We decided to move the last of the sheep at Tregurnog in the morning. Not easy when one of us has sciatica and the other one can’t use his dominant hand. We managed and the sheep behaved for once which was lucky. The lane to Tregurnog will be shut for 3 weeks on Monday so we had that deadline to aim for and with walks and visits booked oIver the weekend it had to be today. I’ve driven our truck whilst towing the trailer before so I was alright about that. We are both frustrated with our injuries though. I can’t stand still or it hurts. I can’t bend down either. Climbing into the truck and lifting my leg so high (no bloody step) puts me in the same position. Josh can’t carry much or undo knots on gates either. He is in a lot of pain. And then I heard from Admiral to say they were paying us and releasing the truck so we have another deadline in the afternoon too!
I ate my dinner quickly. Nothing new there. Josh dawdled through his. Nothing new there either then we went int his car to Garth Hall. The first thing to greet us was the escaping ewe that’s always on the lawn. I sent her through and then went back up. Josh was on the phone to Environmental Health for a follow up after the dead sheep incident. I wish non country dwellers who’ve moved in would take the time to learn before interfering but there we are. Our competition winner turned up while Josh was still talking. I hadn’t met Julia before but I’ve messaged her plenty of times. I’ve also heard plenty about Ellie. It was Ellie that did the research and came up with Curnunnos’s name. They also brought Ellie’s grandfather along (Nick, I think) He hadn’t met our alpacas before, although Julia and Ellie have. Then, they gave me a present. Home baked cakes 😋 Ellie had made Millionaire’s Shortbread, Blondies and Banana and Nut Loaf. You don’t have to bring us cake when you visit but I won’t refuse it. I thanked Ellie for the lovely gesture.
Elie got to feed Elsie. She then told us that she likes sheep. We had a good walk around and then got food for the boys. There was no sign of Leo for food. Unheard of. I was a bit concerned. Josh arrived and went all the way up the field to find him flat out in the sun. While he was doing that, I harnessed Garth Vader and Ellie got to hand feed him, the other alpacas are large and she was happier with the smaller, child-friendly version. Vader enjoyed being fed and petted. He loves attention. Then we went over to look at the girls. While we were chatting by the gate I noticed Looby Lou had flies on her neck. She was in the shelter pen with a few others. Josh and the visitors got them in while I went up to the barn for the supplies. I clipped a little bit of fleece off and found something hard. It looked like a burst abcess or cyst. It wasn’t weeping or pus-filled. We put some antibacterial spray on it and we will check it again in the morning. While they were all in, Josh caught Curnunnos so Ellie could have her photo with him. They marvelled at how cute he is and how different his ears are ain’t comparison with all the other alpacas. His ears are completely fluffy. None of the others are like his. Then, they got to pet him and feel how fluffy he is. Nick held him and was surprised how heavy he was. Then Josh caught Hennessey so Nick could help us weigh her. Josh can’t hold her with his bad wrist and I’m too short. Her weight was pretty steady which isn’t bad considering she hasn’t had a bottle in a while. We will offer her one tomorrow to see if she’s interested.
Then we fed the girls. Arwen was standing around demanding to be cwtched. Livia was nosing round after extra food as was Eden. Because his mother isn’t afraid, Curnunnos got quite close too. Good omen for halter training. Bramble got too close and I grabbed her. She was like velvet and her fleece is still beautiful. She was heavy too. I looked for Maul. He was flat out sunbathing. I crept towards him like a short, fat ninja and then I pounced. He started to wriggle so I semi-sat on him but he is stronger than me and got away. At the top, Ellie had a good time on the swing and declared that she “…likes alpacas from afar.” That’s fair enough! They left to go for ice-cream and we had to go to Ponty for the truck. We sampled the Millionaires Shortbread first. Most impressive. Thank you again Ellie!
A long but satisfying day when we got plenty done. Busy day tomorrow so another early night.
Helen x
