Raining on Monday morning. Again. I fed everyone as soon as possible. Hennessey and Bramble were eating from the trough when I arrived, and Buttercup and McQueen were looking in it when I came out with the food buckets. That was good going. I carried the two buckets and the 2 green recycling bags as well so I struggled across the field. The weanlings watched me intently. They were a bit nervous to hang around when I put the food in the trough but it was a pleasing start! It was a nightmare trying to feed the girls because of all the mud. I was slipping, they were slipping. There was no grip. I was concentrating so hard on staying upright that I got spat on by Bernadette or Clara full in the face at point blank range. Oh the smell. It was raining and I had my waterproof gloves on so they weren’t the best for wiping my face with and believe me I tried! Then I collected the green bags so I could fill it with hay. It was so much hard work walking uo the hill into the boys field. I had my fleece jeans on under my waterproofs. The fleecy inside is lovely and soft and warm but makes bending my knees difficult. I didn’t walk, I was definitely trudging. I got to the ring feeder and got full on bombarded by the wind. This was where the pod had been. No wonder it blew away. I nearly went too! It was difficult to pull the hay out but I eventually managed it. That was sorted for the next few days for the weanlings.
Tuesday’s forecast was rain all day so I made the most of it when I realised it was dry. I looked on my phone when I pulled up at Garth Hall and it said rain in 15 minutes. The sky was getting darker too. I let the chickens out and fed Rascal, but when I came out of the barn it was looking evendarker still. The wellfield ewes were waiting for me so I went back in for hay and put it in their feeder. The wind was getting worse so I put my hood on and dashed off for the alpacas. I hoped make it before the rain. The weanlings saw me and came over for the hay, I went back and got the buckets. Still no rain. Then I heard some upset alpaca noise, I looked up. Some of the mothers were there and plenty of other girls as well. What was going on? I didn’t need drama now. I needed to be done before it rained. I put food in for the weanlings in the hopes the sound of food hitting the trough would attract the girls. They looked up but were enjoying freedom so refused to come in. I went to feed the rams and the other girls. It was that flaming side gate again. I fed the ones that were in and counted them. There were 9 escapees! And those 9 were currently flirting with the boys 🤦🏻♀ While the inside ones were eating, I went back to the gate and shook the bucket and called. 6 found their way in. The other one was up the field and took a bit of encouraging but I got her too. That left Possum and Clara/Bernadette. Possum did try to come in to be fair but Eden saw the bucket and was then trying to get out. My life is farcical! Finally, Possum came to the side gate and walked through it. I shooed her in a bit and then went back for Clara/Bernadette who was having a great day out. She came slightly closer but that was only because she’d seen Possum who had followed me back out! It could only get worse if it rained. Then I had to run up the field after Clara/Bernadette and send her back down. I’d lost any patience by now and started ranting. They don’t respond well to ranting, encouragement is more their style but I was cheesed off! Finally, miraculously, they both strolled in. I slammed the gate shut, tied it and hooked metal around it. Neil then had a ranting message asking for better gate shutting devices. I fed the boys on the way out and left as soon as I could because they sky towards Thomastown was really black. Somehow the rain held off and I set off for Cowbridge and Arthur John’s. There were a few bits of drizzle but no rain, things were looking up. I went in to check they had the sheep energy licks that I needed. Only the dearer ones so things didn’t look up for long did they? I asked for layers pellets and rams food then enquired about the licks. “They’re on the delivery lorry, I’ll bring them out to the car for you with your other items.” Ooh, better luck was back! After dinner I went to Tregurnog and got a phonecall for alpaca poo. Without the mule, I needed Neil to bring the bags up, he agreed. It was only then that the rain started and boy was it a downpour? Horrendous. Neil sent a photo from the barn. “I’m not collecting poo in this!” To be fair, I didn’t blame him. He then rang to explain to my father the problems with the mule. While the 3 of us were talking on the phone, my phone rang, it was my hairdresser. She’s got Christmas Trees for me and while I was in the phone, I booked to have my hair done. Then back to the mule conversation. Neil is going to try to source the necessary replacement part for the mule but it’s 36 years old this year so it won’t be easy! And to top it all off, my arms don’t work properly behind me after pulling hay yesterday. You know when you go through a door and reach back to shut it after you? I can’t do that.
A dry morning. I wanted to make the most of that. I drove the truck into the paddock before letting the chickens out because they don’t move out of the way. Once it was in I let them out and took two empty buckets with me to fill at the barn later. I took the two feed bags into Cai with a hen underfoot each time. I tried to shut her out when I took the licks in because they are 20kg but harder to carry being in tubs. She was in my way again 🤦🏻♀ There was way more interest than I wanted in me from the wellfield sheep. They thought I had new lick buckets but they were empty ones for water. I went the airlock/run way in order to bypass them. Getting the 2 full buckets bacķ through the run was a nightmare. I carried the water most of the way back but they were heavy. My arms were struggling. I decided to leave them and finish the job later. Alpaca feeding next. I had to take empty bags as well for the poo bagging. I rushed to feed the boys before Popcorn spat at me. I’d put 2 handfuls in each of the 7 buckets. No one was eating. I looked closer. Rookie error. The wind and rain had been horrendous and they all had rain in them even though they were under the shelter. I had to individually strain the water out of each one through my hands. It took ages. The weanlings were all OK and I put food in their trough. Bramble was eager again but she couldn’t have eaten it all. I knew Hennessey was eating but suspected the other two were as well. I fed the girls and then the rams. My job for the rest of the morning was bagging up poo. It’s back breaking but I did it. Then I carried the buckets all the way to the chicken shed. As I type this up in the evening, I’m a physical wreck, my arms, back and shoulders are sore from a hard mornings work! Luckily I had the afternoon off to go out with friends. I certainly wouldn’t have managed much more physical work! Before that I had to put fuel in the truck and my father wanted to go to a cash machine. When he got in the truck, he was cross “You’ve got a flat tyre! We’ll have to out air in it now.” I asked for change in the petrol station. Did the cashier tell me I could use my card? No he did not. Knob! There was barely enough air in it, it wasn’t like that earlier. Anyway we did that then the cash machine ate my father’s new card. He hadn’t been happy over the tyre and now he was fuming. Luckily after I dropped him off, I went out.
Thursday started just as wet as they said it would be. Lucky I’ve got good waterproofs. Off I went before it got any worse. It was as I was driving through Smilog that I remembered I was supposed to check the truck tyre before leaving. Oops. I pulled up, put all my gear on including the awesome addition – the blue waterproof gloves. I peered around the back of the truck. It wasn’t like it had been yesterday but it wasn’t right. I let the chickens out and fed Rascal. The run had a lot of standing water in it but it was draining into the channel Neil had redug behind the barn. I decided the rain wasn’t too bad. I then left the shelter of the wellfield and realised the rain was in fact bad. It was practically horizontal. I emptied the boys buckets out before I got their food so I didn’t get caught out again. Garth Vader tried to climb the fence to get his head in the full bucket causing me to back away and whack my forehead on the shelter crosspost. With a cap and a hood on, I didn’t see it leap out and attack me. I fed everyone else and checked the water level on the brook. It was dangerously high as it went under the bridge. It looked likely to flood again. Back at the truck I loaded it with the 10 poo bags for a delivery to Tonyrefail. If I’d been two inches taller, it would have been a much easier job but I’m not so I struggled. The tyre didn’t look so bad now but I’d decided to take it to a garage after the poo delivery. I’m glad I did, there was a puncture which has been repaired. I also ordered a replacement fuel tank for the farm’s red diesel supply. “Don’t forget to have it delivered to Tregurnog!” After I ordered it my father then told me they will only deliver to kerbside not the farmyard. That’s no good so we had a rethink and it’s now coming to my house. Neil will load it onto his trailer to take to Tregurnog. “Neil can’t move that. Its 103kg!” Neil’s reply was that he can do it because he lifts cows for fun! No wonder I’m bonkers 😂
Raining again on Friday morning. What a shock! Not. After the chickens dashed out I carried two Christmas trees throught the paddock. I gave one to the outfield sheep and launched the other one over the wall garden wall in the general direction of a bellowing Baarbaara. I walked through the run to the barn. There was a lot of standing water but it was in the area of the drain. Inside the barn though there was water flowing. It’s slightly lower than the ground outside so Neil will have to improve the drainage system when the ground is less boggy. I put more hay out for the weanlings. Hennessey and Bramble came over and I thought they would sample it but they were waiting for the good stuff. Unfortunately Buttercup isn’t eating hard food or hay. She lived on the hay in the main field so I’m going to have to work out how to get her back eating. Luna is displaying signs of having a ear infection like Buttercup had over Christmas so will be moved into the small field tomorrow for treatment.
On Saturday I was sent to Halfords to get spark plugs for the muke. They didn’t have any. But of a shame. It was Emma’s day off so we all met at Garth Hall to look at Luna. As we went over the bridge, there was a problem – seven boys wandering around! Neil starting trying to round them up while I went to get a food bucket. Garth Vader saw me head for the trailer and made a beeline for me. He knows exactly where the food is kept. He wouldn’t follow Neil but raced after me, forcing his head in the bucket. We got them in easily enough for food. Then over to the girls. I called the them and carried my bucket so they came into the pen area just as easily. We filtered everyone out apart from Luna. Neil had forgotten the antibiotic so he went home for it while Emma and I set up the barriers and hurdles to form the way into the other field. I looked at Luna, long and hard. Her ear was soooo much better. In the end we let her back out and decided she didn’t need treatment. Neil went to work on the mule and Emma and I collected hay. It was at that point we realised the boys hay had got wet and gone off. No more large bales for them until Neil can make a shelter. We collected hay for them and the weanlings from the girls field. Then Emma picked poo in the boys field and I got the poover out and did some poovering in the girls field.
It was a momentous day on Sunday – Riley visited Garth Hall for the first time! He met the chickens, the cat, the sheep and all the alpacas. As is typical of a 5 week old baby, he slept through most of it. They went home for a bit while Neil and I got the mule sorted. Later Riley brought his mother to the house for Sunday dinner although he is yet to partake in any 😂 After dinner I had a delightful visit with a family who also met the chickens, cat, sheep and alpacas. They did the fairy door hunt as well. Buttercup has been eating from the trough and they’ve all been eating the nice fresh hay I out out too. What a successful end to the week
Helen x
