Kensmyth

ok – I AM an eighties chick after all – we all love a little bit of Olivia Newton John from Grease when enjoying those summer days and nights?

and then the heatwave went – typical British Summer!

A hot tub is something like marmite – you love them or hate them, I rarely meet visitors who do not have an opinion either way.

however, they do require upkeep as all things do and once winterised, well, we do permit the dog to have a go … but it is then prepared in anticipation of the hot weather to come and then she is not!

with temperatures hitting plus 28 degrees, a hot tub is a beautiful thing!

well we have been celebrating many things here at Clay Meadow, including my parents 60th Wedding Anniversary – how about that.

A bit of a “dark horse” I was told recently which will amuse those of you in the know… really?

no, seriously it is a cheeky little Chardonnay on sale in Tescos – not that I get time to drink alcohol these days LOL

We have not been idle here or sunning ourselves – it has been a challenging mating time here at Kensmyth. with the temperatures hitting 25 degrees by 8 am, the only time for sensibly mating has been in the early hours… the temperatures have been too hot in the evening.

so with all Alpaca boys in action this year, including our super homebred 3 year olds, it has been all hands to the deck literally. nobody has escaped leading a male for a liaison – trust me!

meantime – fantastic skies to be seen whilst they are romancing!

Farming life continues as the temperatures rise but families are always important…

Well many followers of this ten year Blog will know my Father is extremely severely Disabled and that his health has deteriorated terribly of recent years. However, he is a true fighter  who never gives up – probably where I get it from – and with his wonderful wife and Carer, my Mother, together they are going to celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary this year.

Yes – 60 years, imagine that. Congratulations to them both and we are really looking forward to their “knees up”

Meantime, the Queen herself sends a Telegram for the big day – has to be arranged by friend or relative – so I received a Letter from the Queen recently to confirm this would happen!

love the postmark!

Filming has continued here at Kensmyth as the heat hit but many Alpaca walks have had to be cancelled. nobody wants to do too much in the intense heat during the day – these three just like everybody though!

Well Mitchell is going from strength to strength and his latest is lessons on a Drone. Yes, lessons, Drones are pretty interesting beasts and in the wrong hands can be easily damaged or worse case hurt someone. so in true Kendall Smith fashion – which means you check it all out, read the manual and have lessons – which most men do not – here he is having a lesson!

The Drone is in the sky in the top left of the photo!

Thank you to Paul for his time!

I have never been very good at knowing which field mushrooms are edible or not – what do you think?

so we do not eat mushrooms here full stop – far better things to choose from…

well, my battered 22 year old farm car was put to shame in the Tesco Car Park in Cirencester when she saw this beauty…

Tesco clientele is definitely on the up and up if you can shop in one of these…

We have been delighted with our Alpaca fleece part of the business from 2008 to date but nothing gives greater pleasure to those of us in it for the “long haul” than knowing each year your stock has improved and is on track for super fibre and super cria long term – especially when those Show Experts look at them.

This years shearing was no exception…

All over “Density” in the fleece is one trait to look for, along with uniformity across “type” and conformation:

likewise those non ground poaching pads must have clear pads and even toes… with good fleece coverage at the joints to protect against the elements…

Flat pads, even toenails…    a particular Camelid trait

The length of the fleece is called the “staple” and should be long and strong all over the body – seen more noticeably when shearing… along with the “fineness” of the fleece itself…

and then you move to something called “crimp” which should be clearly seen along the length of the “Staple” and preferably the staples should be defined clearly…

and finally and then look for the “lustre” at the body end of the “staple” which is the “shine”

Really pleased with our Alpaca herd at Kensmyth – that’s for sure!