Saturday, November 14, 2020

In Search of the Push-Me-Pull-You




It has been a stellar fall at Windy Hill!  Not much in the way of high winds (our name isn't just poetic, you know...)  And the days are shorter, so even on warm days it cools off quickly at night.  I have even had to wear a jacket twice!

Response has been terrific to our website re-design, thanks to the great team at Openherd.com!  Everyone seems to be searching for something-- a peaceful alternative to the city, a meaningful way to spend retirement, or a healthy way to raise a family.  I have spent many wonderful hours meeting new people, everybody with a dream, wanting to see if raising alpacas might fill that place in their hearts.

Our church came out for a Sunday afternoon gathering not long ago.  We sang songs and enjoyed being outside together.  Almond Joy loved entertaining the kids. They all got a chance to offer him a snack, and nobody go spit on!


The Beasley Family recently moved to Tehachapi from Florida, and bought a few acres  hoping to have a farm for their family.  They have been interested in alpacas for quite awhile, so they came out to see the girls I had for sale.  They ended up taking Storm Cloud, Peppermint Patty, and Ilsa and her cria home.  Jennifer said they would probably never go inside.  It wasn't long, though, before they had their first snow-- a real change for Floridians!  They alpacas did well, and they are off to a great start!



Jesse and his daughter came out to see if their idea would work with alpacas.  They have a dog training business ( see their phone number if you need help with that!). and have worked with Cesar Milan.  


One of the things they do is introduce dogs who have had certain negative experiences to a wide variety of scents and animals to help them recover.  Here is a picture of Brickfielder being such a good boy, making friends with this dog.



Maria and I went to Bible Study several years ago. We follow each other on Facebook and keep up.  She has a hot air balloon business-- pretty cool, huh?  She and her family are thinking about expanding their balloon business by having some sort of event center/ bed & breakfast, and they fell in love with alpacas.  While they are deciding where to move, they are coming out to the ranch to learn how to take care of them.  Lots of our alpaca owners start out that way-- it's a great way to learn.  They bought Sally Go Round the Roses who is scheduled to have a baby next summer.  Once they move to their own ranch they plan to have several alpacas as part of their adventure.  I keep trying to talk her into bringing a balloon out some day soon.  Wouldn't that be fun?


Lois saw a commercial for ILoveAlpacas.com in 2002, and has been trying to talk her family into owning alpacas ever since.  Well, she finally succeeded!  Her growing family, home schooling and working from home during Covid, have decided to explore what it would be like to own alpacas and maybe start their own small sustainable farm.  They have all the skills they need to succeed, as well as a love of animals and kids who are eager to get their feet wet doing the work.  I see lots of volunteer hours in their future-- HURRAY!
(By the way--if you are interested in volunteering, we have lots to do!  40 crias to halter train, the show team to polish up their leading skills, and endless ranch tasks that need doing.  Give me a call or an email and let me know when you are available.)


I love this chill picture of Taj and her daughter our walking their boys.  They have some high pressure jobs and come out just to commune with their alpacas.  Alpacas are famous for lowering blood pressure, and nothing releases endorphins like a kiss from a soft, velvety muzzle.



Our Molly made a sudden departure two weeks ago.  She was a magnificent guardian and beautiful soul.  No coyote or anyone else ever thought about crossing her.  In fact, one time she got ahold of a coyote's tail through the chain link fence and, well, the coyote left without his tail-- she still had it the next morning!
Molly had congestive heart failure that came on suddenly and caused strokes that paralyzed her hindquarters.  She wasn't one to sit around, so it wasn't long before she made her journey over the Rainbow Bridge.  She was brave to the last.
Click on this picture of Molly to see a wonderful video of her running about a week before she died.
And raise a glass to her bold spirit and watchful eye if you think about it. πŸ’–


As Molly was going down hill, we began looking for her replacement. Zeke is great, but he needs help on 25 acres.  We were fortunate enough to find Tucker!  Tucker found himself without a job when his family moved from 100 acres to 5.  They have plenty of Anatolians to take care of this smaller space, so they began looking for a home for Tucker.  He has been raised by his parents and grandparents, and his sweet human family, so he knows the drill with everybody.  He's perfect for us because we need a dog socialized to people.  Now he is on patrol every night with Zeke, and still has youthful energy for some petting and playing in the morning with the rest of us.


Here is Kallie with her very first 2 puppies!  My granddaughters were visiting a few weeks ago, and Kallie was sweet enough to have her puppies while they were here. It was so exciting for the girls!  Kallie has 6 puppies-- 2 girls and 4 boys.  They are 2 1/2 weeks old now and have grown so much I can hardly believe it!  Every day they change a little.  She eats 4 times a day to keep up with them!

The pups will be 8 weeks old on December 22-- just in time for the holidays if you are interested.  Rat Terriers are very sweet, loving dogs with a great ability to keep varmints out of your garden. They are fabulous companions, and these guys are being handled every day.  Let me know if you are interested in adding one of them to your family.




I have spent the summer and fall in search of the elusive Push Me Pull You.  I knew we had one on the ranch, but it didn't show up in plain sight until just the other day.  Notice the extreme symmetry, the matching color and height, the contented posture.  Ahhhhhhh.... my hunt is over-- success at last!
(And thank you to Zurich and Phoebe!)


Thank you for joining us on our Blog List.  
Please feel free to forward this blog to any of your friends who might enjoy it.
~
ALPACA HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
on Don & Tracy's patio (7660 Bradley Rd. Somis)
Saturday, November 28 ~ 10 am to 3 pm
Bring your friends and shop for Alpaca Holiday Gifts.
Ventura County Guidelines for mask and social distancing apply.
~
Remember-- I offer a free 1-hour Consultation for those of you who are interested in owning alpacas.  Give me a call-- we'll talk all about alpacas!
Take care.
Cindy


Cindy Harris ~ Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ Somis, CA ~ www.alpacalink.com ~ 805-907-5162



 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

A Second Round of Green Beans...and a few more crias


These bush beans that I grew this year are amazing!  6 little plants gave me 4 meals of green beans on the first round, then they completely reset and are producing like crazy again!  What a year for gardening-- with alpaca poop, of course.  πŸ˜Š


My hat is off to friend and colleague, Penny Wynn!  This beautiful little black suri girl was born early  at Penny's place 4 days ago.  When she went out to do one last check on the yard at 7 pm, there was this 12 lb baby with a subnormal temperature and no strength at all.  Penny gave her a bottle and kept her warm through the night (ssssshhhhhh...don't tell anyone she took her in the bedroom with her!), and continued working with her for the last 4 days.  We came up with a plan for feeding and treatments, which she followed as well as coming up with ideas of her own that worked very well.

This morning I got an excited text from Penny:  
"Her weight is 13 lbs!"
And that was even after spending the night outside with her mom and nothing but nursing!
Congratulations on a great success, Penny!!  
Thank you for all you have done!

Saturday, September 5, 2020

When the corn is as high as the Sequoia tree in the hen yard....

August has been a busy month here at Windy Hill.  Zurich says she is just watching the show.  LOL!


These lucky girls, Polly and Mary, got to take 3 of their favorite boyfriends and hop a plane to Maui this month.  Polly is particularly interested in learning the Hula and some Hawaiian songs.  She is such a well-rehearsed singer.  Ever since she was a cria she has sung to me every time I put a halter on her.  I understand she is loving Maui. 


The Travel Brochure is what convinced them to go.  This is the view from their accomodations on the slopes of Haleakala.  Trade winds and an ocean view made it particularly appealing to them, as well as the endless supply of green grass.


The boys were very excited about having their own little house in the middle of the pasture.  Mo is dying to learn to surf, but he has had to do some breedings before he can go.  Work before fun.  πŸ˜Ž


Just as Dr. Jana was retiring and moving to New Mexico, Dr. Katie Nenneker arrived on the scene!  We are so thrilled to have her available to treat our alpacas.  I've already learned some new tricks from her.  What a sweetie. And she tells me that in the next month or so, they will have a small animal  mobile vet in their practice as well.  That is music to my ears with LGD's and other pets here at the ranch.

Dr. Nenn's truck was designed by her firefighter husband.  It has all the bells and whistles, like it's own generator and water supply, so she can even go to remote locations with no services available.  It's pretty cool.


This last week we needed to x-ray an alpaca's jaw.  It was very exciting to watch as Dr. Nenn and her assistant Kim did an x-ray in the chute, and then seconds later, we were able to see it appear on the screen in clear detail.  What an amazing picture! You can see sinuses and tooth sockets and all kinds of stuff!


Because the picture was so clear, we were able to determine that the tooth root abscess had not cleared up completely and needs an additional round of antibiotics.  I'm still amazed-- it was so simple!


This week I want to highlight Scarlett-- the oldest alpaca on the ranch.  Scarlett is officially 24 years old!  She wins all the awards for Oldest Alpaca at Windy Hill.  She has her own pasture--not because she needs it, but because she wanted it.  I put her in with her usual buddies and she crawled through the fence to have her very own space.  She gets baths and extra feed in the morning, because as she says, she deserves it.  Good Girl, Scarlett!


Here are some red, white and blue flowers for the Labor Day Holiday.  πŸ’—


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

When You're Too Busy to Blog...

 It seems that when I'm too busy to blog, it's because I'm gathering up HUGE amounts of material to blog about!  Today there seems to be a brief break in the action, so here goes....

The double rainbow is a greeting to all of us from Dr. Jana.  She shot it from her deck at her new house outside of Albuquerque, NM.  What a beautiful view!  Her phone number is the same so give her a call if you are in that area. She would love to see you!

Despite the Covid issues, we have had a lovely summer filled with friends visiting and crias being born.  And it's been a FANTASTIC summer for flowers and vegetables.  Look at this rosebud!  I couldn't resist including it.  You can almost smell it, can't you? 😊


As usual, Farmer Don is busy building habitat for his many critters.  This last week brought turkey chicks.  They are, after all, turkeys, so not the most adorable of creatures, but they have a really endearing whistle that they make when they are busy during the day.


I remember the delights of playing in the sprinklers when I was a kid.  I loved turning them on and running through  and standing over them when it was hot.  There was no air conditioning in those days (so primitive!!), so getting wet was the way to cool off.  
Apparently the alpacas feel the same way.  We have just gone through a really oppressive 10 days of high heat and high humidity - at least for us-- so we turn on the sprinklers everyday for the pregnant girls so they can cool off.
Can you even see the sprinkler??  The crias haven't gotten the message yet, and how could they get close  in any case?


Nancy brought her friends to visit her alpaca over the weekend.  Mom, Dad, and 6 darling kids had a great time being sniffed by Tira Misuser and Jupiter.  These yearlings are really starting to look for a relationship, and they are not quite sure what kind of a relationship they should be looking for, so humans are worth investigating.    The kids and the alpacas had a great time.  Dad blew the Shofar for us, too.  It sounded amazing out over the pastures.  All the alpacas stopped to savor the sound.



A couple of weeks ago the Windy Hill Alpaca Owners Club had a Fiber Play Day.  We all met under the trees to play with our favorite fiber toys for the day.  We had knitting, crocheting, weaving, dyeing, and spinning all going on at once.  We got to ask questions of everyone working.

Look how clever Deb is about arranging her dye cups to do multi-color yarn and keep the colors separate and the counter clean.  The yarn is soaked first in water and vinegar, then when it's in the dye, the capillary action carries the dye throughout the yarn.


Some new and some returning friends from the Ventura County Spinners and Weavers Guild brought their looms and wheels out to join us.  What fun it was seeing those looms creating gorgeous patterns.




During the summer when we have our births, my office moves to the edge of the OB pasture.  My phone, laptop, papers, etc sit in my computer bag and I get to watch the moms ready to give birth while I work.  Somedays, though, I carry it all out there and never get anything done because the alpacas are calling my name.  There are babies to manage, Vitamin AD shots to give, name tags to make, treatments for various alpacas by the barn, friends to talk to, ultrasounds to do, spit tests to organize, breedings to plan, sprinklers to turn on and off...well, you get the picture.


And pretty soon...POOF!  It's sunset again!  It's getting dark earlier now, so my evening hours to work outside have been cut a bit.  I guess it's good to go home eventually.
Have a beautiful sunset and a restful night.


Cindy


Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ 7660 Bradley Rd. Somis, CA 93066 


Saturday, August 8, 2020

Let the Sun Shine


August tiptoed in this year under a cover of fog.  Our mornings have been cool, our afternoons beautiful and breezy, and the evenings even a bit chilly sometimes.  My sunflowers finally bloomed one foggy morning.  I am absolutely delighted!  Yesterday didn't even get to 80ΒΊ F!  It can keep this up the rest of the summer and I won't complain, but I do like the sun.  πŸ˜Š

This mama and baby pair are just the cutest!  This is Bourbon and Candles and her little boy, Take It to the Bank.  Bank is the first cria by GLR Suton and we all love him.  When they strike a pose like this they are just irresistible, don't you think?

A few days ago I was driving the Kubota along the north side by Bradley Rd. and noticed some odd figures just outside the fence.  We have a lot of chickens on the property but no Rhode Island Reds.  I called Don, and he took our volunteers that day out to catch them.  They came back with 2 very well-fed roosters!  Normally we don't collect roosters, but these guys are very agreeable with the other chickens.  And Reds are known to sometimes lay twice a day, so we're going to keep them and see if we can introduce that quality into the population.

Don has been hatching some chicken and quail eggs. The chicks so cute!  And the other day a friend traded him 3 quail eggs for 3 turkey eggs.  We'll see if those hatch.  Meanwhile we all enjoy fresh eggs anytime we want them.  There's no comparison to the ones from the store, that's for sure!
Our friends Lindsey and Jeremiah recently took a trip to Reno, and when they got back, Lindsey presented Farmer Don with a pair of Tractor-themed suspenders!  Since Don and Tracy moved to the ranch 5 years ago, Don has lost almost 100 lbs and is always having to hitch up his pants.  So THANK YOU LINDSEY!   Besides, we all like to wear clothes that follow the themes of our favorite things, right?  So here are Don and Lindsey standing by the beloved tractor.
Oh, don't get me wrong.  Don is not the only one who loves the tractor!  I love it dearly-- it makes life on the ranch possible in so many ways.  

My darling Jade really wants a swimming pool.  She tells me that almost every day.  Bless her little water-loving heart, she can't stay out of the water bucket!  I've been trying to catch a picture of her in it for about 2 weeks, but every time she sees me coming with the camera she walks away.  Yesterday she was so "in a zone" that I finally caught her in the act before she saw me. LOL
Yes, we do clean our the water buckets, but honestly, alpacas would much rather drink out of a puddle left by the rain or the sprinklers than out of a civilized water dish, so they are no stranger to mud.  Silly creatures!
We broke 2 streaks yesterday:  1) 10 days without crias being born, and 2) a string of boys.  Meet Jubilee, the apple of Tracy's eye. 
 Juliet, her mama, went into labor in the morning, just as Dr. Nenn was arriving to do some routine things for us.  She had said she hadn't seen an alpaca born yet, so Juliet decided to give her a tutorial in classic alpaca birthing.  This was Juliet's maiden birth, and she just did everything right!  An hour after Jubilee was born, she was up nursing like a champ.  Dr. Nenn and her assistant Kim were thrilled to get to watch, and we were all glad to see this beautiful girl join the herd.
It was a great week for Tracy.  Thursday afternoon Hula, her labradoodle, went into labor and produced 5 gorgeous male pups--4 black and 1 fawn.  Hula really knows the drill and is doing a great job being a mommy.  Last time Hula had pups, we all fell in love with them.  
These little guys will have new owners soon, I'm sure. 
They are actually 3/4 poodle.  Hula is fawn, and  "aarf and aarf" as my dad would have said-- "aarf" poodle and "aarf" labrador.  Daddy Maui is 100% standard poodle, and has the most wonderful color combination of gray, white and black.  That said, black is the color of choice for this litter apparently.  
Just like that box of chocolates--you never know what color to expect from labradoodles or alpacas!


This is the mural my friend Britta Phillips painted on the side of our tool shed.  Isn't it adorable? That was almost 5 years ago now!

Britta started a Kickstarter Project for her 40th birthday to celebrate and fund her Art career.  It ends tomorrow night, August 9th, and she asked me to post her Kickstarter link in case anyone is interested in a mural. She is offering several at very low cost--just enough to cover time and materials, and loads of fun.    

If you have a wall that is just begging for a colorful mural, this is a great opportunity!  I really encourage you to get on Kickstarter and make a donation.  Britta is also a lot of fun to have around--she is a very dear friend.

Her email for questions is storyshower@gmail.com.  The Kickstarter link is  http://kck.st/2WV7N6L  

Here is what Britta says:  "I am offering eight commissions for murals for $1000 each. I will either paint an original mural on your wall (indoor or outdoor), OR a portable mural on 4'x8' plywood (in the latter case, you will have to come get it from Ventura County and install it yourself). All materials are included. I plan to complete all of these murals, COVID permitting, by mid-2021 (we will have to work out scheduling and individualized safety conditions on a case-by-case basis). Wall MUST be ground level. Can be up to 15 feet across and 10 feet high. This reward is ONLY open to people in the Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as the Bay Area." If there are only a few murals, I should be able to complete them by the end of 2020, if safety conditions can be agreed on. This is at about half my current rate, and I have seven of the eight slots left! One more commission will get me to this goal, and two more will enable me to make a lot more art this fall, which is one of my two small sources of income.
REMEMBER--
NEXT SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 
is our
FIBER PLAY DAY
sponsored by the Windy Hill Alpaca Owners Club
9 AM to 3 PM--come and go as you can
$10 entry (no reservation necessary)
Bring your own lunch and drinks
and any fiber projects you would like to play with.

We will have a great time 
sharing fiber projects
talking about fiber projects
learning fiber projects
  
Materials and kits for sale 
Mini-Lessons in
Knitting
Crocheting
Spinning
Felting
Weaving
for you to try.

Kids are welcome with parental supervision.
NO PETS PLEASE.

Questions? Call Cindy at 805-907-5162 
or email me at cindy@alpacalink.com
 

Alpacas at Windy Hill  ~ Cindy Harris ~  www.alpacalink.com

805-907-5162 ~ cindy@alpacalink.com

FREE 1-HOUR CONSULTATION ON STARTING YOUR RANCH.  

CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Oh, life on the farm is kinda laid back...



We are waiting for babies.  Every day they sit in the OB pasture and chew their cud and laugh at us.  I'm glad they find that funny!  

I just want to see what is on the inside.  I've always wished that female alpacas came with a little window on their sides so we could peek in and see what they are growing!  Wouldn't that be fun?  One of the girls was cushed behind the feeder.  That's usually a sign that she is hiding something. Some of them try to be so sneaky!  I hate to tell you how many times I've gone home for  lunch and found a new baby running around the pasture when I get back an hour later!


 

One mama who had her cria recently is Ellie's Patches.  Patches gave her black for the 2nd time bred to gray Crawford.  You just never know what variety of chocolate is going to come out of the box, LOL.  This time it's a beautiful black boy name Pascal (Ellie, a former math teacher, always names her crias for mathematicians ).  

Speaking of which-- does anyone need a math tutor?  Ellie would love to help with elementary school through upper level high school math. 😁  Just email me. I'll get the message to her.



Gilberto is such a great helper!  He cleans the pastures for us, fills all the hay feeders, and runs the sprinklers whenever he is here.  Outta  Sight decided he was an ok guy, too.



I finally got to the end of the cucumbers!  I have pickles coming out my ears.  Now I will have to start pickling zucchini.  Does anyone have a favorite recipe for pickled zucchini?

  We also have a bumper crop of tomatoes from 3 plants.  I see tomato sauce in my immediate future.  I'll also have some cherry tomatoes to take on my road trip this week.


Jana Smith, our wonderful friend and gifted veterinarian of 20 years is retiring.  She has had health issues for several years and has reluctantly decided it's time to move to Albuquerque, NM to live near her sister.   We will miss Dr. Jana terribly, but she has promised to be available by phone and Zoom when we need her expertise.  I am driving her to her new home tomorrow-- ROAD TRIP!!  I'll be back on Thursday, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.  In the meantime, Don, Tracy and Ellie will be holding down the fort.



We have not been left in the lurch, however.  Just in the knick of time, God brought us Dr. Nenn!  Katie Nenneker, AKA Dr. Nenn, has been in the area for a few years now, working for West Coast Equine and Conejo Valley Vet.  Just 3 months ago she decided to start her own practice, and does a wide range of large animals, including ALPACAS!!!  We feel very fortunate to have Dr. Nenn on board.  She has already been out to the ranch a few times for various tasks, and promises to be available for vet calls in the future.  You should see her TRUCK!  Her husband, a fire fighter, helped her design it.  It even has a refrigerator and its own water and electricity!!
You can find her listed on her website:  https://drnenn.com


As Dr. Nenn was leaving the other day, Farmer Don found an exhausted humming bird on the ground.  The two of them revived it so it could fly away.  Be careful out there, little buddy!


Our new friends and clients, Steve and Nicole, came out the other day and brought their girls.  Some of our yearling female alpacas are beginning to long for a relationship.... and Annie Oakley decided that the girls were just right for a hug.  Steve shot this great picture and said I could post it.  Isn't it sweet?



Chloe wants you to remember that I am offering a Free 1-Hour Consultation for anyone exploring the in's and out's of alpaca ownership.  Just email or call me and we'll set up a time to come talk.  All the social unrest recently has caused several people to ask how alpacas can help them move to a more rural life.  We have lots of ideas!  Call or email soon.  20 years of experience can give you quite a jumpstart in starting your alpaca business. 😊
Cindy Harris - 805-907-5162 - cindy@alpacalink.com



You are personally invited to come and bring a friend or 2 to the 
Fiber Play Day at Windy Hill
August 15, 9 am to 3 pm.
Bring your favorite fiber toys to play with us, or come to find some new ones.
There will be several fiber arts demonstrations  available, as well as materials to purchase and even some mini lessons available.
Bring your lunch, your own drinks, and a hat.  
We will hang out under the trees and have a relaxing and fun day.
$10 per person.  Children are fine with your own supervision.
No pets please.



Alpacas at Windy Hill ~ 7660 Bradley Rd. Somis CA 93066 
Cindy Harris ~ www.alpacalink.com
805-907-5162 ~ cindy@alpacalink.com