Baby watch is over, at last

Doc's first day in pasture

Doc Watson and Bubbles

Doc at 6 hrs old

Bubbles delivered her cria on Thursday, April 21.  He was born around 8 am and weighed in at 19.7 pounds, 4 pounds heavier than Fiddler weighed at birth.  He is a beautiful white boy, with a small fawn patch on his left leg, just above his knee.  The weather was so nice on Thursday that we gave the mamas and babies some pasture time.  Fiddler is thrilled to have a playmate and he wasted no time trying to play with him on his birth day. We welcome Doc Watson to the herd!

Shearing Day 2011

The girls after shearing

Banjo being prepared for shearing

Banjo after shearing - 2010

Hi all!

We sheared on Wednesday, April 20.  Bubbles hadn't delivered yet so she was shorn first, to minimize the stress level for her.  They all look so different now!  We have 10 nekked animals on the farm! lol  It's always interesting to see how they react to the experience.  Bubbles screamed the whole time.  Opal was spitting.  They sure feel better now to have all that fiber gone!  Now my work begins!  I get to sort through bags and bags of fiber.  I'll be cleaning "blankets" and deciding how to get it all processed.  (The blanket is the primary fiber that comes off the animal: to clean is basically to carefully shake out dirt and pieces of hay that is stuck to the fiber)  I was so busy helping with the  shearing activities that I didn't get any photos but I took some last year so I will post a couple of photos from 2010.  I'll also add some after photos from this year.

The Cria Watch continues....

Bubbles is so ready to have her cria but apparently he or she isn't fully cooked yet.  Her official due date was today.  All of the "kids" will be shorn next Wednesday.  I hope that she delivers before then!

It is 5 pm on Friday, April 15.  I'm writing this from the glider bench on our back porch.  Everyone is out in the pasture, except Tasha and Quigley.  Tasha is confined to the 'maternity ward' while all of the girls are out in pasture.  She's too big to be running with Fiddler.  Quigley is hiding out in one of the boy's pens.  The wind chimes are gently blowing.  There's  a nice breeze right now.  A storm is blowing in, though, so I'll be bringing everyone back in from the pasture shortly.

A quick update on Fiddler:  His weight is up to 20 pounds now.  He's only wearing the cria coat at night when the temperature drops below 40 degrees.  He is loaded with energy.  It's fun to watch him run around in the pasture.  I can't wait til Bubbles gives him a playmate!

Check out the new photos of Fiddler!

A Beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Today has been gorgeous! It's 5 pm already and still 66 degrees outside! I have my jeans drying on a clothesline outside in the sun, the hens are busy in their chicken yard, and the "kids" were all out in the pasture earlier.  We even had mama and cria out in the pasture for an hour.  He's cushing in the sunshine right now.  We took his cria coat off for the afternoon.

We always find lots to keep us busy on the weekends!  We've hung fly strips in the barn, raked some alpaca poop over the garden bed, and tried to start my neighbor's cultivator so I could actually plant some herbs today, but it just wouldn't start! Bummer!

Check out the new photos!