Kensmyth

Well having had sheep at Kensmyth for a year, it was time to take stock of the situation that they had been purchased to fulfill.  Namely to fertilise the grounds naturally for us and to keep the grass down.

They did a great job of that, I proved to myself that I can still lamb after 30 years since I last did it – in the depths of winter on my own and they grew amazingly in the process…

Well regular followers knew that inevitably the Wensleydale lambs would be sold and it was a stroke of bad luck that the week before collection, the little lamb had a bad ear – see previous blog.

she vastly improved during stringent thrice daily attention of draining the ear and antibiotics – advised and aided by our Vets – the George Farm Vets – and off she went recently with her brother and sisters to her new home when all was well and she was fit to travel.

We wish you all the best with your new flock of Wensleydales – you know who you are!

  from this….

to this….

I am rubbish at gardening, have no time for it and always forget to water anything – my Mother when I was a child used to despair of me because she is a very keen gardener – so we have everything in Pots here and when they come out, they are simply stunning…

well I did say we work from dawn until dusk…

with farming hours taking us from dawn to dusk, eating is not a priority at Kensmyth – lots of healthy fridge ready vegetables for fast eating – we do not let the grass grow under our feet…

What can I say about this – that others have not already said?

Rest in Peace to those who have died and our thoughts are with those who are injured.

Thank you to the Emergency Services and those giving time and support.

I can say that I have relatives in Manchester, friends in Manchester, nieces in Manchester, mine but for the Grace of God are alright but we pray for those families whose loved ones are hurt or who will never come home again.

what a beautiful today has been – especially after the heavy rains of Saturday – we were pretty busy on Saturday but more on that will be revealed at a later time.

no photo for this, something exciting is happening this week will make my followers of the past ten years say “oh yes, now I get it” but … you will have to wait.

so meantime, as the Alpaca bask in the sunshine where we hit a grand 23 degrees today…

we finally saw La La Land and The Beauty and The Beast

thoroughly recommend both!

As we wait with anticipation for way, way overdue cria (Alpaca babies) to be born, life in farming is not always fun, flowers and hay making. If you are the kind of person who likes four holidays a year, nice fingernails, time out for yourself, hates mud or being cold, wants their meals on time (or even at all), needs their sleep and likes socialising – farming is not for you!!

we have been treating two cases here for a few days now and both have the potential for total recovery but both are serious issues requiring constant attention. if you are squeamish do not read on!

Firstly, (and it was not me that put them in this year) one of the Wensleydale lambs had an issue with an ear tag. It is just one of those things but if spotted really quickly, you can prevent (hopefully) long term damage to the ear and obviously treat it effectively quicker saving the lamb discomfort unnecessarily.

This little lamb had to have her tags removed, her haematoma opened and cleansed, being treated daily with antibiotics. She is well on the mend now…

   A personal thank you to my two friends who came out to hold her whilst I removed her ear tags and cut into her ear to release the fluid and again when the hole closed up due to a clot – draining being so important – you know who you are.

Well I did warn you that if you were squeamish not to read the post.

are they here yet – say the Rams?

are they here yet say the boys?

We never tire of saying that we are expecting great things of our cria every year and this year is no exception… however patience is the name of the game with Alpaca because LMD’s (last mating dates) rarely mean anything and they will be born when they want to be – anytime of the day or night…

keeping you on permanent “birthing watch”… some of them find it amusing to watch us humans!