How Interesting... I've Never Seen that Before!

Let me tell you about the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees..... oooooh.... and a thing about love!

Yes this was the weekend of luuuv.

With a grunt and what can only be described as.... weird..... I actually don't know how to describe the noises ... actually I can't quite describe any of it.... it was all too foreign....

Let me begin at the beginning. It's the season for shearing alpacas. So on Saturday we started. I decided that this was the year that Mishka (my only female alpaca) would be bred. Coal was the successful applicant mostly because he doesn't have any relation to Mishka that I know of. Breeding works better if there is very little hair in the way, so with that in mind Teapot and I got down to it and sheared, first Mishka, and then Coal. We have a little fold/paddock that we can close off from the other where a sick sheep or a nursing and worn out momma can go. If there's an injury or someone needs to go into solitary confinement for a while then that's the place for them. When we finished with Mishka we put her in there and then we went to work on Coal. It generally takes about fifty minutes to deal with one of those animals from the time you catch them, get the halter on them walk/carry/encourage/kick them to the table, where you use a wrestling manouver to flip them onto their side on the table and proceed to tie their head down as well as both front legs and back legs. At that point you take a deep breath and get the shears. We have a set of electric shears and Teapot welds them very well but there have been problems in past years as the alpacas like to roll in the dirt and a set of blades per animal is about what it takes to finish. As a point of reference one set of blades will do all of my sheep. Teapot works on the body starting from the tummy up over the side and then forward to the front shoulder and then back to the hip and bum. Then he shears along the back bone and up the neck which is where the problem begins. When the blades hits that back bone and neck area there is so much dirt from rolling that the blades go dull almost instantly. That is why I now buy a set of cheap scissors to work along the backbone and around the back of the neck. I also give my alpacas a doo on top cleaning up any missed wool around where the halter is. Gingerly we then untie all ropes and flip the animal over who really wants off the table by now and is having nothing to do with co-operating. Once on the other side Teapot again ties them down and the whole process begins again. As soon as the fleece is off I begin grading it and separating it into different bags. Meanwhile Teapot is now giving the alpaca a manicure. They have funny feet, it is not a hoof at all... it is more like a birds foot with a pad like a dog's and two nails sticking out. These grow constantly and twice a year need to be clipped. After that, if their teeth need to be cut, we do it with a dremel tool and a piece of leather to protect their mouth. I squirt water at the teeth while Teapot cuts them and enamel flies everywhere. After that we give them a shot for disease and a shot for parasites..... then we untie them and get them back on their feet, lead them back to their stall and then we all go for a drink before starting the next one. We do two a day as we find more than that is just too much.

This year instead of leading Mishka back to the far paddock with the ewes and lambs, we brought her over to the small pen. Then Coal got his work done at which time he was lead to the small pen too. Daughter #1 and I sat and watched (I felt like a voyeur). Daughter #2 who was too squeemish took off for the house. Teapot was doing other stuff around the yard but was able to see. Hmmm.....

Coal sniffed her nether regions and Mishka sniffed his and they did that for quite a while all the while circling each other. About five or ten minutes of this occurred and just when the other alpacas in their own paddock, were starting to roll their eyes because it was taking so long, finally Coal got his mind around the idea that this was THE FEMALE and jumped on her hind quarters.....

She laid her ears back and wasn't sure about this but automatically went down on the ground assuming the position.... (it's a good thing I knew they mated while on their knees) He got down to business and sat there with a glazed look in his eye making the weirdest noises which I can safely say I've never in my life heard before. He puffed out his cheeks, he groaned and grunted, he sighed and wheezed all at the same time. But there was no doubt that he was quite happy. She on the other hand was kind of looking back at him with a look that indicated a cross between boredom, indignation and curiosity. I don't think she was against it but she didn't look like she was particularly enjoying the process either. This went on for quite a while..... a good half hour. Daughter #1 and I got bored and wandered off, but Teapot says they got up for a bight to eat and then went at it again..... then that was it, except Coal was a little wobbly in the hind legs for a while. It was all over.... I went out a little later and Coal was nuzzling Mishka and Mishka was obviously in love with him..... but then today they were kind of stand offish..... well I figured the fire works were over and so this evening Mishka is back with the ewes and Coal is back with his very horny brothers..... You would never know that in the womb of that woolly white body lurks a miracle in the form of an embryo... well at least we hope.

So there you have it..... 11 1/2 months from now hopefully there will be a baby alpaca.... which is also called a Cria.

I can't wait...... It will be something else I've never seen.

Panic

Awwwwwwww!

Sheep need to be sheared..... they should have been done two months ago.

Alpacas need to be sheared.....

The big j.c..... that's all I'm doing.

Level 3.... oh dear.... I guess I'd better email the college.... I'm going to need that extension.

Arggh!

Birds, Birds, Birds....

They're everywhere.

There are Cowbirds in the paddocks with the animals. I generally don't like Cowbirds much, because they are really hard on Robins. They push the Robin eggs out of the Robin's nests and lay their own eggs and then leave them for the Robins to raise. Mind you, the Robins are really stupid if they don't realize that their eggs are no longer there. Lately though, the paddocks have been full of Cowbirds. The Cowbirds turn over the poop and check underneath for grubs and beetles etc.... it's a smorg of yummies for them. Mmmmm... my favorite poop covered beetles!

Then you have the Robins who fly about the yard and then hop along the ground looking for worms. They find very few around here so they must be doing pretty good with the Pine Beetle since there are so many.

After the Robins there are the Swallows. There are tons of them. We have a nesting pair defending their young from the peak of the shed. I like Swallows except they tend to carry parasites none of which you want in your home. So that's why if I see them making nests around the house I knock the nest down and force them to go elsewhere.... I know, it sounds cruel but there are plenty of spots around our property to make nests without using the house.

After that there are the Humming birds. There are Calliope and the Rubby Throated around this area. They are mad because I keep forgetting to put the Humming Bird feeders out and they want it. They keep coming to my windows and looking in as though to say..... Hurry up..... we want food!

There are all kinds of Warblers and Sparrows out and around that never show their faces. You only know they are around because of the amount of noise they make. I often wake at 4:30 a.m. for a short while and hear the birds singing outside my window. It is lovely to have windows that open in our house again after so many years of having a house where no windows open. This is my first spring in eight long years where I can experience the lovely songs of the birds and the cool drafts of the breeze through my windows.

My deck is beginning to look lovely as the flowers take hold and start to grow. So with birds galore and flowers in abundance how can I not enjoy the spring. The sun is shining and Jiggs needs her walk so I'm off to enjoy a little walk in the spring morning air.

Get out if you can and smell the roses... or whatever flowers happens to grab you.... check out the birds that are soaring around your home.... time is of the essence!

Embrace The Rain

Rain has a twofold importance this weekend. First of all it will cut down on, 1: drinking and driving yahoos, and what I have been saying all along, 2: dry forest and forest fires.

Finally after lunch, yesterday, Teapot was packed so I took him to the boat launch where he launched his canoe in the pouring down rain. Daughter #1 and I watched him paddle away to catch up with his friends who had passed us only moments before. All we could see through the fairly heavy rainfall were bright red and yellow of raincoats and canoes as they paddled their way to insanity through the torrents of grey rain. We watched till they rounded a bend in the river and then we headed to town.

For us at home, the rain meant that we would be having a May long indoors. We watched movies.... all day. Daughter #1 and I went to the movie rental place so that we could while away the hours of wet in comfort. At about 5 p.m. I realized that the critters would need feeding and Jiggs, who by now was starting to act antsy, needed a walk. I grabbed a fleece jacket and took off down through the bush. Quads have beaten the trails to mud and as I was hauled along by a crazy dog I was sure that at some point the hound would pull me off my feet and I would land on my ass in the mud. I was wearing my ever faithful Dawgs which were not providing a whole lot of coverage for my feet and don't have really good grips. I know that was insane... but within moments my jeans were wet a good twelve inches up, my shoes were squeltching and my hair was soaked and dripping into my eyes. My jacket was the best of it all but I knew it couldn't hold out against the rain indefinitely either. So I did what any good Newfy would do. I embraced the rainy wetness and went with it. Half an hour later of being dragged through the mud, I was wet from head to toe and Jiggs was happy to be heading home. Tootsie, who had braved the elements and the grass that was taller than him, also was happy to see home. I opened the door for Tootsie to go in with Daughter #2 and get towelled dry and then Daughter #1 and I went to do the dirty deed of feeding the sheep and alpacas. Jiggs watched from under the deck because I think she hates rain. We fed the animals quickly, though it did take a good half hour, and all the time the rain did not let up. I wouldn't say it was torrential but it was a good steady hard rain.

We were walking back to the house when we remembered that Dreamer (the horse) had not been fed. We would need to drive to the riding arena to do that. So leaving Jiggs cowering under the deck Daughter #1 and I jumped into the truck and headed off to feed and check the equine. It's Daughter #1's horse... I drive... she feeds....!! I sat in the truck in my wetness and watched through steaming windows as Daughter #1 quickly fed and watered her horse and jumped back into the truck. We headed home to a thoroughly wet hound and hot showers,fluffy towels, and dry clothing. The rest of the evening was uneventful but we sure enjoyed our movies.

The rain kept raining and then somewhere around 3 a.m. it turned off to snow. I'm glad to see that the snow has melted now, but it has been a nasty long weekend and quite honestly I'm not sorry.

Every year for the last several, the weather has been absolutely yuck on the May long. It is not a bad thing. We live in a recreational area so the years when we have not had bad weather there have been accidents and that is a sad thing as every time I hear the sirens going out the highway on the May long someone has died. So all the rain is a good thing because it forces people to stay home instead of drinking and driving and doing stupid things while camping. Besides, all that rain means that my forest.... my ever loving forest, will be lush and green for a while yet when the sun finally shows its face again. So a good Newfoundlander like myself has to just embrace the rain and be glad that I am able to dry myself off again after getting thoroughly wet.

Hope you are having a nice accident free and lush May long too.....

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The old man is... no not snoring..... he's going camping down river today..... and it's pouring, and I mean pouring! We got a day earlier in the week when it rained quite heavily... then we had a day of sun, then yesterday I got up and it was raining again. It hasn't stopped. I'm really glad to see the rain. We desperately needed it. But Teapot is heading down the river today with three idiots..... ooops.... I mean peers from work who go fishing each May long weekend. I expect they'll eat yummies (two of the guys have wives that won't let them eat bacon) and there will be a beverage or two (the same two guys have a real love of good Whisky) and they can talk about fishing flies (you know the yellow whiz fly) to their hearts content. One of the guys is a retired fella and probably won't be around too many more years.... not because he's likely to croak but because his daughter who lives in NZ is about to have her first baby..... their first grandchild and if I know his wife (which I do) she'll be living in NZ once the wee baby is born. So I encouraged Teapot to go along with them and the Daughters and I will spend a lovely weekend enjoying the great indoors, while Teapot gets wet in the pouring down rain. But what's a little rain to Teapot eh!?

Meanwhile the trees which had stopped growing their leaves due to lack of moisture, have suddenly become green and lush. I gotta luv that! The grass is growing and "My Deck" is starting to look awesome again. We have been doing a little work in the garden this year in the evenings. We moved my two lilac trees to just out by the deck so that when they grow they will provide the deck with some beauty.... and a little shelter. I have planted almost all of my planters, and bought two new ones to add to it. I have bought a new fireplace since the rusted bottom was about to fall out of the old one. And Sunday, when Teapot returns, we are going to finally put in the steps for our new front veranda. Then once I finish the big j.c. (which is almost finished) and I get some more work done on level 3, then I will finish painting the deck which I had done 3/4 of last year. I will be able to check off one more job from my renovation list.

House renovations are on my mind these days.... we are 6 weeks away from the end of school and we are starting to think about all the things that need to be done on the house renovation that didn't get finished last year. I have tried really hard not to pester Teapot over the year while he was working at school, but once school ends all bets are off... I'm practicing how to pester without being an old bag, being an olde batt is bad enough. There's a lot to be done .... I look forward to making progress.

But first the rain..... and Teapot..... I guess I'm getting dragged into this whether I want to or not. I will take Teapot to the river with the canoe and his gear, and, no doubt, I will get wet.... still I can't complain.... rain is good... oh how green is everything around me. It's a good feeling to see all that green.

Rainy Day

I took a walk in the forest yesterday. It was a rainy day and so there was a lot of mist around and my feet were squeltching when I got home. The rain was fairly heavy... it pretty much poured all day and all night. The Crocuses are done after that amount of rainfall, mostly because it was so heavy. But the the Pussy Paws are doing really well..... best of all though, look what I found.....

Aren't they pretty? Calypso Orchids don't last very long and more often than not they are so short lived that getting an opportunity to view them in their natural place is next to impossible. I've found them before and tried to transplant them but it just never works. They grow where they grow and that's that. But when you find them..... oooh la la!

Enjoy!

Oh My!

Well she has turned 13 now. I'm the parent of two teenagers. Daughter #2 had her bitherday on the weekend. y youngest girl is now a teenager too, and while she has had a teenager attitude for a long time it is still a shock when you think that you are old enough to be a parent of two teenagers.... especially when you want to still be a teenager yourself.

For her birthday celebration, one of her friends came home on the bus on Friday and slept over Friday night. We did nothing but eat the whole weekend. We had barbequed pork chops and baked potatoes and veggies.... (D#2's choice) and then instead of a cake I had bought cream filled eclairs and they were deadly. We also had mini cheese cakes and chips and cheezies. They stayed up till 2 a.m. which was supposed to be in the tent trailer but it was a chilly night and so they ended up in the house. We were all tired Saturday morning because we heard them whispering until so late it felt like we had toothpick in our eyes to see what time it was when they finally settled down. Then Saturday morning we had pancakes and I started cooking because my guild was coming for the day on Saturday.

As expected Saturday turned out to be a busy day as there were thirteen on "My Deck". I had been planting new flowers until about ten p.m. the night before and I still didn't get it all done. So today along with the big j.c. I will have to get the rest of my flowers in the pots before they die. The d-mn cats have been peeing in two of my containers so I had to dump out almost all of the soil and replace it. Arggh ! Anyway, after all was said and done the guild brought food and once again I pigged out. We had a delicious day and a day of pleasure with spinning and weaving and checking out what everyone is doing. But oh we did eat.... lots.

Later after D#2's friend left, along came another friend for b'day party #2. Her second friend stayed up and watched movies all evening and pigged out on ice cream cake and chips and cheezies again. But this time as luck should have it they faded early, and Teapot and I were able to get to sleep earlier in the night. For this party Teapot made Cheese Blintzes for breakfast which I haven't eaten in many years. Then the Daughters (both of them) with D#2' friend, took off for a day of hanging out by the creek behind our land where they went swimming and wading in the spring water. Brrr! There is a great beach where there is a place to picnic and swim. Very nice. They got back at 4:30 and then it was quick showers before we all went to meet up with my parents for, what else?..... more eating! We went to a local restaurant for a meal and then back to the grandparents house for tea and presents. I'll be lucky if I didn't gain weight after a weekend like that. I did get on the scales this morning and no loss but at least I didn't gain.... but then I'll wait till tomorrow before I feel confident that I didn't gain for sure.

So today is Monday and I'm back to a normal schedule. It is overcast and we are all hopeful that there will be a good rainfall. We NEED the rain. DESPERATELY! A week of solid rain would be great about right now. Still there is blue sky around on the horizon and that is not necessarily a good thing as until that blue sky disappears there's a chance we won't get that needed rain today.

So I'm off to weave.... and work on "My Deck" before the plants fade from lack of water and soil.

I wish you all a good day......