Ambrosias 'haircut' wins her a 'place'.

After discovering a flat tyre on the trailer at 9 o'clock the night before, we trooped off to the Royal Bath & West Show on thursday with Bramley entered in the Intermediate Female Brown class, and Ambrosia for company, sporting her newly shorn style - recent visitors to this blog will recall that I had taken off a little too much of her top-knot, leaving a slightly severe look. Now if I had a pound for every visitor that came up to our pen and said to Ambrosia, "aah, why are you looking so miserable?" I'd have rather a lot of pounds - well alright, since you asked, about twenty.

Bramley fidgeted a lot in the ring, but didn't disgrace herself and improved on her fourth-place at the Devon County Show, gaining a third, which confirmed our decision to arrange an exciting liasion in a few weeks time with a male of the species.We also have a quality mating arranged for Ambrosia, and so are hoping we'll be demonstrating some great characteristics for 2013 cria  from dams born here, in addition to what this summers births bring, having laid good genetic foundations in place.

The alpaca show had been invited by the main show organisers to parade daily around the countryside arena as a demonstration of British alpacas - many of the top rosette winners were gathered, and as a demonstration of a shorn alpaca, Ambrosia was invited to join the group, and so of course we jumped at the chance!

Right, having caught up with The Voice, and glad to see that Lianne won, we're off to See Elton John at Taunton Cricket Ground tonight.

Four shorn for sure

With the heatwave looming on wednesday, and three pregnant females due from the end of June onwards, I put my newly-learnt skills into practice this week, and sheared four of the herd.

Due to the heat at the time of shearing, and their 'expectant' state, we had to be swift, and couldn't spend an excessive time trying to reach perfection, and so, harking back to the seventies, the feather-cut has made an unexpected return to fashion! (of course I'm not old enough to remember it, my Grandparents told me about it! ;-) Not only that, but we now have a bearded lady - sorry Minnie, but it was boiling hot when we sheared her, and she needed to be released - there wasn't even time to ask where she was going for her holidays this year...

Autumn Gold

We did the shearing in two seperate sessions, mild-mannered ones first on wednesday, though Autumn Gold squealed throughout, followed a couple of days later by Minnie & Ambrosia.

Ambrosia - where did I leave my top knot?

Bramley and Camelot have to wait until after the Royal Bath & West Show on thursday for their visit to the salon. Meanwhile, the water trough and tray have at last been called into service, to provide the cooling dip that alpacas love.

Disregarding the slight lack of finishing touches, it was a great relief to have relieved them of their over-coats in hot weather, and to remove the anxiety of reliance on the weather being kind to the professional shearers and their inevitable tight programmes - and yes, my back did ache straight after, but was soon long forgotten.

Devon County Show

Camelot, Bramley, and three ducks in the evening sun.

We withdrew from the North Somerset Show after Bramley reacted badly to her halter a few days before - this was because she had scabs on her jaw which I hadn't realised were there - I had treated her for mites  five weeks earlier with injected treatment and facial scrub and healing cream, but hadn't realised the extent of scabbing beneath her fleece, which I presumed had created tenderness to the halter. So I increased the healing treatment cream, changing to udder salve with daily assessment and application, and lunchtime yesterday gave her a shampoo to reduce the greasey-ness, giving time in the afternoon to dry. Last night I tried the halter, and she happily walked around the garden, before getting a little fractious.

you put your left leg in...

So, with a little trepidation, and a lot of optimism, we set off at 6 this morning for the Devon County Show - she didn''t disappoint, behaved well, and came away with a fourth place rosette, with favourable comments from judge Val Fullerlove, in particular that it was a good group, all with ideal conformation, and good fleeces, and highlighting Bramley's brightness.

As I stood in the line-up, I noticed Mrs. Smallholder being 'whisked off' by Herr Patou, and wondered what was up back in the pens (or was he just seizing a chance to treat her to a hot chocolate and  eccles cake?) - but no, apparently Camelot, who had travelled as chaperone for Bramley, was missing her so much he had leapt out of the pen  in the marquee - Mark (Herr Patou), had noticed this athletic behaviour, walked up to Camelot (who had frozen on the spot), and with his years of experience arrested Camelot and escorted him back to his pen. As he raced off to inform Mrs. S, he didn't realise that Camelot would make another leap for freedom to be with Bramley during her time in the show ring, but another breeder stepped in to prevent his escape - Bramley, meanwhile, was collecting her fourth place rosette. The weather was drizzly with a cold wind - not as good as forecast, but not as bad as it could have been, so a good day overall.

Dry eggs, bare legs.

Moira, maiden matriarch enjoys the evening sunshine, and while not the most glamorous alpaca, we've all got one, and I'm happy to give her 15 minutes of fame.

Very disappointed not to go to the North Somerset Show, which was for a variety of reasons, but primarily, one of the show team wasn't able to wear a halter due to soreness, so that left one, and the weather forecast and ground conditions were awful, and I was sure my (4x4) car wouldn't have had the weight or power to get the trailer out - but it sounds like those that went found a unifying situation in the conditions, and were full of praise for the organisers and volunteers, for making an event out of dreadful conditions. I used the unexpected opportunity to spend the day in the shed, and made a produce stand for Mrs. Smallholders eggs and veg.

The local bus stops outside while the driver buys eggs and asks passengers if they want any!

Yesterday I helped out with haltering and handling at the dispersal sale of Ashill Alpacas. It was very well set up and their alpacas are well-behaved, so all went smoothly. It was held in their village hall, and the fine weather made the day very pleasant. The selling prices were undoubtedly low, but that nearly always is the case with most commodities, except for the exceptionally good quality 'items' where two or more bidders recognise the quality and go after it - prices will tend to be lower than the open market because of the quantity on offer at one time, the relatively short time that a bidder has to decide on their purchase, and the fact that there is little, or no after-sales service or back-up - it's an understandable means to sell a herd unless you can plan your down-size over a number of years, but then the herd will become 'over-aged' and taken over by other breeding developments.

Great to have some warm sunshine this weekend, enough to bare the legs for the first time this year, while I shifted a ton of manure from 'A' to 'B' - should have put it at 'B' in the first place!

Devon County Show this week, and not sure whether we'll be showing but we'll be there, and looking forward to it, and we are working on the doubtful one.

A bad hair day!

'customers' before and after, relaxing after a short-back-and-sides - the 'salon' has a fake palm tree!

Spent the day at Classical Mile End alpacas today learning to shear. Knees are raw, joints creaking, and despite having had several washes followed by a shower, still smelling of spit!!! ...but feeling very accomplished, having shorn two alpacas, ground some teeth, and removed a fighting tooth. It  was a  day spent in the company of six other breeders who got on so well, split into two groups of three.

A good classroom introduction with notes, by Chas, followed by one of Rachels legendary lunches, we then had a demonstration, and off we went, with guidance from Chas and his stockman Ondre, taking turns as shearer or 'headman'.

Despite having Superglue on stand-by, no-one made any accidental cuts causing bleeds! I did cut the teeth of one female a bit low, and caused a little bleed  of her gum, I must confess - it was a very good day, and new friends made.

North Somerset Show on monday, so trying to finish off halter training Camelot, and to get him and Bramley into some kind of show condition - fortunately that does mean paddock condition - we don't pretend  to have the best animals. but they do have good qualities, and we leave it to the judge to see what their best attributes are, and hopefully that will see some recognition.

In three months, he won't know he had a bad haircut!

Grandsire: Apple Vale Dave

Yes, a bit of two-legged news! Our daughter Kerry (Dam:Mrs. Smallholder, Sire: Apple Vale Dave) gave birth to a lovely daughter, Pixie Indigo Bartlett yesterday afternoon! They are doing well, though not up and running yet!

Meanwhile, I am continuing halter training Camelot, though there isn't long between downpours to get anything useful done, bearing in mind the day job. We did have some good sessions last weekend though. I've introduced a few of them to apple, having run out of carrots, though they do look like chips in the photographs!

I spent a day helping 'build' and prepare the Alpaca 2012 Show, which was an interesting insight to the huge amount of work that goes into such an event, particularly since it is a stand-alone show, not part of an agricultural show.

Storm clouds gather again...

I then attended the first day of the show, which has had many good reports.

Belly brush

Must see the orthodontist.

Queuing at the gate - "we're going home, we're going home"

A short cut, courtesy of our neighbours.

We have a two foot gap where we roll the fence back, and they squeeze through!

Pelachuta doesn't like the jam, and goes to the back.

Pelachuta and Bramley get straight in the rolling pit

Camelot and Minnie take their turn in the rolling pit.

The hens have to get used to sharing the paddock again.

Lets all squeeze into the corner to graze - Camelots fleece like an explosion in a mattress factory!

Good Friday dawned crisp with a slight frost, and thin ice on the water buckets like the caramalised sugar on a Creme Brulee... but not brown...or hot... anyway, I had decided to bring the herd home from the paddock next-door-but-one, as their grass was well grazed without recovery due to the dry weather, and our grass was well recovered, and we had husbandry tasks to deal with. So the rattle of hurdles being set up  excited them and attracted them to the gate, and the sight of feed buckets helped - none of them wandered off through the taped route and I had a job to keep up, so they were home in 5minutes, and with lush grass and old memories to re-discover they ignored their feed buckets.

It's great to have them back, and to be able to watch their behaviour any time of day or night or weather.

Yesterday, I gave them all Lambivac vaccinations, and today we trimmed toe-nails. Camelot launched himself like Zebedee over the hurdles, but caught his belly or groin on landing - ouch.

My camera (Canon Eos 1000D) has been playing up since The Futurity - I get an Err 99 each time it re-sets, and I have to take the battery out and put it back - I've tried suggestions given on the Canon forum to no avail - looks like I'll have to send it for service, but I can't bear to be without it - anyone had similar?

We transferred some potted conifers into the field four years ago as they had out-grown the pots, and Mrs. Smallholder thought we could grow some firewood -  fast-forward to a herd of alpacas, and the trees have become alpaca belly-brushes - see the videos: "Apple Vale Bellybrush - reaches the parts a long neck and rolling pit don't reach".