Kensmyth

Beautiful though it is, saturated ground following the rain following the snow that thaws means its wet as well as cold here.. but the Alpaca and Llama and horse walking continues all weathers lol .. hmm I’m loving it!

I am not actually a great lover of pizza. However, back in the good old 80’s it was our favourite thing to go to Pizza Hut and then to the Cinema. I always had exactly the same thing – a small deep pan (so different then) with ham, pineapple and anchovies. Yes, it was a weird concoction and I enjoyed it until Pizza Hut stopped stocking anchovies a few years back. not quite the same as a small deep pan but a can of anchovies and here we are..

you need a large diet coke for the thirst afterwards – go on – make your own!

you have to laugh that you bring all the Alpaca in to avoid the possible wet cold wet cold feet cold back syndrome and forget about the Palms !

Alpacas like snow generally, they are used to colder climates of course. However snow on the back and wet underfoot or being snowed out of a shelter or indeed snowed into one is not good news. Here at Kensmyth we have field shelters with entrances sensibly faced to avoid the majority of wind and rain through the year. However when we are hit by a Beast from the East however small, we take into consideration the Weather persons possible mistakes on snow volumes due!

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.. this shelter faces East as all of ours do and even has doors but climate change odd weather can be extremely dangerous to old, young and pregnant Alpaca if caught unawares and literally left out in the cold and/or wet..

with no guarantees of how much snow is predicted onto already saturated ground, a “wet cold Alpaca sandwich” could be fatal. On this occasion, not too much snow fell but nevertheless all the Alpaca were barned just in case..

keep your Alpaca safe at all times in unpredictable weather and their feet dry!

We have never grazed different species in a field but always adjacent, our little miniature ponies being well known for grazing the lanes. But I never forget that the Alpaca love them dearly and that they are also good companions together over the years too..

and even sometimes I even catch them having a cheeky cuddle..

animal magic at Kensmyth

Regardless of Covid, Camelids love their walking and we are keeping very busy walking them all when the weather permits..

walking in twos and threes with hubby – no place in the world we would rather be than with our Camelids..

Sometimes it takes you back when you think just how far you have come.. thirty years ago breeding Welsh Sections A’s and first time we competed at Royal Windsor.. gosh!

and twenty years ago still breeding Welsh Section A’s but a few Section B’s too..

and then you see the minature ponies of today with your son and realise he is nearly 23 years old.. feeling a bit old LOL

even if you are breeding Rare Breed Draughts and Alpacas for nearly 14 years now..

No, not really but we decided to plant zillions of spring bulbs so we can cheer folk up and put them outside the gates when they flower! 

Just a few.. 101 uses for a flat loader when you are in stormy weather !

Well please look away if you are true all animal lover. Farms have rats its a fact and Squirrels are often referred to as tree rats .. I have to say I find them rather beautiful myself but it is incredibly sad that the Grey Squirrel has taken over and almost made the Red Squirrel extinct. 

We have a great Rat Catcher here and so we literally do not have Rats but unfortunately she occasionally gets into grief in her role..

on this occasion Cotswold Vets were fantastic with our emergency and our Rat Catcher is back on form after a day in their superb care! Phew!

She is a really big dog and extremely powerful so one day being fixed was nothing to her!

back out on farm and doing a full days work – bless!

Sometimes you just have to laugh at a photo you have taken or why bother taking them?

I could not decide from this photo which was funnier – the fact that my gorgeous huge Llama has grown so much that she is nearly too tall for this particular field shelter.. or her lips after having her ADE Vitamins which made her lips pink..

not to mention in her background we see a Draught horse and beyond that Alpaca – so much in this photo to laugh at!

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.