Fighting Fit and Raring to Go!

Okay so maybe the “Fit” bit is a slight exaggeration when talking about myself, but I can always live in hope!

Having had a difficult time last winter, I felt the need for a bit of a sabbatical from blogging but now I’m back with a vengeance!

There have been so many comings and goings with livestock here at Fallowfield over the last few months that I thought a quick update would be in order.

Pigs came and went and are now feeding us very well, thank you very much. I can highly recommend Simpsons from Cockfield in Co. Durham, who handle the pigs very sensitively and make such good sausage and black pudding – yum, yum!

The guinea fowl are here and making their presence felt – you certainly know when you have guinea fowl and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone with close neighbours due to the racket they can make, but they are hilarious.  I’m still trying to work out which are males and which are females – any suggestions most welcome.  They just pootle about in a gang and don’t attempt to wreck the flowerbeds like the hens.  So looking forward to seeing some chicks and then I’ll be checking out some recipes.

And last but not least – our gorgeous alpacas.  We have lots of lovely crias again this year but inevitably some are more gorgeous than others.  Everyone loves Penelope, although we were definitely not trying to breed a multi!

Alicia (out of Grand Flowerdale Affirmation of Fallowfield and Houghton King) is a very special light fawn with one of the most tightly crimped fleeces we have ever bred.  She had a bit of a tricky start and needed plasma but she is thriving now.

One can never be certain what colour cria an alpaca is going to throw and this point was made clear to us this year.  Fallowfield Octavia has always thrown bright whites from her matings to Houghton King but this year she threw a very strong, light fawn male.  His fleece is very similar to Alicia’s – very high frequency crimp style and very bright – just a pity I can’t get a good enough photograph to show you.  Maybe it will be possible when he gets bigger - if I can hold him still long enough!

The photo below is of Prospero who is another of our little hooligans.  Thank goodness Mike has a telephoto lens or we wouldn't have a chance of getting a decent shot of him.

So, got to finish some baking now as it 's changeover day at our cottage in Corbridge on Fridays and I always leave them a home-made cake - so please keep your fingers crossed that I don't caramelise it by mistake!  Lemon drizzle cakes are good but not when they are burnt on the top!!