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Winter weather

Winter has arrived full force at Rocaro Alpacas. We were blessed with 6 inches of wet snow followed immediatley by several inches of rain to equal 6 inches of slush. Yippee!

The day is sunny and cool, perfect weather for pruning trees in the pasture.

Oh, $%#*&

We have had several days of high winds and so far the old barn has stood up to the challenge.

Except for last night, when one of the big front doors blew off.

Not only did it blow off, it is well damaged and took some of the sliding track with it.

Now I am not impressed; it's right before Christmas and I have to find a carpenter (we need the new door to be square) and convince the door company that we need a new runner fast.

Meanwhile the girls look over their gate thinking Hummm, this is new....what should we doooo?Hopefully we are not in for more wind & rain, or worse yet snow or we will be shoveling out the barn. Arrgh!

Weaning time again

We have all this year's cria moved to the "Cria Club" area of the barn to be weaned from their moms, and then start learning some manners (halter & lead training).

The move went well and without too much fuss from either the moms or the babies.

During halter training we will decide who will be going to shows and who will be in our breeding program.

Jewellery for the Girls

Well, the herd is large enough now that it has become hard to tell some of the critters apart. This is particularly true of the yearling girls and this years' crop of cria.

We found a way to ID those in question with the use of plastic chain and cattle ear tags. We attached the ear tags to the chain, added the name and parentage of the alpaca needing ID to the tag, and attached the chain around the neck.

While not particularly high-fashion, it is serving the purpose.

Alpaca Gargoyles

Add to your herd or start a new herd with one of these cute alpaca gargoyles. These gals are hand crafted clay with plenty of attitude and can be ordered from our webstore. Have a good laugh.

http://www.rocaroalpacas.ca/sunshop/index.php

Wolfville Market

Only three more Saturday's at the Wolfville farmers market until Christmas. Come by and visit us on the second floor of the market to get your special christmas gifts. Or as always you can visit our online store. www.rocaroalpacas.ca

Our past 6 weeks at the market have been a great success and now the online and farmstore sales are picking with christmas coming. We have even sold out of somethings.

If you are wanting Duvets, pillows or other bedding products to keep you warm this christmas will need to be ordered soon as free delivery with Canada Post. Extra charge if you want by courier.

This weekend at the market is titled "Get Unscrooged" with special draws and events.

Tucking in for winter

My saving grace is that winter comes late to Nova Scotia.

I have turned my attention to planting the last few fall bulbs and getting the flower beds cleaned up for winter.

Six beds have been trimmed and weeded leaving only the two big ones to do. With any luck the weather will hold just a little longer so I can finish...

Barn Door Ballet

The weather became wet and windy overnight and I was not inclined to go to the barn in the dark this morning.

At first light, I realized I had a problem with the new double Dutch style barn doors. Each of the 4 individual doors were taking their turn swinging & banging in the wind, and at this point I have no idea if the animals were in the barn or had taken advantage of the situation to go "walk-about".

Off I go to the barn.

Upon my arrival I see the alpacas huddling in a corner of the barn looking concerned that something isn't right, Tab the barn cat is meowing like crazy and trying to get to me while the dogs are responding by barking and trying to get at the cat. Meanwhile the doors continue to bang.

After analyzing the problem I had to construct supports to attach to the inside of the barn doors to add stability, after which I nailed the hay feeder to the doors for added security (will probabaly catch hell for that) and then replace the small outer supports with big long ones firmly attached by long screws. All of this while fighting against gale-force winds, arrrgh.

Once completed the alpacas relaxed and settled in for a morning nap, the cat got a cuddle and the dogs snoozed on the hay.

The doors appear to be holding...

Wwoofing season over again

Once again we had a great time with all the Wwoofers who passed through the farm this year.

As always, the help was invaluable and we learned from each other. Everyone participated in the barn chores and I will miss the company and help in the barn.

Also, thanks to Cathy in the garden, Lilian for weeding and planting beans, Ching & Sara for all the painting, Tracy for weeding, fibre prep and jellying (Carly for keeping the squirrels at bay), Tosca for more weeding and jelly making, Betty, Gerry & Muriel for the help on Open Farm Day, Laura for gardening & soap felting and the farmers market, Jim for door building and gardening, Jill for the garden help and soap felting and the farmers market, Hollis for wrangling alpacas and helping at the market, and last but not least Fabian for helping to hang the new barn doors.

We couldn't have accomplished so much without all of you.

Farmers Market a Success

We have attended the Wolfville Farmer's Market two Saturdays in a row, and expect to be there if space is available from now until Christmas.

We have had excellent success so far, this is very encouraging. We have met some very enthusiastic people and everyone is curious about alpacas.

There is a lot of organizing required to prepare for the market along with loading & unloading the truck, set up, break down and loading & unloading all over again. Every time we go we get better at it though.

Swirling wood ash

As part of the Nova Scotia Nutrient Management Plan for our pastures we received a tractor-trailer load of wood ash to be spread.

The ash arrived on a beautiful calm Thursday afternoon, and I called our neighbour with the equipment to let him know that Friday would be a good day to spread the as beecause rain was forcasted for Saturday.

Friday morning arrived with a stiff breeze. The neighbour arrived and the breeze became a strong wind. We spread the ash anyway in a cloud of blowing black soot. By the time we were finished the wind was gale force. It was a good thing that we received more ash than we really needed as a good portion of it blew into the woods across the road.

Each one of us was covered in black ash, and soap and showers were running full force that afternoon.

A new toy

The old manure cart, a steel type trailer has finally given up the ghost. We have replaced it with a heavy duty plastic one that good or bad, carries twice the load. It's easier to load & unload & doesn't leak. That in itself is a good thing.

Thank you

A very big thank you to all who have helped at the farm this past year.

Thank you to all of our customers who support our business. Without your support our farm would not be as successful as it is.

New socks

Just arrived: A brand new sock order! We have a new supplier for thermal socks, hiking socks, cable dress socks and ever so cute kids socks. All 80% alpaca.