Cute Critters are in 3D

On the way into the soccer fields last night, this darling little child says to me, “Mom, I want some food. Can we please go to the Confession Stand?”

Yes. She wants to go to the Confession Stand.

One green, one blue, and two red snow cones, two blue power-aids, one bottle of water, and one diet coke later, I make it out of the there.

I’m out 12 bucks. But as I try to balance 4 drinks, a fold-up chair, and my purse, I think to myself, “That was the easiest trip I’ve ever made to the Confessional.”

September 23rd, 2011 | Tags: Confessional, kids | Category: Tending the Hearth, The Daily Stuff | Comments (5)

1. Don’t Let the Fluff Fool Ya! – Alpacas Look Fat and Happy in the Winter with all that Fleece but they may actually be loosing weight under all that fleece. Be sure to get your hands on them and body score at least once a month to be sure they are still in good body condition and you don’t have any surprise “skinnies” in your herd. You want to catch any problems early.
2. Alpacas don’t like to drink freezing cold water when temps are frigid. Try to give them warm water to drink when it’s cold out if at all possible. They will drink more and stay hydrated better. Remove the ice chips from their buckets at the very least.
3. Check their gums. Pale gums can be indicative of parasites and/or iron deficiencies. Alpacas can suffer from this even in the winter in certain climates. (We do this monthly during herd health.)
4. Have vitamins like Vitacharge and supplemental feeds like crushed alfalfa or beet pulp on hand for those animals that need a little bit extra in the nutrition department.
5. In climates with rough winters, consider weaning before or after the worst of winter. Wean cria in groups if possible and if you can, move the dams instead of the cria. That way the cria stay in the same environment and the only thing they are losing is mom, not everything around them too. The stress of weaning is tough, and extreme temperatures can be the last straw for a severely stressed cria who is not adjusting well.

Following these tips may save you & your alpacas some unnecessary hassles and heartaches this winter season. What are some other things alpaca breeders should be mindful of this time of year? I’d love to hear from you.

January 28th, 2011 | Tags: 5 Tips for Alpaca Breeders, alpaca herd, Alpacas, beet pulp, check their gums, climates, crushed alpalfa, extreme temperatures, Fluff, good body condition, herd, iron deficiencies, nutrition, pale gums and alpacas, parasites, rough winters, stay hydrated, supplemental feeds, supplemental vitamins, Vitacharge, warm water to drink, wean cria in groups, winter | Category: Alpacas, Husbandry, The Daily Stuff | Comments (5)

Nie Nie fell asleep on my arm after a long trip to the emergency clinic in Mobile. Took 8 tries with my phone, with my other hand (pulled over mind you) to get this picture. Yes, she insisted in sitting in my lap while I drove.

Happy Thanksgiving! & Happy Wordless Wednesday.

Note: This was early on in Nie Nie’s medical history. She’s doing well now, running around like she owns the place. Something I am definitely thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Read more about our premature cria Nie Nie.

November 24th, 2010 | Tags: Nie Nie, Wordless Wednesdays | Category: Alpacas, New Additions, The Daily Stuff, Wordless Wednesdays | Comments (4)

Farming solo has been an interesting experience. There are many things that I have learned I can do on my own. Things that I didn’t know I could do.

I’ve been empowered by the experience. I have grown stronger every day. Then there comes a day when it hits you, “Oh no! I really wish there was someone else here to do this for me.”

For me that day came when I found a half-drowned rat stuck in a water bucket hanging on the wall. My prissiest little girl was on her way to the barn to help me fill up water buckets and I knew that if she saw it there was NO WAY that prim and proper little miss would ever be coming back to the barn, much less be filling up water buckets for me.

I looked around in despair. There was no one else there to help me. No farm helper. No husband. Not a man in sight.

I had to get the almost dead mouse out of the bucket. I was so scared it would jump on me.

It might GET me!

I unhooked the bucket from the wall, and dropped it on the ground as fast as I could, scooting away from it, leaving it on its side so the mouse would be able to escape the watery grave. But no! the little fool was not that bright or it was too far gone – it refused to leave the bucket! So I took the bucket outside and gingerly turned it upside down. I scurried away. A few seconds later I came back for the bucket.

To my horror, the little rat would not leave the bucket! I had to shake it and pound on it to make it let go. Finally, the wretched, wet creature lay on the ground and I went inside to disinfect the bucket and distract my daughter, who was just arriving in the barn. (It eventually must have crawled away. When I went back to dispose of it, it was gone.)

Well, obviously I had a rat problem and I had to figure out how to manage it. I recalled how we dealt with them in the past. We had tried cats when we had this problem years ago after Hurricane Ivan. (it’s not something we deal with often) My friend Wonder Why Gal has a great mouser. I haven’t had such good luck.

In the past we have rescued several cats. They watched the rats go by and tipped their hats to them. Also the Great Pyrenees don’t seem to think cats belong on their turf. It didn’t work out very well.  The cats eventually gave up their jobs as barn cats and became house cats.

Plan B was poison. Tomcat Rodent bait. Once I went to the barn at night and saw several rats scurrying around having a party I knew we had to go hardcore and do this thing.

In the past I had men do this for me. I had never poisoned critters. That seemed mean, but when I found my first rat carcass, I took a picture and sent it to a friend with the caption “my first kill”. Weird, huh? But I was so proud of myself that I had taken care of this problem all by myself. without a man.

So the other day this fellow Jim was helping me with doing herd health with the alpacas. We were searching my office for something on which to write the health record, and I was about to run back to the house for a notebook. He opened a drawer, reached down, and he pulled up a big dead rat and started swinging it by its tail chortling, “Look what I just found!”

OMG! I just started screaming and running to the house! He scared the peewickety out of me with that thing! I am such a girl.

Apparently that dead rat was under my desk between his feet and he found it when he was looking in the bottom drawer.

When I came back to the office, after I had gotten the notebook from the house, Jim said, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I had no idea you would react like that.”

We just laughed. I am a tough farmgirl in many ways. Spiders don’t bother me a bit. I hate roaches, and rats are not my friends. (obviously)

My mother has a saying that I have adopted. One that my children hate. When they tattle on each other, I tell them to, “tend to your own rat killin’”. Now I know exactly from what I speak.

Life on the farm. It’s never dull.

September 30th, 2010 | Tags: Alpacas, herd health, rats, Wisdom Begins In Wonder, Wonder Why Gal | Category: Alpacas, The Daily Stuff | Comments (11)

She looked up at me innocently.

“What?”

“That’s how I drink,” she said.

Though it was weird, it was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen. I had to stop what I was doing and just watch her for at least 15 minutes.

This alpaca, Foxy Lady, was biting the side of the bucket with her teeth and sucking the water in as her method of drinking. Alpacas usually put their mouths IN the bucket and drink. I wonder if she is teething. Sometimes alpacas do odd behaviors like this when they are losing teeth and getting new ones in. I’m not sure, but this was hilarious to watch. (I’m easily amused.)

I went and re-filled her water bucket just to see her do it again. I went and grabbed the camera, hoping she wouldn’t stop just because now I could capture it for the rest of the world.

Foxy was oblivious to my attentions. She kept drinking in the way that was normal for her. My daughter came out to the barn during all of this. I motioned her over quietly and said, “Look. This alpaca has a drinking problem.”

Foxy looked up at me, stared me down as if to say, “Drinking problem? I don’t have a drinking problem.”

How do I love this alpaca? Let me count the ways. I acquired her about a year ago from a farm in Colorado because she was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, and her fiber was to die for. Once we got her to our farm she did not disappoint. She is a small little girl but that doesn’t bother me. I have had small females before who were awesome producers. I’m growing fiber here not giant alpacas.

Foxy's Baby Picture

Now that I am getting to know her enchanting personality I’m tempted to pull her off my sales list. It is tempting.

It has been a rough summer full of challenges on the farm and in my personal life. But seeing Foxy, with her quirky drinking made me fall in love with alpacas all over again, reaffirming my life’s work with these wonderful animals. And that’s a good day when that happens.

Thanks, girl. You are one Foxy Lady.

And thank you to Valerie at The Blais Alpaca Co. for naming her that outrageous name and selling her to me!

September 13th, 2010 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, daily stuff, Fairhope Alpacas, Foxy Lady, huacaya, The Blais Alpaca Company | Category: Alpacas, The Daily Stuff | Comments (7)

I’m having a hard time getting excited about football season…

…without Colt McCoy.

Yeah, I know this is not a sports blog. But the Texas Longhorns without Colt McCoy is kinda like chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips.

And it’s kinda hard to get excited about his replacement. So hard to get excited that I’m not even gonna look up his name. His first and last names start with a G and he stunk in that nightmare game against BAMA. Yeah, I know. Even though I still have a “Oh, no! Colt’s injured!” hangover from that National Championship game with the TIDE in January…

I have to let it go.

That’s what this post is about. Letting go of the dreams that we had that Colt McCoy was going to get the Texas Longhorns the National Championship. Because he gone to the NFL now…

So good luck, Colt. Godspeed.

I’ve had to let go of a lot of things this summer.

I got divorced.

When the Artist & I got married

I let go of a fifteen year marriage.

That was letting go of many dreams that the Artist and I shared, many things we thought would happen but didn’t.

I wish him well, and hope that we will nurture a friendship as we continue to raise our four precious children together.

Those of you who know me know that this summer we have had to say good-bye to not only our beloved LGD Rusty, but also our two house dogs, Rex and Riley, our collie and our beagle. It has really been a time for letting go of those we love around here. Maybe that’s why I want to hold on so tightly to Colt.

The alpaca, that is.

Colt McCoy Alpaca

Last week I sold our beloved alpaca Colt McCoy. However, I haven’t been able to bring myself to mark him as SOLD on the list.

I’m having trouble letting him go.

It was like I needed to see if the Longhorns could win a game without his namesake (superstitious craziness)….

or I needed to just wait a little longer…I dunno.

We really will hate to see Colt go. I told my oldest, “He’s the REAL McCoy.” Who wouldn’t like to see a field of alpacas who look like Colt? If I had that,  then I could probably retire. Luckily,  I was smart enough to retain some breedings to the little stinker.

So, my precious new friend Lynn, of Little Creek Farm, I swear I will tell people all about how you bought Colt (and Brady of the fab fiber). I may just need another minute.

Or two.

To let go…

Related Posts:

Meet Colt McCoy (baby pictures)

When Bad Things Happen To Good Show Alpacas or Why You Won’t See Me At An Alpaca Show This Fall

Fall Cria Growing Up

September 5th, 2010 | Tags: BAMA, Colt, Colt McCoy, divorce, letting go, Rusty, Texas Longhorns | Category: Alpacas, The Daily Stuff | Comments (9)

Each cria season I have some favorites. Occasionally I fall hard for one. Like George here, who was born on President’s Day. He makes me weak in the knees.

Happy Wordless Wednesday.

March 31st, 2010 | Tags: alpaca, alpaca cria, cria, cria season, George, President's Day, Wordless Wednesdays | Category: Alpacas, New Additions, The Daily Stuff, Wordless Wednesdays | Comments (19)

Alpacas in pasture, hay arriving in background

Last weekend we got 200 bales of hay. We go through about 800 bales of hay a year, but I keep thinking that if we buy that many, then we will sell the farm and have hundreds of bales to move.

We got lots of hay on Saturday. Alpacas like orchard grass hay. It is almost a perfect food for them. This hay came from Kentucky. We can’t grow orchard grass this far south in Alabama so we bring it in.

Truck full of orchard grass

Trailer with hydraulics unloads bales

All dumped out, ready to go in the loft

This is the time when we wish we had a hay elevator to help get the hay into the loft. It’s also the time to get lots of exercise… or look really busy.

Alpacas don't look like they are going to be much help

Notice that the alpacas have taken it a step further. “If we play dead, no one can ask us to help”. Steve always says they look like they’ve been thrown out of a plane when they sunbathe like that.

It will be nice when the kids get old enough to help put up hay…

(if I sound lazy let’s chalk it up to swine flu. Yeah! That’s it.)

October 21st, 2009 | Tags: alpaca, Alpacas, hay, orchard grass, orchard grass hay, orchard grass hay for alpacas | Category: Alpacas, Husbandry, Lifestyle, The Daily Stuff | Comments (7)

Finding A Time and Place

Laundry sink and plastic tray

I have to admit that washing the alpacas’ fleeces is not my favorite job. Alpaca fleece lacks the lanolin that sheeps’ wool has so you don’t have to wash them before spinning. Some people spin alpaca “raw” then wash the yarn.

I wash alpaca fleeces if I am going to process or dye them myself. Also, some people who buy my fiber in bulk/wholesale like it to be washed and I’m happy to oblige.

For months I washed it in our bathtubs. Yes, I stopped up the drains and made the Artist less than happy. He does not love having fiber all over the place as it is, but when it messes with the plumbing…

Fleece in the suds

Another issue I was having was finding time to wash the fleeces. There were always more pressing matters. But I have finally found a solution.

I have found that these plastic trays work very well to wash the fiber in. I can lift them up so the water drains out and they fit perfectly in my laundry sink in our laundry room. I bought mine on eBay.

The new process in the laundry room

This works well because I can put a screen over the drain to trap most of the stray fiber and debris, plus it is out of everyone’s way. The other thing I love is that I can keep the washing going as I do the laundry. With 6 people in our family I do a LOT of laundry, at least one load a day. So now I also keep a “load” of fiber either soaking or rinsing most of the time.

Fleeces in waiting

This keeps me from having to “find” time that I never have, and yet it is getting done! *Sigh* Happiness is a clean fleece!

What washing tips do you have for washing fiber? or fitting it into your day? Leave a comment and tell us.

October 15th, 2009 | Tags: alpaca fiber, laundry sink, plastic tray, Shawnee, washing alpaca fleece | Category: Alpacas, Fiber Arts, Lifestyle, The Alpaca Lifestyle, The Daily Stuff | Comments (12)