Yep its Independence Day here in the USA and what could be more nostalgic than a London Bus in the Ashland 4th of July Parade.......



The local children loved hoping on and off the bus as it made its regal way along the parade route....headed for Victoria Station.......

Hope your day was as good as mine.....Southern cross is still hanging on to her cria so no new news on that front.

Very hard to get going today as I am still feeling the effects of yesterdays road trip. But there is no rest in the alpaca farming game. We have had contractors in painting the house exterior for the last two weeks and their work has now come to a end thank goodness.

The hay is starting to dry out very quickly now so I do hope we can get it bailed straight after the glorious 4th of July. I could say I am in the hands of the gods on that one but the truth of the matter is that I am in the hands of John Pierson the local contractor who cuts and bails all of our hay.

Latte who I brought from Portland yesterday, has settled straight back in with the other alpacas in the herd and its just like she was never away. Southern Cross her mother is due to have a cria this weekend so I will be on cria watch from the 6th of July onwards.

When I was driving up to Portland yesterday I was overtaken by Bill Schweitzer and his mother. Bill is my most recent alpaca client and is now busy upgrading his fencing and creating a building to house his new alpacas which are still here at Mulberry Alpacas. Then if I didn't go and bump into them in Cost Co this morning while stocking up on goodies for July the 4th.....its a small small alpaca world.

Oh well must keep going I better go get out the flags and start hanging them up for tomorrow.

I spent most of today on the road - leaving home at 5am to drive to Portland for a meeting and to collect two alpacas who were in Portland for breeding's. One was our own Latte who is now safely home and the other was Abby for some friends of ours who farm in Grants pass.
By the time I was home it was almost midnight and I was well and truly bushed... another great insight into the alpaca lifestyle!

My meeting in Portland was with Mike Safley of NWA. We talked about the IAC programme and how the first EPDs were going to be previewed the following day at the Parade of Champions Auction truly exciting times in the US alpaca industry.

The trip was fortunately uneventful. However, there were some interesting distractions along the way that meant I had no chance of falling asleep. I did see what is without doubt the biggest pick up truck I have ever seen on the road. Someone had taken the tractor unit from a big rig and made it into his personal pickup truck.....well check out the picture below.

As quickly as they arrived the storm warnings have now been lifted and so its time to mow that hay field.......there was talk of a crop circle forming but John Pierson got here with his mower and two hours later it was leveled.



This is a shot looking along one of the rows with the grass still standing on the left and the newly mown grass on the right....the grass dries out and then we can call it hay. But I bet you knew that anyway...didn't you?

I have kept hay out all year this year and it fascinate me that there are times when the alpacas prefer the hay to fresh pasture. I don't discourage this eating of hay as I am sure it helps to keep their stools firm. But thats just my theory.

Off to Portland and back via Grants Pass in one day tomorrow so I need to gas the truck and prepare the trailer. Everything has to be connected and set up as i want to be on the road no later than 5am tomorrow so there is no opportunity to start sorting things out in the morning.

Here is my trailer preparation check list;

Tire pressures including spare.
Safety chains
Electrical connections (lights indicators etc)
Emergency brakes
Battery for cooling fans and closed circuit TV
Halters and lead reigns
Temporary fencing (in case of breakdown)
Alpaca first aid kit
Fresh water
Fresh pellets
Hay
Wheel jack
Tire iron
Instant tire repair.
Road flares
Torch (latern as Americans call it)
AAA membership and cell phone

The image you see here today is the 999th photo image I have loaded into this alpaca blog which has become some strange combination of habit and labor of love. I am no longer totally sure who reads my alpaca blog and who doesn't anymore.

Google appears to like my blog most of the time and guess they are just grateful for all those lost souls who create content for their Goliath.



Here you can see the irrigation canon in action and get some idea of just how far it can throw water ...the answer is a little short of 100 feet which is pretty darn impressive. In the background you might just be able to see the tip of Mount Ashland which still has snow on the peak. I say just because the valley is full of smoke today, probably from some of the fires in northern California. But I can't be totally sure. The air quality is dreadful and we are all hoping it will blow through soon.

We put some of our old junk ( I of course mean treasured family momentos) into a yard sale today and came away with $125 which I was very pleased with. Until my eldest son spotted that I had in fact sold his old bicycle and demanded his share of the loot. Thats my boy !!

I am not totally sure if it is possible to have a Hurricane in the Pacific North West but whatever we had last night came pretty close and we saw it come speeding up the valley then slam into the house. A combination of very strong winds, wild rain and an electrical storm thrown in for good measure. My daughter tells me that Hurricane is from the Mid-16th century. Via Spanish Taino hurakán "god of the storm" - laptops and Google where would we be without them?

Luckily we only suffered minor damage to some of the older trees so no real harm done.



Just as well we didn't mow yesterday.....

Just as I was getting my hopes up that we would be able to mow the hay field today I heard that there are storm warnings for Saturday, Sunday and Monday so that puts grass cutting on hold. Its been bad enough having to wait this long for a decent stretch of good weather but it would be very disappointing to mow the grass and then have it get wet...so once again we find ourselves waiting.

The real problem with these unexpected delays is that I have skipped irrigating for almost a month now so that the hay field would be dry and easy to cut. Now it is totally parched and I fear the quality might be below its usually high standard.

Time to keep one eye on Southern Cross who is due to deliver in the next few days and one eye on the weather forecasts, fingers crossed.

As usual I was busy minding my own business just assuming that the irrigation was doing its stuff on the alpaca pastures when I noticed the pump had shut off. This usually means that the last filter is full of weeds - but today as I restarted the pump and a gusher shot skywards I realised it meant the high pressure hose had failed and while I was tempted to run and take a picture of the spectacle I opted to fix the problem.

Fortunately like most major parts that are likely to fail time and bitter experience has told me to keep parts close to hand. Its ironic really because even the local dealer is dreadful at stocking parts which are bound to fail every season.

Thinking about it more I guess its just a great way of reducing inventory and pushing the cost and responsibility of stocking parts onto the farmers... well that's enough speculation on the motivations of irrigation companies.

I am going up to Portland on Wednesday to collect two female alpacas one of my own called Latte and another for a friend so I need to find out exactly where the second animal has to be delivered to as i will be just a bit bushed after 12 hours of interstate driving with a trailer. Speaking of which I better make a note to prep the trailer on Tuesday.

The Alpaca registry has added to their 'Streaming Video' archive today with the addition of the 2008 Annual Meeting.
While some members attended this meeting, it is not possible for all of the members to attend.
Anyone who was not able to attend the annual meeting to take some time to watch the video. It is slightly over 1 hour in length and contains information about what our Registry has been up to over the past year, and where we might be headed in the coming year, discussion about the strategic plan, and recognition of past Board Members and announcement of the new Board Members.
The video also contains a Q & A session at the end.

You can find the video of the Alpaca Registry Annual Meeting here.

You do have to be an ARI member and log in so have your details ready...what a shame they didn't put this up on You.Tube which would have been so much more accessible for members and those thinking for joining ARI or even starting alpaca breeding. Still get a coffee sit back and enjoy the show....

Expected Progeny Differences Seminar - July 4th

This year is the tenth Parade of Champions Auction and as always it is a flagship event for the alpaca industry nor just here on the West Coast but nationally too,

I didn't go last year but was there the year before and the quality of animals is outstanding.
The alpacas for auction come from four farms: Accoyo America the well known Greg Mecklam herd which is now about 200 Strong. Crescent Moon Ranch, Latah Creek and Alpacas de la Patagonia.

This years other big pull is of course the EPD seminar. Sara Via Ph.D from the University of Maryland. David Notter Ph.D from Virginia Tech, and Mike Safley the founder of the ideal alpaca community who needs no introduction.

If you can't make it to this excellent auction and seminar then try the definitive source for EPD information especially alpaca EPD programmes at www.epdlibrary.org

This year the Parade of Champions Auction will present a program for alpaca breeders on the importance of having a EPD program in place, the mechanics of how to do it, the early results of the Ideal Alpaca Community program and how to enroll in one. For those alpaca breeders wanting to be at the cutting edge in the alpaca industry, this EPD seminar is invaluable!
In future Parade of Champion Auctions, the participating alpaca farms plan on making sale lots available for a fixed number of offspring of alpacas purchased in the Parade of Champions for those breeders willing to collect data and enroll in an alpaca EPD program. All of these sale lots will be selected by an impartial judge based on quality. This will be a very exciting development for EPD enabled alpaca breeders. EPD - EAB

I have decided to go up to Portland next week on the 2nd of July and collect Latte one of our pregnant female alpacas from NWA and bring her home. I will also be bringing back a female alpaca belonging to another farm and that is good because with gas prices the way they are it always pays to share these journeys.

The question I am mulling over is who to take up to get pregnant but I dont have any answers on that front.

I must also get the ARI registrations filed for the two new arrivals we had this year. I don't know why but I have been putting it off for ages now. I( guess once winter is over and the sun is shining it is just so tempting to be outside and with the alpacas.

Which reminds me I really must get the alpaca fleeces weighed and the samples sent off for analysis.

Oh well onward and upward it can't all be fun and games !

AFCNA the the Alpaca Fibre Cooperative of North America has been going from strength to strength and this year for the very first time issued a dividend to shareholders. In my case it was 37 cents so it isn't going to transform the economics of my alpaca breeding business overnight but I think it is a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.



Yet despite this dividend being the first sign of something really starting to happen I know of many farms that are stockpiling alpaca fibre because they can't think of anything to do with it.

AFCNA has appointed regional volunteers to help improve this situation and in our area Larry Vellozi is the Regional Alpaca Fiber Clip Collection Coordinator.

His job will be to organize getting our alpaca fiber to Mora, New Mexico. What he is hoping to do is get a few drop off sites established along the I-5 corridor for easy pick-up and bring the boxes of alpaca fiber (18"x18"x18") back to his ranch to be placed on pallets and then sent off to NM.

Its great initiative and deserves our full support.

Since its launch the EPD Library has gone from strength to strength and is now ranked highly by Google for all alpaca EPD related terms which is excellent news.

Since its launch the EPD Library site has added new EPD speakers such as AOBA board member David Barboza and a retired AOBA board member Stephen Hull. Both of whom have EPD events coming up this year for alpaca breeders and details of all forthcoming alpaca EPD events can be found on the library web site.

If you are thinking of having an alpaca EPD awareness event either on your own alpaca farm or maybe on behalf of an AOBA affiliate such as CALPACA then please check out the list of EPD speakers that can assist you in having a successful EPD event.

To discover the latest news on alpaca EPD programmes around the globe including the initial research of ARI then visit the EPD Library for up top date information.

While you are there please take the time to complete the EPD survey and sign up for the EPD Newsletter.

Well if you didn't know today is the longest day of the year. That is to say the biggest time gap between sunrise and sunset....so still the usual 24 hours but from here on in the days are slowly but surely getting shorter.

It also happens to be my birthday so we will be having a quiet day on the alpaca farm, running the irrigation is about as energetic as I will be getting.

See you tomorrow for more tales from the alpacas farm and the alpaca industry.

Its strange how sometimes things that change very gradually just go unnoticed - like a glacier sliding down a mountainside.

So it was with the blades on the tractor mower deck. We have given them hell over the last four years and before we pulled all the rocks from the alpaca pastures every time we topped a pasture we would shear the safety bolt at least twice by hitting some huge rock.

The quality of the cutting was starting to show and despite altering the angle of the deck and other adjustments there was only one conclusion. New blades were needed.

I put the whole mower into the back of the alpaca trailer and shipped it up to the John Deere dealer who has the tools to replace the blades. So now 8 hours and $300 later the mower is in tip top condition once again.