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This is the blog from 2006. Click here for 2005 ,for 2007 and for 2008
2006 Journal
11/1/06
Fiona is such a photo hog. She loves to pose. Here she is showing off her wild top knot on a beautiful fall day.
10/22/06 Haven't posted pictures of the kids recently so I am going to make a concerted effort to play catch up. Look at Thunder - doesn't he have the cutest face with all those curls?
10/4/06 Fall is on the heels of this Indian summer weather. Time to get serious and winterize the barn again. This entails putting up wind barriers to extend the size of the protected area. The eaves (sp?) under the barn roof are plugged with large flakes of straw to prevent more drafts. The boys needs to be moved around to give them a larger area which means reconfiguring the fences and pastures. More paint. Always more paint.
9/30/06 Mario lost his manhood today. Poor boy. But this way he won't hurt himself or Honus. They have been fighting pretty regularly. Since Mario isn't show quality but has fabulous fleece, the solution is to geld him. His fleece will be sustained better and his temperament will allow him to stay with boys or girls. Still, it makes me squeamish.
9/24/06 Honus won Reserve Champion in the Michigan Show!!! He just keeps getting better and better! I'll post a pic when the show sends it.
9/4/06 Remember the monster butternut squash plant? (7/03/06). Well it wasn't a butternut squash...no monster... it turned out to be pumpkins! The poop pile is ever full of delightful surprises.
9/1/06 September already. Saturday I shut the fans off for the day. That's when you really know the season is shifting. Time to start preparations for winter. Check out the electric water buckets, think of the right barn configuration. Amidst thinking about this I can look out the window and the pastures look spring green. So much rain has tricked mother nature for a few more weeks. Peaches are plump and just ripening. Pears ready to be picked to.
8/20/06
Another baby boy! Sarah's first baby finally entered the world sometime around 3am. Both are doing fine after a bit of a bumpy start. He's a medium fawn boy that's strong as an ox and lots of nobbly fleece. Sarah is a natural mom - and good at it. Doesn't let him out of her site.
8/4/06 What a great weekend! Alpaca Toolbox MBA weekend was fabulous with Jersey Breeder's Jerry and Lynne Braatz being very gracious and generous hosts. Alpaca enthusiasts came from as far away as California and as close as New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.
7/23/06
7/09/06 Honus became a man today. Not only does he have fabulous fleece and confirmation but he is also a gentleman. This was his first breeding and I wasn't sure he would know what to do. Even concerned that he might be overly aggressive for the first time. So it was with relief that I saw him move confidently and gently into his role. This picture captures the other two females who are both open (not bred) in the classic "cush" position. Open females often cush by the breeding couple and by doing so they let the male know that they are receptive. Enough of our little talk today...
7/4/06 I'm so thankful for independence that I gave Moxie a bath tonight. Jennie gave me some powerful peppermint shampoo. It results in a clean dog and the sense that there may be some thin mints hidden somewhere in the house.
7/3/06
6/27/06 I couldn't believe it!!! After seven baby boys (all beautiful and much loved) I finally had a girl. I think the reason she was a girl was that I named her while she was in the womb and that I chose a Pittsburgh female name that was so powerful. A friend had suggested Gertrude Stein - that's some powerful female karma. I feel a little bad about this sweet little thing being named Gertrude. But heck, it worked!
6/19/06 I am always completely overwhelmed at the birthing process. Fiona just delivered (1:15 or so) a beautiful white baby boy named Thunderbolt - after the famous Kennywood coaster. All 22 pounds of him was up and running within a half hour.
6/18/06
Maybe there will be a baby girl tomorrow?
6/1/06 Truly a "momma's boy" John is still not over his momma not being his primary source of food. What happens with the need to keep him separate is another everyday occurrence; the reconfiguration of panels.
Panels are the portable (hopefully light) corral panels used to create temporary stalling areas or runways around the barn. They are absolutely necessary. I have several types including some 9 foot light panels (about 12) purchased from PAOBA after one of their shows, some heavier aluminum panels four 7.5 foot and four 9.5 foot along with another four ugly green 9.5 ones. Most come with built in hinges that interlock but if they don't the attachments are easy enough to buy. They provide a lot of flexibility in pasture management (I extend their barn space outward so they have a larger area but are still contained when I want them off the pasture during rotations) or for halter training (to create a smaller more effective space to work within) or to kind of "funnel" them into a space for containment.
5/11/06 Shearing day has come and gone. Look at how handsome John Heinz is (far right). He is the spitting image of his mother. I thought I had him weaned back in March. I saw him try to go back to his Mom. They do that sometimes after they are weaned and usually their Mom pushes them away. Not this time. That little booger has caused his Mom to start giving milk again!!! Now separated they are mooning for each other. But his momma is putting good weight back on...
5/1/06 Woohoo! Honus struts into a 1st place at MAPACA under the judging of Amanda VandenBosch! What a way to roll into spring. The Buckeye show is next with both Honus and Mario hitting the road to strut their stuff. Then two weekends later they will be at nationals. Meanwhile Mom will be busy mowing... and mowing... and weedwacking... ;-)
Shearing day is this Wednesday. Always a lot of fun. They look like completely different animals with their winters coats off. I'm particularly eager to see how Fred looks since he is so very dark underneath. The cria coat on a dark animal is often very bleached out so it's difficult to tell their true color until they get get shorn.
3/14/06 First show of the season and Honus and Mario did great! Honus took another 2nd and Mario took a 4th - in a big class of over a dozen! These two are a hoot. They both go into the ring right behind each other since they are only days apart in birth. It's fun that they both do very well. Big weather changes this week - from 70 degrees on Sunday to 20 degrees tonight. March is going out like a lion a little early!
3/3/7/06 Show season! Bummer that it coincides with mud season. Hard to keep everyone looking like champions when they so enjoy tussling each other in the mud. Limestone gravel seems to be a great solution for the paths that I regularly walk. But they create their own little mud holes and seem to delight in it. It's interesting that the fleece creates a shell of sorts that doesn't really seem to allow a lot of the dirt to penetrate. Doesn't apply however to the topknots. I'm still picking.
2/24/06 March is right around the corner and although it is still cold and wintry I can see the buds coming out on the trees. Busy filling out forms for entry into the spring show season. March 17th is the weekend for the Alpaca Toolbox MBA Workshop; spring version. Looking forward to spending a weekend with everyone doing nothing but alpaca!!!
2/09/06 Yes, I haven't improved on my posting frequency. Sigh. All the critters are doing just fine. Sandy came over and helped with nails and topknots. For some reason everyone has been getting their topknots matted with all kinds of vegetative matter. It makes them look like they are having a bad hair day. Not a good look, particularly with the show boys! And it's not like they enjoy me tediously picking and brushing and the like to get it out. But never mind, it's got to be done. Which reminds me...I think Moxie needs a bath. I'll try to be better about the posting....
Oh, hey, how about those Steelers! I swear on Super Bowl Sunday that I saw the alpacas waving their terrible towels about wildly! |
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514 Hartzell School Road, Fombell, PA 16123 412.334.0860 |
It's
official. I have a sign. What do you think?
Are
you familiar with the fertilizing attributes of alpaca poop? They are
something powerful. Check out this Monster Butternut Squash plant
growing in my alpaca poop pile. I just threw the leftover squash in
the pile last season and magically this plant occurred about a week ago.
You get a much better impression of the size when you see my muck boot next
to it. Be sure to check back to see how this develops over the
summer...
On
baby watch. Sigh. Fiona was at 11months on the 13. So I
try to stay as close to home as possible constantly watching the poor girl's
butt for signs of impending birth. Last year she waited until 11pm.
I think she did so on purpose because she was so annoyed at my invasiveness.
If you don't know alpacas it can be difficult to determine that they are
pregnant. I thought this picture might help illustrate. Design
(not pregnant) is in front and Fiona is pulling up the rear - now SHE's
pregnant. See how wide she is? They carry their babies really
high. I find it easier to spot a pregnancy by looking at them from the
back this way. Again, it's quite annoying to them but simply practical
to me. 