Sweet Harmony Farm

I still suffer from ‘new alpaca owner syndrome.’  Anytime anything, and I mean anything, out of the ordinary (and when you have a new farm what’s ordinary?) happens, I have a quick panic attack until I realize everything is just fine.  I say ‘phew!’ and have yet another good laugh.  Alpacas are curious creatures and also very smart creatures, each with their own personalities.  I’m beginning to think that now they are teasing me for their own amusement. 

When we go out to the barn in the evenings it is already well past dark.  Sometimes the boys are eating hay but usually everyone is cushed and cozy.  We were pretty darn hungry ourselves last night when we came home from work so we ate our dinner first before going out to feed the alpacas.  Our footsteps make a crunching noise in the snow.  The entrance gate squeaks and the bottom of the gate scrapes against the snow and then clang! The gate rattles in the latch as we close it behind us.  We approach the barn saying hello to each of the boys but in the dark and behind the tarp we can’t see them just yet.   Dan turned around to go back and get the wheelbarrow for poop cleanup.  The barn has three light switches:  one for the outside perimeter, one for the little tack room, and one for the stalls.  I turn them on in that order and inspect our little herd.  Guinness had gotten up, Bo was blinking from the lights trying to wake up, and Coty and Arlo were cushed, chewing their cud.  Arlo always looks so happy to see me! 

And then there was Julio.  He was cushed in the straw too with his head stretched out, chin on the ground.  My heart dropped to my stomach.  Normally he’s the first one up and he hears everything.  I approached him slowly, calling his name softly.  All he did was flick his ears a bit and his chin turned a little, this way and that.  I called his name, again and again.  Nothing.  Dan walked into the barn then with the squeaky wheelbarrow and still no response.  I showed Dan Julio lying there so oddly and instead of being quietly cautious, my ever-so-calm-husband just walked right over to him and loudly said “Hey, JULIO!”  Up came Julio’s head like a rocket.  Being a suri, his topknot covers his eyes but we could see them blinking at us like “What! What!”  He stretched out one front leg and then the other, put his chin up towards the ceiling and s-t-rech-e-d that long neck.  Then he hopped up, shook, and walked over to the feeder and started eating hay.  He looked over at me like ‘Hey, everything’s fine.’

Dan calmly said, ‘Mona, he was just sleeping.’  ‘Phew!’ I answered and had yet another good laugh.

We have had gentle snowfall for 6 days now.  We’ve probably picked up close to another foot of snow.  At least it’s come in small increments so it makes it easier for us to clear the driveway and pathways around the house and down to the barn and over to the big poop pile.  Dan hooked up something called ‘skid shoes’ to the bottom of the ‘blade’ attachment on the tractor and has a fairly easy time ‘plowing’ all these paths out.  It’s much, much faster than using the snowblower even if he has to be turned around plowing backwards the whole time.  He used the tractor bucket as well as the blade a few weeks ago to clear a path in the pasture for the alpacas to run around on.  They all followed him and pronked behind the tractor while he worked.  Guinness was so excited he was pouncing around the tractor and then laid down in front of it and rolled and rolled and rolled.  When Dan was done, they all had races up and down the paths sometimes tripping over Guinness when he decided to roll again.  They continually find endless ways to amuse us.  Now when they see Dan coming down the path to the barn on the tractor they get excited, thinking he’s going to clear another path in the pasture for them. 

The strong winds continue and I’m constantly re-shoveling the drifts that keep accumulating on the paddock walkway.  Today the sun is shining brightly and I wish I could find a way to get the boys out of the barn.  Julio is a good guard keeping the others in the barn out of the wind but the sunshine is so refreshing!  Alpacas, with their wonderfully dense fleece can withstand the cold easily but it’s the wind that creates havoc with their health.  Wind blew snow up and over the tarp and onto the straw we’ve put down.  A few days ago I was actually shoveling snow off the straw in the awning area of the barn.  The boys must be heartier than I keep planning for as most days I find them cushed on the stonedust in the 2 stalls where we did not put straw down.  Usually at least one is cushed in front of the hay feeder entirely in the wind.  Arlo enjoys the thick straw in the pen the most although I wonder if the reason he likes cushing in the pen is because that’s where we feed him his grain! 

We’d been visiting our alpacas in the winter up at Pam’s during the 2 years they’d been there but this is our first winter to watch them ‘grow into their fleece’ on a daily basis.  Wow!  What a show!  The more their fleece grows the more gorgeous of an animal alpacas are.  It is so soft to the touch and with gloveless hands my fingers are instantly warm.  Their fleece right now is as long as my fingers are or longer.  When I touch all the way down to their bodies, their bodies are warm.  Yeah!  Sometimes it’s necessary to put a coat on the younger alpacas or the older or sick ones.  With this wind I’m tempted to make little ear warmers and booties for them although I’m sure none of my boys would wear them!    

I hope all of you had a better Christmas weekend than I did.  I spent most of the time on the couch, sick with some sort of mild flu.  I only left the house in the evenings to go out to the barn with Dan to feed our happy little herd.  Standing among the alpacas, they radiate such joy and good energy it’s hard to feel sick.

I love New Year’s and the hope for new beginnings that it brings.  On New Year’s Eve Dan and I like to sit back and reflect on our past year and create our goals for the New Year.  Our reflections start with the good, i.e. all the goals we did accomplish or are completing, and then on to the setbacks.  But instead of dwelling on any bad experiences that we may have had, we talk about what we’ve learned from those experiences so that it may help us in the future.  And then we laugh and talk about what we are looking forward to, jot down ideas, and from there our new goals are formed.  It's the end of the year.  Every end is a new beginning.

With the alpacas physically here it will be much easier for us to visualize the direction our farm is headed.  I’m sure all farms sit back every year and say ‘Hhmmm, what needs to be fixed?  What do we need to buy this year?  What could we improve?’  Necessity and the budget usually dictate what will come first.  If the alpacas could speak, I’m sure they’d like us to keep working on a better pasture, free of rocks and roots, and filled with lush, green grass!

As I type, big, fluffy snowflakes are falling covering all the tree limbs, fence posts, birdhouses, and all the mud left by yesterday’s rain, once again transforming our cabin, yard, barn, pasture and woods into a Norman Rockwell-esque painting.  I love a fresh snowfall.  Everything looks so peaceful and new.   

Here’s to wonderful new beginnings!

Wishing you all a joyous, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Bright Blessings,

     Mona

Merry Christmas Everyone!

And thank you for reading our little blog!

~  Mona, Dan, Stella, and the alpacas at Sweet Harmony Farm

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....................................  Wow!  Is it ever cold outside!  With below zero temperatures it is quite a struggle to stay warm outside when doing barn chores or just walking Stella.  Stella and our indoor kitty, Gracie, are on the couch or the rug by the woodstove all day.  It got so cold so fast.  Dan is already wondering if we’ll have enough wood for the entire winter even though we’ve never run out.  It’s hard to imagine how livestock manages to stay warm, especially creatures that do not have a warm fleece like our alpacas have.  When I put my hand down in their fleece, their bodies are warm.

It was about 15 below zero with the wind this morning when I went out to the barn to bring down jugs of warm water and check on the alpacas.  They were all cushed, looking quite cozy.  I smiled, relieved.  Then, to my horror, the water bucket was frozen solid!  Some mornings it has skimmed over and a quick poke with my finger or an alpaca nose will break through, but not this time!  I apologized profusely to the boys, picked up the bucket, and all but ran up to the house.  Thankfully we have another unused water bucket in the garage where we also store extra hay and straw.  After a quick rinse out in the kitchen sink, I filled it halfway with warm water and back to the barn I went.  I added the two jugs I had brought down originally and the alpacas just stared at me, wondering what all the fuss was about.  Apparently no one was thirsty. 

Even though we put up a tarp to help block some wind, the boys generally cush in front of the 2 open stalls right around the hay feeders.  Last night we spread out more straw for them.  It’s funny to see their bodies’ imprints in the fresh straw in the morning, so we know that they were behind the windbreak at least for a short time.  We’ve been stuffing the hay feeders full, full, full, and giving the boys a little extra grain in the evening.  We’re going to pick up more straw and place the bales along the edges to help keep out drafts.  That almost sounds ridiculous because it’s a 3 sided shelter!  We still think every little bit helps.  

Julio has imposed a ‘no leaving the barn’ rule since it’s been so cold and windy.  Whenever one of the alpacas wanders out to the paddock or ~gasp!~ the pasture he runs out after them and noses them until they come back in.  Sometimes instead of a gentle nosing it’s more like a bullying push.  It’s nice to know he’s so protective but I’d prefer they’d all get at least a few minutes of sunshine!

Last week I posted about our unseasonable 65 degree weather in December.  On Saturday we had our first snow for the season, an easy to clear, 3 inch snowstorm.  My wimpy alpaca boys wouldn’t leave the awning and a grumpy crew they were in the evening at feeding time.  We only have the one pen set up, so the barn/awning is basically all open.  We moved the feeder inside under the awning for the winter so that the hay doesn’t get wet with snow but the boys still have 4 open stalls, 5 if you include the space in front of the tack room, and the pen.  One whole stall per alpaca is quite a lot of room!  We have no panels for stalls set up yet, so there’s plenty of space to pronk indoors!  We’ve been concerned about their water bucket freezing so lately I’ve been bringing out a gallon jug of hot tap water to add to it.  The nights it’s been windy I’ve added 2 jugs.  My mixture is about 2 gallons hot water to 3 gallons water from the pump.  It makes the water almost lukewarm and the alpacas just love it.  We put the bucket on the ground in the corner by the middle post and the pen wall and surrounded it with straw to help insulate it.  We’ve put plenty of straw down in the pen and 2 stalls for them to snuggle into to keep warm.  We’ll have to keep adding straw over the winter. 

On Monday Julio finally got brave and ventured out past the paddock, sniffing the snow on his way to the pasture gate.  He was in the other pasture for a good 10 minutes before the others slowly decided to play ‘follow the leader.’  First Coty and then Bo, followed by Arlo with Guinness bringing up the rear.  They all managed to find something to graze on but within a short time Bo skedaddled back up to the barn and so did the others.  Yesterday they played follow the leader again in the morning.  With the sunshine things melted a bit so they were able to graze for over an hour and play for awhile before heading back up to the barn.

Afterwards, they were still being wimpy and hid out under the awning for the rest of the day.  Last night they watched us intently as we put up a tarp over one of the awning openings for a windbreak.  We covered just one stall so the boys wouldn't be too confused.  Then for our added amusement Bo, Coty, and Arlo played 'Ring around the tarp' for awhile.  We will probably put up another one tonight or tomorrow.  I can't see into the barn from the house as well now with the tarp up, but of course it's more important that the boys be dry and warm enough!        

Today, today, we have a real New England storm:  it’s noontime, there’s more than 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it’s still coming down fast and furious.  Looking outside my den’s window, everything is covered in bright white fluff.  Snow is blowing around in the strong winds.  The alpacas were all in good spirits this morning while I worked in the barn, and very curious about Stella barking from the entrance gate. They all peered out from under the awning long enough to get their beautiful topknots covered in snow.  All except Arlo, who was much more interested in me filling up the hay feeder.  True to form, Arlo’s topknot is covered in hay.  No one has left the barn again today, but Coty has been happily cushed right between the wall and the hay feeder for hours, with a perfect view of the snowy outside world.

In the mornings I go out to the barn to check on the alpacas.  They’re always fine, quietly munching on hay or cushed chewing their cud.  Sometimes they’re out in the pasture grazing.  I can’t imagine what’s out there this time of year to graze on!  Our pasture areas are far from perfect and still need a considerable amount of work but they always seem to find something.  We got some wonderful 2nd cut hay from a friend but if it’s sunny out, they’d rather be grazing on all the little nubs of grass.  I fluff up the hay and fill the feeder anyways just to be sure they don’t run out of hay while I’m at work or running errands.  Out in the pasture they all love to roll around in the dirt piles.  It’s so funny to watch and then they spring up quickly and shake and dust goes everywhere.

In the evening we go out again to check on the boys, and now it’s grain time.  My boys love their grain!  When they see me they all come running up to the barn.  In their excitement they all visit the dung pile too.

As we enter the paddock we greet all the alpacas by name, then Dan and I begin our quiet routine. He starts to ‘scoop the poop’ while I turn on all the lights.   I fill up the hay feeders again and dump the water buckets and refill them.  All the time we are eyeing the boys to be sure they’re all A-OK.  Sometime they will eat hay, sometimes they might cush while we work, but they all watch me.  When I’m done with the water buckets I pick up the grain bowls, and they all eagerly follow me to the tack room.  I usually get visitors at the tack room door sticking their heads in to eat hay while I fill the feed bowls, all except for Coty, who usually comes all the way in to the tack room and eats hay right next to me from a bale.  The spit fest starts between Julio and Guinness if I’m not fast enough.

When the bowls are ready, Dan and I will grab 4 of them and hold them up over our heads as we walk out.  The alpacas get excited again and do the 10 yard dash to the stall where we feed them.  Commotion erupts for a few seconds while everyone arranges themselves to their particular spots..... Guinness is on one end, Julio the other, and Bo and Coty in between.  Arlo walks up to the non-occupied bowl and starts eating while I run back to the tack room to get his bowl and call him into the pen to eat.  Most nights all is quiet except for the sounds of munching alpaca mouths.  Dan stands with the big boys in case anyone gets a little fresh and tries to eat someone else’s dinner.

Arlo eats so very slowly and I wait with him so he’s not alone.  When the big boys are done, Julio patiently waits on one side of the pen and Bo by the other, both hoping Arlo won’t finish.  Julio will look over the top of the pen wall, his eyes looking out from under his long topknot.  Bo is not quite as tall, so he rests his chin on the top of the pen wall and just stares.  Sometimes Dan or I will offer them a small handful of grain which they nibble up in a quick snort.  They sniff our noses often, alpaca kisses (!), and sometimes we’re able to scratch them behind the ears.  By then Coty will have come over too, but he’s still too shy to eat from our hands.  Arlo won’t eat from my hand either, but he loves a good ear scratch and noses me too.  They’re just very sweet and so funny.  Then there’s Guinness, our little piglet.  He’s never too shy when it comes to food!  He squeals until we give him a little extra grain too.

When Arlo is done I open up the pen door and he trots off.  Julio and Bo will rush in, sometimes Coty and Guinness too, and they all go after Arlo’s bowl, whether there’s anything left in there or not.  Arlo has the cleanest bowl on our farm!  I go back to the tack room to put things away and shut off the lights.  Arlo sometimes like to eat hay by the tack room, so if he’s right there waiting for me, I’ll put out a small handful for him.  The others by now are eating hay at the feeders or cushed chewing their cud, and Julio is usually cushed by the paddock entrance, ever watchful.  

Nighty-night, my boys.

We have been blessed by many glorious days of Indian summer lately.  It gives us extra time to cut, split, and stack the four cords of wood we burn over the winter.  There are still some beets and carrots in the garden which I’ve left in on purpose to give them some extra time to grow since they were so stunted by the deer grazing through.  The leaves have all fallen yet we are in no hurry to rake them up, even though they make great compost for gardening.  Instead we are putting up one of those ‘tarp and metal frame’ type sheds to store the tractor and its attachments. 

Pam is at full capacity now at her farm so this week she brought our girls, Dreamer and Alana, and Alana’s newest cria, Hank, to New Hampshire for us.  They will now agist over at Val and Gary Newell’s Crown Point Alpaca Farm, where they will be in very experienced hands with plenty of fellow alpacas for company.  Val and Gary have quickly grown their herd to over 40 alpacas, they agist for many farms, and have started other pastures to grow their farm even more.  They have an amusing assortment of other farm animals ~ chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and goats.  And they have other projects in the works too, including a nature trail and my personal favorite, a yurt in the woods to rent out.  And like us, they focus on sustainability and the natural world, hence their name ‘The Green Alpaca.’  Our girls and crias will continue to be well taken care of and now that they are only about 35 minutes away, we can visit them more often.  Val does fabulous photography and hopefully I can figure out how to get my pictures out of our camera soon.

Apparently it’s been an easy transition for our girls who are already being themselves.  Dreamer is often at the fence line shared with the boys, spitting at them, and then trotting off doing a little jig.  Alana likes to run back and forth through the pasture from one end to the other.  And little Hank has already made friends with the other crias, climbing hills and pronking around with them.

This is a wonderful new beginning for us.

Another thing about autumn is the coyotes.  In the evenings and throughout the night you can hear them howling.   Lately it sounds like it’s coming from the woods down the street, but many times it is the woods across the street from us in the state park, or in the woods behind our house.  Sometimes the pack behind our house howls back and forth with the pack in the park.  It’s a haunting noise and when the howls are close by the hair on the back of my neck stands up.  Our little alpaca herd doesn’t seem overly concerned, but of course we are.

We went up to Maine yesterday morning to pick up our new guard llama from Nancy Durst at White Barn Meadows Farm.  Nancy runs a gelding alpaca fiber farm that is picture-postcard beautiful.  Senator is a well experienced, well mannered guard llama that is easily handled.  He is just perfect for us. 

The initial meet and greet was in a word, hysterical.  Our boys all huddled around the paddock fence while we had Senator on the lead on the other side.  The happy sniff fest went on for quite some time, our boys much more curious about him than he was of them.  Once we led Senator into the paddock, Coty quickly instigated the others into chasing him around the paddock.  The same thing happened once we opened up the pasture.  Our boys ate their dinner quietly with virtually no fighting amongst themselves and then peacefully ate hay together out of the same feeder.  Senator ate hay from the big feeder and then stood just outside the paddock, observing the woods.

After dinner and hay our boys weren’t quite so spunky so Senator got to check out his new home in peace.  He carefully walked the fence lines and checked out the gates, sniffing and sniffing the air and I swear each inch of pasture.  It was a full moon night and the whole pasture was lit up.  He was very observant and alert over every little sound, dogs barking and howling, owls hooting, crickets chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, and I’m sure things that we humans can’t hear.  Finally he settled down and cushed in a spot along the middle pasture fence line and its gate.  Here, he has a perfect view of the barn with his new herd to protect and the entire pasture.

And Stella won't look at him either!

I am a very slow knitter; therefore I weave.  Occasionally I do knit and no, I’m usually not the person who knits a swatch first, although I know I probably should.  Most of you faithfully knit swatches, right?  This would mean that most of you also have accumulated a ‘swatch collection’ and what does one do with swatches?

One could make simple ornaments!  I admit this idea is a ‘no-brainer’ and lordy, why didn’t I think of this myself.  Hmmm, how lovely a Christmas tree will be decorated with alpaca! 

Swatch Ornaments

Dig out your swatch box and put project swatches to good use making ornaments. Thin, drapey swatches will give the smoothest effect.

Materials: Glass or plastic ball ornament; knitted swatch (height and width similar to or slightly smaller than ornament circumference; exact dimensions are not critical, swatch will stretch to fit.); strong sewing thread, needle; ribbon (optional)

Directions: With right sides facing, sew two short ends of the swatch together to make a tube. Turn right side out. With a doubled length of thread, make a running stitch line along the bottom edge of the swatch.

From inside the tube, draw the thread tight and gather the bottom of the swatch into a tightly closed circle. Fasten off the thread. Pop the ball ornament into the swatch bag.

With a doubled length of thread, make a running stitch along the top edge of the swatch. Draw the top opening tightly closed, stretching the fabric slightly if necessary. Fasten off the thread. If you'd like, attach a ribbon for hanging.

                                                 From Knitting Daily, Interweave Knits, www.interweave.com

We love autumn and October in New Hampshire is especially beautiful.  The maple trees’ leaves slowly turn to glorious hues of reds and orange, making the sky look so blue and the grass and fields so green.  The air is wonderfully crisp and dry and there’s always a great breeze.  It’s perfect weather for hiking. This is such a fabulous corner of the country to live in, and autumn our favorite season.

This is the time of year I switch to drinking more tea as coffee really doesn’t keep one warm, we go apple picking, we split and stack large piles of wood, we rake huge amounts of leaves, we cut down the perennials, we pull up the veggie garden and till back in large amounts of compost.  I go back to cooking soups and casseroles and baking bread.  As the days get shorter we lament ‘oh no soon it will be snowing once again’ but we wouldn’t choose to live anywhere else but here, where we have 4 distinct seasons. 

It went from normal autumn chilly to downright cold just like that this week which of course now makes me concerned that the alpacas are cold.  Yes they are livestock with super thick fleece so by nature are just fine in the cold weather.  Yet here we are in the house, all of us ~ me, Dan, Stella, and our indoor kitty Gracie ~ all snuggled up near the woodstove so it’s hard not to want to bring the alpacas inside!

Dan is concerned too, so the other day he came home with some straw to put down for bedding for them.  We have found out that hay that is on the ground will wick up moisture and not dry if it’s been rained on, so yeah, the alpacas would get cold.  The straw is hollow and does not absorb moisture, so it’s perfect for them to snuggle on.  We spread out a bale and it didn’t take long for them to all cush on it.  Smart alpacas!  We will continue to add straw on top of what’s there, layer upon layer, to keep them dry and warm over the fall and through winter.  Apparently, if done correctly, there is a composting effect, therefore creating heat which does help to keep the alpacas warm.

Off to make soup!

Why do we all raise alpacas?  Why, the fleece of course!

This year, 2009, has been named by the United Nations as the International Year of Natural Fibers.  Alpaca fleece is a natural fiber!  You can read about the United Nations’ overview of alpaca fleece at http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/fibres/alpaca.html.   There has also been a non-profit organization established, in cooperation with Heifer International, to celebrate this United Nations declaration, called http://www.keepthefleece.org/.  Their goal is to build the largest fiber flock in the world.  What a goal!

We are so happy to be part of this growing community of alpaca fiber producers.  We have lots and lots of bags of many, many pounds of fleece (well, for us it’s quite a lot!) and are still deciding on which fleeces to be processed where.  Someday I will learn to spin, but for now we will send it out for processing.  Some will be sent to our wonderful, local mini-mill, Sallie's Fen Fibers, to be made into yarn, some will be made into yarn through our preferred co-op, NAAFP, and still some will be made into wonderful rugs.  Because this is still such a new venture for us, we prefer to get our own fleece/yarn back, which will also serve our ‘locally grown’ clientele well.  But also as a business which supports a growing industry (alpaca textile), we realize that joining a co-op is a sound decision.  The NAAFP co-op’s regional collection facility as well as their commercial mill is here in New Hampshire!  So not only will the co-op’s yarns have our fleece in it, the co-op’s yarn is locally made in regards to our farm!  We’re thrilled.  

And how could we not be thrilled?  Alpaca is the absolute best fiber there is!

Even though it is now October, it is still not too late to join in the celebration of the International Year of Natural Fibers. Whether you knit, crochet or weave, you’ll enjoy working with alpaca!

There are several horse farms and horse owners here in our town.  In fact there are at least 6 horse farms/owners here on our street, plus the vet.  Our farm is also within 7 miles +/- of three different feed stores, each selling 1 of the 3 major brands of alpaca grain/pellets (Poulin, Blue Seal, and Mazuri), all which also sell hay, so our alpacas will never go hungry.  Because the overwhelming majority of livestock in our area is horses, the hay is usually 1^st cut Timothy hay.  There is certainly nothing wrong with 1^st cut, especially when it’s still very green, but it does tend to be coarser and ‘stemmy.’  Alpacas will usually pull out the stems and not eat it, leading to quite a large amount of waste.  Alpacas’ digestive systems requires a  higher protein value than horses or cattle, so the hunt for green, grassy, 2^nd cut hay for the fall and winter is on.

We purchased some 1^st cut hay from our neighbor when our alpacas first came home.  It was pretty green.  The alpacas seemed to like it although they have definitely been pulling out the stems, and as a bonus they also seemed to enjoy grazing on what little grass we have growing in the pastures.  Next spring we will have our soil tested so that we can fertilize the pastures properly.  But right now it’s autumn and it’s getting cold outside, and our vet would prefer they put on some weight before winter.  It will be easier to maintain their weight from then on, rather than trying to have them put some on during the cold weather.

We went over to a friend’s house yesterday to pick up a couple dozen bales of 2^nd cut hay from his fields.  Beautifully green, fabulous ‘just cut’ smell, and much softer to the touch!   I pulled out the other hay from the feeder and re-filled it with the new hay.  When the alpacas see me, they generally all come running (yes, it’s a nice feeling!) and run they did!  They took a few good sniffs of the new hay, a few bites, then turned around and walked back out to the pasture.  Silly, silly boys!!  All except our littlest guy, Arlo, who happily eats hay from my hand.  I’m guessing that because we’ve had some light rain occasionally the past few weeks, there must be new growth on the field that they like.  Right now as I type, they’ve just come back from the pasture and are chowing hay!  I guess they like it after all.

When I think of farms that have livestock, barn cats always come to mind.  Because of all the feeds and grain that are stored, mice, rats, and other rodents would become rather prolific without the assistance of a good cat or two.  I have always been the type of person who has indoor kitties, thinking that indoors is the safest place for a cat to be.  I am also realistic and know that someday it will be necessary to have an outdoor cat now that we have alpacas.

We’ve taken precautions but also know that our current mouse-free situation is temporary for the short-term at best.  We built the tack room with a solid floor, store the grain in metal trash bins in the tack room, store the hay in the tack room also, and sealed off cracks between the boards.  We are currently deciding on where to put a ‘cat door’ for entrance into the tack room, as this will be the main place for a barn cat to get out of the weather.  I am also researching the many wonderful rescue organizations that place feral cats into a barn home situation, stray and ‘street-wise’ cats that would be inappropriate for an indoor home.

That being said, Stella just loves to chase squirrels and chipmunks.  They all always out run her, either hiding in a hole in the stone wall or running up a tall oak tree.  I suppose you all know where this story is now going ....... 

We have lots of rocks, large boulders down to softball sized, piles of them here and there left to us after the loggers cleared.  Dan loves to build stonewalls and he has plenty of rocks now to keep him busy for years.  Stella hears the chipmunks squeaking, and she hangs around the rock pile for hours, fussing and whining, occasionally digging a little, and pouncing at every noise.  She’s always done this, and we just let her be.  The other day when we called her, she gleefully came trotting over to us, tail hanging from her mouth, and promptly deposited a mouse at Dan’s feet, just like a good kitty would.  But she’s a Sheltie-mix dog!

So now we have a new nickname for her: “Stella, the Mighty Hunter!”

We’re having such a great time with the alpacas.  They do have their individual personalities and over the past month, we’ve begun to decipher them.  As I’ve mentioned, Julio is the self-appointed guard and leader.  When he heads out into the pasture, the others all follow within minutes.  When he heads back up to the barn, here they all come.  In the evening after sunset, he stands by the paddock entrance and seems to scan the woods.  When he hears something, his ears perk up and his body stiffens.  We’ll sometimes shine the flashlight to see if we can see anything, but we never have.  Sometimes we’ll hear a neighbor’s (it’s the country; neighbors aren’t exactly ‘nearby’) dog in the distance, but usually we don’t see anything.  Then he’ll slowly walk off into the pasture, look around again, and start grazing.  One by one, the others follow, and graze under the stars.  They’re all such a friendly little group together.

But alas, that changes somewhat when food is involved!  Fighting over food is normal in the livestock world as well in the wild.  We try to make things as fair as possible, like one would with their own children.  Some evenings they pleasantly eat their grain and then go back to the paddock and cush.  Some nights the spit is flying!  The usual instigator is Guinness, who for some reason seems to think that all the bowls are for him.  Dan will try to move him from the others’ bowls, then everyone rearranges themselves; what a riot!  We always put Arlo, our littlest and shyest guy, separate from the others or else he’d never get to eat, and I ‘stand guard’ by him until he is done. 

And then there is the hay feeder.  Usually all is fine, with everyone quietly munching.  Then they see me getting more hay to add, and I’m usually bombarded by alpaca mouths.  That’s fine as I can still easily add that flake or two into the feeder.  Once again, Guinness seems to think the hay is all for him.  His first victim is usually Julio who when it comes to fresh hay, always fights back.  Yesterday the two went at it, spitting and screeching at each other for a good solid 5 minutes.  The others were eating on the other side of the feeder but when the spitting started, they stood back with me out of the line of fire to watch the spit fight.  What a riot my 2 geldings are!

But what we love the most is in the evening when the alpacas play.  Either Coty will head butt Bo Jangles or vice-versa, the other returns the favor, and off they go.  They’ll run gracefully together side by side around the pasture, stop for some head butting, wrangle their longs necks together, and roll all over each other.  They make gentle snorting sounds as they wrestle and off they go again running.  Sometimes they’ll head butt the others gently to join in the race around the pastures.  It’s so beautiful and peaceful to watch, under just the moonlight and stars.

In a previous post, I had mentioned how our alpacas had easily adapted to their new home here on our farm, and that because they’ve been so calm, we’re kinda irked that they haven’t done something.  Well, now they have!

They were all hanging out by the awning and hay feeder, cushed and chewing their cud, when suddenly they all leaped up, instantly alert, and Julio ran to the back of the pasture.  He was intent on something past the stone wall.  The others cautiously came to the end of the paddock and one by one they stepped out slowly into the pasture in a line, but never quite reaching Julio; Coty first and then Guinness, followed by Bo with Arlo bringing up the rear.  Oddly enough, they were in a line from tallest to smallest.  I called out to Dan who was in the garage and he ran out back along the east fence line.  I got the binoculars and went out down the west fence line.   Julio was definitely eyeing something, and the others were cautiously standing still and watching, with Bo constantly looking over his shoulder at Arlo as if to say “Don’t move!  Stay right there!”  When Dan got to the middle of the stone wall that follows the back of our pasture, Julio turned around sharply and ran up to the barn, nipping at everyone’s back end to hurry along.  It was quite the sight to see them all running together as the herd that they are. 

The fuss?   Apparently there was a red fox sitting on the stone wall watching them.  It started to run off when Julio approached, and Dan saw it run off into the woods.  When Dan got to the stone wall where the fox had been, that’s when Julio called the gang back up to the barn.  It’s good to know that our alpacas can distinguish between Stella and our neighbors’ dogs (no threat) and with a wild animal (big threat).  Julio, being the tallest and heaviest, is the undeclared leader and guard.

Good boy Julio!

The next best thing to eating food fresh from the garden during the summer and fall is having it to eat during those cold winter months.  I found this terrific article on the Farmer's Almanac website regarding preserving those wonderful summertime harvests and thought it perfect to share with all of you.  The link to this article follows at the end.  Enjoy!  ~ Mona

Easy Ways to Preserve Summer's Bounty

In the summertime, nothing is better than fresh food straight from your garden or the local farmers’ market. Wouldn’t it be great to have these delicious fruits and vegetables available year round? Well, you can. Save money and eat healthy, tasty meals all winter long by preserving those homegrown fruits and vegetables. It’s easier than you think!

Freezing
Freezing is a simple and convenient way to preserve food for several months. It slows food deterioration and stops the growth of bacteria. Food can be frozen in containers such as freezer bags (these are heavier duty than the thinner sandwich bags), plastic containers (butter tubs and whipped topping containers work well), canning jars, aluminum foil, or freezer paper. Remember – food expands as it freezes, so do not overfill containers.

Freezing Fruits
Prevent cut fruits such as apples, peaches, and pears from darkening by first soaking them in a commercial anti-darkening agent or make your own solution by combining one teaspoonful of lemon juice to one quart of water. For many fruits, it is best to add sugar or a sugar syrup (see recipe below) to enhance taste and help the fruit retain its color.

Sugar Syrup Recipe
Light Syrup: Boil 2 cups sugar and 4 cups water. Makes 5 cups syrup.
Medium Syrup: Boil 3 cups sugar and 4 cups water. Makes 5 ½ cups syrup.
Heavy Syrup: Boil 4 ¾ cups sugar and 4 cups water. Makes 6 ½ cups syrup.

Cool syrup, then pour over fruit before freezing.

Freezing Vegetables
Fresh vegetables must be blanched before freezing. Blanching involves submerging vegetables into boiling water for a short period of time, then immersing them into cold water to stop the cooking process. Blanching kills enzymes that age the produce, resulting in fresher tasting food.

Home Canning
Home canning is another great way to preserve food. With canning, the food is placed in jars and is heated to a specific temperature in which food-spoiling germs are killed. This heat forces the air out of the jar, sealing it once it cools. Since bacteria cannot enter a sealed jar, the food can be preserved for a number of years.

There are two types of canners: a boiling-water canner and a pressure canner. The boiling-water canner is a huge pot in which jars can be covered with boiling water. This type of canner cannot reach temperatures high enough to completely kill all bacteria in jars no matter how long they are boiled, so this method is used primarily for canning

fruits and pickles since they contain natural acids that will prevent growth of bacteria.

Vegetables are more safely canned in a pressure canner where higher temperatures can be reached through the use of its tightly locking lid that holds steam inside the pot. A modern day pressure canner has a safety valve that will pop off if the pressure becomes too great, so do not worry about the unit exploding. However, precautions must still be taken. Never open the canner until it is fully depressurized. Once all pressure is released, open the lid away from your face so as not to be burnt by the release of steam.

What You Will Need for Canning:

• Canning Jars – Canning jars are made with thicker glass than standard jars to prevent breakage at high temperatures. Jars are available in different sizes and can be purchased by the dozen or found at garage sales.

• Lids and Bands – Lids and bands should fit the jars perfectly in order to obtain a good seal. Lids (or “flats”) should always be purchased new and must never be reused, as they may not seal properly a second time. Bands (or “rings”) may be washed and used again as long as they remain in good condition.

• Canning Salt – Canning salt is optional and enhances the flavor of the vegetables. Do not use regular table salt as this will result in soggy vegetables.

Canning Tips

• Be sure jar rims are not chipped, nicked, or cracked, as this will prevent the lid from sealing.
• Do not fill jars to the top. Leave headspace so food will have room to expand while cooking.
• Remove air bubbles from the jar by sliding a plastic spatula between the food and sides of the jar. Releasing air bubbles will help ensure food stays covered in liquid.
• Wipe off food debris or salt from rims of jars so sealing will not be hindered.
• Before placing lids on jars, first heat them by simmering (not boiling) in hot water. Let lids sit in the hot water until ready to use. Any remaining bacteria will be killed during canning.
• Check jar seals within 24 hours of processing. Any jars that did not seal properly should be reprocessed (using a clean jar and new lid) within one day, or else the food should be refrigerated and eaten within several days.
• Thoroughly read all operating and safety instructions that come with your canner.

Now that you are armed with knowledge on how to preserve that delicious summer bounty, go ahead and plant those extra veggies or buy an extra bushel of fruit at the farmers’ market. When wintertime comes, you’ll be eating garden fresh!

Farmers almanac link:

 http://www.farmersalmanac.com/home_garden/a/easy-ways-to-preserve-summers-bounty