We left for Garth Hall much earlier than Josh is used to. I walked around the sheep with Skye while Josh fed and checked the alpacas. Then we dropped Skye off and left for a visit to Usk Valley Alpacas. George invited us for a look around at his massive herd of alpacas. We are considering a few matings with some of his studs. He also has Valais Blacknoses which of course are just gorgeous as well.
While we walked around his farm, we chatted about fleece shows, alpaca shows and agricultural shows. George has been showing alpacas and Valais for years so his help is invaluable. More on that at a later date. He has a large calf pod in one of his fields, so that’s a good idea I might borrow. Josh is hankering after George’s cabin and I must admit I liked his little 4×4. I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing business in the future. George is also going to suggest Josh for the committee on the South Wales Alpaca group.
We also had a look around sick bay at some poorly alpacas. Then it was time to leave. There are no steps on this truck we are using. It’s a nightmare for me to get in, being vertically challenged. Well after standing around talking, my back was playing up again. It’s not right since the last session of alpaca poo bagging that I did. When I lifted my leg, there was a shooting pain. If there had been a bloody step, I would have been fine. Josh offered to pull me in but somehow I crawled into it. We went to Tregurnog on the way home and then came home for a late dinner.
After dinner I went to Garth Hall to do all the water. The sheep’s water was very low, no wonder with the amount of sheep that are there. I refilled the blue barrel and filled the alpaca water. I managed to get in the girls’ field but 3 ewes followed me. I chased them back out. They were milling around outside the gate with several mates. One of them was Blossom. A previous pet lamb from Tregurnog. She has an over developed nose for free food and is an experienced scrounger. They wouldn’t let me back out. The girls came over then so I couldn’t get out in stereo. I counted the girls and had a little check on the cria. By then the sheep were beginning to slope off. I went out, shooed them all away and made a break for it. Freedom!
I was done for the day. I walked back up to the truck and it was covered in a swarm of flying ants. I got in but had to keep the windows shut all the way down the lane. Not nice.
Tomorrow we have our competition winners coming to visit Curnunnos so that will be nice.
Helen x
