2009 Shearing

Wow! It's been a very long time since I've posted to this blog! Time flies whether you're having fun or not.


I finally got my poor, miserably hot animals sheared on Tuesday, June 16th. Good alpaca/llama shearers are few and far between. This year my friend Sue and I were fortunate enough to have Ann Kizer, an outstanding shearer from Northern Idaho, come to our farms. Ann drives a long circuit through the Pacific Northwest each spring. Since we got on her schedule rather late, we had to wait until her return trip from Oregon, but it was well worth the wait. We started with my herd about 9:30 in the morning, and then moved on to Sue's farm about 1:00 in the afternoon. Check out my album "2009 Jun 16 Shearing" for some "before and after" shots of my animals and Sue's.



Buddy, although quite elderly,
still looks very suave and debonair
with his special "guard llama" haircut.

Jumping In

Welcome! Does having my own blog mean I'm a grownup, or does it mean I'll probably never grow up? Hmmm...I'm afraid I already know the answer to that question. I thought this might be a good vehicle for sharing with my friends and family the day-to-day joys and sorrows of life on a wannabe alpaca farm, and perhaps even my random (though somewhat rare) thoughts of reason and sanity. So, for better or worse, and with encouragement from my son, Erik, here I go.

Before we bought our property in December 2003, we asked the former owner whether it was subject to flooding. He told us that the house is four steps up from grade level, and the property is not classified as being in a flood zone. However, there is a slough across the property that takes seasonal runoff from the nearby Black River. Sometimes the water does flow up on the next-door neighbors' property, and it may then enter the low corners of our place. Also, a few low areas of the pastures get some water pooling in them during heavy rains, but this is very temporary. During the infamous "hundred year" flood of 1996, (recently reclassified as a three hundred year flood), the water came right up to the garage doors, but it didn't get inside. He said he also had a small amount of water under the house, but that it went down quickly and readily, and there was no permanent damage. In the spring/summer of 1997, he built bermed gardens around the house to protect the foundation from future flooding, and he told us they had worked very well ever since. We opted to purchase flood insurance, "just in case." Smart move.

December 2007 began, here in the Pacific Northwest, with a big ol' flood. Rosie Borders Alpaca Ranch was covered in some areas with more than two feet of water, and the house and decks became an island from December 4th to 6th, and we ended up having quite an adventure. At some point, I'll tell the whole story of the flood days, but not today.

State Farm came through with the money (almost $9,000) to pay for needed repairs to our laundry room, garage, and crawl space, however, we had to do a lot of ripping out and cleaning up ASAP after the flood. The insulation and vapor barrier under our house were replaced last week. Later this afternoon, the contracter we have engaged to repair the damage to our house and garage will be stopping by with the project foreman to estimate the materials needed. They will begin work next Monday, and expect to complete everything by the end of that week.

Just out of curiosity, where would you put seven very expensive alpacas if flood water
came up so suddenly in the pastures that there was no way to evacuate them?

..........Video 1. Girls' Dorm: Safe But Not Happy.........................................Video 2. Bubble, Bubble, Toilet Trouble.........