Sadly Phoebe died this morning. She was too sick to recover and Howard Miller a neighbor and truly wonderful vet put her to sleep. She died at home safe and surrounded by the family who all loved her so very much.

One of the joys of being in the alpaca business and self employed is that you do get to do your own thing and when spring is in the air then it can be very enjoyable. Especially now that laptops are so affordable and connect wireless from just about anywhere in the house.



We are now getting into the cria watch time of year and our first two new arrivals should be here sometime this week I hope......we really don't want to be doing shearing on two overdue mothers if at all possible!

"Travel light in life, take only what you need; a loving family,
good friends, simple pleasures, someone to love, someone
to love you, enough to eat, enough to wear, and a little more
than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing."

Today I received a request for Alpaca Helmet liners for US troops. here is the email from Debra Edwards.

We are getting ready for my son Taylor's deployment. He is a Cavalry Scout with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. He will be deploying sometime in June. He is coming to California for 10 days in May. Can hardly wait to see him.

He is deploying to Afghanistan, where we do not know yet. I understand he will be in the mountain region, which gets below 0 degrees in the Winter. From what I hear helmet liners would be a great comfort for the troops. I was reading a request for wool helmet liners and thought alpaca helmet liners would be even better! I have enclosed instructions on making the liners. They request that the fiber be non-flammable.

My son's platoon has 20 soldiers, his troop (Company) has 78 soldiers and the Squadron(Battalion) has 500 soldiers. Whatever you can supply would be so very wonderful and so very appreciated by our soldiers.

My cell phone number is 805 625-2661, if you have any questions.

Thank you in advance for your support of our troops and my very heartfelt thanks for your interest in my son.

Sincerely,

Debra Edwards

Here are the instructions for those of you who can crochet...

Support Our Troops…Crochet a Helmet Liner

Materials:
Size K and H hooks
6 oz. soft worsted weight 100% wool yarn
Accepted colors are tan, brown, olive, gray and black (black is
preferred and was requested)

Size: Adult Large
Crochet Notes:
Made in rounds – that is, do not join and do not turn.
Other Notes:
The headgear our military issues are usually made of
synthetic fibers or blends and our troops in places like
Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo are still cold. Please use a soft
100% wool worsted weight yarn to keep them warm.

Rnd 1 ...........Form a ring around your finger, work 6 sc in ring
Rnd 2 ...........2 scs in next 6 sts (12 sts)
Rnd 3 ...........(sc in next st, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (18 sts)
Rnd 4 ...........(sc in next 2 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (24 sts)
Rnd 5 ...........(sc in next 3 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (30 sts)
Rnd 6 ...........(sc in next 4 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (36 sts)
Rnd 7 ...........(sc in next 5 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (42 sts
Rnd 8 ...........(sc in next 6 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (48 sts)
Rnd 9 ...........(sc in next 7 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (54 sts)
Rnd 10 .........(sc in next 8 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (60 sts)
Rnd 11 .........(sc in next 9 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (66 sts)
Rnd 12 .........(sc in next 10 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (72 sts)

Work over 72 sts until piece measures 7 inches.
Chain 22 ,skip 20 sts, continue working around until piece measures 10 more inches.
Fasten off and weave in ends. Attach yarn anywhere in face hole and sc around with
H hook. Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Pattern designed Aunt B © 2005. All rights reserved. Copies may be made only for the purpose of donating helmet liners to our service personnel. For additional patterns and helmet liner project information go to Skein Lane’s community page.

The big day has finally arrived and today is the start of our irrigation schedule for the summer of 2007.

The garden around the house is now slowly coming to life



And the house swallows are starting to build their nests in the bird house...they are amazing aerial acrobats.



But we didn't bother running the irrigation as there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow.......

Still the grass in the pastures is now coming on in leaps and bounds so its time to start getting out there with the tractor and topping some of these pastures. Its the damned alpaca poop thats to blame even when you pick it up everyday the affect it has on grass growth is amazing.

Rural properties have more than their fair share of dirty jobs and not being on mains sewage means that you have to have more than a passing acquaintance with the workings of a septic system.

Which reminds me that recently a very nice man from Roto Router told me never to use Charmin toilet tissue as it can block a septic system and cause real problems. I couldn't help but pass on this piece of information to Proctor and Gamble the makers of Charmin toilet tissue. I didn't expect to hear anymore but today I did receive a reply thanking me for my interest and enclosing a 42 voucher off Charmin Toilet... I suspect they didn't actually read my email..oh well!

Our septic system is 14 years old and was not built with a flush out which is now mandatory with all new septic systems so we have had to retro fit one and providing you can find the pipe which comes out of the septic sand pit easily then the rest really is a piece of cake....so to speak!

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Well unlike unicorns apparently llama caddies do exist. I had an e-mail this morning from Pam a regular blog reader who gave me the facts on llama caddies. Alpacas are very cute but llamas can be very useful. Anyway ,here is the story.

The Village of Pinehurst in North Carolina is home to the new Talamore Golf Resort. Where the Rees Jones-designed Talamore Golf Club and the Arnold Palmer-designed Mid South Club, Talamore Golf Resort is apparently at the top of its class in the historic North Carolina Sandhills.

The great news is that Talamore have a competition going on right now to win a Llama Golfing vacation!

The Pinehurst area golf trip you will never forget! Two nights lodging at the Mid South Lodge, one day of play on the Arnold Palmer designed Mid South Members Course and a second day of play on the Rees Jones designed Talamore Resort Course. The Resort Course round will be played using the Club's world renown Llama caddies. Some restrictions will apply.

Restrictions:
* The Dollie Llama golf packages are only available during the months of November, December, January, and February. In addition, Llama Caddies only work on Sunday through Wednesday afternoons.

Pam tells me that they like the llamas because their padded feet don't tear up the courses and they can handle the weight of the clubs. Sometimes they carry drinks and food in cooler packs for the golfers too. I think this sounds like great idea and hopefully more golf courses will be taking on llama caddies in the not too distant future.

Thanks for the information Pam, much appreciated.

We awoke this morning to find the valley had been blanketed in a white carpet of snow, only about an inch and it was gone by lunchtime but it certainly delivered a timely reminder to local gardeners and alpaca farmers who were planning to wear shorts, that we are not in the frost free zone just yet....

The alpacas barely noticed the snow and just sat around chewing their cud and looking totally disinterested in what was going on. Of course they are less than one month from shearing so their fleece is very full at this time of year and extremely warm.

Now I did promise to tell you who I had voted for in the forthcoming AOBA elections and the answers are.... Monica Kline and Ian Watt...two more different people I find it hard to imagine but as my old mum says "variety is the spice of life" ....and the AOBA board certainly needs spicing up....so get your ballots completed and in the mail and may the best man or woman win!

Yesterday I mentioned that Llamas can apparently be used as golf caddies.....but I still haven't heard from anyone who can verify that story..... okay its my big brothers birthday tomorrow so I have to go into town now and send him a birthday card...

Happy alpaca farming where ever you are and enter to win the alpaca handling book...
Don't forget to check out our Spring Alpaca Competition.....

The second annual alpaca sock drive has begun it’s fund raising drive for the purpose of providing alpaca alpaca socks to US troops in harms way. In the 2007 drive 100 pairs of Extreme alpaca socks from AFCNA were distributed. Socks for Operation Sock it to Um are purchased at wholesale prices and mailed direct to selected military personnel for distribution.

This initiative was started in 2007 by Sgt. Jerry Coleman’s request to his parents for alpaca socks for his troops. As a direct result many thousands of pairs of alpaca socks were sent to our troops. Including the 100 pairs of extreme socks from the AFCNA mentioned earlier.



The 6th annual Fiber on the Foot, Natural Fiber Producer’s Livestock Show and Festival, on May 3 and 4th at the Tehama District Fair Ground, California will again be accepting donations to this noble cause.

Donations can be sent directly to:

Fiber on the Foot
C/o Shady Ridge Alpacas
1560 Hwy 99W
Orland, CA 95963

Winter’s done, and April’s in the skies.
Earth, look up with laughter in your eyes!

–Charles G. D. Roberts (1860–1943)

Today I was away at 5am to deliver two females for breedings to Northwest Alpacas.




The whole trip is 14 hours on the road including breaks so its a long old haul for me and the alpacas..... but there is never much traffic on I-5 so the journey is usually uneventful. Thank goodness.

The only complication I now have is that the girl I delivered is spitting off and that is very worrying as it usually indicates she is pregnant and the only way she could be pregnant is if a young male who was nursing till 7 months of age somehow impregnated her....

Why can't things just be stratforward.......

I was heading up through Lithia Park into the hills behind Ashland with my sons Jamie and one of the dogs when I came across the Sheriff taking his new toy out. I say new toy which is unfair really as I guess you really do need something like this to get up into the snow covered peaks around town during winter. Almost every year someone gets lost and dies on the mountain.



Time to go through the animal records this afternoon and start planning for birthing dates which now by some dreadful coincidence appear to be on or around the day we have selected to do our shearing....how stupid is that!

As so often happens in alpaca farming the best laid plans come to nought...which is when we reminded that this is farming and nature has a hand to play and that includes when your females become pregnant and therefore when they will be giving birth. It is fool gold to ever imagine you are in total control of this process or that you even understand all the variables.

No trip to Portland is complete without calling in to see our friends from the land down under Alan Cousill and Jude Andersen. Their place is in a constant state of expansion and just when you think you have seen it all they throw up another barn......







Well these are just a few shots to give you some idea of life at Pucara which is also home to a lovely collection of boys from Snowmass Alpacas so if you are heading past Salem in Oregon this farm is definitely worth calling at.

Today I was up at the crack of dawn...well it was 4.15 actually so well before the crack of dawn to load up two alpacas and head off to Northwest alpacas which is a good 5 and half hours drive north of here. That was when I made my first mistake i had been to lazy to close the barn door last night and just assumed the females would stay in there....wrong!

The alpaca females were out in the biggest pasture we have and if you have ever tried herding alpacas by flashlight in the pitch black you will know like I do that however well behaved they are in daylight when its dark they are just not happy at all....so a job that should have taken 5 minutes maximum ended up taking 45 minutes.....not fun at all. But it could have been worse it could have been raining.

After dropping off the girls for breedings I had lunch with Mike Safley who is just heading off to Peru to do some more work with the charity that he established down there and which supports the local alpaca farmers.

Then I went on a mission to find an aeroplane that now lives in Oregon but used to belong to the RAF (Royal Air Force) and was based in the small town of Kemble near where I lived in the UK.



And sure enough there she was at the Evergreen Aircraft Museum near McMinville in Oregon.

Quite strange being that close to something I only ever saw from the ground while it flew overhead many years ago...... who would imagine that we would both end up living in Oregon!

The warmer weather of recent days appears to be gone and wet weather is forecast for this coming weekend so the clouds are already gathering. This is a double shame as tonight is a total eclipse of the moon.

It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.

The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.



Not really sure if the alpacas can figure out whats going on as it will get very dark then as the full moon comes out again I guess it will lighten up....clouds permitting.

I have recently been dipping into the book Understanding Alpaca Breeding by Richard M. Bourdon I have been speaking to the publishers Prentice Hall in New York to see if we can get permission to put chapter 12 of his book onto the AOBA web site for 12 months. My argument is that it might actually help them sell some copies of the book.....chapter 12 is about Large Scale Genetic Evaluation and features EPDs so relevant to the project I am doing for the Affiliate Congress.

Okay a bit low on news today but I have been out of action getting an MRI scan on my neck...lets just say I am glad I did caving as a school boy so I have no fear of enclosed dark spaces......

Okay so today is known among Americans as Super Tuesday... the day on which each of the two political parties get to select their nomination for President...

But today (February 5th 2008) is actually much more important than that!
On alpaca farms (and elsewhere) in the United Kingdom, Ireland , Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Shrove Tuesday is known colloquially as Pancake Day.

The traditional pancake is slightly thicker than a French crêpe. It is served immediately and is traditionally served with a sprinkling of caster sugar or granulated sugar, (superfine sugar in the United States) and a dash of fresh lemon juice or golden syrup (refined sugar in liquid form). Many other sweet and savoury toppings are used today for example, in Canada pancakes are served with Maple Syrup.

In Australia, UnitingCare Australia (the social services arm of the Uniting Church in Australia) has advertised Pancake Day as a nation-wide event for the religious community that raises awareness for the plight of disadvantaged people by raising money for UnitingCare's work.

The Rehab UK Parliamentary Pancake Race also takes place every Shrove Tuesday, with teams from the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Fourth Estate battling it out for the title of Parliamentary Pancake Race Champions. This light-hearted relay race is held to raise awareness of the work of national brain injury charity, Rehab UK, and the needs of people with acquired brain injury. The race involves running with a frying pan and tossing your pancake as you run.

Shrove Tuesday traditions particular to the United Kingdom
On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns throughout England. In 1634 William Fennor wrote in his Palinodia:
"And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne."

The tradition of pancake racing had started long before then. The most famous pancake race, at Olney in Buckinghamshire, has been held since 1445. The contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line tossing the pancakes as they go.

As the pancakes are thin, some skill is required to toss them successfully while running. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a minimum number of times.
The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes, that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

Now I know this will all sound odd to a Nation that eat pancakes on any old day of the year...but you have to admit Pancake Day does sound fun....doesn't it?

I spent this morning repairing the insulation on the alpaca barn ceiling...but I can you all about that tomorrow.

Happy Tossing !

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to say my beautiful Australian Shepherd, Gifford has passed away.



Everyday was a new and exciting adventure for Gifford. A day to be lived to the full no half measures.



Gifford would often toy with me when we were racing....but he always won in the end.



Irrigation season was one giant water park as far as Gifford was concerned.



Damn he was a good looking dog, so proud.



Resting in the shade of an old oak tree.



Always by my side I will miss him dreadfully. These are the prints we left today when we walked together for the last time.....eventually the rain will wash them away. The happy memories and times we shared I will cherish forever. Thank you for everything Mr.Gifford.......

Gifford De Abquisto
May 27th 2004 - January 18th 2008