Laters

There really is nothing that I can think of that I want to look back on at the moment so not really any point in the blog so this will probably be my last entry for a while unless something memorable happens.

 Weather is miserable, the daily farm routine is fine and we still need to look after our few remaining alpacas and the hens, and the fields and hedges still need regular attention but with the Covid 19 restrictions very little else is happening in our lives.

I am going to try and get to grips with Ebay as we have plenty of items we will need to move on as and when we leave the farm so we might as well start gradually.   

I still have a few hand knitted items for sale at www.alpaca-stuff.co.uk

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Same Old

 

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Unfortunately because of Covid Restrictions and depressing weather there really is nothing worth recording really.   Of course there are jobs to do around the farm - looking after the chickens and alpacas but this takes only a couple of hours in the morning and checks during the day.

We are catching up with some property maintenance jobs - touching up paint on the doors and Mike has been doing some small repairs that were needed.

We are progressing quite well with the dolls house restoration.   Much of the rubbing down has been done and it is spread out in pieces in the office.  Most of the hinges are rusty and we are going to have to source new ones which are small enough.   Probably need to find a specialist supplier online.Mike is also repairing thing like the stair case and banisters.  It is interesting to see how much there is online for modellers and restorers.

The weather has been really awful for what seems likes weeks.  All the fields are muddy and the dogs get filthy every times we let them any further than the farm yard.   Thankfully, Ted,my young dog has short fur so he can stay outside with me more, which is nice.  Dodger has longer fur and often has to be hosed off as he does not understand the concept of walking - only flat out running.

I have an old washing machine which I use for washing dog towels, coats (which they wear indoors when drying out) and any other items for the animals.  It is running several times a week at the moment.

We could all do with some sunshine soon.

I am still training Ted for agility and we both love it, but goodness knows whether dog shows will come back with the same popularity as before.   I hope so - but it needs to be soon or I really will be too old.

Rain and Mist prevail

 Nothing much is happening apart from the normal jobs.  Collecting Eggs, cleaning out the hen house, clearing up alpaca poo in the field, which are not very exciting tasks at the best of times and become really a pain when combined with rain, drizzle and mist.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a little better and we are hoping to do some catching up when Nick and Jon come.

Whilst I was out having my covid vaccination we had a delivery and when we got home we found the delivery van stuck in the mud in the driveway.  Half of the drive is gravel right across and the rest has a grassy verge.  He was stuck on the verge and had dug himself in deeper and deeper trying to get out.  We felt really sorry for him and he was very embarrassed.

Luckily we have a four wheel drive truck and Mike was able to pull him out but there is now a muddy patch with deep deep tyre marks whre there ued to be grass.  Tomorrow, all being well,  Mike and Nick will be erecting one of our old farm gates across the drive so that people cannot get stuck in future.

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Wet Weather Blues

The wet weather continues, making all the gateways and the entrance to the chicken run muddy and slippery.   Fed up with having to clean up muddy/wet dogs.  

All the hens are laying well and despite the weather the eggs are selling well. I keep all the eggs that re laid on Sundays for our own personal use and the dogs have a raw egg in their evening feed.  Eggs are supposed to be good for dogs and help to keep their coats nice and shiny.   I must say ours are looking good.

There are still a few Hand knitted hats left over from Alpacastuff.   www.alpaca-stuff.co.uk

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New Things to do

I really look forward to Jon, my once a week helper, coming as he enables me to get all sorts of jobs done which I would struggle with on my own.  Mike has his work cut out keeping the farm vehicles up to scratch and he is in the process of restoring our  VW van as well as various tasks around the farm and odd jobs indoors.  In the spring and summer he also tops the fields which helps to improve the grass.   We no longer have enough animals to graze it.

Yesterday Jon helped me to bring my old dolls house (making it at least 70 years old) down from the attic where it has been languishing since I brought it back from my cousins' home ages ago.   All their family are in full time work so do not have time to take on the project.   

I am hoping that having it downstairs will inspire me to take up my paint brush and bring it back to life.

Mike has promised to carry out the repairs (such as broken stair banisters and windows) and I will try and make a half way decent job of painting it.  I am hoping that by writing it down here, I will continue to feel motivated to finish the task - and maybe even enjoy it.

 

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More Rain, Wind and Mud

 Everything is going smoothly but to be honest it is not much fun.  The fields are sodden and I would like a £1 for every time I have de-mudded and dried the dogs.   They need to go out for exercise and the obvious necessities and they enjoy it, so I don't begrudge  the extra work and washing!

No news on Avian flu restrictions being eased.  The hens are becoming more and more reluctanct to return to their quarters after I have cleaned up.   They really enjoy the fresh air and time spent outside in their run.

Mike has finished renovating a pretty cupboard which we use as a bathroom cabinet and I have brought parts of my old dolls house down from the attic to start restoring it now that the so called "office"  space is free again.  I think it was made by my great grandfather and has fallen into disrepair over the years.  I have been looking online to try and find something similar as a guide but have not found anything like it to base my work on yet.  Maybe it is a one off.

I seem to remember my father painted it when I was a little girl and the colours are just what he had available at the time (would have been the 1950s).  I  think the interior is original although there are some broken banisters and suchlike.

The alpacas are all looking a bit bedraggled as they are nearly always wet at the moment even though they  have access to shelters if it rains.  Their fleece is very thick and the top acts almost like a thatch when it is wet.

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Dry Weather and alpaca escape

 At long last a couple of dry days.  It make such a difference.   We spend the best part of most mornings cleariing the paddock where the hens and female alpacas reside.  

 

The hens are still confined to barracks and are just allowed out whilst I clean up.    They are getting more and more reluctant to return to their indoor quarters and even resist Ted's attempts to get them indoors again sometimes meet resistance.   Can't blame them really, especially on nice sunny dry mornings.  Sadly the rules are still in force and I cannot allow them to free range which is what they are (or were) used to.  The Defra Website is not very easy to navigate.   It refers to a Surveillance zone but my searches do not reveal any information about the zone.

Otherwise we are runing quite a happy ship at the moment.   Freddie and Inchic seem very happy sharing the back paddock with my agility training area and we have quite a lot of flexibility to give them extra grazing when they have cleared an area.  

 This morning when I went up to clear up in their paddojk I found that Freddie had entered the agility area.   There was a barrier up to the shed but it looked as though he might have just walked up to it and found it easy to push out so that there was just enough room for him to walk through.   He went back in happily enough when I opened the proper gate.  Inchic was oblivious to the whole episode.

I think I have now secured it so he can't get through again.

There is still some stock available on our website www.alpaca-stuff.co.uk

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Help is at hand!

Nick, who has been our once a week helper and guide to all things farm related works with Mike on Tuesdays.  As they are always outside or in the barn  they minimise the risk of Covid 19 infection.   At tea break we stay outside on the "patio" as we call it  when the weather allows.   This time of year we are sometimes coming into our "kitchen" which is our only downstairs room and very big - so we can still social distance.  I clean all surfaces frequently and especially after tea break.

Today Mike and Nick are making a handling pen so that we can carry out husbandry such as cutting toe nails on the two males, Freddy and Inchic who now live in the paddock at the back of the house.  When the weather improves I will take photos!  We are also going to extend their grazing area as they have neatly mown their present area.

Tomorrow Mike is going to travel to Ilminster for his Vaccination.   As he is 82 he is lucky enough to have it early.   I will be in the next group whenever that is.

The hens are still shut in most of the time but I let them out into a netted area whilst I clean out their living quarters and to give them some fresh air and exercise.   They get VERY excited when I open the door but are easy to entice back with the fresh straw that I scatter around as they love finding all the seeds.   Ted, my trusty farm dog, explains that they have to go back inside when told or risk a severe herding!  He is very good at getting them out of hiding places - e.g. behind hay bales or trailers!

Remainder of Alpacastuff stock is still available at www.alpaca-stuff.co.uk/

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As Normal as Possible

 

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We are very lucky because our days are much the same as before Covid.   We are very careful when we go shopping which is less than once a week except for a daily trip to the village stores for the paper and essential supplies such as milk.

Like everyone else we wear masks when we are near others and our spectacles get steamed up as soon as we enter the shop.

The hens are still in lock down because of avian flu but now have a secure run so that they can go out of the shelter once a day to enable me to muck out properly and thus help prevent health problems.   Nick says that they are looking very good and healthy and they are certainly laying well.  Ted, my trusty farm dog, is very good at rounding them up when it is time for them to return to their cell.  He even manages to get to the back of the straw bales which are stored inside the run under a tarpaulin  and where they love to hide and peck at the seeds.

 

Freddie and Inchic - our only remaining male alpacas were living in the bottom field but it made it difficult for Mike or Nick to top the field when the grass was too long and every time we wanted to go through the gate they seemed to be at the entrance looking for the opportunity to exit.

 

We decided that it would be more sensible to use the paddock at the back of the farmhouse - making it easier to keep an eye on them and also saving a lot of walking. Mike and Nick made a fence out of hurdles and there is still room for all my dog agility equipment so I can train Ted - although who knows when dog shows will be back on the menu.

 

 

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