Sat Eve April 4th… Luke and Iggy are here and very happy……

Isabelle and her friend brought the alpacas this morning and dropped them in their new home, then we all watched them for a hour or better while they became accustomed to their new abode. When we were sure that they were ok with everything, we left them to explore the stable and pasture area and went into the house to show Isabelle our knitting machine. She has been toying with the idea of getting one and wanted to see it and ask a few questions about what we thought of ours. We told her that it is a superior knitting machine and that you can make a knitted item in a very short period of time once you become familiar with the machine and using it. We gave her the DVD to take home to study, because she is planning on coming back to try the machine and bring her spinning wheel here for Vicki to try, because we want to get a wheel to spin our alpaca wool too.
Later in the afternoon, after Isabelle left, we work a little in the barn, just to be around Luke and Iggy a bit, then went to GNH for some clamps and a light fixture and bulbs to supplement the heating element in the hatching box, since we couldn’t get the temperature up to 101 degrees. It would only climb to 99 degrees and that isn’t good enough in a still air incubator to hatch the eggs. The added 15w light bulb should make the difference.
Tomorrow morning early, I’ll leave Iggy and Luke out, along with all the other critters if it is to be nice, otherwise, I’ll just leave the alpacas out, because they can be under the porch or inside the barn. They won’t stand out in the rain like a dumb chicken or turkey until they get sick. Here are a bunch of pictures of today……. Enjoy!

Sat April 4th … Today the Alpacas will come…sometime…

Was up early today with anticipation of the arrival of the alpacas, which Isabelle will drop off sometime today. I was to the barn already and did a little cleaning at the bunny house and around the chickens. We also moved a few more eggs from the turner to the hatching box. but I can’t seem to get the temperature up to where I want it, so I will be going to GNH for a couple switch and receptacle covers and a light fixture & bulbs to supplement heating in the hatching box. I’ll tie it into the regular thermostat so it will work in parallel with the heating element, so I can get the heat up to the 101 degrees I need to hatch, since it is a still air incubator.
I suppose sometime here in the future, we’ll need a horse trailer, so we can transport the alpacas if we have to take them anywhere, but I don’t think it will be a real pushing matter, because we want them to be relaxed and enjoy being here. We didn’t get them to shuffle all over the place, but still it would be nice if we had to go to the vet’s if he can’t come out here to the farm.
We met with Jeff, our contractor friend last evening for dinner at Paul’s in Coxsackie and while eating dinner…… went over the cost of his doing our concrete work for the hospice gift shop. He gave us an estimated price and will donate his time to the program. We will install a bronze plaque when it’s completed, noting such………… but the point is that we’re moving on it. I’ll start figuring wood materials and we’ll call Middle Field Lumber to place that order once it’s complete.
When I have some spare time on nice days, I will work on digging a four foot hole in the center of the rear deck to install a sonna tube, some rebar and pour cement level to the deck itself. This will hold the center post of the roof for the back deck which will keep the rain off of us, the deck, the picnic table and the BBQ grill. The latter is all benefits of the real reason, which is to keep the rain from driving directly against the rear screen door and soaking the rear door when it blows rain from the east. It will eventually rot the door jam and floor in the kitchen, so it must be done.

Friday April 3rd… Rain and Rain equals Lots a rain… Who Cares???

Who cares if it rains all day long? Not US!! We are going to go to Agway and pick up or regular monthly feed load with the Alpaca stuff added on. Vicki is also gonna place her glass in the Two Kids Bakery, across from the Deworks car wash, behind the Greene County Bank. Keren loves the glass as much as we do, so they have agreed to let Vick display the glass display, which we sell to benefit the hospice program.
When we get home, we’ll work in the barn for awhile getting a light for the chickens in the outside run area. That still needs done. The Alpacas come tomorrow sometime in the morning I would guess. We’ll have lots of pictures of their arrival and afterwards in the barn. We can’t wait…… Here are a few pictures from yesterdays work in and around the barn, getting things ready for the Alpacas.