Spring is here!

Well the year is certainly moving right along and here we are in November once again!

This coming week we are shearing and for the first time in 14 years it is going to be raining. This  does become a logistical nightmare but luckily I booked the shearer to come over two days so I don't have to put boys in together who don't like each other and am able to put them far enough away from the girls in the shed so we don't get too frisky if you know what I mean!

These last few weeks I seem to have been on Betty my tractor quite a lot lately doing slashing and mowing and it is a bit like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, when you finish it seems you have to go right back to the beginning and start all over again.  The only ones who seems to think this is fun is Willy and Olive.  Willy is my friendly wagtail who has adopted me and who is my constant companion around the farm (I don't feed him, we just seem to connect) and he loves loud machinery.  Wherever I am on the tractor or mower or indeed just walking around the farm he is always just one post ahead of me singing and bouncing away.  The other day I was in the olive grove slashing and I couldn't see him.  The next thing he comes flying across the road, flaps around in front of the tractor for a bit and then flew off back to where he came from.  The reason I believe was that the neighbours were making silage and they had really big tractors and he just wanted to say that whilst I was here he was really having so much fun with the big tractors that he had to be somewhere else. At least it was nice of him to tell me. I smiled and wished him a happy day.

Olive, our oldest alpaca, probably about 25,  also loves it when I mow the driveway next to her paddock as she loves to eat the fresh grass clippings.  Me being the softy that I am I make sure I cut one way that throws as much grass into her paddock first and then I go back over it the proper way.  Her big eyes just make me melt.

Here is Willy on the fence post earlier this week.

You really can't beat living a life with animals.  One day I will introduce you to my two dogs; Paddington and Archie.  They are indeed a couple of characters and totally BFF.

How are my yurts going I hear you ask......
So with everything going on in the world, alpacas don't talk politics, so we won't go there, the banks have said we can't have anymore money this year to keep building our yurts; my home.  So currently 3 yurts stand at frame stage and no more. What to do? Well work harder is the obvious answer so you might like to check out our website for all that is happening over summer and of course there will be more coming out via our own Nickelby Design range.

So as I look out my studio door to yet another dark and blustery Saturday afternoon in November (go figure!) I do wonder what is to become of us all.  With the latest happenings in America, Brexit and everything here it can be a little frightening so I just take a leaf out of the alpaca's book and just take each day as it comes and live in the moment.  I encourage you all to do the same and be kind to your friends and neighbours and embrace and celebrate their differences.

I will finish up now and promise to share with you how the shearing goes next week and show you some before and after shots.  They do look funny after shearing.

Take care