Update

With the start of the school holidays we are already seeing quite a few more visitors than usual. Most just want to look at the alpacas but some buy in the shop and others remove our "Free Alpaca Manure" for their gardens. Apparently alpaca manure has been recommended on one of the gardening programmes so it is now even more popular than ever. It's a shame we cannot rig up a bag under each tale to collect this valuable commodity. Picking it up whether by hand with a scoop and scraper or with the paddock cleaner (hoover) is a really boring job.

We have been catching up on the spit offs and matings today and most of our alpacas are now pregnant for next year's births. There are a few going to other breeders for outside matings and one or two who have not taken and had to be mated again. The rest are waiting to be scanned with our new scanner when they are 60 days pregnant.

We are nearly up to date with vaccinating all the cria. Just a few late babies waiting for their second jabs and one or two unborns who will start the process all over again.

The new ear tags and microchips have arrived and we now have no excuse, we will have to bite the bullet and get on with this task this week. We are not looking forward to it at all, although I must say that they don't seem to find the eartagging particularly painful. Still I fainted when I had my ears pierced so I am no judge.

I went to South Devon Dog show on Sunday and Romie finally got a clear round after months of nearlies. We had a big glitch because I was not in the right place but she still came second - so there is plenty of room for improvement.

Weather is still very variable so we have to fit in jobs as and when we can. I don't think the alpacas have had dry fleece for about a week.

The can has succeeded in training me to produce yoghurt or milk on demand and the demand is becoming greater all the time. She has also taken up residence on my pretty victorian dining chair which is covered in velvet. I will have to be careful that she does not get spoilt!!!

All quiet on the hen front - nearly always six a day at the moment. Nesting places vary from the barn to field shelters to a gully behind the fence in the yard.

Nothing much else to report.