Blown Away

It is back to calm today after some amazing storms. Not the weather for a hat...not with with gale force winds...if fact not the weather for opening the mail box without paying full attention...I think that I caught it all eventually...after chasing it around the alpaca fields! Think the lottery cheque might be missing though!

We were booked in to have an alpaca presence at The World Sheep Dog Trials from Thursday until Sunday this week. Unfortunately the dreadful weather has meant that they have had to cancel the Thursday and Friday of the Country Fair side of the event. Can't imagine that there was any chance of erecting a marquee in the past two days...such a shame...Clare Savins, the alpaca breed Secretary, is in charge of the event and I know that she has put so much work into it...lets hope the weekend is sunny and draws the crowds. 

We have had some good news and bad news with regard to spit-offs. Being later in the year we decided to give a number of the maidens one mating...if they took they took...if not they would be left over. Well the good news is that they have all taken...the bad news is that we no longer have a show team to take to Yorkshire! Lady Gaga sat again (third week in a row) so has lost the time that she made up with having an early birth. Although, I do believe that she sat last year when she must have been already pregnant (she obviously likes St. Patrick!) St. Patrick now has pregnancies with white, fawn, brown and black females, so we should have a good idea of what he can do over colours by next year.

We have booked our hotel for The Futurity today. Three nights are booked, in anticipation of taking a show team. It is at the NEC this year (16th and 17th March) so it will be interesting to see how it compares with Stoneleigh. I have to say that we have always enjoyed The Futurity, especially the social side of the event! One of the contenders for the Beck Brow team this year will be Easter-Wood Adelle (sire Cambridge The Chairman of ACC). Jeff from Easter-Wood Alpaca Stud kindly sent us this photo of her this morning...it is going to be a very exciting day next month when she finally arrives at Beck Brow with her mum. This will be one occasion when I will hopefully be happy to be blown away!

Easter-Wood Adelle