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

In winter I open up the hay field and allow the alpacas to wander about at random. They really appreciate the big wide open spaces and in fact there is so much space I don't even bother to pick up the poop....it would take me hours to even find it. Now this may be contrary to what I was saying about parasites for the last two days and of course in the smaller pastures I pick up the poop every day.



Our nearest town is Ashland and it has been a safe haven for hippies and alternative types for many years so it is in no way typical of the rest of Oregon. Of course hippies and those living off trust funds grow older but their spirit remains and this car was I thought so typical of Ashland.
Firstly of course the car has to be a Toyota Prius Hybrid, next it needs some thought provoking bumper stickers and finally if possible a suitable licence plate...in this case REVOLT.



I really like the place personally and whether you are a local or a stranger everyone will smile and say hello no matter what their age and there aren't many places like this left... so if you are ever heading up I-5 just north of the Californian border call in and say hello.

As the year draws to a close we send our friendship and seasons greetings to all in the alpaca business wherever you may be. We have made hundreds of friends over the last four years and we value each and everyone of you.

Thank you for making 2007 such a special year we look forward to seeing you next year.

Adrian and Jo Stewart

Crazy day for a whole variety of reasons so really only have time to share a picture.

If you are new to my Blog ...welcome

Alpaca farming is a great lifestyle for the whole family and for many of us the move from the corporate world into Alpaca Farming was the realisation of a long held dream. Of course like many other areas of agriculture alpaca farming is not a get rich scheme. Indeed just like on many other farms one partner often has to work in order for the family to live on the alpaca farm. Which if you think about it is one measure of just how enjoyable this lifestyle must be.

Now if you are relatively new to the alpaca industry then you may well have received a good many e-mails since you started to express an interest in alpacas, this was your first clue that a great deal of alpaca business is transacted over the internet , so get used to it!



This parody of a well known drawing sums it up for me....we dream of the outdoor lifestyle and existing somewhere between the proud hunter gatherer and the agricultural farmer with his rake. But the reality is that as an alpaca farmer you have to exist in many different roles.

And some of that time you will be bent over a computer screen, just like you are doing now....except it will be you writing the Blog, or sending out the e-mails or updating records on the ARI database. Of course some days you will sell alpacas and then it will be you sending out the invoices which has to be done if you want to get paid.

I guess if it wasn't for the few hours I spend on the PC each day, then the hours I spend outside with the alpacas wouldn't be quite so relaxing and rewarding....life is all about contrasts I guess.

To end on a practical note. What does this mean? Well if you want to be a successful alpaca farmer you will need a web site, and ability to send and receive e-mails as an absolute minimum. I will go into more detail tomorrow for those that are interested.

The latest copy of Hobby Farms magazine which arrived today, this is the January/February issue....oh my goodness 2008 already in the world of magazine publishing. In the Livestock Q&A section on page 22 is a question on bottle feeding alpaca cria and ensuring they receive colostrum at birth. I only mention this because it also features a picture of my daughter pretending to bottle feed a cria...which we staged for the article.

I am so glad this week is over, everything I have touched has gone wrong in one way or another...... truly challenging.

A friend sent me through this picture of a jazzed up John Deere gator. This modified version must surely rank as one of the most pointless and useless vehicles in history.



Meanwhile in the farm office we have been linking our website to a farm with more alpacas than we have and we shall be doing some e-mail marketing on their behalf. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

I hear from the alpacawatch website that the upper respiratory infection aka the snots, which has plagued several alpaca farms this summer is now starting to slow and the number of new cases reported has fallen to a trickle. Not sure if this can be attributed to the cold weather that arrived or the declining public interest in these things once the initial excitement is over.

The weather here today was much warmer so the heating was off and the doors open (slightly) ...a stark contrast to earlier in the week when I was huddled round the fan heater cursing Oregonian winters...



Next Thursday my eldest son Jamie returns from his round the world adventure. It was his first long spell away from home and he has been gone almost 8 months so we will be very pleased to see him and Thursday of next week will be the shortest day of the year so after that the nights will be getting lighter...little by little. Here am I wishing the spring to hurry up and we haven't had Christmas yet....I think I better reset my expectations slightly.

Yesterday I called in at Heart Felt Designs a new store in Red Bluff California to say hi to Irene Fuller and her two business partners. Together the three of them have established Heart Felt Designs.

The store is vast and on three levels. There is a cellar, ground floor and first floor. (Or as Americans prefer to say a basement, first floor and second floor).
Between each of the main floors is a smaller mezzanine level where they have felting areas and an alpaca yarn display area.






There is clearly masses of room for expansion and it is obvious that the three partners have worked very hard to get the place looking so attractive, the holiday season is also the shopping season so I wish them every luck with their new endeavour.

Today we are heading south to San Fransisco..... no flowers in our hair...well in fact not even any hair in my case....

On the way south we are calling in at Heart Felt designs a new retail venture in Red Bluff, California. Three enterprising souls have taken 10,000 sq feet of retail space and converted it into a huge alpaca retail space.

Tuesday morning and I am feeling just a tad fragile after an excellent evening with Al and Jude at Pucara, we were trapped in by flooding water and the occasional power cut so we sampled some local reds...and very enjoyable they were. Plus the local Portland basket ball team won by one point in the last 2.8 seconds of the game.

I am now heading over to Northwest Alpacas home of Mike Safley and the Ideal Alpaca Community....I have a handful of pregnant girls to collect and am then going to transport two girls to my farm for the Shultz family and two more for the Mahr family. Both breeders will swing by on Wednesday and collect their alpacas.

Mike is as energised as ever about the alpaca industry and as always in innovating new marketing techniques all the time....you have to admire the guy.

The journey home is uneventful and I finally unload the alpacas at about 9pm and I am well and truly tired out...the concentration required on these long journeys is a real drain.

Its an early night for me then up early tomorrow to try and catch up on the backlog of e-mails.

Well not quite but it was definitely raining cats and dogs as I headed north on I-5.
SW Portland where I was headed was totally flooded.
As i arrived at the farm Al came out in his truck and said " follow me across this lake but make sure you do follow me as there is a bridge under there and either side is the river....wind your window down then if you go in the river you will be able to climb out fast...."

I followed him very carefully and in a scene from bible two trucks and a trailer appeared to travel across the surface of a lake....

The next day the water levels had gone down dramatically and life was slowly returning to normal for some very wet alpacas...