Day Off

We went to a farm sale yesterday lunchtime as it was only a few miles away in Kilmington and Mike saw that there was a trailer for sale.  We were also hoping that there might be a few miscellaneous items for us.   It was right out in the sticks but was very well attended.  To me it looked like a load of rusty tractors and strange machinery.  In fact there was a pile of scrap which sold for £400.

The trailer was very clean and tidy and Mike thought it would be ideal for what he wanted.   Most of the other equipment was either for cattle which made it far too big for alpacas, or was for arable use.   We did come across three hay racks which I thought would be useful in the winter if we have the animals in the barn.  At the moment we use horses hay nets which are quite small and need filling frequently.

After a traditional auction bacon and egg bap and cuppa tea we followed the auctioneer round the piles of mysterious objects.   To start with the acutioneer was a woman suitably dressed in farmer type tweeds and boots.   She was very fast and seemed to be very efficient so when we got to the hay racks we walked ahead to make sure we were near the front.  We agreed that they were only worth about £18 each to us but, you guessed it, after losing out on the first two we bought one for £22 plus VAT!!  In the meantime Mike decided that the trailer was maybe a bit smaller than ideal so we agreed that it was better to wait for the right one to come along or even look at new.

He went and paid for the rack and we drove over as he was confident that it would fit in the van if we moved Dolly out of her cage into the big boys cages.   It was six inches too big.   The moral of this story is measure before you bid!!  He has just gone off to try and find the farm again and collect it!!   Still they are over £100 new so it will be worth it, even if it is a bit more trouble than we expected.

Whilst we were out we left the boys (alpacas) grazing along the drive and behind the barn.   I was worried about a big hole which Mike dug a few weeks (or is it months now) ago but he thought it would be OK.  I need not have worried about the hole but we had forgotten the remains of a bonfire of hedge trimmings and of course they had all rolled in it.   My lovely white males are now a mucky shade of grey.   They are being shorn next week so I hope they will have cleaned up by then.  Not sure if rain is a good thing or a bad thing!!

To top off the day we had left the van sliding door open in the morning and we caught Romie with her head in a new bag of Vitalin which is a muesli type of dry dog food.   She is really greedy and we have no idea how much she had eaten.   When we got home after the auction we noticed that she was drinking a lot.   I did a bit of agility training with her in the early evening and she was even more out of breath than me.   I felt her tummy and it was a bit tight and I was concerned that she might have a problem so I took her to the vet.    He gave her a a check over but did not think there was a problem so that was a relief.  She was not allowed any dinner last night or breakfast this morning and there are signs on the lawn that she has rid herself of most of the food with no ill effects I hope.

When I got back from the Vet's Mike told me that Romie had obviously rolled in something as she stank.  I do not have a sense of smell so it was rather embarrassing to think that I had sat in the Vet surgery and also subjected the poor young vet to her aroma.

To pay for her sins she had a bath today and whilst I was about it I bathed all seven dogs including the puppy.   We now have a very sweet smelling pack I hope.  I am sure one of them will quickly change that.