And finally!

This week there are lots of pictures of clouds. Partly because
I forgot to look for my camera charger, I keep forgetting to
put my phone in my pocket or use it when I'm cleaning out
the alpaca houses if I do have it with me. These clouds
looked promising, but there was no rain from these on our
land.

Well what a time! We've travelled a lot, been tired and exhausted, and looked after in heaps. Well that sums up three weeks. There is no way I am going to cover each week in the way I normally do. I still have so much to do, but just wanted to let you know a little about what has happened over the time I've been absent from the blog.

Geese heading north. A bit late, but
I guess better late than never.

Yes there are some alpacas in the distance. My morning
coffee break view

The last time I blogged properly was just after shearing our boys. Our girls still needed shearing and we were running around trying to get jobs done on the farm. It was a bit of a performance. We started off attempting to shear one group of girls and sheared one before deciding that there may be a problem with the shears - they are getting old. The problem was, did we carry on or not? After a phone call to a company an hour and a half away we hurriedly packed up and went to buy a new pair of shears. We were off to shear at a mini-zoo the next day, so couldn't risk the shears not working.

Now that looks promising for a rainy day ahead. Nope!
Wishful thinking, although there was rain, but not over us.

Looking in the direction of the other girls. 

After our first commercial shear of the season, Ian spent the day sorting out on the farm and preparing for the week ahead. I took the early bus into Riga for a conference. I had intended on getting some work done in the morning but instead spent the time looking for new shoes. I didn't think trainers - no matter how smart - looked particularly professional. I did find some rather comfy ones eventually. I drove back from Riga in a friend's car, as he was heading off from the airport. Worked well for us both, only I rolled into bed rather late.

Rain to the north!

Alright for some!

Another early morning and this time we headed up to Estonia, the new shears were working well. They had a bit more power than one set of shears Ian has, but none of the downsides that the relatively big, heavy professional ones have. The main problems are a switch that is not easy to switch off if the animal starts fussing and the vent that blows hair fibres up into my, and the animal's, face when working on the head and neck. We were hosted well as usual, something we really enjoy about visiting people again and again. A friend of ours dropped by to take pictures and take notes, so watch this space to see what happens with those.

I just wanted to go to the loo in
peace, but no! Eyre wanted to
accompany me, and loudly at that.

It's amazing that anything can grow with the lack of rain
we've had but the grass gets the moisture when its long
due to the cool nights. Mind you, these are supposed to be
grass pathways with raised beds. I haven't time to mow
them. Might be good enough for hay by the time Ian
gets back.

I was back to the conference on the Saturday on yet another early bus, but fortunately just a half day this time. I did get to practice a bit of my Danish again as there were quite a good proportion of the delegates from Denmark. I hope to go to the next conference in April next year as it will be Copenhagen. So maybe I can get to visit my friends there.

The dandelions are nearly
finished now.

Still no rain, believe it or not!

The rest of the weekend was sorting out and catching up kind of days before heading off early again to Estonia. We even managed to fit in finishing off the one group of girls we started the last time. The food in Estonia was excellent. We did tell them off though after a rather good lunch - and I mean a GOOD lunch, that it is not the best way to get shearing done in the afternoon. We were all stuffed and so bending over to do the shearing was not so easy. We joked that next time we were on bread and cheese. We were saddened to hear they are thinking of winding down as they are beginning to feel their age. We would love to take their alpacas, but we just simply haven't got the space. We are beginning to wonder if there is a real need for a sanctuary - not necessarily to rescue alpacas but to take in beloved alpacas from those who have no one to pass their farms onto. Let's hope by the time we get to that stage there is someone who has ambitions of raising our gorgeous creatures.

This caterpillar is a monster in
size.

Rain to the south

On the way back from Estonia we had a new group to shear. They were inexperienced at handling alpacas and so it took a bit longer. They also had one of the most spitty, squealing, weeing alpacas that we have come across and that's saying something. They are not all like that, but a pain when they are. I think it put off the young sheep shearer who had come to watch and help with the translation. I think the family had intentions of getting him to do their alpacas next year.

Yes more rain clouds, but not over us

Rain to the east

We finally got to shear the last of our own girls but that was not without mishap. The new shears that had been working so well and Ian was so happy with, suddenly went pop. The motor blew!  We had sheared three of four alpacas in that group.  It was not a good moment! I sent Ian off to phone the company and explain what had happened. We managed with the old ones and just accepted that the combs and cutters had to be changed more than we liked. It was getting expensive. The following day after shearing at friends who live close by, relatively speaking, we went to take the shears back. The company were very apologetic, but these were brand new shears, only just released by the company a few months ago, so they weren't sure what they could do with them. It is now in the hands of the companies.

This rose was a present a couple of years ago. We were
worried that it hadn't survived the winter, but here it
is starting to grow again.

Shearing at Nemuno Alpakos. It looks drastic, but an
animal that is properly restrained is unlikely to get hurt. They
will also feel much better in the warmer days of summer,
without their thick and very warm fleece.

Another early morning and this time off to Lithuania to shear for a larger breeder and then doing a demonstration shear the following afternoon. We sort of missed lunch and so when they offered to feed us before going off to our final shear of the day, we accepted. It was one of those lovely moments, since everyone else was engaged in a meeting of the Lithuanian alpaca association, they set a table just for the two of us under the apple trees. It felt so civilised. We had elk sausages and mash potatoes.

The joy of pansies, self-seeded ones
at that.

It was substantial enough to set us off on our way anyway. It was a good job as the already difficult shearing conditions, i.e. lots of grit and sand in the fleeces, was about to get worse. After we finished the guy was very perceptive and said, "Do you want a shower, coffee or to eat first." Difficult choice, only tea was more in order at that time of night. Anyway we opted for a shower as we were pretty grubby due to the dusty fleeces. We slept well.

Rain at last

The next day we headed for our final Lithuanian destination. It took a bit of finding but we got there in the end. The problem is that they didn't want to go ahead with the shearing as another group that were meant to be bringing more alpacas didn't show up. They were very apologetic and offered to pay for fuel costs and asked if we needed feeding before going. We accepted and really we were quite relieved. We were tired. We then spent a pleasant time, under more apple trees having lunch and talking about alpacas before heading back.

We did manage to get the chickens out of the greenhouse
before Ian went away. It was helpful when it was hot, but
I guess now they might be feeling the chill more.

There was only a day and a half for Ian to get ready before he headed off to Hungary to shear alpacas there. Which is where he is at the moment. So I'm left in charge of the alpacas and the gardens on our farm and at the camp nearby. The weather has been incredibly dry. We have had bits of rain, enough to keep alpacas in to keep fleeces dry for shearing, but not really enough to water the ground and really get the grass growing. Our ponds were continuing to disappear and the rain we rely on to water the alpacas was not forthcoming. The forecasts promised rain, but they never made it to us.

It might look dreary, but when we need rain as much as
we do, it is a wonderful sight

With Ian away and the thought of having to go backwards and forwards for water, I asked the nearby camp if they would be willing to bring some. My knight in a dusty tractor turned up later on in the day with a container to half fill our 1m3 container. Now why had I not thought of it before? Of course after one more day of no rain, it started raining. We've had two days now with rain for a good part of the day. It's a bit dark and depressing, but it's rain and that is more important. I am so relieved as it is painful to watch the garden die and the fields dry up. I just hope I'm not praying for it to stop for haymaking. Such is the life of a farmer.