Back from holiday

Well - we are finally back from holiday. I think it is the first time ever we have had two weeks away. Usually it is a week or ten days.

We were delighted to return to the farm and find that our wonderful family have kept everything completely up to date including mowing the lawn!! Away above and beyond the call of duty.

All the alpacas seem fine and we are back to our normal routine, although we have several farm visitors - all wanting young males - and unfortunatley we currently only have three for sale and they will not be weaned until December. Still, it is nice to know we are in demand.

On Sunday I was doing something in one of the paddocks when I looked up and saw a scary sight!! Two enormous (16 - 17 hands at least) were trotting down our driveway. They were covered from head to foot in protective netting of the type used to protect horses from insects. They even had hoods so they looked very sinister.


Mike removed the dogs from the scene and I hung back until the horses were past the first gate and then shut them in. I then ran up to the road (the main A358) to see a queue of traffic overtaking a small red car with its hazard lights flashing.. The driver waved me over and he was on his mobile phone calling the police. He handed me the phone and I gave them our address and phone numbers.

He said he had followed the horses from The Olde Poppe Inn which is a mile or two away from us and ours was the first gateway they went into. He phoned his sister who lives in the village near the above pub and then drove off. She apparently spread the word.

About an hour later I saw a lady in horsy type attire entire our yard. I waved from the kitchen window and went out to meet her. Apparently she keeps the horses in a field on a bridle path and someone must have left the gate open. She went home and came back with her horse box and between us we haltered them and loaded them. A different experience to say the least.

We think all our females are now pregnant and we have had a new cria (white male) since we got home, with a few more expected.

We now have some old friends staying until Friday and we are looking forward to going to Bovey Tracy Carnival Agility show next Sunday with our dogs.

At last it looks as though we might have a few dry days so we are trying to catch up with the topping and have moved the alpacas around to new paddocks to give them some fresh grazing.