What a day, I'm exhausted, I think I need an early night. There is far too much to go into on here at the minute but I promise the details will evolve over the next few weeks. To give you some idea of the day though it started with some good news for us, which resulted in a decision which was good news for somebody else which will hopefully mean there will be more good news for us.......
We have had visitors again today, Mick and Anita this time. Well, I say we had visitors, they weren't really here to see us, it was the alpacas who had the visitors. Pearson was very pleased with some new people to say hello to, especially as they were giving him some carrot. I'm not sure whether he or Ochre managed to get the most, it was a close call!
I have washed all the new knitwear which has just been completed, now it is all dry it will be labelled and photographed tomorrow ready for Paul to put on the shop. I'm determined not to learn how to do it or it will be another job on my list and I already have far too much to do.
This evening I had my hairdresser hat on as Chiquita needed a little trim, her vision was beginning to get interrupted and that will never do. She is such a good girl, you can easily get hold of her in the middle of the field and do whatever is required.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Quad shot for Jonathan (Paul)
This is not an airwaves admission of some kind of cleaning compulsion but I do like my environment to be clean, in the house and out of it. Some time ago Jonathan (you know who you are!) visited us here at Barnacre and commented to Debbie about the ‘state’ of the quad – I suspect he thought I just used it on the gravel drive?!
What with all the snow followed by rain and mud, my shiny quad was not looking quite so shiny and this just will not do. And so this weekend I decided it was time to do a bit of advanced spring cleaning. I cleaned the car, which made the stock trailer look dirty, so cleaned that. The small trailer (the “sheep taxi”) was parked next to that and so that had to be cleaned. And then of course there was the quad.
Now I am of the opinion that if you’re going to do something you might as well do a proper job. I didn’t take pictures of the clean machine collection, but just for Jonathan, and the rest of our blog followers, here is our (nearly) one year old quad. That chamois leather to finish off the trailers and quad sure does the trick!
Enjoy everyone and stay clean!
Paul
What with all the snow followed by rain and mud, my shiny quad was not looking quite so shiny and this just will not do. And so this weekend I decided it was time to do a bit of advanced spring cleaning. I cleaned the car, which made the stock trailer look dirty, so cleaned that. The small trailer (the “sheep taxi”) was parked next to that and so that had to be cleaned. And then of course there was the quad.
Now I am of the opinion that if you’re going to do something you might as well do a proper job. I didn’t take pictures of the clean machine collection, but just for Jonathan, and the rest of our blog followers, here is our (nearly) one year old quad. That chamois leather to finish off the trailers and quad sure does the trick!
Enjoy everyone and stay clean!
Paul
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Stronge man and woman!
It's been very cold and frosty here all day, the ice on the troughs this morning was well over an inch thick and refroze almost immediately despite me removing all the ice from them.
Alan kindly put a big round bale over the fence this morning which was very good of him, despite having tractor issues of his own he still found time to do it. We have a big bale of hay and straw on pallets fenced and covered in the field to make things easier in the winter months.
We don't have a tractor so moving big bales takes a lot of hard work. Our brute force was required this morning as the bale was only just on the pallet so we had to push it on a bit further. The girls supervised to make sure it was done OK, either that or they were making sure it didn't get covered before we refilled their hay hecks.
I was hoping to get some poo picking done but it has stayed frozen all day so no chance of that, so instead I finished knitting a hat I started on Thursday night. It will be washed tomorrow and in our online shop next week.
The weanlings had another visitor today, they have been so frequent in the last few days they will begin to expect it every day. Hughie has also had plenty of people to say hello to today as a number of the neighbours have been walking up and down the lane and Hughie doesn't miss the opportunity to say hello.
Alan kindly put a big round bale over the fence this morning which was very good of him, despite having tractor issues of his own he still found time to do it. We have a big bale of hay and straw on pallets fenced and covered in the field to make things easier in the winter months.
We don't have a tractor so moving big bales takes a lot of hard work. Our brute force was required this morning as the bale was only just on the pallet so we had to push it on a bit further. The girls supervised to make sure it was done OK, either that or they were making sure it didn't get covered before we refilled their hay hecks.
I was hoping to get some poo picking done but it has stayed frozen all day so no chance of that, so instead I finished knitting a hat I started on Thursday night. It will be washed tomorrow and in our online shop next week.
The weanlings had another visitor today, they have been so frequent in the last few days they will begin to expect it every day. Hughie has also had plenty of people to say hello to today as a number of the neighbours have been walking up and down the lane and Hughie doesn't miss the opportunity to say hello.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Oonagh sumed up
Oonagh was the first Barnacre cria born some three and a half years ago now, that is a day I'll never forget. I'm sure many of you will recall your first birthing experience.
Anyway from being a youngster Oonagh has never liked to share, she would rather starve than share a food trough and has to be fed on her own every feed time whether it be from a bucket, tub or your hand. If anyone else comes anywhere near she will walk off.
Despite being the oldest cria and born to our bossiest alpaca at the time, she wasn't at all interested in eating hard feed and was almost a year old before she started eating it, and she would only pick at it occasionally then.
In fact her daughter from 2009, Kealani, is very similar in that department and regularly doesn't bother with hard feed, she is happy to share a trough though.
Anyway just to prove a point that she doesn't like sharing Oonagh has decided to add the water trough to her list of 'does not share' things. She would rather put her head through the fence and drink from the other side; what is she like!
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Two days on the trot
Can you believe it two days on the trot I'm blogging before bedtime; so you better read this is and the previous post just to make sure you haven't missed anything!
We have had visitors again today, two consecutive days the weanlings have had visitors. I didn't ask permission to name them so I will have to refrain at the minute, but as you can see the weanlings were watching them arrive.
We have had visitors again today, two consecutive days the weanlings have had visitors. I didn't ask permission to name them so I will have to refrain at the minute, but as you can see the weanlings were watching them arrive.
As usual the Guinea cria are heading up the reception party, from left to right we have (front) Ochre, Meketaten, Pearson, and behind from left to right, Niveous, Casiphia's back, Layla and Lucia.
After a few introductions, some photo taking and fleece rummaging, all in exchange for a bit of carrot we headed off to see all the adults who were equally pleased to see some new faces.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon for all concerned and hopefully we will see you again soon. In the meantime enjoy your knitting.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Blackberry panic
Shock horror, it's not eleven o'clock and I'm blogging. I managed to get on the machine early tonight, Barbara's suggestion of stealing Paul's Blackberry worked. Asking why the screen had gone all funny seemed to increase the speed at which he left the computer too!
We have had visitors this afternoon so we went over to say hello to the weanlings, who thoroughly enjoyed their visitors. They came running to the gate and walked round the field with us, making a quick detour to point out that their food trough was empty. They didn't seem to realise that it wasn't tea time and their human visitors had just shared two carrots with them. As usual the three Guinea cria, Ochre, Meketaten and Pearson has more than their fair share.
As the herd are currently munching their way through small bales of hay far too quickly, Mr T has got one more big round one for them. We have rolled it into position in his barn this afternoon so he can stab it with the forks tomorrow and put it over the fence for us. That should keep the girls going for 10 days hopefully, seeing as the mouths to feed in that field has reduced now.
We have had visitors this afternoon so we went over to say hello to the weanlings, who thoroughly enjoyed their visitors. They came running to the gate and walked round the field with us, making a quick detour to point out that their food trough was empty. They didn't seem to realise that it wasn't tea time and their human visitors had just shared two carrots with them. As usual the three Guinea cria, Ochre, Meketaten and Pearson has more than their fair share.
As the herd are currently munching their way through small bales of hay far too quickly, Mr T has got one more big round one for them. We have rolled it into position in his barn this afternoon so he can stab it with the forks tomorrow and put it over the fence for us. That should keep the girls going for 10 days hopefully, seeing as the mouths to feed in that field has reduced now.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Buttons
The weanlings were very pleased to see us this morning, Meketaten was at the gate in a split second as soon as she heard me coming. The others were in hot pursuit, humming away like a chorus from Madame Butterfly.
They are all doing fine, Niveous, Little Miss Irroquoys and Legend of Spartacus's son is the only one who hasn't forgiven us, that's the LMI influence in him! Casiphia our other Legend baby had forgiven us by this morning and happily came running for her food.
All the mums seem to have totally forgotten their previous responsibilities and are enjoying the freedom, even Willow was much happier today.
They are all doing fine, Niveous, Little Miss Irroquoys and Legend of Spartacus's son is the only one who hasn't forgiven us, that's the LMI influence in him! Casiphia our other Legend baby had forgiven us by this morning and happily came running for her food.
All the mums seem to have totally forgotten their previous responsibilities and are enjoying the freedom, even Willow was much happier today.
In theory we have three months to wait until the first cria are due so we will soon be back to stage one, or should that be stage two; can't wait!
It has been damp today so I've not been out with the camera, so instead I thought I would share with you the latest buttons my dad has made for us. There is a scarf underway at the minute which is destined to have some of these on it. Keep looking for a sneak preview (once it's finished).
Monday, 24 January 2011
Weaning went well
We got up with the determination that weaning would happen today, it had been put off for one thing and another for a little while now and did need doing.
After tempting everyone into a pen with some nice fresh grass those who required separation were split off and loaded into the trailer, eventually. Only Ochre decided the trailer was a good place to go other other six weren't so keen and took a little persuasion!
We normally wean into one of the stud strips or one of the isolation fields however this year we had saved some grass behind the house for the weanlings. Well we had more this year and this field and shelter is bigger; plus I can keep a closer eye on everyone.
With nice fresh grass the youngsters didn't even notice they had left their mums, until tea time that was and they realised that the milk bar was missing. There was a little humming but nothing much at all, so all very pleasing.
As for the mums, to be honest I think most were pleased for the break, with the exception Willow that is. She is always very close to her babies and this evening she was looking for Layla, hopefully she will soon get over it. When we weaned her last baby, Chiquita, we ended up having to do it three times because she kept letter her go back to suckle, even after three months!
I was going to share a photo of the youngsters with you but by the time I got out with the camera all three of the whities had found a mole hill to roll in and were a disgrace.
After tempting everyone into a pen with some nice fresh grass those who required separation were split off and loaded into the trailer, eventually. Only Ochre decided the trailer was a good place to go other other six weren't so keen and took a little persuasion!
We normally wean into one of the stud strips or one of the isolation fields however this year we had saved some grass behind the house for the weanlings. Well we had more this year and this field and shelter is bigger; plus I can keep a closer eye on everyone.
With nice fresh grass the youngsters didn't even notice they had left their mums, until tea time that was and they realised that the milk bar was missing. There was a little humming but nothing much at all, so all very pleasing.
As for the mums, to be honest I think most were pleased for the break, with the exception Willow that is. She is always very close to her babies and this evening she was looking for Layla, hopefully she will soon get over it. When we weaned her last baby, Chiquita, we ended up having to do it three times because she kept letter her go back to suckle, even after three months!
I was going to share a photo of the youngsters with you but by the time I got out with the camera all three of the whities had found a mole hill to roll in and were a disgrace.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Is it bedtime yet
Another late blog as I have only just managed to get on the computer, we really do need a second machine or I have to blog when I am half asleep and it doesn't make sense!
We had planned to do a spot of weaning today but it was raining this morning and I like to do nasty jobs on a nice day so instead we got everything ready for tomorrow (the forecast is good).
The pen is erected and has been observed by the girls, Oonagh was straight over to check it out. Shortly followed by the rest of the herd, you could see them saying to each other, what's this for; toe nails, injections or maybe just a spot of fresh grass..........
Hopefully it won't be too stressful for any of us. I suspect Ursula and Mary won't even notice their babies have gone, Irraquoy on the other hand will cover me in green before she forgets Niveous. Nefertiti will spend a while looking for her daughter Meketaten, she did when we weaned her first daughter Sienna.
Paul has put the latest batch of knitwear into our online shop, seeing as he won't learn to knit Mum, Carol and I are having to knit very fast so he has to keep updating the shop as punishment!
We had planned to do a spot of weaning today but it was raining this morning and I like to do nasty jobs on a nice day so instead we got everything ready for tomorrow (the forecast is good).
The pen is erected and has been observed by the girls, Oonagh was straight over to check it out. Shortly followed by the rest of the herd, you could see them saying to each other, what's this for; toe nails, injections or maybe just a spot of fresh grass..........
Hopefully it won't be too stressful for any of us. I suspect Ursula and Mary won't even notice their babies have gone, Irraquoy on the other hand will cover me in green before she forgets Niveous. Nefertiti will spend a while looking for her daughter Meketaten, she did when we weaned her first daughter Sienna.
Paul has put the latest batch of knitwear into our online shop, seeing as he won't learn to knit Mum, Carol and I are having to knit very fast so he has to keep updating the shop as punishment!
Saturday, 22 January 2011
But I don't have any trees
It's has been another busy day, Paul has spent the afternoon clearing leaves, four big dumpy sacks full. I wouldn't mind but we don't even have a single tree!
The paddock needed a clean ready for the weanlings who will be going in there tomorrow and you know what magnets cria fleeces are. I'm sure it won't make much difference but it makes us feel better if nothing else.
This morning we popped over to Carl and Dave's, not only were we picking up knitting and carding we have also borrowed their battery charger for the poor MG which is still marooned on the drive. As the chickens are now laying us a couple of eggs a day I thought we'd take half a dozen over as a little thank you. I hear they have had them for tea!
Talking of cars, some low life kindly hit my sister-in-laws car today whilst it was parked and didn't bother leaving any details, just two damaged doors and a back panel so they did a good job! I may be a glass half empty girl, but I am a firm believer in what goes round comes round so they will get their comeuppance I'm sure Sarah - unfortunately you might not get to hear about it but I'm sure they will.
The paddock needed a clean ready for the weanlings who will be going in there tomorrow and you know what magnets cria fleeces are. I'm sure it won't make much difference but it makes us feel better if nothing else.
This morning we popped over to Carl and Dave's, not only were we picking up knitting and carding we have also borrowed their battery charger for the poor MG which is still marooned on the drive. As the chickens are now laying us a couple of eggs a day I thought we'd take half a dozen over as a little thank you. I hear they have had them for tea!
Talking of cars, some low life kindly hit my sister-in-laws car today whilst it was parked and didn't bother leaving any details, just two damaged doors and a back panel so they did a good job! I may be a glass half empty girl, but I am a firm believer in what goes round comes round so they will get their comeuppance I'm sure Sarah - unfortunately you might not get to hear about it but I'm sure they will.
Friday, 21 January 2011
Glass half full or half empty?
I've been in a bit of a grump today, but going out into the fields to spend a bit of time with the alpacas is a great way to cheer yourself up; even if it is freezing cold out there, not with your alpaca hat on though. I really must learn to be a glass half full sort of girl rather than half empty!
All the littlies are so affectionate and give my so much unconditional love it's enough to pick you up from anything. I just love every single one of them, even if some of them are doing their damnedest to destroy their very fine baby fleeces.
Paul has finally managed to prise a little of my hand spun yarn out of me to put in the shop. As our knitwear range sells so well I don't sell much yarn as I can use it all for our garments and when you don't buy any fleeces in once it's gone it's gone until you shear next May. I decided I could spare him a little bit but it's not lasting long and he's not getting any more of the Chiquita and Barnaby barber pole.
His next job is going to be working on me to get some of the youngsters up for sale, there is even talk of us putting one of the girls up for sale too. Oh no; I don't like having to part with anything especially my alpacas!!
All the littlies are so affectionate and give my so much unconditional love it's enough to pick you up from anything. I just love every single one of them, even if some of them are doing their damnedest to destroy their very fine baby fleeces.
Paul has finally managed to prise a little of my hand spun yarn out of me to put in the shop. As our knitwear range sells so well I don't sell much yarn as I can use it all for our garments and when you don't buy any fleeces in once it's gone it's gone until you shear next May. I decided I could spare him a little bit but it's not lasting long and he's not getting any more of the Chiquita and Barnaby barber pole.
His next job is going to be working on me to get some of the youngsters up for sale, there is even talk of us putting one of the girls up for sale too. Oh no; I don't like having to part with anything especially my alpacas!!
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Coffee and compliments
Only a short blog tonight because I am determined for once I am going to get an early night and I still have a list of things to do before I can do that!
Legend continues to do well, in fact he's back to his old self, so much so when it was time for his antibiotics this evening he ran off and didn't want to stand still. Mind you I can't say as I blame him, I hate needles too. He needs his last one on Sunday and that will be it. Lucky we caught the infection early as middle and inner ear infections can be difficult to shake off.
Paul and I met up with Helen who owns and runs Northumbrian Candleworks to share a few idea's and enjoy a coffee (or tea in my case) and a muffin.
Whilst we were having a coffee there was a lady sat at the next table to us knitting away. I had my knitting with me, as we are rarely separated, so we started chatting. I am knitting with some of my hand spun barber pole yarn at the minute that she loved and was very complimentary - thank you!
Legend continues to do well, in fact he's back to his old self, so much so when it was time for his antibiotics this evening he ran off and didn't want to stand still. Mind you I can't say as I blame him, I hate needles too. He needs his last one on Sunday and that will be it. Lucky we caught the infection early as middle and inner ear infections can be difficult to shake off.
Paul and I met up with Helen who owns and runs Northumbrian Candleworks to share a few idea's and enjoy a coffee (or tea in my case) and a muffin.
Whilst we were having a coffee there was a lady sat at the next table to us knitting away. I had my knitting with me, as we are rarely separated, so we started chatting. I am knitting with some of my hand spun barber pole yarn at the minute that she loved and was very complimentary - thank you!
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Jump the spinning wheel
Another nice crisp morning followed by a day of sunshine, although I have been in the house most of the day today.
Paul has been in London all day; in fact he should be home in half an hour so I must remember to open the gates and put the lights on! As he wasn't here hogging the computer I thought I'd better catch up on some paperwork.
Mark up Legend's medications etc and I was also studying the pregnancy stats. The first three girls are all in their final trimester and are all starting to blossom nicely, either that or they have eaten far too much hay over winter!
I was supposed to be going to my spinning group this afternoon, but unfortunately the car had other idea's. It hasn't moved for a couple of months because of all the snow but as Paul was away in the big car it meant I needed to take the MG, only Millie the MG had other idea's and refused to start.
Great, not amused, flat battery, no battery charger, no jump leads and nobody to jump from even if I had any so marooned and no spinning for me today. Oh well I saves the petrol and spun for an hour this evening instead.
I did have a lovely long catch up with Jayne and Zanzibah, it was good to talk to you Jayne and I will keep you posted on you know what.
Paul has been in London all day; in fact he should be home in half an hour so I must remember to open the gates and put the lights on! As he wasn't here hogging the computer I thought I'd better catch up on some paperwork.
Mark up Legend's medications etc and I was also studying the pregnancy stats. The first three girls are all in their final trimester and are all starting to blossom nicely, either that or they have eaten far too much hay over winter!
I was supposed to be going to my spinning group this afternoon, but unfortunately the car had other idea's. It hasn't moved for a couple of months because of all the snow but as Paul was away in the big car it meant I needed to take the MG, only Millie the MG had other idea's and refused to start.
Great, not amused, flat battery, no battery charger, no jump leads and nobody to jump from even if I had any so marooned and no spinning for me today. Oh well I saves the petrol and spun for an hour this evening instead.
I did have a lovely long catch up with Jayne and Zanzibah, it was good to talk to you Jayne and I will keep you posted on you know what.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Waste not, want not
It has been a gloriously sunny day today, it started of very frosty as you can see from one of the photo's I took of one of our new pairs of booties (waiting for Paul to catalogue them in the shop).
Once the sun had melted the frost it was ideal poo picking weather, so after I had finished plying some grey yarn for Carol (yes it's done Carol) I headed off out to clean the boys fields. Hughie insisted on standing next to me the whole time to make sure I didn't miss any.
Golden Guinea seemed to think Spring has sprung, when I drove in to his field to clear up he decided this would be a good opportunity for him to go skipping down the channel to posture at the other boys. He is such a poser and absolutely loves himself.
If he saw the state of his cria he would have a fit, Guinea never has a fibre out of place, is always immaculately clean and keeps is paddock the same, only depositing in the same 10 inch square. His cria on the other hand, the two girls Meketatan and Lady Godiva like to collect a little hay and as for Ochre, his first cria of 2010 he is a mess, hay, straw and anything else he can gather. His second son, Pearson is the cleanest of them all. Mind you all of them will happily stand for hours for you to pick off their collections though!
I'm pleased to say that Legend seems much happier today, in fact by this evening he is pretty much back to his old self which is good. I'm hoping that the drugs are working and we won't have to interfere any further.
Not wanting to make Mark (of Patou) too envious but we has another egg today, hopefully the three girls are now going to make up for the complete lack of eggs over the last few months. I think the stern talking to Paul gave them the other week may have worked, he'd threatened to dispatch them and replace them with some rescue battery hens. Don't worry Jayne I wouldn't let him!
Monday, 17 January 2011
Happy customers, means happy knitters
Following on from yesterdays excitement I must just tell you it wasn't a fluke, we've had another egg today so we celebrated and had fried egg and chips for tea!!! You can't beat a home grown fried egg.
I sent Paul to deliver a couple of pairs of gloves which had been specially ordered, the lady concerned way extremely pleased with her purchase. One pair for herself and the second were a present, so I'm sure the lucky recipient in the USA will be equally as pleased with theirs.
Talking of happy customers I thought I would share this very cute photo received from one very happy Barnacre Knitwear wearer. Little Jacob looks nice and cosy in his hat, thank you Helen for the thank you email and allowing me to share the photo.
I was going to deliver the gloves myself this morning, however I had to wait in for the vet. You may recall me saying on Saturday that Legend was a bit fed up, well he just wasn't himself so I have been keeping a very close eye on him. He hadn't got a temperature, no scouring or signs of injury but something just wasn't right.
I thought he may have an ear infection, there was no sign of ear mites but he seemed to be holding his head slightly to one side on occasions and sitting down seemed to take a lot of concentration as though he had a bit of a balance issue.
When Sam arrived and checked him over, he agreed, poor chap, no wonder he's not very happy earache is horrible. It just goes to show how important it is to know your animals, we spend so much time with our and know them all individually you can spot when there is a problem. Alpacas are so clever at hiding problems sometimes you really do have to take the time to get to know them.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Eggscellent
Paul started today finding eggs, yes our hens finally laid us an egg, in fact not one but two eggs (the first for at least 3 months) and finished the day looking like one.
Here are the two edible ones, didn't want to scare you with a photo of Paul.
I'd best explain why he has ended up looking like an egg. For Christmas he had a new set of hair clippers as his old ones were giving up the ghost. Anyway I always cut his hair on a short number two, so out with the new clippers and on with guard number two, he decided as it's still rather cold he'd go for a long number two rather than his usual short number two.
I did a strip up the back of his head and nearly died, it was almost a skin head!!! Paul doesn't have much hair so treasures what little he has; or should I now say had. I quickly moved to a number three guard but had to work a bit of magic to try and blend the stripe in the back of his head. Thankfully he can't see the back.
He was threatening to go in to the field to find a ginger alpaca and borrow a bit of fleece. I suggested the best match would be Ursula's leg fibre but as I have a use for everything this was already accounted for so tough! I think my Sarah, my sister in law who bought the clippers did it on purpose so he could use the bald head polish Faith bough him for Christmas.
To take his mind off things I have had him cataloging the latest 20 or so new items which needed adding into the shop. He's been grumbling about that for the last three hours so it obviously worked and the shop looks like we actually have something to sell again now which is good with Valentine's Day fast approaching.
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Raining bobbins
It has been blowing a gale today and raining pretty much all day, at least it's warmed up now so I suppose you can't have everything. I think Legend of Spartacus preferred the snow, he is looking pretty fed up with the rain and he has so much fleece the cold and snow didn't bother him in the slightest.
Because the weather has been so poor it has been inside jobs on the list today, Paul has been doing some updates to the shop, as I managed to get a few photo's yesterday of some of the new stock that we have been busy knitting. There is more to go on so keep looking, an alpaca gift for your valentine would go down a treat I'm sure.
Whilst Paul has been on the computer I've been spinning again. Carol is in need of some more grey yarn so she can finish off a hat she started, but I needed to finish the barber pole I was doing though before I could go back to grey because I don't have enough bobbins. Maybe I need to have a look on the Ashford website for some more. I put a request for some on Freecycle but none were offered.
Because the weather has been so poor it has been inside jobs on the list today, Paul has been doing some updates to the shop, as I managed to get a few photo's yesterday of some of the new stock that we have been busy knitting. There is more to go on so keep looking, an alpaca gift for your valentine would go down a treat I'm sure.
Whilst Paul has been on the computer I've been spinning again. Carol is in need of some more grey yarn so she can finish off a hat she started, but I needed to finish the barber pole I was doing though before I could go back to grey because I don't have enough bobbins. Maybe I need to have a look on the Ashford website for some more. I put a request for some on Freecycle but none were offered.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Heart to heart
Our tweeting is proving popular and I've had messages from some very interesting people. You can never say you are too old for new technology as we have an 85 year old follower in my grandad - he's loving find out what we are up to.
There is only one problem, he keeps texting me to tell me what I've just tweeted; I keep telling him I know what it says because I wrote it. Its a good job he gets free text messages!!
It is customary for Minimus to clean up every last crumb from the troughs after every single feed, it is particularly noticeable in the morning when the rest of the herd head off for the fresh hay. Little Minimus can always be found at the opposite side of the field without a care in the world, or second thought that he is there alone, in fact I think he quite likes the fact he's not sharing!
This afternoon Carol popped over for a felting lesson, I thought we would start with needle felting. She was wanting to try hearts ready for Valentine's Day, and I think she was pleased with the result. I though she did really well and I'm sure she enjoyed herself, next time I will get her doing some wet felting to see what she thinks to that. I can see the next batch of knitting arriving will be covered in detachable felted hearts!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Where's Alan
It has been a long day of a different kind today, after the morning feed we headed off to Nottingham for a last minute flying visit.
My nanna is poorly in hospital and I wanted to go and see her, it's a long drive on your own so thankfully Paul came with me. That means we could share the driving, although he did the journey down so I could do some knitting. I am very behind with this months knitting target. On a positive note the spinning target is going according to plan.
Mum very kindly had dinner on the table for us when we arrived (mums are great aren't they!). I was also able to pick up some knitting that mum had been doing for a special order.
After spending a little time with my niece Faith , who was at mums we headed up to the hospital. Faith had been playing shops and had bought apples, carrots and some imaginary hay for the alpacas, I had to laugh at Faith, I told her I'd need the tractor to move the hay, so off she ran to the toy box to get the tractor and said "Oh no, I've lost Alan", all tractor drivers are called Alan after our farmer friend. Anyone who knows Alan will know you never know where he is so this was typical of 'Alan'.
My nanna is poorly in hospital and I wanted to go and see her, it's a long drive on your own so thankfully Paul came with me. That means we could share the driving, although he did the journey down so I could do some knitting. I am very behind with this months knitting target. On a positive note the spinning target is going according to plan.
Mum very kindly had dinner on the table for us when we arrived (mums are great aren't they!). I was also able to pick up some knitting that mum had been doing for a special order.
After spending a little time with my niece Faith , who was at mums we headed up to the hospital. Faith had been playing shops and had bought apples, carrots and some imaginary hay for the alpacas, I had to laugh at Faith, I told her I'd need the tractor to move the hay, so off she ran to the toy box to get the tractor and said "Oh no, I've lost Alan", all tractor drivers are called Alan after our farmer friend. Anyone who knows Alan will know you never know where he is so this was typical of 'Alan'.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Bath time
It has been a dull, damp misty day today and the last few bits of stubborn snow refuse to budge, here it is in the girls resting paddock - at least it's not muddy.
I have been washing a big batch of knitwear which will soon be available in the shop, if you can't wait that long you can have a sneaky look on our twitter, if you don't follow us already it's a great way to find out what we are up to immediately! There will be special offers on there from time to time too.
I've managed to find time to do a little bit of felting today, well it was actually whilst I was having a bath; never a minute wasted here you know. I had a visitor to my bath.................
Just to prove that they can behave, here are the kittens earlier today before they both, yes both, fell in the bath!
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
The north wind doth blow
Other than a few lingering piles and shaded area's the snow has largely now gone. Although having had torrential rain for most of the night the fields (and alpacas for that matter) were very wet this morning. However the sun came out and they weren't bothered.
By this evening the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped significantly and the fields were back to being frozen solid again. Having looked at the forecast for the next few days it looks like we need to get used to mud.
We received a phone call this afternoon to say that our website was down, not from our service provider but from a lady wanting to read the blog! That's one very loyal follower there - thankfully she didn't have long to wait before things were back up and running again, anyone following our tweets will have been updated immediately!
Paul has been tweaking the website again, it is a constantly evolving site which is a great way to keep people interested and following our adventures. I've not told him yet I have lots of new stock to put in the shop; I've not been shown how to access the shop yet, let alone update it, so keep your eyes peeled.
By this evening the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped significantly and the fields were back to being frozen solid again. Having looked at the forecast for the next few days it looks like we need to get used to mud.
We received a phone call this afternoon to say that our website was down, not from our service provider but from a lady wanting to read the blog! That's one very loyal follower there - thankfully she didn't have long to wait before things were back up and running again, anyone following our tweets will have been updated immediately!
Paul has been tweaking the website again, it is a constantly evolving site which is a great way to keep people interested and following our adventures. I've not told him yet I have lots of new stock to put in the shop; I've not been shown how to access the shop yet, let alone update it, so keep your eyes peeled.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Hughie goes for a ride in the car
Hughie got go have a ride out on my knee in the car this morning. You didn't actually think I meant the living breathing over excitable Mr Hubert did you! I meant his fleece, that I was knitting with whilst Paul was driving - the stock levels are so low I can never miss an opportunity to knit.
We have had a couple of very interesting meetings today, I can't say too much about either of them yet but one will be happening soon and other not soon enough.
The most important thing to mention today is we now have oil!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes the ambient temperature of the house has now risen above five degrees. In fact Paul has managed to remove one of this three jumpers and is now threatening to remove another layer. Thank you very much Rix, if anyone is in need of oil I can highly recommend them.
Now we have oil I have no excuse to sit in front of the fire spinning so I'd best make the most of it tonight and get back to it.
We have had a couple of very interesting meetings today, I can't say too much about either of them yet but one will be happening soon and other not soon enough.
The most important thing to mention today is we now have oil!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes the ambient temperature of the house has now risen above five degrees. In fact Paul has managed to remove one of this three jumpers and is now threatening to remove another layer. Thank you very much Rix, if anyone is in need of oil I can highly recommend them.
Now we have oil I have no excuse to sit in front of the fire spinning so I'd best make the most of it tonight and get back to it.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Who's afraid of the big bad Wolfie
We woke to a light covering of snow again this morning, the original lot hadn't quite gone yet so we certainly didn't need more, especially still having no oil!
We popped down to see Alan and Margaret after the morning feed, partly to get warm, but mainly to help load a nice large round bale of hay for the girls. They had small ones this morning and they just vanish far too quickly.
This afternoon I have managed to get the computer away from Paul for a little while, so have been doing a bit of computer work that has been piling up.
Then I was able to do a little bit more spinning whilst watching the darts final, I had to laugh when I saw a lady in the crowd knitting, but then Paul pointed out that I was spinning whilst watching the final so what was the difference. I do like to watch Martin 'Wolfie' Adams, as he lives not far from where we used to live, and is a really nice chap.
Paul was suggesting that Dean Winstanley might like to employ the services of a couple of alpacas to help keep Wolfie from the door. Anyone following our tweets will have noticed this!
We popped down to see Alan and Margaret after the morning feed, partly to get warm, but mainly to help load a nice large round bale of hay for the girls. They had small ones this morning and they just vanish far too quickly.
This afternoon I have managed to get the computer away from Paul for a little while, so have been doing a bit of computer work that has been piling up.
Then I was able to do a little bit more spinning whilst watching the darts final, I had to laugh when I saw a lady in the crowd knitting, but then Paul pointed out that I was spinning whilst watching the final so what was the difference. I do like to watch Martin 'Wolfie' Adams, as he lives not far from where we used to live, and is a really nice chap.
Paul was suggesting that Dean Winstanley might like to employ the services of a couple of alpacas to help keep Wolfie from the door. Anyone following our tweets will have noticed this!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Breakfast treat
After the morning feed run we headed off to Carol and Dave's for a breakfast treat. Carol had kindly offered us sausage and bacon rolls in exchange for me taking knitting off her and providing Dave with more fleeces for carding - not a bad exchange eh!! Thank you both, you are both so kind.
Carol has already knitted her target for the month and it's only the 8th of January, and next on her list is a felting lesson on Thursday. Hopefully she will be as quick at that as she is knitting.
The girls have finished off another large round bale today, they are getting through it at a ridiculous rate. Hopefully Alan will drop off another one real soon, as they get through the small bales far too quickly!
I'm not sure what the hay situation is like down south, but there is a shortage of it round here, what with two bad winters on the trot and reduced yields achieved last year because of the poor summer.
Carol has already knitted her target for the month and it's only the 8th of January, and next on her list is a felting lesson on Thursday. Hopefully she will be as quick at that as she is knitting.
The girls have finished off another large round bale today, they are getting through it at a ridiculous rate. Hopefully Alan will drop off another one real soon, as they get through the small bales far too quickly!
I'm not sure what the hay situation is like down south, but there is a shortage of it round here, what with two bad winters on the trot and reduced yields achieved last year because of the poor summer.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Tweet Tweet (Paul)
No it's not quite the sound of Spring just yet, but we are now having fun on Twitter.
Twitter is a website used by millions of people where you can send and receive Tweets. A Tweet is a short post of no more than 140 characters and each Tweet is a cross between a blog and a text message. People can follow your Twitter account on a computer or mobile phone!
Have fun with Barnacre Alpacas at Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BarnacreAlpacas
get updates to your mobile phone and text follow BarnacreAlpacas to 86444 in the UK (40404 in the US)
Twitter is a website used by millions of people where you can send and receive Tweets. A Tweet is a short post of no more than 140 characters and each Tweet is a cross between a blog and a text message. People can follow your Twitter account on a computer or mobile phone!
Have fun with Barnacre Alpacas at Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BarnacreAlpacas
get updates to your mobile phone and text follow BarnacreAlpacas to 86444 in the UK (40404 in the US)
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Still no heating
Well the temperatures remain absolutely freezing both inside and out, as we are still awaiting our oil delivery so have no heating. It is almost a month now since it was ordered according to the oil company hopefully we should get it tomorrow, however it has been arriving since the 29th of December so until it is in our oil tank I will not believe them!
Just to show how cold it's been we managed to remove the ice cube from one of the water troughs in a resting paddock.
Just to show how cold it's been we managed to remove the ice cube from one of the water troughs in a resting paddock.
It must be thick it holds Paul's weight and that's after he's cleared out the fridge and freezer over Christmas and New Year!
At least having no heating has one benefit I can sit in front of the fire and do my spinning. I dropped off a couple of balls to Carol this morning on my way to pick up some speedibeat and rolled oats for the girls so no doubt she already has plans for that!
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
That's my boys
Paul has become a little obsessed with the camera on his Blackberry now that he has worked out how to zoom! Whilst I was getting ready for the mass pedicure on Monday he was playing with his phone.
He were have Barnacre's biggest poser Golden Guinea....
And following in their fathers footsteps we have Barnacre Ochre.....
and Barnacre Pearson
Both these boys are ultra friendly and love attention, they will do anything for a bit of carrot.
Talking of carrot Wynfor (pronounce Winvor), will go even further for a bit of carrot or apple, he's checking out the lens to see if there is any hiding in there.
I know these boys along with some of there playmates will make fantastic fibre producers and pets for somebody.
Monday, 3 January 2011
New year pedicure
The whole herd have had a full pedicure today, we'd been waiting for the snow to go a bit so it wasn't too slippy under foot for both the alpacas and us!
I'm please to say that everyone behaved very well and there was nothing unpleasant on either Paul or myself when we had finished. Kate, our grey girl with attitude, did give her parting spit as she left Paul's grip but thankfully for us poor Ursula was in the firing line.
Paul was playing with his camera again, as you can see he had now worked out the zoom! Can you work out who these nicely manicured nails belong to? The Meet the Herd section of our website may help, there's a clue in the link!!!!
Three of the boys needed a little hair cut around the eyes so that they could see properly again. As is usually the case Legend was in need of a trim. He was very well behaved and seemed grateful for the extended vision. Funnily enough it was all boys that needed the hair cuts, poor little Minimus has a curl on each side that was interfering with his sight.
This evening after taking down all of the Christmas decorations I have been spinning. Carol has already used up the grey and it waiting for some more to finish off her project so I've been hard at it, I've just got to ply it Carol and you will have some more.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Snow Blackberry (Paul)
2011 and the North-South divide continues with snow up here and none down there (again)!
Debbie has mentioned that I have a new Blackberry - it is great for catching emails on the move but not so good on the picture quality (technology spoils us) - or the zoom which I haven't found yet!
However, having a 'camera' with you does enable you to capture things on the go so as well as the obligatory snow, here is the 'usual' greeting Debbie and I get when we go and feed. Unusually Mary (black and at the front) has beaten her daughter, Ursula to the front of the queue. Mary does like to 'share' food with the other alpacas from the bucket if she gets half the chance, one large mouthful for Mary, and then another, and another! Maybe I'll try and engage video mode to capture this unsharing event!
Debbie has mentioned that I have a new Blackberry - it is great for catching emails on the move but not so good on the picture quality (technology spoils us) - or the zoom which I haven't found yet!
However, having a 'camera' with you does enable you to capture things on the go so as well as the obligatory snow, here is the 'usual' greeting Debbie and I get when we go and feed. Unusually Mary (black and at the front) has beaten her daughter, Ursula to the front of the queue. Mary does like to 'share' food with the other alpacas from the bucket if she gets half the chance, one large mouthful for Mary, and then another, and another! Maybe I'll try and engage video mode to capture this unsharing event!
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Happy Birthday Carol
After a quiet New Years Eve there were no sore heads here this morning so we were up and out feeding early as usual. The alpacas had all had a quiet night too, in fact the boys were already up and munching and the girls were spread all over the field munching the grass which is now visible.
You can tell they are all pleased to see the grass and it is a novelty as they hadn't emptied every single hay receptacle available this morning!
You can tell they are all pleased to see the grass and it is a novelty as they hadn't emptied every single hay receptacle available this morning!
Today is Carol's birthday and seeing as carding Dave had left her home alone this afternoon to go to the match mum and I popped over to say hello and take her a birthday cake, oh yes and the bit of grey wool I'd spun.
We were also talking knitting targets and Carol shared her spreadsheet with mum and I, she kindly forwarded me a copy to make a few alterations if required, so if I'm not back tomorrow you'll know she's killed me for increasing some of them!!
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