Looking forward to Spring?

And now comes the rain!!!!!! This winter seems to really want to punish us for some reason. Yesterday's rain simply swamped our paddocks with the forecast being further rain! Our pacas therefore are spending some time in the barn away from the mud and water. When I open the paddock gates to let them in at night, there is an almighty stampede to the barn which demonstrates their preferences in no uncertain terms!!

The other day, whilst making up the feed in the barn, I heard a dog barking immediately outside and upon investigating this, found that someones dog had managed to climb through (two) perimeter fences and ended up on our internal track outside the barn barking at the alpacas. They had gathered in force to look at this uninvited creature and thus doing so, seemed to have intimidated the dog into simply barking (thank goodness)! I was not too pleased with this as the double external fencing was installed to prevent any animal access, so I am now focused upon tightening our security even further!

Wednesday saw the departure of two of our boys who now have a new home on a local farm and today, another two will be heading off to pastures new in Hampshire. The couple who are the new owners will be arriving at Easter-Wood to have a routine husbandry session with us before transporting them off to their new home.

I don't know if anyone else has the same problem but I am finding that we get an awful lot of hay/haylage wasted around the hay feeders in the paddocks. Whilst the hay/haylage is packed well in the feeders, the "spillage" is considerable and I have calculated that there is about two barrow loads strewn on the ground every month!

As I type this, I hear the rain pounding on the roof again and so my thoughts are turning rapidly to the promise of a warm, barmy spring??............... Ah well, off to don my waders and waterproofs again!