A Christmas carrot (!)

Christmassy scenes

Into the catch pen.

Wintry weather once more.

Keep eating, boys!

Roger and the boys - and some snow.

It's been windy, man!

A visit and a talk.

Autumn colours.

A busy old week!

Lovely weather again this week.

A plum job.

A lone visitor with the boys!

Ditching mud

The boys and diggers

The boys, Martins and Roger!

Visit to Woodleigh Lodge Alpacas

Enjoying the summer.

Hot weather - at last!

Hay and visitors.

At long last a break in the wet weather mid-week meant that the farmers hit the hay fields in a frenzy of activity.  On Thursday we collected 31 square bales from Karen & Dave Robertson in Beauly and returned with them to the hay store.  That should keep the boys happy for the next year!  The boys were interested to know why the vehicle and trailer were parked in their paddock and the photo shows, from the left, Fergus, Faro, Fyta and Fidget.  Lots of flies about at this time and Faro is rubbing the top of his head on the grass to get rid of the beasties.

A closer inspection of the trailer by Faro (left), Fyta and Fergus revealed that it only contained a load of hay - no carrots or other goodies there then!

Yesterday evening, just as the sun was beginning to sink in the West, we had a visit from 6 lovely Swedish tourists who were on a short visit to the Highlands and staying with a neighbour. The boys were very well behaved and ate the carrots offered. Fergus was quite happy for everyone to stroke him and even Fidget stayed close.  Usually when the carrots are finished they wander off, bored with humans, but not during this visit.

Fergus soaks up more attention whilst the rest of the group take plenty of photos.  We also managed to have a rummage through bags of fleece and have a look at the spinning wheel and knitted garments.  It was a 4.30am start for the group this morning as they drove to Aberdeen airport to fly to Schipol then on to Sweden.  Lovely to meet you all, hope you'll come back and see us all again and hope you got home safely.

A lovely crisp morning today as the boys start their day.  Faro is in front of his chums, from the left Fidget, Fyta and Fergus.

After the water troughs have been cleaned and re-filled, Faro fancies getting sprayed with the hose.  He had his legs sprayed and under his chin, which he likes.

And finally........... this 'Bear's Breeches' (Acanthus spinosus) is in full colour at the moment.  Handle this plant with care as there are very sharp needles hidden just under the leaves and flowers.

Pesky flies!

Apart from an odd sunny morning during the past week the rest of the days have been dull, windy and sometimes quite wet.  Still very little hay being cut locally so that tells it's own story.  The paddock grass is growing thickly this year, probably because of the amount of rain we've had.  The boys are enjoying rolling as can be seen by Fidget's normally white fleece.

Fyta is not keen on flies and usually spends long periods in a field shelter if weather conditions are attracting them.  The grumpy gardener has been doing a bit of ditch clearance with his trusty spade this week, as can be seen on the other side of the fence in this picture.

We penned the boys this week at one stage as the flies were making their lives a misery.  We gave them all a spray but especially at the back of one of Faro's legs where there is a small bald patch which the flies had started to gather around.  The boys are not keen on having their legs sprayed so we have to pen them first before they see the hand spray otherwise they scatter and penning them takes ages. 

Fergus in front.  He seems to have been rolling on the same spot as Fidget.  Fyta is standing behind him.

The four boys in the rough paddock.  We topped a couple of paddocks this week with the tractor mower because the grass is so thick.

And finally.............through the Lilys and the Ox Eye Daisies you might be able to see the boys in a distant paddock - with a bit of magnification!

Boggy bits.

Better late than never with the weekly blog - it's a Tuesday Post rather than the Sunday Post! We've had computer problems for a couple of days but hopefully all is now resolved.  Faro continues to improve, eating better and now charging around the paddocks every now and then.  We had a poop sample checked by the Vet lab and it was all clear for worms but the blood sample taken earlier when he was really ill showed that he was low in cobalt. The selenium level was OK. As cobalt is important for the working of the gut perhaps this deficiency is what was behind his recent low form.  We're now working out a regime with the vet to ensure that his mineral levels remain correct.  In the mean time, here he is leading the morning charge when it looks like the gate to the rough paddock is going to be opened by a human.

After the gate comes a boggy section which requires a bit of thought by the boys before crossing.  Faro leads, then Fergus, Fyta and Fidget brings up the rear.  They seem to tip toe over the boggy bit as they try not to sink! 

Fidget - last as always but he knows the other boys are safely across so he'd better get a move on.

When there are flying beasties about, or it is raining heavily the boys take to their cafe and chill on the hay, or chew the cud.

We had a lovely visit from Annie Grace and her mum and dad, Evelyn and David.  Annie came to see the boys last year and has been keen to say, "Hello" to them again.  Faro gets a carrot whilst Fyta waits patiently for his.

Now Fyta gets the long awaited carrot and Annie is happy with her visit!

And finally............we've been trying a variety of plants in the boggy area to see which ones will survive and grow  successfully.  This Astilbe is growing well and is very colourful.

Making faces - and a giant Lily!

I'm never sure whether Fidget (front) is pulling faces when his photo is taken but he always manages to put on an open-mouthed look!  Behind him on the skyline is Faro, tail up as usual.  We've had lots of rain again this week so the boys have enjoyed rolling about and getting dirty.

See what I mean - Fidget at it again!  Of course he is chewing as usual, and if it's not grass or hay, it's the cud which is getting masticated.

Faro, much better than he was this time last week but still not 100%.  He's still looking a bit thinner than usual, he's grazing well now but turning his nose up at his daily supplement most afternoons.

Feed time yesterday afternoon with Fyta (left), Fergus (centre) and Fidget.  Faro is in the distance having walked away from his bowl without even trying his feed.

Those of you who have followed this blog over the years may remember the Cardiocrinum Giganteum (Giant Himalyan Lily) which we planted and which grew to over 8 feet in height before displaying it's 'trumpet' flowers.  In the intervening years it has only grown to about two feet each year so we moved it to the new house a couple of years ago to see how it would fare.  Although it has grown to just under six feet this year it has now put on a splendid display of blooms, accompanied by a heavy scent.

And finally............a close up of those trumpets which only appear every few years!

All about Faro - again!

No sign of good summer weather here yet, plenty of rain and gales for a couple of days so not a lot happening - until Friday that was.  We noticed during the day that Faro didn't seem to be his usual self, he was lying down more than usual and was only grazing occasionally.  This photo of him with his three pals was taken in the early morning and at that stage his tail was still up, a usual sign when humans are around.  We penned the boys, gave Faro a mineral drench and sprayed them all because of the amount of flies around.

By early afternoon he had gone down and was not getting up.  We thought that his feed might give him the incentive to get up but as the photo shows, he was not interested. A phone call was made to the Vet and Hamish and student arrived shortly afterwards.  We expected that with 4 humans around him Faro might try to get up or try to spit - no chance, he just lay there - so this was serious.  Hamish took his temperature (lower than normal), checked him over, took a blood sample then gave him a series of injections (B12, antibiotics etc) and Faro hardly flinched or made a sound.  We were instructed to get as much water into him as possible and we agreed to wait, keep a close eye on him and wait for the injections to take effect.

In the next few hours he moved position only once and we gave him repeated water drenches, most of which he accepted.  Interestingly, for most of the day the other 3 boys stayed near him and when the vet was here it was scary how they came close to watch what was going on. After the above picture was taken they all came around him and laid down a few feet away.  We are quite certain that they realised that Faro was unwell, and whilst they did not touch him or go to him directly, they were always in the close vicinity - not something they do all the time.  Heavy overnight rain was forecast so we coaxed Faro to his feet and he walked slowly to the nearby shelter and lay down for the night.

The humans were up before 4.00am, peering through the gloom from the house and we could see that Faro was on his feet and walking around!  By early morning he was walking short distances then lying down, and often with his pal Fyta close by!  Since then he has slowly got back to routine, grazing normally, chewing the cud occasionally, toileting normally and looking generally much better.  Phew - this boy is a worry sometimes, so we now await the result of the blood test from the vet.

As well as all this excitement, this was the week for the boys' routine dozes of Verm -X granules in their feed.  Not that Fergus here notices anything different in his feed - it all gets 'hoovered' up in double quick time!

Elsewhere around the place, this little fella is enjoying his time in the garden, darting around the plants and doing what rabbits do - dig holes!  The grumpy gardener has given his orders to our neighbour's two visiting cats to "Git the bunny critter or your milk ration is halved!"  Mmm!

And finally..............we are really pleased with the progress of this Gunnera which we planted in the boggy area 2 years ago. 

A quiet week

Fyta likes to follow the human around each morning as he carries out a 'poop patrol!'  He's a lovely boy, (Fyta I mean, not the human!) with a very playful nature.

Fidget is enjoying life without his fleecy coat.  He enjoys lying on the damp grass and doing a bit of sunbathing - when the sun comes out.

Sergeant Faro, always on duty stands to attention and checks out the humans.

All four of the boys enjoy the rough paddock where we keep the grass long for them.  It is getting a bit too long now though and will have to be topped.

We had a lovely visit today from Judith and Dave, on holiday in the area and considering alpacas as pets when they return to New Zealand next year.  The boys enjoyed some carrots and were pretty well behaved - even Fergus and Fyta used the water tray to show to the visitors.  Good luck with your 'paca plans when you get to New Zealand folks - nice to have met you.

And finally................the grumpy gardener has obviously had plenty of Thyme on his hands recently!

Tigh Mhor no more!

Like most people in UK we've experienced some interesting weather in the past week - everything from thunder and lightening and torrential rain to blistering heat for a couple of days.  During the week or so following shearing we're aware that the boys always seem to be a little more sensitive to touch etc when their fleece is removed.  They've spent many hours during daylight, all 4 in a field shelter sheltering either from the downpours or the heat of the sun.  They also seem sensitive to flying beasties too so lying in a field shelter with a dark roof probably helps to keep them at bay.  This is Fergus, looking slick this morning and struggling to get himself awake! 

As the human distributes the hay to the various buckets, Fyta (front) and Fergus decide to help themselves to supplies!

Faro breakfasts properly by using the hay buckets.

Not to be outdone, Fergus joins Faro for a bucketful!

And in the next paddock Fidget sits amongst the clover and buttercups enjoying the moment, on his own, just as he likes it.  We penned the boys during the week when we saw flies massing on a black spot on Fidget's back and gave the area a soaking in Maggot oil.  We know the dangers of fly-strike on animals so are always watchful at this time of year when they've lost the protection of their thick fleece.

 Down in the Steading it was 'fly the nest' day on Wednesday for these two young Swallows as Mum and Dad circled outside calling them and encouraging them to take to the wing.

And finally................'Tigh Mhor' sold and changed ownership on Friday to Sharon and Dave who will be lovely neighbours.  We'll still call our 4 boys 'Tigh Mhor Alpacas' as they are mostly in the same paddocks with our new house.  A last look at the Red Hot Pokers and Day Lillies just before the house was handed over. 

Shearing time.

Saturday was scheduled for shearing but Friday continued in the wet theme we have been experiencing here for weeks, so the four boys had to be penned to keep them as dry as possible. Fyta (front) and Fidget wait their turn for a short back and sides!

For a short period on Saturday the rain stopped and the sun came out and James and Noah give Faro the beauty treatment! Faro looks as if he is smiling but it is really a grimace, although he and his pals have all been through this procedure many times before.

Whilst James oils his blades Fyta suffers the indignity of Noah pulling back his lips and checking his teeth.

Fergus gets a clap and told he is a "Good boy" have been penned all night and just having had his lovely top knot trimmed.

James and Noah visited 9 'paca owners in Inverness and Ross Shires yesterday and by the early evening it was the turn of our old pals Gaucho, Gully, Wee Eck and Rufus to get sheared.  Here they all are awaiting the trim at Alison & Brendan's croft. Our thanks once again to James and Noah - Team Bravoshear did an excellent job, despite the 'ify' weather.

And finally..............this Celmisia Spectablis is thriving in the damp and occasionally sunny conditions.  A heat wave is promised for the coming week - that will make a nice change!