Luke and the Pug Train!

After farmer Jeff did a guest blog the rest of the family decided they wanted in too. As happy as this makes me I still miss the opportunity to put my own two-cents in.

Today's guest writer is none other than my very own Sunshine Bunny, Lucille, the fun son,
Luke!!!!!

I am now going into secretary mode:

Smile Carmen!

CARMEN

Carmen has many smiles-funny-happy-sad-and annoyed. When Carmen smiles she likes to hum- her whole family is a chatty family. Carmen loves to eat. She will budge her way in to get food first. She will follow whoever is putting the grain bowls down. Even if she knows you don't have food in your hand she'll still check.

Carmen will run to the barn whenever she hears the trash can that we hold the food in make a noise.

Carmen is the color of caramel. ( We even call her Carmelita) We call her family the brown family. Whenever it is rainy or snowy or windy the entire brown family except Tinkerbelle head for cover. I won't say much more about the Tink - to- the-bell- to -the- Tinkerbelle because Garett will write about her tomorrow.

But back to Carmen. When Carmen had her baby, Autumn Diva, she was one of the best mothers. She would hum to her to get her inside when it is cold. She called her when it was time to eat. She let her nurse, unlike her sister Brooklyn and her cria Pippi.

Carmen Training her Daughter

Carmen helped her daughter the Martian a.k.a. Autumn Diva learn to walk on a halter. Carmen is a great halter-walker. She can walk to the mailbox on a halter- She is a great walker.

That is the many stories of Carmen!

Well we are getting right down to it huh? I have been trying to figure out how to write about our next alpaca. I usually gush about how cute and yummy they are right? Well this one isn’t what one would call classically cute or yummy, classic beauties rarely are, so when you read about her, know that I love her at least as much as all of the others. Even though she is usually too busy to notice.

Ember

She is the biggest female we have on the farm and she knows it. Ember stands head and shoulders above all the other girls and well, truth be told, all but one of the boys- and he is her son. When we first moved, anytime I would go out Ember would be right there pretty much in my face. It took me a couple of weeks before I realized that she was not ‘the queen bee’- that as you know is Trina. Ember was on duty.

Ember’s job in the herd is Chief of Security. She probably fell into this because of her size and height We live on an exposed corner. Ember has an obvious height advantage. She can see over anyone’s head to find danger. She is in charge of alerting all alpaca including the boys of any danger headed their way.

When our girl Ember senses danger she stands up tall- very tall, and lets out a warning call. (Beeep Beeep Beeep- which doesn’t sound like it would be a call to action but it is.) All motion in the field stops and all eyes are on Ember. ( I am having a flash of a vision of Ember in a Superman cape with the wind blowing her beautiful hair, while all of the citizens of Orcas Moon look to her to save them) Each pasture group pulls closer together and waits for the next command from the top. Ember takes her job very seriously.

We have no predators that would harm the herd, but our dogs would love to get in there and muck up some trouble. Our neighbor Sherry across the street just got a new service dog and really enjoys taking him out and putting him through his paces. Our other neighbor has a spunky little border collie we call Shep.

On more than one occasion we have had one of our dogs slip into the field. Nothing slips by Ember- she is on alert and heads over to tell those pugs where to go. If walking towards them while looking big doesn’t scare them away. Which usually it doesn’t. (Pug is another name for dumb like a rock) She will try and stomp them. This only serves to make the dogs think she wants to play. Wrong. They then run and chase while the humans chase and yell at the dogs begging for them to stop literally fearing for their little dog lives. Our dogs are fearless and stupid and I hope it doesn’t come to this but if they get stomped by Ember she was just doing her job.

Ember is much more than the job she does- Of all the Mothers we have on the farm- she is possibly the best. She delivered her last cria, Sage Prince, and wouldn’t let us near him- not even to weigh him- he was about 20 pounds- we were weighing on the run so it is approximate.

Milk- She has it, plenty

Discipline- her kids tow the line.

Looks- Hello, have you seen her children? They are a chip right off the old block! She is a classic beauty!

We love Ember.

This is not random I just wanted to talk about her today - It is Prada's little bundle of joy- The youngest in the Wu Dynasty- Ho Ho Ho it is

Holly-B!

What a dumb name huh? Just ask my Mom she'll tell you and then she will go on to tell you that I wasn't even home when this miracle hit the ground!

Let's back up.

My kids needed haircuts- Garett was sporting a Justin Bieber- Kahana was hiding fishing gear in his hair and we think maybe a small animal and Luke shaggy dog- couldn't even find his ears- which probably needed cleaning.

In the summer we always look for an excuse for a boat trip to Lopez we usually go to the Barber deVille...and to Farmer Jeff's favorite spot for cinnamon rolls- Holly B's Bakery. Lopez also has the best farmers market.

Well- everything looked good at home with the animals. Manhattan, Prada and Minnie were all due with their babies on the same day and no one looked ready except Manhattan who already had hers the week before.

Off we went on a 3-hour tour- okay maybe a little longer.

Farmers market, Holly's best buns- (their slogan non mine) hair cuts, a morning on the water and home again.

We turned the corner to our house and as a reflex (probably from being a teacher or just weird) I counted all the animals- Houston we have an extra.

Who is that hiding in there?

Where are you taking my baby?

Big, Brown and running around is, you guessed it, Holly B!!!

She is the most curious of the bunch of new cria. She loves to run up to you and touch noses and breath you in - this is a singular experience. What is amazing is that she brings here mom Prada along with her. Prada will now eat out of my hand- really not figuratively.

Holly is a pistol. She is always up for fun and trouble. She doesn't care who she plays with she just wants an adventure. We love our Holly- B

Wanna play?

Yeah!! I was hoping that totally random selection would work out in my favor! The alpaca of the day is none other than Wanda' s baby girl--

Prada!!!!

When I first met Prada she was like a little concentrated version of Wanda. Very concentrated. She had a cria this year and has undergone a shift in personality.

Prada has blue eyes. I will go into the reasons this is not a desirable trait at another time, but what it boils down to is in order for her to almost 100% assuredly have a baby with dark eyes, she needed to be bred to a dark male- as dark as you can get as far back in his heritage as you can get.

We found a crazy handsome award winning black man for her to pass the time with. He lives about three hours away. Prada (the little stick of dynamite) doesn't travel. She was never halter trained because it stresses her out to be handled. She, with the blue eyes was never going to be shown, so why push the issue? Alpacas don't do artificial insemination. This was a problem.

Onyx de Mico

After much discussion with his owners it was decided that Onyx could come for a short visit...a sleepover of sorts. I did however need to purchase two breedings. Who should I also breed with the dark stranger? I am not telling you today but I won't keep it a secret for long.

Alpacas are induced ovulators. This means introduce them to a male and they will be ready in a couple of days. We bred Prada on day one-three- and seven as it is the protocol I follow. I then wait another three days and do what is called a spit test. This isn't really fun. But it is easier than having her pee on a stick - which doesn't work anyway.

To do a spit test you catch the girl in a catch pen and then bring the haltered male- this doesn't have to be the one she was bred to- and see what happens. If she runs, spits and kicks start knitting those baby booties if not get back in the saddle.

Farmer Jeff decided he was going to assist on this one because Prada is indeed a firecracker! We caught Prada and put her in one of the barn stalls with a gate. We brought in Onyx and stood back to see what the verdict was. Chase, chase, chase (the alpaca, not Jeff and I), orgle, orgle, orgle (again the alpaca not Jeff and I), run, run, run (Prada from Onyx).

I decided that Prada was indeed pregnant- Jeff the armchair farmer - said "But she is not spitting!!!" (when you read that last sentence please use your- I know more than you- annoying inflection- go back and try it again) I assured him that, she was a maiden and maybe a little mixed up but was indeed pregnant. Maiden meaning never having had a baby not a virgin.

As I turned to open the gate to let our new little mother to be out of the stall, she jumped up and landed herself crosswise on the stall divider. She was up there like a car on a cliff teetering back and forth- and couldn't get down. You could have heard a pin drop. Prada looked confused, Jeff wasn't breathing and even I, hard to believe, was speechless.

Jeff was beginning to think that she MAY be pregnant. After we got everyone sorted and settled and looked over- I started to laugh and couldn't stop.

Jeff is no longer involved in breedings. Prada gave us a friendly, beautiful, brown eyed, curious little girl- but she will get her own day!

Thank you Jeff for doing a guest post. I am pretty sure Santa Oma has now put you on her bad list for the comment about the brown traveling suit.

Next out of the hat is....

Wanda!

aka- Wanda Woo, Woo Woo, Wooey and the Wooster (good gravy try and page her in a supermarket!)

Wanda is high strung- I think? She may just be afraid of everything. She knows I would never hurt her but she doesn't want to risk it by getting close enough for me to touch.

Here is my story of Woo- not a typo- I meant to say Woo not woe. Although Woo's woe would work.

My first hands on interaction with Wanda was to trim her nails shortly after I arrived on the farm. She wasn't havin' it. It took three people to hold her safely in order to get her nails squared away. She was terrified and so were the three of us.

My next farmer moment stands out so clearly in my mind and no matter how I try I can't ever erase it. It was when I questioned if I had what it took to make the farming work for me.

Labor day morning 2008- my parents were here- I went out early to feed all the animals and much to my horror there was Wanda with a half delivered baby. She was wild eyed and running around. The baby was obviously dead.

We caught her in the catch pen, delivered her baby and all Wanda could do was cry and cry and cry. She looked at her baby and looked at me and back again and cried the most awful, sad and lost cry I have ever heard human or otherwise. Wanda let me hold her, clean her up and sit with her for hours without any fuss. I think she and I both wanted time and quiet company.

I will now stop crying.


Wanda is complex. She loves her girl Prada who was the baby before her lost one. They sleep together every night, even now they have of course let Prada's cria join the slumber party.

Wanda wants so much to be a mom again. When ever the boys walk by she lays down by the fence and tries to tempt them to a breeding- they are more than willing- I can't breed her again the heartbreak is just too much for me.

She is always the first one ready to tend any newborn and will gladly take the older crias down the pasture for a graze and sleep with them in the sun. She is however not a pushover. She doesn't take any sass from those little ones. She is the perfect auntie!!

Wanda with Tinkerbelle's newborn



Oh look here is Wanda with Carmen's baby


Imagine... it's Wanda with Mickey's cria.

I love Wanda. I appreciate her for how she let me near her when she was heartbroken.

Right back at 'ya Wanda!!