Kensmyth

Time and Tide wait for no man… and I have not bought a stitch of food for the big day yet – that’s farming for you!

Busy busy and with the fields so wet, the entire herd has had several nights in already (in separate groups) to give their feet a chance to harden. Wet wet consistently and wet on the back is not a good recipe when temperatures fall or the wind gets up. We hit some gusts of 70 miles per hour a few days ago and I could barely walk up the hill with buckets of feed it was that blowy. Great for drying out my hair and the fleeces though!

ADE vitamin jabs to the entire herd is our policy and it is very time consuming. Each Alpaca is thoroughly checked, body scored then weighed before injecting. Toenails are also checked or trimmed at this point too. Why do I bodyscore and then weight too? I like to know I am correct in my assessments when bodyscoring without weighing … by checking my assessment against a weighing machine I know how accurate I am. After 7 years of breeding Alpaca, the odd cria or nursing mother who is a little aged can still keep you on your toes you know!

Weaning is now top of the list for some as the cria have grown on so well.

Well, Christmas is galloping my way and I am not sure I am going to catch it! Too many wet early mornings and very late check rounds and I succumbed to the dreaded cough lurgy cold for a while. Once clear – no need to share everything – I was off selling again at the Corn Hall Exchange in the Historic Town of Cirencester. Very pretty rooms and packing late at night on Friday for a 7 am unload makes it a long day. How exciting though – it only takes me an hour to set up the stall now. Far less to take down as I sold so much but more on that later… meantime the “set up”

another room, another hall…

and where do we start…

and then we are on our way to making a stand look nice…

and folk are setting up round me too as it starts to take shape…

and it is all coming together on two tables

and the “front interest” takes shape…

and finally a little bit of Christmas sparkle and we have a Kensmyth Alpaca stand!

Christmas is sort of happening ahead of me this year and I am just about keeping up!

I managed to get the tree outside and it looks fab – well I think so.

and a fantastic day at Cirencester Corn Hall today – back soonest

well if you have a paddock hoover you will know the hoses freeze. old duvets are just the ticket!!

cosy enough and stops the plastic snapping…

wow how did that happen? December well on its way and hay rounds imperative…

someone asked me recently how I get my hay to the Alpaca… well my answer was “shanks pony”… can you guess?

and is rejected by many and fallen upon by some…

busy with farm planning for the future and next year is going to be just so exciting. love the cold, hate the wet…

meantime some practical winter jobs needed…

hedge trimming

lovely colours in the hedgerows…

and getting ready in the outdoor shelters for the mud that will surely come… rubber mats!!

well crazy busy here as usual. whole herd check, toenails, weighing and fleece inspection took two whole days when doing it yourself! Really pleased with the results and I am seriously considering breaking out and entering four for the National next year!

The dry spell is helping the squishy mud dry out and the frost due tonight hardens the ground for moving hurdles around.

shame about the water freezing though…

meantime more of the Autumn cheer in our new collections…

December 1st wow – so much has happened recently… its been very busy as usual. We have had many clients and visitors but we have also been preparing the Alpaca Winter Collection and taking shots from a variety of different locations on site.

That’s photos and there are some really fun times when you have models to work with instead of mannequins…

introducing the slouch beanie in its natural habitat…

well – that’s versatile warm and durable Alpaca for you…

Cirencester Historic Corn Hall Market Crafts Stalls…

Well first you pack the car in the early hours…

then you arrive to the empty beautiful hall and start setting up your wares…

and the halls start filling…

and you set up your own stall…

and then start selling…

fab…

wow – has it been so long since I blogged!??

Time flies when you are just sooo busy. We have had streams of delighted visitors, been tending the grounds, husbandry vaccinations and toenails, barning in wet weather with inevitable mucking out … and I had a day off too…

well if you consider packing the car at 10pm and leaving to set up a stall at 6.45 am and on your feet all day then unpacking a day off, of course! more on that another blog! Yes – its marketing winter Kensmyth products time!!

meantime, Kensmyth were delighted to meet Angus who lives in South Cerney and introduce him to our friendly Alpaca. Our Alpaca are not small Angus – you are very tall!!

A very enterprising young individual who we were delighted to meet and sponsor for his trip to Peru. We always try to help locally where we can, just as others help us too.

you can see more about Angus at : http://angusexploring.weebly.com/blog-and-fundraising

meantime, here he was at Kensmyth…

and Angus receiving his cheque towards his trip…

back soon