Being Methodical

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There are always plenty of jobs to be done on the farm but since we have been living in our new house a few more have been added, such as a back garden, a hole where our log cabin was sited whilst we waited for planning permission and then converted the barn, and revamping the farmyard, not to mention creating a permanent indoor handling set up in the new barn.  Much of our original fencing is rotten so we are removing some and replacing other parts.

We have decided to work from the top downwards, which means that in addition to building a corral so that we can catch alpacas if we need to and in future maybe offer farm walks with an alpaca, the fencing at the entrance and all around the first paddock was rotten and have to be replaced.   The car park has been cleared of vegetation,

and Mike is going to level it with his digger and extend the hard standing area for visitors to the shop.

Last Thursday Mike and our good neighbour, Andrew, who lives across the road, stripped the roof from the shop, which was temporarily repaired in the winter when storms ripped half of it off, and replaced it with heavy weight roofing felt, which they assure me will last for many years.

End of an Era for Us

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Mike has decided that he is not going to compete at dog agility competitions with his dog, Jake, anymore, so we are going to sell our lovely caravan.  We have had it for several years but have only used it for a few weekends a year and the dogs have not been allowed in it, so we have been advised that it should be easy to sell.  Time will tell.

On the up side, Mike will be on the farm when I go to shows and he will be on hand to keep an eye on the alpacas and "spare" dogs at home.   I am guessing there will be a trade off of some kind, but that has not been revealed as yet.  Days out at motor racing events are a possibility, I feel.

Of course as soon as we pulled the caravan out into the field to take photos and give it a clean up, the alpacas thought they had better check it out!!

Work and Play

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Some time ago we ordered 100 bales of hay to see us through the winter and on Wednesday they arrived.  Michelle (a local farmer's daughter) and her partner Allen arrived at about 9 a.m. and whilst Allen threw the bales up to the loft, Michelle and I stacked them three high.  It was hard work, but rewarding, and good to know that all our animals will have fodder for the winter.   If it is a hard winter we may have to top up, but fingers crossed we will be fine.  Allen made light work of throwing the bales well above his head.  They were the same price as last year, but much heavier, which means better value for us, and harder work for them.

What with the daily chores on the farm including shifting hay bales around, getting to grips with my knitting machine, which gives me a good work out, and jobs as described above, I have definitely trimmed my waistline, though sadly, not my appetite!!

Mike was gutted that he could not help because he has to be careful since his health scare over Christmas, but he took over all the other morning jobs like cleaning out and feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, clearing up after the dogs and  alpacas and other mysterious tractor and digger jobs.

In the meantime, Romie and her daughter Dolly enjoyed a good game.

New Arrivals

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Quite a few of our hens are getting on a bit and that combined with the very hot weather has reduced the number of eggs we have each day.   There seem to be quite a lot of regular customers who buy eggs at the farm gate, putting their payment in the honesty box, and when one of us happens to be near, they tell us how much they like our eggs and the fact that they can actually see them free ranging in the field.

We have just bought another ten point of lay hens and are very pleased with them.   We kept them in for 48 hours and then opened their pen so that they could wander out.   Only two or three went out the first day, and one of those was frightened when Charlie, one of our border collies, tried to help Dolly (the farm shepherd) round up stray hens.

Unfortunately by the time I had taken Charlie out of the equation and got back to put the rest of the chickens away, the stray newbie had disappeared into the hedge across the ditch and through the wire fence.  Dolly and I could not persuade her to come out and in the end we had to go indoors until dusk and hope that she would return of her own free will, assuming she could remember how she got there in the first place.

Mike came out with us in case he needed to cut the wire so we could get to the hedge, but luckily she was outside the pen squawking away.  We managed to get her into a corner and I picked her up and put her  back in the pen.

Tonight most of them went to bed willingly but a couple needed a helping hand.  I am sure they will get into the routine soon.   They are already laying lovely little eggs and seem generally healthy and happy.

Battling the Buttercups

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We try not to use weedkiller so it is lucky that Mike is never happier than when he is trundling around on his old Fordson tractor (another project) with the topper.   My theory is that, like a domestic lawn, if you mow it often enough the weeds will gradually go.  Today he is topping the last of the paddocks where we have a problem with buttercups.  It is the third time they have been done and so we are hoping that next year they will be a little less of a problem and if we catch them early we might see quite an improvement.

It has worked with the Himalayan Balsam.  Mike and I always try to pull it all up but it was a mammoth job.  Last year our friends Elaine and Clive stayed for the weekend and helped with lots of jobs including pulling up the attractive but unruly HB.  We have seen the benefit this year with smaller areas.  Let's hope that next year will be even better as we have pulled up all the plants that we can both see and reach.

I am not sure if the hens wanted to go for a walk, but Millie and Dolly obviously thought they needed some exercise!!

Fencing Report

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Mike and Nick are still beavering away at the fencing and it is looking really good.   The sunken garden is now safe without the use of hurdles to stop grazing alpacas falling into it!!

I have been playing with my new toy - a cordless strimmer.  It is very light and after mowing the edges to the drive I was able to slash the long grass along the fence so that it is starting to look quite smart.  Certainly beats the shears!!  Mike and Nick use a heavy petrol driven strimmer, which I think would probably be too big for me.

The female alpacas are spending a lot of time in the barn at the moment as it is cool in there.   Sometimes they pop out for a quick dunk in the old galvanized trough which is just outside.   The males are in the winter paddocks where there is a spring which feeds a small pond, so with that and all the overhanging branches from the woods next door they are sorted too.

Nicko is a proper bloke!!

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The female alpacas and their cria spend quite a lot of time in the barn and we are pleased that they feel so at home in there whether the cat, dogs or chickens are about or not.  The downside is that, although they do not soil inside the barn, they use the entrance as a midden, which is not quite so nice. We are trying to find a solution without discouraging their love of the barn!!

One morning when I looked out of our bedroom window at about 6.30 a.m. I saw Nicko, now three weeks old, come out on his own, relieve himself, have a good old stretch and go back into the barn.  I thought it was amusing, but was surprised to find that he does the same most mornings.  I don't know what he does when he goes back into the barn - probably wakes his Mum up so he can have breakfast!!

Mike and Nick are continuing with the fencing and have nearly finished the paddock at the back of the house.   At the same time they are shutting off an area by the back door so that we can let the dogs wander outside when we are out and to prevent them disappearing for half an hour when we let them out last thing at night.   Millie, our old bitch, is the worst.   She is a bit deaf (she says) and it can be very frustrating when we want to go to bed if she decides to go on one of her walkabouts.

The old kennel in the photo was given to us by our friend, Lindsay, some years ago and is very popular.   The dogs all take turns to use it as a retreat or to get some shade.  I am waiting for Mike to power wash it so that I can give it a lick of  Ronseal and restore it to its former glory.