Happenings at Shady Creek Farm

My Blog Has Moved

2011-03-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've moved my blog to another platform. Please continue to follow us at www.jonandphyllis.wordpress.com

Summer Has Arrived

2010-07-22T07:21:00.000-05:00

Wow. "It's hot! We need a pool!" This is a common phrase uttered by either Jon or I on any given day at any given time of the day when we find ourselves, well, hot. We would love to have a pool but we've yet to "take the plunge!" Boy, I'm funny this morning and only one cup of coffee in.

Well, I've been fighting with my computer for several days and need to take my mind off of it before I explode so I thought I'd chill out with a little update from the farm. It seems like it's been longer since my last up date but it's still been too long. I look back over my posts and realize, I don't update often enough so when I DO sit down to write, I write a short novel which probably turns people off from reading. I need to write more often and not be so long winded.

I was tickled to find I have my very first "Follower" on my blog! Thank you Catherine!

We are happy to announce the birth of our two 2010 cria, two little boys, one is jet black & we call him, "Cooper." The other is dark brown and we're calling him, "Indy," which is short for Independence. He was born on July 3rd so we tried to find a name that was a little festive for the holiday.

It's going to be one of the hottest days of the summer today with an "excessive" heat warning in place with temperatures expected in the upper 90's and a heat index of 105-110 degrees in some places around here. The alapcas will be suffering for sure. You do what you can do and hope they do ok. Poor things. I can't imagine how the farms in states like Texas & Florida manage to keep their alpacas healthy. Just the few weeks out of the summer here in Missouri when it's this hot and humid really makes it a challenge for us. I can't imagine dealing with hot weather almost all year round. I guess you'd have to shear them more often than our once a year but then, the fiber wouldn't have a chance to grow long enough to process so you're really just raising pets if you can't use the fiber. Oh well...I guess I don't need to worry much about that, but I do worry about the animals (all of them) out there that are outside all the time when it's this hot. Folks, take care of your furry friends!

Until next time...

Sleepless in Missouri

2010-04-13T07:54:00.001-05:00

Getting up at 3am has been good for my daily production rate. I've gotten a lot done that needed to be done and I've wanted to come back to my blog and once again resolve to keep adding to it more often.

Well, from the looks of things, it's been a while since I've sat down to do any blogging. Life gets in the way of my journaling obviously and this nonsense must stop! Writing is passion of mine and always has been. I'm sure my friends moan when they see another email come in from me. Before they open it, I imagine they first, ignore it. Next, they sigh and look past it. Next, they groan, slump their shoulders and move on to the next email in their spam folder, then, knowing they can't avoid it any longer yet with a strange anticipation, they pour a cup of coffee, or glass of wine, close their eyes, hold their breath, then...click! The dreaded email opens! Peering out of one eye, they peek to see if it's another novel from me or a brief howdy do. My brief howdy do's are several paragraphs long, always.

Today is my long day at work running a busy clinic but knowing I have the next six days off is a breath of fresh air. Spring is here and there's a lot of work to do outside but I love being outside and getting things spiffed up again after a long winter. Over the past weekend, we replaced the fence in the paddock that the horses had destroyed leaning over the top to nibble the grass on the other side. Even horses believe that old myth. We polished off the finishing touches to that project yesterday by re-hanging the gate. What a nice sense of accomplishment! After that, Jon attached the harrow to the 4-wheeler and drug it over the dirt to smooth out the surface that had big, hoof sized holes in it from all of the spring time rains, snow melt and mud that followed. The horses are banned to the pasture now until after we shear the alpacas tomorrow as we'll need the paddock area for them.

Time has slipped away once again. Time to get ready for work.

Until nex time...

Tears & Frustrations

2009-11-15T08:51:00.005-06:00

As many of you already know, we have been having a hard time keeping Gracie & Hooch, our two Great Pyrenese livestock guardian dogs, in their fenced in areas this summer for some reason. I'm not sure what the deal is. They were a challenge when we first got them (see one of my first blog entries) but have settled in nicely over the past couple of years. When we first got them, we kept them in a run that pretty much surrounded the alpacas pastures. We didn't give them access to the pastures themselves because Gracie was still young enough that she would try to "play" with the alpacas and I didn't want that happening. After nearly a year of this, they were no longer content to guard the perimeters but wanted inside the pastures so they dug their way in under the gates. They seemed to do just fine and I was confident that Gracie was going to settle in well with her charges, which she did. Fast forward now to this summer...

This summer has been a never-ending fix it, fill it, spend it, repair it, and struggle to keep Gracie & Hooch from leaving their runs & pastures and finding their way into other areas on the farm. Not only our farm but the farm next door as well! Next door, there are more horses and cattle too! Something new. I guess our three horses and 20+ head of alpacas are not enough to keep them busy or they didn't understand that a fence is a boundary line...not to be crossed. Gracie & Hooch quickly learned that fences are just a slightly minor inconvenience that, with a little bit of effort, could be easily navigated. Over, under, or through. As far as they were concerned, the entire county was their responsibility and why did Jon & Phyllis keep trying so diligently to keep them locked up in this little 20 acre yard?!

When they did get out, they didn't go very far. Just to the next farm and once to the farm past that one. Then we would round them up or they would come back home and we'd start the process all over again for another day. This is not OK though. It's not OK for two 150-190 lb. dogs to be roaming the neighborhood. It's not safe for anyone involved. I was at a loss though as far as what we were going to do next to contain them, for a while. Short of building 8' cinder block walls around the property I didn't know what to do next. Even a block wall, they would eventually dig under. Hot wire worked for a while when they were digging under the fence but then they decided to go over the fence. Barbed wire does not stop them, their coats are so thick it never reaches their skin. Shock collars don't work for the same reason, PLUS you have to catch them in the act in order to get the zap when they need it. Taller, sturdier fence everywhere (except for two, small 3' sections,) worked for a while then they went under that. A layer of fence along the ground at the base of the those 3' spots of older fence kept them from digging out, so then, they went through the fence. How a 150 lb. dog thinks he can fit himself through a 4x4" metal square is beyond me but when he actually accomplished this feat, I realized we were defeated. Jon was out of town and they were out and there was nothing I could do until Jon returned and we would have to finish putting up the new, taller, sturdier, fence on those two short 3' areas without delay.

With Jon out of town I kept the dogs in one of the horse stalls in the barn for the night, hoping for the best. These stalls are 12'x12' square...a HUGE doghouse. Totally surrounded on all four sides with wood 5' up and that topped with wire mesh fencing, they were not going anywhere. In the morning, I let them outside to potty and fed them their breakfast in our "nursery" pasture which they have never had access to before. This pasture is completely enclosed in the new, taller, sturdier fence! Ah ha! Maybe this will hold them until Jon got home the next day and they won't have to stay in the horse stall. For nearly an entire week, this pasture became a peaceful haven for my Pyrs. Everyone seemed very happy with the new arrangement! My theory was this...The dogs were with a group of alpacas, had a good vantage point where they could see all of our horses, all of our alpacas, the neighbors horses, and the neighbors cattle! Maybe they felt like there were some of their "charges" that they couldn't see well enough to properly protect them! These dogs are pure genius. Fast forward to the following weeek. Also note that Jon is out of town again.

It was early afternoon. I drove up the driveway after work to find Hooch curled up asleep in the front lawn. Gracie is off wandering around the house.

I give up. I admit defeat. Where do I find enough cinder block to build a fortress around our 20 acre paradise?

For the rest of the evening, Gracie & Hooch hung out in the yard and wandered around and seemed content. Jon would return home the next afternoon. Maybe we can hold on until then.

The next morning I woke up early & it was still dark. My first thought was wondering if the dogs would still be in the yard. Looking out the kitchen window, I could barely see a big white ball of fur laying outside in the dark beside the lawn mower. "Good," I thought to myself with a sigh of relief. When I went outside a little while later to feed them, Gracie was the big ball of fur that I saw in the dark but Hooch was nowhere to be found. This sent a wave of panic through me and I immediately knew something bad had happened to Hooch. #1. For Gracie to be there by herself without Hooch, something had to be wrong. Gracie would have never left him and come home by herself. #2, when I went outside & took food to her and she got up real slow and was trembling/shivering. She wouldn’t eat and smelled like she'd been sprayed by a skunk. I squatted down and was talking to her and she just kept pawing at me. What was odd besides that was while I was petting her and talking to her and she was pawing at me she was staring me straight in the eyes which she has never done before. This was a stark contrast between she and Hooch. Hooch would stare so deep and lovingly into your eyes it made you think he could actually see into a totally different world...he would seem to get lost in the stare. She, on the other hand, was always a bit skittish and would avoid looking you in the eye. After a while, I went back to the barn to put their food away and she followed right beside me, limping. Looking her over closely, there were no visible signs of injury. She wandered around the yard a little bit, sniffing all of the spots where I know Hooch has marked. She's looking for him. She started down the driveway & I called her back several times. She headed back down the driveway and again, I called to her. She would stop and consider coming back to me, then turn and keep going down the driveway. Our driveway is nearly 800' from the gravel road. This went on for a while and I finally decided to let her go to see what she would do. She walked slowly to the end of the driveway turning to look back at me every 10 feet or so. Before she got to the end of the driveway she stopped and stood there...then turned around and slowly walked back to the barn where I stood watching her. We spent quite some time together in the barn...me, trying to figure out where she might be hurting and assuring her that she was home and safe now and her, I'm certain she was trying to tell me what had happened to them and where I might find her buddy, Hooch.

I left her with our other dogs in the barn and drove all over the place to see if I could find Hooch or see anything that might give me a clue and there was no sign of him anywhere. My heart broken, I returned home to check on Gracie.

I can only speculate but I figure Hooch has either been hit by a car (even though we're 4 miles from any paved roads) or worse. Gracie would have never left him.

Our son, Justin told me when I got home that when he returned home at 11pm, Gracie was laying there where I found her this morning, she got up when he pulled up but didn't bark or approach him…when he got out of the car, she moved away cowering like she was afraid of him and wouldn’t come to him. This confirms my fear that someone has done something to them and Hooch will not be coming home.

Someone remind me again why some of us fall so hard for the gentle, furry creatures of the earth and then there are others who wouldn't think twice before causing them harm or even worse.

We love you Hooch. You will forever be in our hearts.

(UPDATE): Hooch was found 2 days later. He had wandered to the paved road & hit by a car. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt other than a nice scrape on his head. My neighbor called me and asked if we were missing one of our big white dogs, that her boss from work that lives not far from us had found him on his back porch. Obviously hit by a car but virtually unhurt. I went & got him and brought him home & he was genuinely happy to have made his way back where he belonged and reunited with his girl Gracie.

A Day in the Life...

2009-08-14T08:42:00.003-05:00

8/13/09

I seriously think at some time in my life, someone has practiced their witchcraft on me by placing a curse on me. My morning today is just one of many like it. I just chose to write about this one because it’s fresh in my mind. It went like this:

I got up in plenty of time to do a few things around the house, feed & water animals and get to work by 10:00 a.m. I finished what I needed to do in the house, threw on a handy pair of shorts and t-shirt and headed out to feed animals.

In our barn right now are 16 female alpacas that have access to half of the barn and a dirt lot outside at one end of the barn. The three dogs, our two and one that belongs to our son, sleep in the barn at night in a nice sized section that is studded in for a family/tack room. I fed the dogs first & while they ate, I gave the alpacas fresh hay and filled their water buckets. One with electrolytes and one with plain water. Next, it’s on to the horses. They’ve been drinking a LOT of water lately with the heat and humidity we have here in Missouri so I checked their stock tank first. Totally empty, bone dry, even though I filled it last night after work. So, off to get the hose and turn on the hydrant that’s back in the barn. While the stock tank was filling, I tossed out a few flakes of hay for them, went back in the barn, talked to the alpacas and played with the dogs for a few minutes. Once the stock tank was full, I went back to the feed room to get food for the two Great Pyrenees that live outside with the male alpacas. (The girls are in the barn temporarily for breeding etc. or normally they’d be in the pastures with the Pyrenees as well. I regress.

I walked out of the barn with their bowls in my hands and spot a little beagle in the horse pasture. Another dog. This dog does not belong to us, nor WILL it belong to us. I do not need another mouth to feed at this point in time. Five cats, five dogs, and 24 alpacas at the moment are plenty. These were my immediate thoughts! Stray dogs are one of the main threats to alpacas so I was determined to run this little one off the property. Twenty acres…good luck.

I walked towards the dog and it’s little body, tail, torso, head…started wagging! SO excited this little thing was to see me coming to rescue it. It could not figure out how to get through the fence where it was standing, so I walked over to help it find the way out. As I was walking toward the pasture, I could hear a faint clanking sound. Realizing the dog was wearing tags…I felt a huge relief! Maybe I’ll find the owner!

As soon as the dog found freedom, it ran to me still wagging like crazy. It was a amusing sight. This dog sat in front of me, laid down and rolled over, begging for a scratch on the belly. This subtle sign of submission and overall charm, stole my heart. Trying, with all the wiggling around, to read the tags, I find her name is Lucy. I picked up the little wiggle worm and brought her into the barn with the other dogs and closed the ½ door so she couldn’t get out while I went inside to call the number on the tag. I found it odd that there was no area code, just the 7 digit number. Repeating the number to myself as I went inside, I walked past the clothes dryer just in time for the buzzer to go off telling me the clothes were dry. Something else to do before I can leave for work, I said to myself. I got to the phone and realized I had forgotten the phone number! I let out a frustrated sigh and headed back to the barn where little Lucy and the other dogs were getting acquainted, snagged Lucy’s collar that held her tags and marched back into the house. I sat down and proceeded to finally call the owner and let them know where their lost dog was. I dialed the 7 digit number assuming it was in my same area code. Never assume anything my mother used to preach. The woman that answered was very concerned for the lost dog but said that she just had one dog and he was staring at her. Ok, now what? Next, I tried the number using the only other area code that I could think of that was anywhere near us & got the dreaded tone and canned voice telling me to check the number and try again. Oh dear. There was also a rabies tag on the collar…I have good eyesight but I don’t think those tags were really meant to be read by human eyes. A dry rub would have been the smartest thing to do but I don’t always do the smartest things. Straining to read the phone number and holding the tag up to the light and turning it this way and that, I could finally make out the number and dialed. I really needed to be getting ready for work!

The receptionist at the vet hospital that answered the phone apparently hadn’t had her first cup of coffee yet and spoke as though she had nothing else to do all day but keep me from getting ready for work. Eventually, we figured out that the dog was in the care of their “foster person.” I’m not sure that that is the official title but I gathered that it was someone that fosters animals before they’re adopted out to new homes. I thought to myself, “well she’s doing one heck of a job!” The sleepy girl passed on the name and phone number of the foster person and I proceed to call her.

Foster person remembers Lucy but tells me that Lucy has been adopted and she didn’t sound as if she was going to offer any other information or suggestions. Great. “Surely there’s a way to get in touch with the new owners?” I asked. Reluctantly, she told me that she would call the new owner and give her my number and let her call me. Now I’m thinking that IF the new owner has dumped Lucy (which happens a LOT out here) they are not going to be calling me. I really need to be getting ready for work!

I still have two Great Pyrenees to feed and 7 more alpacas to feed and water. I haven’t showered or even brushed my hair yet and I’m wearing dirty clothes. I carried the cordless phone around with me as I filled feed bowls & buckets in the barn and headed out to the boys pastures. The pastures are not that far from the house but I’m not sure what the range is on the cordless phone. Knowing my luck, the phone will be out of range when the owner calls me and I will have missed the chance to return Lucy to her new owner today. Surely she’ll leave a message or call back. I sat the phone on the fence post where I thought maybe I’d hear it ring and thought it might still be in range and proceeded to feed the dogs and alpacas.
The alpacas are very curious boys and are very fond of their food and whoever it is that’s bringing the food so they were behaving very affectionately and I have to take the opportunity to visit with them and receive any kisses I might get. Then, I remembered the phone! I tell the boys I’ve got to go and run to the phone and see no one has called. Walking back to the barn, I feel a hot flash coming on…sure, why not?

Everyone is fed and watered and I have to get to work. I am supposed to be leaving in 5 minutes. No time to shower. But I’m sweating like a stuck pig. What to do, what to do? I do the bare minimum, throw on a set of scrubs, grab a yogurt and fly out the door! Running to my truck, I hear a noise off in the distance…a voice. I stop and look up to see my neighbor, Amy calling to me from across the way. I can’t really hear what she’s saying but it sounds like, “Can you hear me?!” I could hear her but not very well, so I answered, “Yes!” She said, “Ok” and turned and walked away. Hmm…maybe that’s not what she asked me. Now I’m concerned. Her husband is off to work, she has 3 year old twin girls…maybe something is wrong. Maybe she needs something. Seriously going to be late for work, I got in my truck and at a high rate of speed, raced down the 800 foot driveway and turn onto the gravel road towards Amy’s house. I looked up just in time to see Amy’s truck square in front of me! If I had looked up a second later, I would have slammed into her. I think I’m going to be late for work.

Amy and I position our vehicles so we can chat and I asked her what it was that she said to me, that I couldn’t really hear very well what she was saying. She was asking me if I had seen her dog. Their new dog, Lucy, a little beagle was missing.

Memorial: My Mother and Other Mother

2009-05-26T07:27:00.005-05:00

I started this post this past Memorial Day and never finished writing it. I thought it was high time I finished it and got it out of my "drafts" list.

It's the day after Memorial Day Weekend 2009 and what a weekend it was! Jon and I both worked hard on the farm mowing grass, planning, tilling, buying seeds, plants & a couple of my favorite "bush" variety rose bushes. We spent hours digging, planting, weeding etc. We did wind down early in the evenings to enjoy the meat smoked in the smoker and whatever else we fixed to round out our meals...corn on the cob was not from around here but it was still excellent and one of the highlights of the meals for me! The place looks great and sitting on the porch in the evenings is such a treat. Looking around at all that we've been blessed with is really a humbling experience but one we're both thankful to have. God is good.

Although hard but pleasurable work on the farm is how we spent the majority of the hours of the long weekend, we also took some time to ponder the meaning of the holiday. Remembering the sacrifices that Soldiers & their families make and have made in the past that have made our freedom in this country possible. Sacrifices that many people of this world are not willig to make or could not fathom making. Selflessly, putting themselves in harms way if needed is a trait, maybe a state of heart, that not all men & women posses. I applaud all of the Teachers, EMT workers, Firefighters, Soldiers, Moms, etc. that every day do jobs that not everyone can do. Some are cut out for their work...some just do what they need to do to get by, to pay the bills, nothing more. Then, you have those that are willing to give their lives for people they don't even know. Others willing to work long, hard, thankless hours to care for, save, teach, & nurture into members of this society that will hopefully, someday grow up to be one of those selfless people of sacrifice.

Two very special people that had a HUGE impact on my life that I also wanted to mention and remember this Memorial Day was my mother and my other mother. Today was the very first time I've had the opportunity to visit a gravesite of anyone I've known and lost. My mother is buried in Freeport, Maine and I haven't been back there since she passed away in January of 2000. But my other mother, Karen Sue Guyer is buried here in Kansas City. These two ladies combined, have molded me into the person that I am today. We met Karen and her husband Wally at church when we first started attending a church in Parkville, not long after we moved to Missouri. When my mom died, I wasn't sure if I could ever be happy again. I was lost without my mom. Besides Jon, she was the first person I thought of to call when I had news to share or if I was excited or happy or sad about something. She loved getting my letters and phone calls and always let me know how much she loved me and my little family and how proud she was of me and what I had been doing with my life. Karen, being the woman that she was, slowly but perfectly began filling that void in my soul that I felt when I lost my mom. Not only did she have a genuine interest and love for me and my family, but her husband Wally, did too! We grew closer and closer to Karen & Wally over the months and years that passed. Their kids were our age and eventually got used to the idea that the Turner's would be at the house for holidays, just like family. Like my mom, Karen was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain so there were many, many opportunities to hang out at Karen & Wally's. They were always hosting something or somebody in their home & always had a crowd. Good times.

In October 2002, Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought it for a little over a year before the Lord took her home. Mom & Karen, you ladies are my heroes!

Until next time...

Turning the Page on Another Chapter

2009-01-29T02:50:00.003-06:00

You know, I love my new cat. I've never met a cat that loved people like Willow does. She has changed my sleeping pattern, that's for sure. Her whiskars up my nose at 1 a.m. are annoying, but this just means that she's in my face looking for my attention. Her cold nose on my lips in the wee hours of the morning are a sure-fire way of getting my attention. That rough cat tongue on my cheek...yep, sure-fire. The way she drapes her body over my head, yep, that gets my attention too. Ok, so now that I'm awake...I figure I might as well do something productive...like check Facebook or email. How pathetic.

Oh, before I forget, I started this post to talk a little bit about the close of another chapter in this story of life. Our 22 year old son, Justin will be moving back home with us over the next couple of days. I've been working this last week on cleaning out his bedroom which had become more of a "climate controlled" storage closet which has worked out rather nice for some of those things we didn't want to keep in the barn storage room. Things stay cleaner inside somehow. Oh well, it needed to be cleaned out, that's for sure. Justin will live here until he can find another job and get some of his bills paid. This last year and a half, maybe 2 years has been interesting. Disappointingly interesting, but I suppose it was meant to be. Things happen for a reason and everything that happens shapes us into who we are today. We're all in a process of growth and discovery, no matter our age. We'll make the best of these days as well. Hopefully, we can be supportive and use this time together again to reconnect and I see it as another opportunity to help him set and reach for goals he had set for himself before "she" came around. It's amazing to me how the female species can flip the male species topsy turvy then walk away like nothing ever happened, leaving him standing there shaking his head and wondering what just hit him. I think, in the end, this move will be good for Justin and I'm looking forward to having him around again.

Now, I'm going to go find Willow and give her a big fat kiss on the nose! Maybe I'll find something to stick up her nose while she sleeps?

Until next time...

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T20:08:00.002-06:00

Boy, it may take a while before I'm comfortable typing or writing 2009, but isn't that always the case? Even though, we knew it was coming and now, here it is. Like it or not. Why is it, as we grow older, the passage of time seems more like a death threat than another passing year? I will never understand it.

Another year just means more experience, more knowledge, more maturity & more friends to share it all with! Why do we fear the coming of a new year? I think about the possibilities of starting fresh, setting new goals and making plans for better'ing ourselves. I face 2009 with a fresh outlook, a new hope, a fresh outlook and high hopes. Come with me?

I sit here tonight with a fire in the fireplace, Jon on the other couch, Abby & Scruffy & Willow (2 dogs & a cat) resting in my presence, considering my day tomorrow...it's time to go back to work. Ugh. Although, it's only a 1/2 day, it could turn out to be more hours than that ut I would love to not have to go in. I love my job but I also love my home, my farm, my life.

I wish all of my friends, family, aquaintances, and anyone who reads my blog regularly ( I consider you a friend!) a very Happy New Year, a prosporous 2009 and may all your dreams come true. May God bless you and shed his mercies on you day after day. We love you and expect the best for you in 2009.

Until next time...

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T07:42:00.001-06:00

Phyllis spent quite some time putting together a newsletter of our past year's events. If you didn't receive a copy yet, let us know and we'll be happy to send you a copy.

10 Things I've Learned from Willow (our new kitty)

2008-12-22T06:14:00.006-06:00

In just 24 hours, I have learned a few things from our new Kitty named Willow & I'd like to share those things with anyone who reads this.

This is Willow. We adopted her on Saturday, December 20, 2008 from a dear family that we've known for about 14 years now. Wow...time flies! Anyhow, Willow has been part of our little menagerie here on the farm for less than 48 hours but she has taught me so much!

Cats cannot tell time.

Not all cats like to be left alone

Cats also like things that dont make noise (like people sleeping)

Cats think 4am is the perfect time for a bath

Cats like to walk on soft surfaces (like your throat)

Cats enjoy a L-O-N-G bath (at 4am)

Cats enjoy giving their people baths (at 4am)

Cats can be noisy when they bathe, grunting, and various other vocalizations

Cats have cold, wet noses and will use it to check to see if yours is too

Our new kitty was obviously well loved on by the Byrne's and we are grateful that they trusted her to our care.

Written at 4:30 a.m.

I'm Back!

2008-11-11T06:29:00.002-06:00

Wow, I really can't believe it's been so long since I've written. I changed jobs at the end of March this year and Jon has been traveling a lot more so I just haven't made the time to sit and write like I was before. I'm going to a part-time schedule though real soon and I'm excited for that. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few things caught up at home and resume regular updates on my blog. I'm working now for the best doctor on the planet. He's a GI doc in Liberty, MO and is a rare breed. Jon is with GE Security and works from home when he's not traveling.

We haven't done any trail riding at all this year due to our schedules and Jon's back acting up again. He's been advised to not do things that cause it to flare up. Go figure. Trail riding is one of those things that over time, causes him back, leg, hip pain like before. He's trying to avoid another surgery so we've sold our big living quarters trailer and the big truck that pulled it. It's been nice not having the payments but we sure do miss that trailer and all the fun we had while traveling in it. We still have the horses, in fact, we have another horse. We bred Lil & she had a little filly that looks a lot like her. Mickey is a sweet girl and she's going to be a big girl. Bigger than her mama no doubt. She's 6 months old this month and currently being weaned. Our good friends, Bill & Rhonda are returning the favor and took Lil to their house so she can dry up and weaning is so much less traumatic if mom & baby can't see each other. We helped them wean one of their horses last year the same way. Mickey ran around a little bit the first 24 hours or so but is settled in fine now with her buddy Waco. Jag went with Lil to Bill & Rhonda's farm but he is going to be living there permanently. With Jon not riding so much we couldn't see having 4 horses making any sense. We may sell Mickey at some point as well.

We've actually done a lot of travel this year, just not on horseback. We did a spring alpaca show in Denver, Colorado and a long weekend vacation (fishing & trail riding) in Gunnison, Colorado over Labor Day weekend. Jon qualified for a company trip to Cancun, Mexico in April this year and I was able to go along. Now THAT was fun. I don't think we spent $50.00 of our own money. That's what I'm talkin' about! Then, we just recently returned from our very first cruise ever to the Western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. Wow, I can't say enough about the cruise. That will have to be it's own post at a later date possibly. I will say though, that we've booked another cruise for 2010 on the yet to be completed Oasis of the Seas! We are hooked on cruising.

Until next time...

Gracie Shows Her Stuff!

2008-03-19T14:56:00.001-05:00

I witnessed the coolest thing last night since we got the two Great Pyrenees dogs…a BIG, strange dog was coming across the dam (our driveway is over the dam to the pond) and the dogs of course were going ballistic but it didn’t phase this darn dog…he just kept coming…my other two dogs were out on a potty break (Abby & Scruffy) and hadn’t noticed the strange dog yet…but, the Pyrs (Gracie-10 mos. & Hooch-3 yrs.) were going nuts in their fenced in area. We have a BB gun that Jon will use to scat away strange dogs from the property or birds in the barn…but I have never used it. I fumbled a few seconds with it and figured this BB gun wasn’t going to phase this big dog…so, I went outside ran and opened the gate where the Pyrs are calling them to come to the gate…Hooch was so into his barking at the dog that he didn’t notice but Gracie saw me coming and went back to her barking…then would look at me, then the dog, then to me again…and she finally made a beeline for the gate. She had to leave Hooch and turn her back on the big dog but I think she knew what I was asking her to do! I have NEVER, in my life seen a dog run so fast! She tore out of the fenced in area through the gate that I was holding open for her and RAN after that dog barking and growling like I’d never heard her before!! I suddenly became worried for the strange dog that was probably just checking the place out. BUT, I knew I didn’t want him on the property and especially didn’t want him to get his eyes on the alpacas. Anyway…Gracie chased that dog, across the pasture, into the woods, back out the other side, across the neighbors 20 acres and then into the next neighbors 20 acres before I lost sight of her. She was relentless! I became concerned at this point, #1 because I couldn’t see her anymore, #2 because I didn’t know what she’d do if she caught the dog, #3 she’s never been that far from home before and I was afraid she’d run him into the next county and be lost, #4 I didn’t know if she’d come back, #5 most of our neighbors have small dogs…I was afraid of what she would do if she came across a neighbor dog…we just got her last fall so I’m still not sure how that would go. They’re fine with dogs they’ve been introduced to but not sure about the neighbor dogs. I called and called for her but I knew she probably couldn’t hear me and even if she did…she was on a mission. She was not going to come even if she heard me. I decided I needed to get in my truck and go look for her so I headed back up to the house to get my keys. Just as I got to the front porch, guess who appeared out of nowhere?! HA!! She was back! HEEEE!! I was so tickled with her, I think I scared her with my squealing and praise!! But wait…it doesn’t end there! She’s only been out of her “yard” a couple of times and does not come when called…but, I walked down to the gate all the while praising her and worried that she would not follow me…well, she surprised me again when I opened the gate, right in she went! Whew! Wow…what a rush! That was just about the coolest thing to see!!

Sadness Looms Over Shady Creek Farm

2008-02-07T16:10:00.006-06:00

On Monday, February 4, 2008 we lost our first alpaca. Don't ever let anyone tell you that alpacas are livestock. Yes, the IRS recognizes them as such, but our hearts do not.

Cheyenne was 5 months old and as I write this, 18 days have passed since we lost her and what's most frustrating is we will never know exactly what it was that caused her death. On Thursday evening, February 1st, I went out to feed the alpacas and found Cheyenne laying down and not willing or able to stand up on her own. Jon and I rushed her and her mom, Lady Diamond (Lady Di), into the barn and quickly called our vet. Cheyenne layed and nibbled hay while I talked with the vet. While talking to him, we found that her body temperature was dangerously low and mom's milk had dried up. We've seen Cheyenne nursing off and on all the time, apparently not receiving any nourishment at all from nursing. She was never interested in the grain we feed all the other moms and babies but since she was still nursing, we didn't think much of it. At our vets advice, we put little Cheyenne in a warm bath to try and raise her body temperature. It was working, but very slowly. While this little gorgeously fleeced critter lay weak in our bathtub, Jon called K-State where they have a fantastic camelid veterinary program and one of the industry's most respected alpaca vets on staff and talked with one of the vets on call that night. They wanted us to bring her in as soon as we could. I dried her off the best I could and we wrapped her in a big, warm towel and loaded her and mom into the back of Jon's minivan. The drive to K-State took over 2 hours. Once we arrived, a vet and two students went to work on her immediately giving her an IV for fluids etc. She was severely dehydrated and malnourished. Jon and I went home a couple of hours later once we realized there was nothing we could do to help and that she was in the best vet hospital around and in good hands. They called us twice a day with updates on her condition and to let us know what they had been doing to help her. Her condition never got better. She died early Monday morning. The vet that had been in charge of Cheyenne's care called me Monday morning with the bad news as I was on my way into work. I couldn't believe it. I really expected her to get better. I turned around and made my way home bawling like a baby the whole way. Even today as I write this more than two weeks later, I get goose bumps and feel the heaviness in my heart as I re-live these days of praying for my little alpaca to come home and go on to live a long, healthy and productive life on our farm. Cheyenne was one of the best quality alpacas we had and we had high hopes for her. They did a necropsy (an autopsy for animals) and found what I had already mentioned (dehydration, malnutrition) & they noted hypothermia, and ulcerations from her throat all the way through her intestinal tract. They had 4 possible causes for the ulcerations but we have eliminated all of them. So, we will never know. We've had an unusually cold and snowy winter this year and without the proper nutrition, she had a hard time keeping her body temperature regulated. I know I will be sure my babies are eating grain very early on, in case mom's milk dries up again in the future but that doesn't explain the ulcerations (which I suspect is why she wasn't interested in grain...that would have hurt going down!)

Cheyenne's registered name was Shady Creek's Diamond of Cheyenne. We have decided to breed her mom back to the same sire, in hopes of a similar quality alpaca. Whatever sex it is, it's name will be, "Shady Creek's Spirit of Cheyenne."

Until next time...

Show Season Begins Again

2008-01-24T09:58:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are, packing and preparing for our first alpaca show of the year. This year is already promising to be a busy one and one that will hopefully launch our breeding program up to the next level. The cria that were born to us this past summer have our hopes high and eyes to the sky! We're excited to show these little ones and to begin the push for breedings to our two herdisres. We have a spectacular beige suri male that is almost of age to becoming a herdsire and a tuxedeo grey huacaya male that is just waiting for his first date. Both of these boys will be shown at the A-OK Alpaca Blast Off show along with a our light fawn "Shady Creek's Show Me The Reverend" girl this weekend! She is just now 6 months old and the oldest of our cria born this summer so she's the first one of them out to the show ring. We can't wait to see how she competes with other females her age/color. Both her dam and sire are fantastic alpacas with highly sought after bloodlines. You can read more about our alpacas on our website.

The two "new" dogs that I've mentioned in earlier posts are turning out to be wonderful livestock guardians. Hooch enjoys his "job" and Gracie is in training. She still wants to play with the alapcas but I haven't been able to work with her as much as I need to because it's been too cold to do anything outdoors that isn't absolutely necessary! I'll be happy when the weather breaks so that it's more bearable being outdoors.

On a sad note, we had one of our alpacas miscarry last week. Our newest suri girl, Lady Di. Alpacas can be pretty sensitive to stress. This is why we go to great lengths to keep them calm and stress them as little as possible. Alpaca shows are mostly males, young females not breeding yet or females that can be but for some reason are not bred. A few weeks back, Lady Di got her head through a cattle panel that we were using as a haykeeper on top of their bale of hay to keep them from scattering it on the ground and wasting it. She stuck her head through one of the square openings and when she lifted her head, the panel came with her. This probably scared the dickens out of her and she ended up out in the pasture, in the snow, struggling to free herself. When all was said and done, she managed to get a front and back leg through the openings as well and struggled until she wore herself out. Jon happened to look out the window and saw her laying in the snow on her side (VERY unusual and most often a sign of trouble) with her leg in the air. He ran out to her, I ran for bolt cutters and we cut the wire away to free her! She was not injured in any way, just exhausted and scared. My guess is this amount of stress and the struggle is what caused her to slip her pregnancy. When Jon went out to feed one day last week, he found the placenta/fetus frozen in the shelter where she delivered it. These events, even though we are raising livestock technically, they sadden us deep in our hearts. We contacted our friends that we bought her from and who bred her and they have agreed to pick her up in March on their way through Missouri after the alpaca show in Springfield to have her bred again to the same male. She'll be on vacation in Colorado from March until probably sometime late June.

Well, it's time to feed alpacas and hit the road to Oklahoma. We're meeting two other couples from two other farms for lunch in Joplin, MO then we'll all caravan from there. I'll post again when we return and tell you all about our winnings!! Hopefully.

Until next time...

It's a New Year!

2008-01-11T13:45:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

I hope this post finds you all healthy, happy and looking forward to what 2008 has in store for all of us! I know I am. I enjoy turning the pages of my calendar to a new year. I typically clean out old to make room for the new, like files and tax reciepts! It's a nice, fresh start. I don't know about you, but I can look forward and let the things of the past year that I'd rather forget about, just kind of disappear. Sometimes it works.

An update on Gracie and Hooch, our Great Pyrenees livestock guardians...they are settling in nicely and have gotten used to their new home. They've adequately chewed thier shelter and rendered it nearly useless. A piece of plywood had to be brought in by their two legged caretakers and provides a windbreak but they seem to be happy now with thier re-decorating activities and have it the way they like it as no further destruction has taken place. They are no longer digging under the fence to escape but I'm sure the bite of the hot wire helped to curb that behavior. Hooch is proving to be very smart and very eager to please. He's perfect with the alpacas and is quickly picking up on basic commands without any noteable time spent on training. It's been so bitter cold and snowy this winter that I haven't really made the time to work with either of them on formal training. I do intend to work with them soon though. Another reason to look ahead to a bit of warmer weather.

Until next time...

2007 Holiday Season on the Farm

2007-11-21T16:03:00.000-06:00

Sitting here at work (sshhh! Don't tell anybody!) waiting for the last hour to drag by, it's spitting snow outside and 29 degrees. Winter is here. We raised a few turkey's this year for giving away to friends for their Thanksgiving dinners with their families and the turkey's have been harvested, picked up and delivered to their recipients for tomorrow's dinner. Thanksgiving is here. I feel like I should be doing something to prepare but we won't be doing our family dinner until Saturday and even with that, it's just Jon, Justin and I along with Justin's girlfriend. Nothing big or fancy, just the typical fixins. Maybe I'll have a chance tonight to put up the Christmas tree so we can all decorate on the weekend? That sounds like a plan.

I won't go into my moaning about the weather and the early darkness that settles in around this time of day. I'll spare you that this time around. I will, however, complain a bit more about the two new dogs. Gracie is my little 77 lb. challenge. She's a Houdini, escape artist and avid digger! Oh, and if I happen to squat to her level for an eye to eye chat with her, she jumps on me! If I were watching from a distance, I'd be laughing out loud at the comedy of it all. But, her huge muddy paws can easily topple this 5'8" tall woman! (Notice I didn't give MY weight!) Trust me, it's sufficient. Gracie is a sweet girl. I can't wait to find just the right tactic to contain her in the pasture where I want her. I keep finding her in places where she has not been given access. We are going to try hot wire around the base of the fence. if she tries to dig her way out, she will be stopped abruptly by a shock to those big, white paws. Maybe a few jolts of electricity will pursuade her to stay put? What we are learning is that she will chew through anything cloth-like a woven leash, if it's restricting her from going where she wants to go. She will dig under fences to get out of where she is to get to where she'd rather be. She will attempt to climb through any space that she thinks her body even has a slight chance of fitting through if it means getting to where she'd rather be. She loves to run and play and a 1/2 acre pasture is not doing it for her. She thinks an acre would be better...better yet, no fence at all! I tried to explain to her that her purpose at Shady Creek Farm is to grow up a little bit and then eventually she will be placed in the area that she wants to be in to guard our alpacas. Right now though, she just wants to chase them and play with them. Mind you, this behavior does not sit well with the alpacas.

Hooch, the 2 1/2 year old, on the other hand is learning very quickly what his job is and that he can not be at my feet 24 hours a day! When I leave the pasture, he follows me and whines when I close the gate behind me with him on the other side but he soon realizes that I'm not going far and if I do get out of sight, that I always return a few hours later. He's a big teddy bear of a boy. They are both very smart and have wonderful potential as livestock guardians and I hope that one day soon, I will write a story of my successful acclimation of these two big beautiful canines to my alpaca farm!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Until next time...

A Much Better Day - Pyr Stories

2007-11-15T12:52:00.000-06:00

Thank you for taking the time to read my blogging of my first days as a Pyr mom! The first day was quite a challenge but I have to report that last night I walked a completely different dog on the lead! I put a smaller choke chain on Hooch (Turner & Hooch...get it?!) and he walked like a perfect gentleman! I was in shock! It wasn’t the chain, I think he just needed to know that I wasn’t trying to hurt him with that thing around his neck. He obviously has never had a collar on. But, last night was a completely different story and this morning, again…he walked wonderfully. Could he have possibly learned so quickly?! I had heard that the Great Pyrenees is a very smart dog, but I didn't expect success so quickly with the way he was carrying on yesterday on the lead. I spent quite a while last night grooming him and he LOVED it! It was funny. He would lean into the brush and lift his leg as if to help scratch. I'm sure it felt good on his skin too. Gracie enjoyed it but she still does not trust me 100%. She hangs in the background watching and wagging her tail but shys away when I reach for her. Not all the time…but most of the time. Hooch now gets to the end of the lead and stops to wait for me to catch up. I’m not trying to make him heal at my side or anything…just to walk nice and go potty outside. They stayed in the horse stall last night and are back in there while I’m at work. Yesterday, when I came home from work, I found that Gracie did not just lay and wait for me like Abby & Scruffy do. She found the remains of thier bag of dog food and tore that to shreds, chewed an old lead into about 8 pieces. Pulled the liner out of one of Jon's mud boots and attempted to chew the sole of it. She could have done much worse so I was not terribly put out by this. She could have snuggled down with Abby and Scruffy but I think she probably would have been happy in the stall with Hooch.

I’ve walked Hooch all over the property yesterday and today and he has bonded with me real nice. This morning, after our walk around, I put the dogs in the run where they will one day live (soon, I hope) and took the lead off of him and he never left my side. I tried to walk away to create distance between us but he would only follow right beside me. I hope he doesn’t get too attached to me and not want to guard the alpacas. Jon comes home tonight so I imagine tomorrow he will have to put some chicken wire along the fence to keep Hooch from trying to dig out…then we’ll watch him this weekend in there and see if that’s going to work. If not, I’m not sure what we’ll do next. Probably hot wire. They need to be outside.

I took Hooch into one of the boy’s pastures this morning to introduce him to them (alpacas) and he did fine…didn’t pay them much attention. But, Gracie managed to squeeze through the pipe gate and she chased after them. She's still a pup and I won't let her range with them for several months or more yet. I guess more chicken wire or hog panel wired to the pipe gates should cure that.

Until next time...

The First 24 Hours...My Great Pyrenees Fiasco

2007-11-15T12:07:00.000-06:00

I have been searching (ideally) for a male/female pair of Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs, #1 since we have alpacas and several packs of coyotes living around us that frequently pass through our woods/creek and #2 since Jon has been traveling so much, I thought I could use a little "back up" or a deterent to anyone that thought they might want to pay us a visit unannounced.

I got an email the other day from a gal that knew I was looking that said she knew of a pair right here in my town! She met me and we went and looked at these two dogs…a male 2 ½ years old and female (they say around 6-8 mos. But I think, and the gal that went with me thinks she’s more like a year old). These dogs were very friendly, very sweet natured and social. We visited for about an hour and the dogs were great. The current owner (a woman around 50+ years old and her mother) have a little barnyard with peacocks, chickens and other fowl. That’s about it. They got the female about a month ago from a farm that has cattle, horses, and other dogs, cats, etc. The male, they just got about a week, maybe two weeks ago. The dogs were obviously too much for them to handle and their yard wasn’t even completely fenced. The dogs roamed the little rural neighborhood guarding everything and their barking was not appreciated by the neighbors. We had to pick them up to put them into my truck and had to literally drag them out. I put them both in one of our horse stalls that we had cleaned out for the evening and the female did great…she just took everything in stride. I put a bucket of water in there for them and the male immediately dumped it over. He jumped all over the stall and whined anytime I walked away from the stall or came around to check on them. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get them used to me in the stall and they were both really good, the male jumped on me a couple of times but I know that can be worked on. I gave them their food in a brand new rubber bowl and he immediately dumped out both bowls, would not eat but swept the food that was spilled all over the place with his NOSE, into a pile in the corner of the stall! I was sure his nose would be raw and bloody the way he was sweeping with it…but it wasn’t. Neither dog ate more than a small handful of spilled morsels. The next morning, there was still a pile of food in the corner.

The next morning, I put a leash on the male with a choke collar and planned to try and work with him a little with walking on a leash. We got outside to potty and the female went about her business and sniffed around, pottied, sniffed some more, things I expected. The male on the other end of the lead went nuts, bucking, rearing, threw himself on the ground and rolled a couple of times, and then would stand up, only to repeat this process, over and over. After about 5 min. of carrying on like this, he managed to take a leap, tuck his head and got out of the choke chain (obviously, it’s too big!) He didn’t run off…but didn’t come back to me either. Neither of these dogs seem to know their name nor come when called…but they come close…just not close enough for you to get a hold of them. He wandered around with her for some time…finally went potty and wandered some more. He seemed to have picked up on a scent and made a beeline for the neighbor’s fence that crosses a gully that is usually filled with water and under the fence he went onto the neighbor’s property. She followed him.

(I have a fenced in area near my alpaca pastures that I intended to put them in after they went potty but we hadn’t gotten that far yet.) Anyway, of course they would not come when I called…but I called and called...just in case. Realizing this was futile, I drove over to the neighbors house…managed to get a collar on the female and heave her 75 lbs. of flesh, bone and fur into my truck and next, tried to get the male...not a chance. He knew she was in the truck though…when I started to drive down the driveway, he followed me so I drove slow and he followed me back home.

I got her into the run by the alpacas and after quite some time, he finally decided he wanted to come in where she was. Once they were both in the fence, I felt they were safe so I went to the barn and got what I needed and proceeded to feed my alpacas...at one point, I turned around and caught him digging a hole to get under the fence!!! Needless to say, he went back in the horse stall for the day while I went to work. I did leave the female in the barn with my other two dogs. She seems to be adjusting just fine. I can’t tell you how this male has stressed me out!! My heart rate is up just re-living it all. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. I can’t have him digging out of the fenced yard and roaming around the neighborhood. I WON'T have it.

Is he digging just because he’s confused and in a strange place once again? He was used to roaming free and maybe a fenced pasture won’t work for him?? I think his disposition is great…but his behavior the other night has me baffled. I'm sure he will eventually get used to the lead…I’m getting a smaller collar for him today before I go home.

Until next time...

Another Perfect Weekend

2007-11-13T15:50:00.000-06:00

As the days get shorter and the flowers fade away from the occasional light frosty nights, my heart is heavy at the dawn of a new season. Now, typically I welcome new seasons unless they resemble winter in any way, shape, or form. Winter is my least favorite season and it even makes it hard for me to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and change of decorations in and around the house. I know winter is coming next! I try every year to take it in stride and some years are better than others but this year seems harder than ever.

We had a perfect weekend two weeks ago and we enjoyed working outside with the alpacas and various other projects getting ready to hunker down for the cold weather we know is coming. The following week was sprinkled with some frosty nights and we figured that fall was just about over and then along came daylight savings...now it's just about dark when I get home from work and I have to scurry around to get my outside chores done before I need a flashlight to finish up. The lights on the outside of the barn are good for getting me to and from the chicken coop and the other side illuminates the horses paddock nicely. But, the alpacas are in the dark if I'm not quick. I try to get to them first thing.

Several weeks back, we put our heads together with several friends to plan a final trail ride for the year and the date we settled on was this past weekend. We all met at S & S Stables on Hillsdale Lake. This was the first time any of us had been to this particular campground. Several of us arrived Friday night and more arrived on Saturday and a couple even dropped in Saturday and Sunday as well to visit. The trails were really nice and the campground hosts were remarkable! The horses had nice pipe stalls and each trailer had water and electricity. We'll definitely go back there again! The weather could not have been better. It was cool in the morning but by the time we saddled up to ride, a long sleeve shirt was plenty of cover.

I don't imagine we'll have very many more weekends like that but if we do, I will welcome them with open arms!

We were supposed to take delivery of our two suri girls from Colorado this week but I got a call from Suzanne today saying that the transporter would not clear Cheyenne for travel. She's the baby and not quite 3 months old. She has picked up a cold and had a bit of a runny nose left over. There's an upper respiratory virus going around the alpaca and llama communities all over the country that has ranged from no symptoms to runny noses, trouble breathing, early deliveries of preemie crias and even many have died from it so it's not taken lightly. As much as I wanted them home, I'm OK with them staying until everything is cleared up. They are now booked on his December 2nd trip.

Until next time...

Mid-America Alpaca Show

2007-11-06T10:27:00.000-06:00

Time flies when you're havin' fun they say...maybe that's why I'm just now getting around to writing about our weekend at the alpaca show that occurred over a week ago?!

I took that Friday off work so we could wrap up last minute packing and leave by 11am or so. We pulled out of the driveway at 11:30. Not bad. We loaded the trailer with homemade chicken gumbo, snacks, drinks, "show clothes" and "work clothes" and three of our alpaca boys. We took Cadbury Suprise, Callaway Jaxon, and Golden Beau's Othello. We arrived around 1:30, went through the vet check-in and unloaded animals and found our stalls. After depositing the boys in their stalls, Jon and I took the trailer to the parking lot and found Bill & Rhonda already parked and unloading. We parked our trailer so that we'd have a nice little gathering area between our trailer and theirs with our awnings out and facing each other. We unloaded our show supplies and while we waited for the John Deere Gator driver to come by and haul our stuff to the barn where the animals were, we started setting up "house" at the trailer for the weekend. We rolled out the "yard," set up chairs, and our table, pulled the coolers out and got everything pretty well settled and turned on the crock pot before we headed to the barn to set up our stalls & farm display. The boys were waiting patiently for us.

Shows are always a lot of fun but it's especially fun to meet new people and to see people you don't see regularly and to see the various colors of alpacas in every shade from white to black to grey to even Appaloosa! You just know everyone is sizing up your animals as you do the same with theirs but it's all very non-competitive in my opinion and I like it that way. Gregg Bacon, one of our newest alpaca friends (come to find out) was showing a grey male in the same class as our grey male Callaway Jaxon. Gregg bet me a cookie that his male would place over my male...and the heat was on!

Friday evening, after everyone was in and set up and ready for the show to begin on Saturday, people started to gather at our little "trailer park" for our Chicken Gumbo and Rhonda's Chicken Chili. We started this "tradition" last year and this year we had a bigger crowd than last and I expect next year will be even bigger. It's a lot of fun and we had people we know and even people we didn't know stop by.

Saturday was a fun day, full of activity and excitement. Watching the show is such an awesome learning experience! I especially enjoy hearing the judges comments on why this alpaca placed above that one and why that one placed where he did etc. I just wish my hands could feel all the fleeces that judges hands have felt! I would love to know what they know. We showed Cadbury Suprise and it was no surprise he did not place at all. He took what I call, "the walk of shame." Once the judge picks her top 6 alpacas, anyone else left in the ring is dismissed. This is "the walk of shame" in my opinion. It's better to place 6th than not at all I think. Jon joked with everyone saying Cadbury took 8th place..."you know, the invisible colored ribbon!" We also showed Othello. Othello did GREAT and took a 2nd place ribbon! Of course, his class consisted of two alpacas. Othello and one other. That's OK though...the judge said wonderful things about Othello and so did some other reputable suri breeders that stopped to look at him. We'll show him again in the spring. Cadbury's show career is over and he is now for sale. Saturday night was the banquet and that was fun. The speaker was very interesting and everyone was glad to get to bed after a long day.

Sunday was another busy day but only one alpaca left for us to show. Callaway Jaxon. The greys show late in the day so we spent most of the day just watching the show and visiting with old and new friends. Callaway was in a class of 13 alpacas and I really thought he might have to take "the walk of shame" but I was pleasantly suprised when he placed 4th! I was thrilled and in shock! Yippee!!

Packing up and heading home is never as much fun as packing to go to a show. We packed and loaded the trailer while we waited for the last few classes to show and said our goodbyes to everyone. It's all bittersweet as we get another show under our belts, more ribbons for our alpacas which is always good for business, but this is the last show for us for this year. We are now looking into adding a show or two to our schedule for next year and researching to decide which shows to add. Stay tuned!

Until next time...

Two Whirlwind Weeks & An Alpaca Show!

2007-10-24T12:57:00.000-05:00

Goodness! I can't hardly believe it's been nearly two weeks since my last post! I am shocked! Actually, I'm not all that surprised when I look at the calendar and see all that's been going on.

Last Friday night, Jon took me to The American Royal PBR Bull riding Finals. Wow, what a time we had! Jon just about choked though when the parking attendant told us it was $10.00 to park! It was always $6.00...what happened?! He was being playful and asked her if there were any discounts available. By her response, I could tell there WERE but she wasn't going to offer up any information so I blurted out..."What about if you just retired from the Air Force after 28 years of service?!" I did not expect it but she shook Jon's hand, said "thank you!" and "go park." She added that there were several empty spots up front and if we drove up this aisle we'd see them. Wow...

Saturday was our monthly "herd health" day and with 10 alpacas of our own and 6 boarders, it took us a while to get through everyone. Everyone that needed it got their nails trimmed and everyone got a shot of Ivomec that needed it (white tailed deer can carry a Meningeal worm that can be deadly for alpacas and Ivomec will help keep them from getting this particular worm). The cria (babies) all got vitamins and their first CD&T immunization. We also weighed the babies, their moms and all of the new boarders. We need to keep an eye on their weights just to be sure everyone is eating as they should and not stressing out over the move too much. Everyone checked out fine.

Sunday was a day of rest. We worked hard physically on Saturday and Jon & I were both SORE on Sunday so we spent a lot of time mowing grass. Jon on the tractor, me on the riding mower. We got a lot done! Jon also got ambitious and built hay feeders for all four shelters! They work great! While he did that, I gathered the things we'll need to take to the Mid-America Alpaca Show this weekend and cleaned out the horse trailer. We'll be camping in the parking lot RV sites at the show with our friends Rhonda and Bill Butler. It's a fun time for all.

I'm getting pretty excited for the show coming up this weekend in Topeka. We'll be showing our 18 month old grey male, Callaway Jaxon, our dark brown 3 year old male Cadbury Suprise, and our little yearling suri male Othello. This will be our first time showing a suri and really hope Othello does well. He's one of our "freebie boys" that were so graciously given to us by good friends in Colorado. Wouldn't it be something if he did well? Cadbury is for sale and we hope to get some interest in him at the show. I just hate to sell him though...his yarns are my most favorite! Oh, so buttery soft it is! I have to keep in mind...this is a business! I admit it's tough though.

So, the past week has been busy getting ready for the show...not just the trailer and our "stuff" to take but making up fliers to pass out, signs for the boys pens, etc. Tonight, I plan to work on some halter training for Cadbury...he's a little rusty.

Wish us luck in shades of blue and lavender!

Until next time!

A Weekend of Breeding

2007-10-16T10:59:00.001-05:00

I knew that would get your attention!

This past Friday night, the barn builders delivered our two new alpaca shelters and boy are they nice! The metal on the new barns match the metal on our house & chicken coop. For those of you that don’t know, we live in a barn ourselves. Our “barndominium” is wonderful! Built just like a pole barn, we’ve got nice, 6” walls full of insulation so heating and air conditioning costs are minimal. Care-free siding and metal roofing make it virtually maintenance free. A couple of times a year we take a hose or power-washer to it and it’s good to go for another 6-12 months. After 3 winters, we’re still working on our first tank of propane and won’t need to fill it this year either.

I got off subject there but had to mention the new shelters matching the house. J Saturday, in the early afternoon, we loaded up Shannon and her 3 week old cria Montana, or “Tanner” as we call him, and drove to Iowa. We arrived at Bacon’s Alpaca Ranch and met with Gregg Bacon, owner of Shannon’s latest love Strider of the Shire. Strider is a beautiful true black alpaca that has won numerous awards…most notable is a Supreme Reserve Color Championship in Canada. The Supreme Color Championship is an international class where the Color Champions from every color class compete. Two judges choose the Supreme Color Champ. We were also able to visit with several of Strider’s offspring that Gregg had there on his farm and from what we can tell, Strider does a nice, consistent job in passing on his nice traits to his offspring. If you’ve ever felt black velvet, you know how his cria feel…just scrumptious! After the breeding, Jon and I found a nice Mexican restaurant and had a bite to eat and then retired to our hotel room for the evening. Sunday, we got up early and repeated the breeding then loaded up and headed home. Although, heading home was a little different than the trip up to Iowa. On our return trip, we had 6 additional alpacas on the trailer! We were able to meet up with Van Walter & his son as they delivered their alpacas that are now boarding at our farm long term. Van and his wife will be relocating to the Kansas City area where Van will soon retire. They have a new grandbaby here and will be coming to settle near the kids. We are excited & honored to have Van’s alpacas in our care. His are all suri’s and very nice ones at that!

Once home, we got everyone on the scale and settled in with some hay & water in their new digs. We’ll keep an eye on everyone’s weight just to be sure everyone is eating and maintaining their weight. We may discuss a diet plan for a couple of them at a later date, once they’re all settled in and calling Shady Creek Farm their home.

Until next time…

Coyotes in Our Midst

2007-10-11T09:31:00.000-05:00

It was such a beautiful night last night, I decided to sleep with the bedroom windows open. At 11:30pm I was awakened by the howling of coyotes on our property. They were way too close for my comfort, especially with two alpaca cria in their pastures with their mamas. I turned on all of the outside lights and walked the perimeter of their pastures with a flashlight just to warn the coyotes that I was there. I managed to go back to sleep but was awakened again by coyotes at 3:30am! Don't they sleep?! This time, I tried the BB gun but it was worthless. I called to them from the porch telling them they had better move on to some other farm. I'm not sure if it worked or not. I do know, however, that I did not go back to sleep. *yawn*

A Weekend Retreat to Colorado

2007-10-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

Our weekend was great. The trip to Denver was a much needed get-away for me. Friday evening, Jon picked me up at the airport and we went to the hotel and cleaned up and headed out for dinner. I had asked him ahead of time to find a nice Mexican place to eat dinner and he didn't. We got a recommendation from the hotel clerk but driving by the place, we decided to keep looking! We fired up the GPS and found another place that looked like tit might have potential. We were totally disappointed!! It was AWFUL! I don't think I've ever had bad Mexian food until now! I left full but was very disappointed.

Saturday we got up and headed to Trueheart Alpacas. It's a nice place down in the pines…real shady and protected from the elements! We visited with Heather and Taylor (our new alpacas) for quite a while. Taylor was not where she could run around so she was very typical alpaca. Very curious but didn’t want you to touch. Melinda got her and Heather in a catch pen and I was able to look them both over real good. I’m totally pleased with these girls. Taylor is gorgeous and so is Heather. From there, Melinda drove us to Pike’s Peak Alpacas where we got our hands on a LOT of their animals (the hubby was a good salesman!) anyway, long story short…Apollo is not describable in words. The picture on AlpacaNation is one from his yearling days so that’s what I was expecting. He is a very proud, robust, solid male and when I touched his fiber I think my mouth fell open and nothing came out for a while. I’ve never felt such density in my life. It was like touching a soft LOG. I don’t even know how to describe it. He’s got a real nice, defined crimp too. They’ve got about 8 other offspring of his there and they showed us every one of them and they were all identical. Solid, proud, and just incredibly dense. I am SO glad I saw this boy. I was a little concerned about breeding Heather to a fawn but I’m perfectly ok with it now. I’m even excited to see the cria!

Next, we went to Dundee Farms to see Axtion Jaxon (sire to our male, Callaway Jaxon). Hugh & Sara Jane Maclennon are THE most hospitable folks! We sat in their kitchen for a while and chit chatted and Cheryl Swanson showed up (she and her husband Michael own the other ½ of Axtion Jaxon) to see us. Michael was out of town & she wanted to come and visit as well. The Maclennon’s asked question after question to US just trying to get to know US! I don't know what I expected but I was pleasantly suprised they were so down to earth. I’m glad we went. They’ve got some super alpacas. They’ve got one fawn male that was JUST like Apollo in his density. Amazing. Their animals were all so sweet and friendly. We saw more A.J. offspring and A.J. himself. He is actually a bit on the smaller side. Not what I expected. His ads make him look very macho. They verified that the 2nd shearing is much better than the first and his boys tend to reach maturity in size and stature around 3 years old. So, all is well. They said Callaway is still his only grey that they know of.

Next, we went on up to Fort Collins where our new Suri girls are. I have pictures of our visit there (totally forgot I even had my camera in the car at the other places!) and a short little video. Cheyenne is just a doll. I love her to pieces! She’s totally curly and has great lock structure! She’s got fiber coverage on her face even, which is pretty rare. Best of all she loves to give kisses and loves to have her neck scratched! Just like Callaway did when he was little. I can’t wait to have her & her mama home next month.

We went ahead and stayed at the hotel Saturday night. The bed was oh, so, comfy!! Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast then Jon drove me to Aurora to the Air Force Base where he was stationed for 3 years and took me around all of his old stomping grounds. It was fun. We then hit the airport, turned in the car and came home. Our son, Justin and his girlfriend Jessica were still farm-sitting for us & were still at the house and stayed a few more hours visiting with us when we got home. Their new puppy is adorable! Justin is training it already and has Miranda (the other dog) under his thumb too. He’s been watching “The Dog Whisperer” a lot and has this training thing down pretty well. It was cute. He wouldn’t let us look at the dogs or talk to them until they were quietly laying down on their own! I couldn’t stand it.

One last thing and I’ll let you go.

Heather and Taylor arrived via transport by Dick Hageman this morning! They got on the trailer yesterday morning at 7:20am in Franktown, Colorado (Trueheart Alpacas) and traveled in style. Dick took great care of them and they arrived safe, sound, and curious! I got them settled at one end of the barn and gated the end so they would have fresh air and daylight. I want to get them weighed and look them both over real good after work tonight so I left them in. I also want to keep an eye on their potty habits to be sure all's well and no one is over stressed, then I'll give them free reign of the paddock for a few weeks.

Until next time...

The Birth of A Blog

2007-10-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, so what's a blog? I really don't know but here's ours!

I read somewhere that you're really nobody on the internet if you don't have a blog and I hate to be left out of anything fun! More and more people are sending me links to their blogs and what fun I have reading all about things that they have fun writing about! So, I'm jumping on the band wagon and bringing Jon with me! Hopefully, he'll grace us with his musings here too. He sees things so differently than I do sometimes. That's all for now.