I slept well and woke ‘pretty much’ refreshed. I remembered to fill the flask in case I needed it and I even arrived (moments) before Emma. She went off with the crook and lambing kit while I let the ducks out, collected their eggs, checked the wellfield and fed Rascal. Munchie is still in the ante natal ward. I joined Emma and we walked around. We thought there was a new lamb in the cabbage field. It was moving so we continued around first. She then went to look for Wonder while I let the chickens out. She found him with his mother. I forwarded the photo to Neil and told him it was personal. It really amused me after the time Neil had wasted searching for him 😂 We then went all the way over to the cabbage field with water and it wasn’t a brand new lamb 😂Emma said “I cant get this right can I?” To be honest, I’d rather check ewes and lambs we aren’t sure of than miss one. Lastly, we let the chickens out. It was time to go down to the alpacas.
We fed them all and as it was already warming up nicely, I left my jacket on the corner fence post. I was running low on alpaca mix and Camelibra so I made a mental note to bring some down later. I filled the quadling up and used all the fuel in the container so I needed to get the big jerry later can too. I got to use the poover whilst Emma went to poo pick in the podfield. I tried not to use my left leg to move the poover pipe too much. The weather was glorious. I’m trying to enjoy it but I can’t help thinking it could turn at any time 😬 I looked around the field and set myself the task of clearing a certain large section. I actually did that and looked at the next section. I got stuck in but didn’t get through all of it. When time started to run out, I needed to leave. I noticed Emma standing by the LST. She had only managed one bag because the girls had been pooing by the hay feeder. The poo was mixed up with hay. She had got the jerry can though. We walked up then and did a check around.
Our last job was cleaning out Shrek’s Swamp aka the duck’s paddling pool. I had my waterproof gloves and the scrubbing brush that I clean the alpacas baths with. There was a thick layer of mud with green slime on the top. I tried to dislodge as much mud as possible and then got as much slimey water out using a bucket. We pulled the paddling pool out then and tipped the last of the water out. I splashed clean water on it. It was like a shiny new pin. We tipped the green and blue containers into there. They didn’t fill it much. We walked over to the IBC containers and carried them back full. It looked better. We could do more water runs later. I was shattered and done. Emma went off to look for Wonder before she left. He was exactly where he had been earlier.
Once I got home, I cleaned out some more water containers, filled them half way (as much as I could carry) and put all three in the truck for later. After dinner I went to Corner Park for fuel and drove to Garth Hall. I drove to Cai and loaded in the alpaca mix and Camelibra. I tipped most of the water out but only used the water from two of them. I wonder how long it will take the quackers to get it dirty again? 🙄 Emma came then. She started walking around while I drove to the trailers. I walked to meet her. There may or may not have been a lambing by the quarry. It’s too hard to tell. They will be numbered for lambing next year so I can keep track properly. Jordan rang me then and suggested bringing more bags from Cai. She joined us and we went down. She started bagging up the poo that I had emptied out of the poover earlier. Emma helped her. I dropped the food and fuel off. I then went and did more poovering. I definitely haven’t been using my left leg because my arms are aching soooo much. Poovering and carrying things around has taken its toll. I could hardly lift a small mug of tea up. I persevered though because tea is very important to me😂 At some point, I decided that the poover must be nearly full so I drove out. There was one more bag for Jordan to clear that board. We loaded the truck and drove up.
Jordan left then to pick Ally up from the groomers. We could see Neil on the tump, catching lambs and ringing their tails. I drove into the wall garden and we unloaded the poo. Jordan will be doing a poo delivery later in the week. I drove to the barn and went off in search of empty bags. I knew there was a big pile in the run. We put them in the truck and Neil came over for a chat. After that, we went back down then and I rode the quadling up to the bagging area so we could empty that. It was another full load. Good job the alpacas create a never ending supply 😉 As the afternoon wore on, it got a but chillier. I was getting as tired as I was cold. We had done a lot in one day and I was tired. We put a few more bags in and then drove up. I wasn’t able to leave because Neil’s quad was parked across the entrance to the airlock, completely blocking my exit. He was in the barn feeding Rascal. He’s given up looking for Wonder “He’s on his own from now on!” Neil left to do Neil things, involving his digger and earth moving. We fed and put the chickens to bed. We had to get the ducks from the wellfield. After all the trouble we took to clean and replenish the water in their paddling pool, they hadn’t even noticed it! 😯
Still, it had been a very productive day. I enjoyed being out in the sun although my aching arms suggest I might have overdone it a bit!
Helen x
