is lifting from the ground so the boys can nibble some unfrozen grass. Gully looks suitably wet and dirty now that he can roll in the muddy rolling patch instead of clean snow! The boys are intent on nibbling the shortest grass even though there is longer grass in some parts of the paddock - perhaps the shorter grass is sweeter. We cut Fergus's nails this week although he wasn't the best behaved 'paca in the catch pen, until he settled down.

Eyes down for a full house! The boys enjoying their morning sugar beet. We moved them from this paddock onto new grass and immediately they ate less hay and less sugar beet so we've cut down on the beet rations for the moment - can't have them getting too 'beefy!'

Here are the boys charging to the top of the bottom paddocks en-route to their new grass in the top paddocks. Faro is leading the way, as usual, followed by Fergus. It's almost as if the boys can sense when they are to be moved as they spend long periods looking into the new paddocks before they get moved. One of Robbie's deep wheelbarrows which is used to transfer materials to new paddocks, has a squeaky wheel. Any time it is moved, Faro hears the squeaking and thinks they are about to be shifted to new grass and the boys start charging around! Clever animals.

We paid a visit last week to friends Ian and Angie who have recently become alpaca owners! They have four, Bianca and Coco and their cria, Twix and Honey. They are lovely animals and have settled down well and have discovered an instant liking for sliced carrots! Angie now has the task of deciding what she will do with the lovely baby alpaca fleece which she will have after this year's shearing.

Colourful hats and wellies come to visit!

2011-01-15T19:06:00.000Z

Today was the first day this week that all the snow has melted and most of the sheet ice has gone. The boys have spent the week sliding around the paddocks, an alarming sight when four legs go in different directions at once! Quite dangerous for humans to walk on too and I note from other blogs that some of you have experienced similar conditions. The ground is still frozen solid but at least the grass can be nibbled. Due to the conditions we didn't get to clipping Fergus's nails - next week for sure. Fergus is in the front of this picture with Wee Eck (L) behind and Gully (R) behind and Rufus and the other boys at the back. They've been out in the squally conditions all day so they are pretty damp!

We had a visit today from old friends Dorothy and Barry, daughter Emma and just 4 of the grandchildren. Snazzy wellies and hats were on display and essential against the cold whilst plenty of 'happy snaps' were taken with the boys.

Gaucho, Rufus and Gully have never seen such a gathering of Peruvian hats and ponchos!

Emma Louise (L) is wearing a Fergus curly-wurly scarf but still seems to be feeling the chill. Fergus, Gully and Rufus are looking for more apple slices which they've just been fed by the visitors.

And finally........Grandad Barry with (L) Hannah, Lily, Emma Louise and Lucy with Grandma Dorothy on the extreme left, recording a memorable visit to see the 'pacas.

Swede time again.

2011-01-08T16:10:00.000Z

Gaucho (left) and Gully, two pals who arrived here during summer 09 waiting with the other boys this afternoon, for their bit of daily swede. These two lovely boys who are not yet 4 yrs old, still like to play together and do a bit of neck wrestling.

Also waiting to use a bit of turnip floss is Rufus. We've still got a wee bit of snow here and the temperature isn't getting much above freezing today.

Rufus with Wee Eck, a suitable case for James Dixon's dental skills at shearing time this year! Eck continues to be the bandit of the herd, smallest in size but afraid of none of the others, especially Rufus the biggest boy with whom he often has arguments. Eck loves to muscle into the other boys' food bowls, and if he is told off, he sulks! He growls and moans like blazes though when one of the others tries to pinch his food!

This is what the've been waiting for - a bit of (frozen) swede to gnaw. They love it, and it keeps their teeth lovely and clean. From the left, this is Fyta, Faro and Rufus.

And finally.........the long shot, looking west to a snowy Strath Glass. All the boys have their heads down, chewing their swedes. Fidget (front, right) looks like he's been enjoying a roll in the muck - as usual! The boys will have their Verm-X granules during the coming week and if the weather permits, we'll do a bit of nail clipping and halter work (I can hear them groaning already!!)

Happy New Year to everyone - best wishes for 2011.

2011-01-01T12:00:00.000Z

Some mornings at this time of year, the light is really beautiful. This was taken on Boxing Day at 8.15am, and the 'light show' lasted for about 10minutes whilst the boys were enjoying their breakfast haylage. This is looking in a south easterly direction, over the hill to Loch Ness, then over the Grampian Mountains and beyond.

'Beefy Boy' Fergus looking to add to the poo pile as the 'light show' ends and daylight breaks.

Left to right, Fyta, Fergus and Fidget, 3 of our original 4 boys who have been together for nearly 5 years. They know each other well but that does not stop them having a bit of 'argy-bargy' when it comes to sorting out bed-spaces in the shelter and invading each other's personal space! Fyta and Fergus are avoiding eye contact, heads in the air and spitting/snorting/grunting in the air as warnings to each other.

Two minutes later, male egos satisfied, they settle down to chew the cud. If you magnify this shot you will see Fergus has a droopy lower lip as a result of his spitting. The inside of the shelter shows that the boys are quite happy to try to build a poo pile in the middle area - but they have no chance with Robbie carrying out his regular 'poop patrol' duties ! Several minutes after this photo was taken, Rufus came along with a look which said, "Move over the bed a bit".......

And then there were 4!

And finally.........Christmastime TV has to be viewed sparingly in our opinion, so for something completely different from the normal pastimes of spinning, knitting and crotcheting we got stuck into a 1000 piece jigsaw. It just got bigger and bigger, starting on the jig saw mat, moved to the bigger coffee table then ended up on a large piece of chipboard on the kitchen table - should have checked the dimensions before we started! It took our spare time over 3 days to complete, we took the photo, then broke it up and put it back in the box. What was that all about, eh?!
This is 'sair heed' day in this part of the world following last night's celebrations - hope your 'heed' isn't too 'sair' today. Enjoy!

Christmas greetings to our dear reader!!

2010-12-24T16:54:00.000Z

The boys send their festive greetings to all blog pals.

Couldn't resist sending this shot of Wee Eck sorting out his bit of swede!

And finally (just before Rudolph appears) .............this was taken at 8.10am on Tuesday. Note the full moon still in the sky. Every morning this week has been the same, bitterly cold with the moon still glowing. 'Outa here - have a great Christmas. Later, 'gators!