Today we had friends over from the United Kingdom. Andy, his wife Jan and their son David.
So we headed off through the Redwoods to Crater Lake which was an absolute picture.... the sun shone and the blue of the lake was just amazing. But in the shade you could feel autumn wasn't very far away....

Today we just hung loose and in the afternoon went to Parker's birthday party....Parker was two years old.

Today is the first full day of our three day vacation in Yachats on the Oregon coast.

Each year Ashland is host to a gruelling race up Mount Ashland.
Our event begins at the bottom of Lithia Park near the plaza in downtown Ashland and proceeds on pavement through Lithia park, joining Granite St, which becomes a dirt road and wraps left around a small reservoir A few hundred yards later, you turn steeply right onto the Ashland Loop.

This is a long and demanding run: 13.3 miles with more than a mile of elevation gain.





2008 Results
Competitive Runners (8am starters) (age is year.months)

Finish Order Number Name Age Sex Elapsed Time
1 137 Skaggs, Erik 26 M 1:53:01
2 136 Violett, Zachary 26 M 1:57:23
3 162 Bolt, Richard 37.11 M 2:00:29

My eldest boy Jamie has just come back from a camping trip to the Yellowstone National Park and took some great pictures and I just wanted to share three of those here on the alpaca blog.







Hope you like them.

At this time of year everything is coming to its peak and it really is a great time of year to be working and living on the land. The young alpacas spend their evenings pronking around the paddocks and testing the patience of their mothers to the limit.

Today I am heading north to Portland with Jo.
We are going to do some non alpaca work in the green city. Did you know Portland is the greenest city in the USA? With San Fransisco in second place.

1. Portland, Oregon. 23.1
Electricity: 7.1 Transportation: 6.4 Green Living: 4.8 Recycling/Perspective: 4.8
America’s top green city has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

2. San Francisco, California. 23.0
Electricity: 6.8 Transportation: 8.8 Green Living: 3.5 Recycling/Perspective: 3.9
See how San Francisco turns wasted roof space into power, here.

How the Rankings Work:
Raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for American cities of over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation habits. We then compiled these statistics into four broad categories, each scored out of either 5 or 10 possible points. The sum of these four scores determines a city’s place in the rankings.

Electricity (E; 10 points): Cities score points for drawing their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power, as well as for offering incentives for residents to invest in their own power sources, like roof-mounted solar panels.

Transportation (T; 10 points): High scores go to cities whose commuters take public transportation or carpool. Air quality also plays a role.

Green living (G; 5 points): Cities earn points for the number of buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as for devoting area to green space, such as public parks and nature preserves.

Recycling and green perspective (R; 5 points): This measures how comprehensive a city’s recycling program is (if the city collects old electronics, for example) and how important its citizens consider environmental issues.

Want to read about more green cities? Then follow this link.

We currently have a young girl staying with us from the UK called Immogen and while she is with us it is her 19th birthday - to celebrate we all headed out to nearby Historic Jacksonville and took a tour of the town using Segway people movers....



I have always thought Segways looked a bit "nerdy" but they are great fun and if you ever get the chance I urge you to have a go.....

You may know that the being a member of AOBA (Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association) enables you to buy JD products at a discount. Not that I can really take advantage of that myself as i have all the John Deere products I am ever likely to need.

One of my favourites is the JD Gator it is a real work horse and I would be truly lost without it here on the alpaca farm.

Over the holiday weekend we transformed it into a mobile beer deliver vehicle.
A small horse trough fits perfectly into the back into which we lowered two half kegs of ale from the local Caldera micro brewery. Which just happens to be where my eldest son Jamie is working during his summer vacation.
Then we linked in the CO2 to pump the ale from the kegs and through an inter-cooler that really chills the beer until it comes flowing ice cold from the taps.





Maybe I should start a competition here for the most innovative use of a John Deer Gator?

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.

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 !!

Step one is to get yourself some great alpaca seed stock and then have them carefully transported to your new farm using a reputable alpaca transport company. Pick this company wisely and sleep well at nights

Step two is to make sure you have just enough hay to get your alpacas through the winter with a safety buffer just in case. With gas being so expensive its best to load as much hay as possible on the trailer.

Step three is to make some very well researched breeding decisions based on what you know about your alpacas. Their bloodlines, histograms and EPDs if you have them. Remember breeding is not totally scientific it also involves some common sense.

Finally, make sure you shear all your alpacas every spring and then get that alpaca fleece to the AFCNA Fibre Cooperative in New Mexico. Do not let it accumulate in your barn.

Today we are celebrating Millies graduation.......so another quiet day on the alpaca farm.