Christmas Card Greetings!

Our Christmas prayer for all our family and friends

 is that you may experience 

the wonder and joy and true meaning of Christmas!

May each new sunrise give you new hope!

May God's creatures and creations give you a renewed sense of peace!

May the simple joys of life give you laughter and satisfaction!

And may you experience the fullness and wonder of this life we've been blessed with!

Merry Christmas!

Fall, Going, Going, Gone?

So I was highly disappointed early this week when my efforts to finish up outside farm projects were rudely interrupted by the appearance of snow on Wednesday the 26th of October!  We're not talking about a few flakes lazely drifting down.  We're talking about snow all day!

At 2:00 in the afternoon.

At 6:00 p.m. in the evening.

As of today, Friday, we still have snow piles where the snow slid off the barn roof. 
The fall colors were so brief this year and have already disappeared.

The last of the fall colors.

My homage to fall.

Crias napping in the fall sun.

Good bye fall, I'm truly sorry to see you go!

Despite the lack of cooperation from the weather, I managed to start on a project that I have to complete soon.  That is the construction of a creep feeder.  "A what?" you say.  As did Jeff.  A creep feeder is a small enclosed area that only the crias will have access to where they can safely go to eat without worrying about adults stealing their food.  At about two months of age the crias should have access to alpaca crumbles as they slowly start the transition to solid foods.  I purchased two dog kennel panels, created a small corner next to the stall, cut a cria size hole in the stall wall to allow access and began construction of a hay/crumble feeder.  To be continued.

With our friend Ray's help the third stall is now complete with a gate.

Thanks Ray!  It will be very useful come March.

Finally I want to let you know that I have an Etsy account where I am selling my "alpaca goods."  There is a button on the upper side of my blog page that will take you to my Etsy page, Zephyr Alpaca Goods.  I'm offering yarn as of now but will soon have roving available and hopefully other wares.  

Five silky soft natural colored alpaca yarns available on our Etsy shop. 

Roving which is great for hand spinners, felting and crafts.  Available soon on my Etsy account.

The last glimpse of the fall colors.

June Bug and Faith enjoying the last of the nice weather.

"Hey Sting Ray, can I tell you a secret?  Fall is gone!"

The New Crias!

We are happy to report that we have three new crias!  They were all born in September and are doing great! 

Faith and Mom Felicity

Sting Ray and Mom Twizzler

Hannah's Faith was born on 9/13 three weeks early.  Though there were some worrisome moments, like being too weak, and unable to nurse because of it, she is now three weeks old and gorgeous!  To thank friends and family that have helped us on our alpaca journey I've decided to name any Zephyr Hill Farm crias after them.  Faith is named after our daughter Hannah, who assisted us this past spring with our first shearing.  

The last two crias were both born on 9/26!  Sting Ray was born a little before 7:00 a.m. and June Bug at 10:30 a.m.  Nothing like togetherness!  They were both born close to their due dates and had no problems.  All three are gaining weight, active and too cute!  Sting Ray was named after our good friend Ray who has assisted us with the construction of all our barn stalls.  His grandkids call him Sting Ray!  June Bug's intials stand for our son Jeremy and son-in-law, Brad who helped us erect our first fencing last year.  Jeremy also assisted with our shearing this past spring.  Thanks to all of you!  We wouldn't be where we are without your help.

Hannah's Faith

Sting Ray

June Bug with Faith behind her.

Both Faith and June Bug are considered Dark Browns.  Their coloring is so close that their Mama's often have to sniff them to determine one from the other.  Sting Ray's Pinto coloring isn't seen too frequently.  His dominant color is a Medium Fawn, with a little bit of gray around his eye.  He has four white symmetrical socks, a white neck band and a white star and nose.  

Sting Ray and Linus have a meeting.

Thursday we finished our fencing project!  We made a paddock for the boy's outside of the barn by taking away a small section of their pasture.  We added four gates.  One 10 foot gate from the boy's pasture to the back pasture.  A four foot gate from the new boy's paddock to the back pasture.  A lane from the barn to the the second 10 foot gate which allows access to the newly created back "back" pasture.  We divided the "back" pasture in half.  The lane allows access to the back half of the back pasture.  Clear as mud?

Back "back" pasture gate and new fencing.

We have a lane!  Now we can have alpacas sharing the back pasture separately.

The new "lane" looking towards the barn from the back pasture.

The two new gates from the boy's paddock (on the left) and the boy's pasture (on the right).

I'm trying to wrap up fall projects before the weather is no longer accommodating.  I've created a hay feeder in the girls stall which I will enclose to create a cria "creep" feeder.  This will be a cria only area where the crias can come to munch on alpaca crumbles and hay without the adults snarfing it all.  I'll make an opening just the right size for crias to enter but big Momma pacas can't.

New hay feeder

New hay feeder with hay in it!

With the help of our friend Ray, we've created a third stall to house the crias when I wean them in the middle of March (at or about six months).

Just when I think I've checked off one item on my list a new "to do" replaces it.  Sigh.  The work on a farm never ends.  The only troubling part about this is that my obsession to complete my list never gets satisfied.  I love, however, living and working on a farm.  Guess I can trace my farming roots back to my maternal Grandma Vi.  She was always pressing the envelope during her life.  She ended up living on a cattle farm with my step grandfather in Onaway, Michigan the last half of her life.  Thanks Grandma for the farming legacy!

The mist rolling in at sunset.

Fencing

Tomorrow we begin again the process of erecting fencing.  We have to create a pasture for weanlings that will be needing it come snow laden March.  Since fencing will be an impossibility at that time, now appears to be the moment.  I'm overjoyed but Jeff is even more so! 

Bo checking out the new gates and fencing.

Fall is creeping onto the scene.  Leaves are falling.

A very pregnant Birdie.

Notice the extra large roll of 330' of fencing in the background.  That one is always fun to wrestle with.

52 six foot long T-Posts ready and waiting.  Each post to be pounded by hand with a post pounder.

The "chicks" are always following me and critiquing my work.

Hay, Sweet Hay!

We now have hay for the winter.  About 300 bales of beautiful, green, dry fragrant squares of alpaca heaven.  This makes me very happy!  The best part is it didn't cost any money, just sweat.  We found a local farmer who was willing to cut and round bale the first cutting for himself in exchange for cutting and square baling the second cutting for us.

We spent Friday afternoon putting up two wagon fulls of hay, about 200 bales.  That was fun! Glad it is something only done annually.  Each bale weights about between 40 and 50 pounds.  I stacked it to the rafters and spilled into the aisle way to try and squeeze as much as possible inside the barn.  Of course now the barn looks like a hay bomb exploded!

One partially unloaded wagon.

Half way through.

To the rafters and beyond!

We are keeping the last 100 bales covered on the wagon outside of the barn.  The area to the left of the hay is where we will be constructing a new stall.  This stall will accommodate either three weanlings in March or their mothers.  We're hoping to get that done before the weather turns cold.  I can't say that I'm thrilled about the hay "wagon" since it's not so attractive and I unfortunately got an oversized tarp which will allow a lot of billowing in the wind.

The big blue hay boat.

The chickens enjoyed the process, though they were of no help.  They feasted on grasshoppers and now have a new jungle gym to play on.

Speaking of chickens, I now have three extra eggs a day!  All three of the chicks are now truly hens.  Though the size of the eggs has been surprising.  Here these three tiny chicks have morphed into monster hens that dwarf Winnie and Dolores but their eggs are 1/2 the size.  I'm hoping that that will change as they become more mature egg layers?

I never considered Winnie and Dolores as small until I compared them to the "monster chicks!"

The large brown egg is Dolores'.  The eggs surrounding it belong to the "monster chicks."

Felicity and Daisy chilling in the morning.

The pregnant girls are hanging in there.  We're getting prepared with emergency supplies.  I'm praying the girls won't need them.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

End Of Summer?

Trying to keep cool!

I just realized I haven't posted since the beginning of summer and now sadly we are approaching too quickly the end of summer.  Even though it was unusually hot and humid for July and the beginning of August, I am not, repeat not, ready for fall.  After fall comes snow (that dirty four letter word) and I am definitely not ready for that.

Babies, crias, that is, are due 9/24, 9/30 and 10/3.  I am nervous and excited.  I'm reading up on all the ways an alpaca birth can go horribly wrong and it makes me a tad worried.  I did, however, make some new alpaca farmer friends that have a 65 alpacas and 13 years experience.  They are only the next town over.  I find that comforting as they assured me I could call at the first hint of trouble.  They even gave me their phone number!

The three mama's to be, Twizzler, Birdie and Felicity are getting big.  Poor Felicity is struggling with the heat.  She is a mature momma of 17 and I have assured her this will be her last cria.  She just rolls her eyes at me and grunts.  "Isn't helping now!"

The chickens are silly to watch and somewhat annoying.  The three chickie doos are a challenge to corral in the evenings and contain in the coop.  I've spent exasperating minutes chasing one chicken from the girls side of the pasture to the boys.

Winnifred is still faithfully producing a daily egg.  The chickie doos should start laying in September.  I've rewarded Winnie with a new nesting box.  All the chickens think the nesting boxes are the roosting boxes.  

This is how the chickens usually sleep at night, crowding in two nesting boxes.

I've come out several mornings to a crushed Winnie egg in a nesting box.  The new nesting box should put a stop to that.

Winnie testing the new nesting box while Dolores looks on.

So I came home the other day to box from the Suri Network Fleece Show sitting on the kitchen table.  I knew that meant The Suri Network had mailed back my fleeces along with the results.

Rafael and Twizzler took out the competition with a one, two punch.

Woo Hoo!!