2021 I was expecting things to improve, but no we started the year in another lockdown, I don’t think I can remember what normal life was like, meeting with friends and family, having a laugh, sharing the ups and downs of life over a cuppa.
Going to a shop and browsing around , going to an event seeing new ideas and products. Days out when and where you want, going to new places and exploring all just dreams from the past.
We also lost Nick Nack at the start of the year, he was one of my original Alpacas that I bought 7 years ago this month and he moved here with us along with his companion, Odd Job. He wasn’t that old about 9, It was a Saturday and we were doing the usual winter vitD injections and feet trimming, did a body score check and he was very low, we decided to bring him in and feed him separate to make sure he wasn’t being bullied off food, By Monday his condition seemed to have deteriorated, checked his mouth and eyes nothing untoward, checked him all over nothing, decided on a trip to the vet, they ran a worm count, blood tests, checked temperature heart lungs etc gave him a shot of multi vitamins, Results came back and nothing stood out as abnormal, everything was fine and clear, by the end of the week he had deteriorated even further, vet came out and gave him a few shots, Saturday he picked up and spent a few hours in the sunshine with his. Herd, Sunday he was flat out, Monday I made the phone call to the vet, would they come out and euthanise him.
You can’t win all the battles no matter how hard you try.
We have had a fair bit of snow this month
It’s lovely to see but terrible to work in when it freezes over, it seems to take an age to thaw up here.
I am using the snow to clean a woven Alpaca fleece rug, and some sheepskin rugs that came from our first lambs many years ago.
It’s a method I read about on a post from Pocket House Studio up in the Hebridean islands who wove our Alpaca rug.
I have got my pepper and chili plants started
They were started off indoors in the propagator, now under the grow lights along with some tomatoes and lobelia, over the coming weeks lots of seeds will be started off ready for another season.
A bit of a change is taking place outside in the growing area, or will be when the weather improves,
Polytunnel number 3, this one is 50ft long twice the length of the others, I am really looking forward to getting started with this one.
We have plans afoot for this year more will be revealed when we start to put them in action.
I will do another blog post in a few days as there are other bits I would like to share, this post is long enough as it is.
So sorry about losing your Alpaca - losing any friend is hard and having to make that final decision is hard too. Hope things pick up for you and that you have a good year Covid notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteYour posts are never too long :-) Sorry to hear about NickNack
ReplyDeleteAlways sad to loose any of your flock, but it's all part of the life you are living. Having plans is brilliant, something to keep your mind going and then your body as you put your plans into reality.
ReplyDeleteAw, so sorry to hear about Nick Nack. It's always hard to lose them. :(
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're being productive in spite of the lockdown! Good for you!
Yeah the new year hasn't started out too well for American overall. It's worse every day and I can't listen to regular radio without the media spreading lies that give me a headache. I dove into a remodel project to keep my mind off things and onto better things. Have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me sad, Dawn. The losses that seem to happen for no discernable reason are always the hardest.
ReplyDeleteThe cleaning in the snow thing sounds very interesting - and almost intuitive, if I would take a minute to think about it.
Sorry to hear about the death of your alpaca, especially since he was one of your first.
ReplyDeleteAs for the 'snow cleaning' of the rugs, ....what a good idea. I have wanted to make hand made rugs but have been put off the cleaning of them!