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With 'blogging' becoming more and more popular today as a means of communication, we are frequently asked about whether folks can read our blog.  We had to admit....we didn't have one....yet!

Stories abound on the farm (something is always going on!), and what we will attempt to do here is use the news of the farm and the stories of the farm together to make a diary/blog/story page that might actually be interesting enough to read!!

So here goes.....

Sunday, October 14, 2007 - "The First Post"

It seems October is for accomplishing those last few outdoorsy things we all have on our list left over from the summer.  Whatever the reason, we have had more calls for farm visits in the last week than ever.  We welcomed a new visitor in the late morning, and showed him around the barn and pastures.  He met a few of the animals and of course Mandy and Jessie, the livestock guardian dogs.  Since they are positive that all visitors to the farm have come to see THEM, of course they parked their big selves right in the way until they had received their allotment of petting. 

Evening brought more visitors, this time a family.  The 10 year old girl aspires to vet school, so our menagerie of alpacas, dogs, bunnies and chickens was right up her alley.  We had another fun visit and enjoyed meeting some new folks. 

For us, farm visits are a mixture of show and tell, Q and A, and education, so we first try to spend some time finding out just where folks are in their learning curve of alpacas.  Current alpaca owners visiting to see a particular animal or two have a whole different agenda, and our conversations with them are quite different than with those who are investigating the business.  It's always interesting to learn what visitors have been doing to learn about alpacas.  Some are real investigators and have been reading everything in sight, others have been on lots of farm visits.  Some have never seen an alpaca, so we try to pick up with each family where they are and try to take them at least a step or two forward while they are in our company. 

Monday, October 15, 2007 - "Birthing Day"

We try to stay home as much as possible when we have a pregnant alpaca due, but it isn't always possible.  Today, Carrie and I had an errand to run, clear across town, that had to be done by 9:00 am.  At chore time, we first noticed Savannah lingering over the poo pile a little longer than usual with her tail up.  Uh, Oh, is she going to try and pull this off today?  Her udder still didn't look very 'ready' so we were doubtful, but we quickly showered and took off, hoping to get back to the farm as soon as possible. 

An hour later, as we pulled in the drive, we both looked like a couple of chickens as we bobbed our heads up and down trying to get a good look over -or under- the boards of the white fence!  Is that a nose???  Sure enough, Savannah is standing in the middle of the front pasture with a nose sticking out the back.  I jumped out of the car halfway up the drive and hopped the fence as Carrie ran for the birthing kit in the barn.  I made a couple calls to nearby folks - one a newly established farm, the other a family who'd visited a week or so ago  - in hopes that if they hurried, they might get to see the birth. 

Now Savannah is a maiden, so I figured she'd take her time with the birth of this first baby, but no way.  Within minutes, she had the rest of the head out, the front legs popped out and she kept it going.  Seems like most will take a break at the shoulders and then go for the final big pushes, but not Savannah.  Within 10 minutes of arriving back home, we had a baby on the ground! 

It's a boy!  Even as a squiggling little wet-noodle rolled around the ground, we were already happy with this baby!  He was a boy, and he is dark fawn or light brown.  We'd wanted a boy from this breeding (I can hear the breeders, gasping, "What!?")  Yes, we made this breeding with the hopes of a boy.  Savannah was bred to Snowmass Millenium, a gorgeous white multi-champion, so we had hopes that she would bring some color, the winning Millenium fleece characteristics would come through, and that it would be a boy, which would prove to be a benefit to our future breeding program.  At first glance, it appears we got all we ordered!!

This baby is in as much of a hurry as his Mama was!  Within 5 minutes he was on his feet, and in 15 he was latched on and nursing.  We ain't wastin' no time around here!

We spent the rest of this beautiful day hanging around the pastures watching the new kid, taking notes and pictures, and trying to think of a good name.  The baby alternated between nursing and napping just like a good little newborn should.  Savannah impressed us with her first time mothering skills.  She was statue-still for him to nurse, sniffing his little nose and bonding well, and letting the nosy little girls in the herd know that they needed to stay back just a little from her baby.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - "All is well with the new guy"

This birth experience couldn't have been easier on Savannah, the baby, or us!  She's been perfect, the baby is perfect and everything is progressing right on time.  He weighed 16 1/2 lbs at birth, and has not really gained much today, but the first day is usually a resting, sleepy kind of day.  Being born is hard work!

  Up and at 'em - 10 minutes old!           Napping with my Mama....           "Can we see him, Pleeeeeeeease!"

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - "It's final....He's a Homer!"

Usually the babies get a name within the first day, but this one took us a little longer.  First, we usually do the same letter for the subsequent babies from the same dam.  (Mariah has now given us Luie, Lily, Lorenzo, Lucas and Lola!)  But with this being Savannah's first, we'd yet to start the pattern.  We need a good name for a future herdsire, here, so we can't go on calling him "Pooky" much longer! 

Carrie and Shelley are the only ones willing to work in the naming department.  The others just like to poo-poo every name we come up with, but offer no suggestions!  But this one met everyone's approval.  This little bundle of fluff is officially named "TRAF Millenium's Home Run" and will be called Homer!

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 - "Spit Testing Day"

Tested everyone this morning and we have all 6 of the spring pregnancies confirmed!  Way to go girls!

Homer is doing great!

Sunday, Oct 21, 2007 - "Meeting Day"

This afternoon, we met with some of the local farms to discuss the successes of the recent National Alpaca Farm Day, held here (and lots of other farms around the country!) on Sept 29 and 30.  It was a good time as always to see everyone when we have a minute to talk, unlike most shows.  Pete grilled us some awesome burgers and we all brought a dish to share.  Laura deserves a big thank you from the rest of us for all the publicity she got us with her press releases!  Most farms, us included, report good numbers of visitors, good sales of yarn and small items like bears and mittens, and a gorgeous fall weekend.

Weds, October 24, 2007    -  " Rain....finally!"

Ohio has treated us to the most unusual summer and fall most of us can remember for awhile.  The summer was one of the driest on record in recent years, which led us straight into one of the warmest/driest falls on record. It was still in the high 80's just a few days ago!  We had a gorgeous weekend of perfect "80's & Sunny" weather and I'm still picking tomatoes & zucchini, among other veggies.   That changed Monday night, when our area of north-eastern Central Ohio received over 2 inches of rain overnight.  Two inches doesn't sound like much, but with our clay soil, it's a bunch!  Yesterday, after pouring rains in the dawn hours, the alpacas spent most of their day inside and looking rather like a bunch of drowned rats.  Brief periods of drizzle in the afternoon sent them in search of grass, and they tromped outside and of course got even more wet and muddy.  It's unbelievable to me that they don't get wet and cold, but they never seem to get wet to the skin.  Even the newest baby was dry at the skin and didn't seem to mind being out in the spitting rain for a break from the boredom of looking at the barn walls.  Thank goodness all of that mud will dry and with the first dry day and a good roll in the sand, they'll look good as new! 

Speaking of mud....each year seems to bring us a baby that is particularly interested in staying as wet, dirty and muddy as possible at all times.  This year, Gabriella gets the honors as the resident "Pig Pen"  (why is it always a white one?)  We have to tell visitors  "Yeah, she really is white!"  In addition to seeking out mud (which we really haven't had much of lately - but she finds it anyway!)  Gabby cannot stay out of anything that looks interesting to roll in.  That means she has spent the summer covered in mulch she picked up while rolling around at the base of the pasture trees, and now that it is fall, she's got leaves stuck to every inch of her pretty white fleece!  Super soft baby fleece like hers seems to grab everything.  She looks like a walking compost pile!  The only way to clean this pretty fleece is going to be to remove it from this little pigpen.  How many days to shearing?????

  Blaire taking her turn in the favorite rolling spot                           and "Gabby the PigPen"

Overall, yesterday was a great day for a sweatshirt and the first vegetable soup of the season!  Today is about the same, with misty rain keeping the alpacas in most of the time.  Homer is up to 20 lb already.  I'm enjoying the chance to work on the computer some and get the website updated, as I never seem to have time to do it. (or want to stay IN to do it!)  We have one baby due yet, and Sojourner Truth (aka "Truthie") is making us wait.  So I'm giving my fingers a rest every couple hours and going out to see if she's up to something!  So far, only 'gestating'.....

Friday, October 26th, 2007   -   "Happy Birthday Todd"

Today we celebrate Todd's 45th birthday and went to the Gahanna Lincoln High School football game.  That is always a favorite, especially the marching band, and with this being the last game, we figured we better get there tonight.  Go Lions!

October 31st, 2007 - "Dear One's Baby!"

Our friends the Johnson's just took their animals home to their new farm about a month ago.  They had been boarding here with us for over a year, so of course we were a little attached to them, just like our own.  We've been waiting almost a year for Dear One to deliver her cria, so of course when I got the message, I headed right over to see how things were going.  Char was a little nervous, since this would be the first birth on their farm, but things were normal and progressing well.  She'd already called in some more reinforcements, since I was in the barn and didn't answer my phone right away, so Kathy and Jana were on hand to witness a healthy birth as well. 

A couple things make this an important birth, besides just being the first for a brand new farm.  This baby is from our herdsire Eli, so we were all curious about that.  And to make matters even more special, Dear One turned 15 this year. Not exactly geriatric for an alpaca, but definitely getting up there.  She is a healthy girl, though, and holding her body score well, so she proved to us that she is still young enough!  She delivered a dark brown baby boy mid morning and immediately took to caring for him just like she has all her others over the years.  There is a lot to be said for girls who know how to be good mothers!  Since it was a little windy, we needed to get the baby dry right away, and broke out the hair dryer to accomplish that.  Within a few hours, mother and baby (and new owner!) were all doing well, so I headed home to check the backside of my own overly-pregnant girl.  Of course, still just 'gestating.'

November 3rd, 2007 - "The Neonatal Seminar"

Today was a fun and educational day.  We hosted a neonatal seminar with Dr Cheryl DeWitt.  We love hosting things that are good education for alpaca owners, and this was no exception.  After holding a group neonatal seminar here with Dr Toni Cotton, we had been looking for our opportunity to hold another one, and this seemed like the perfect time.  The Johnsons needed to get to one, several other people were interested, and Carrie, our daughter, is farm sitting more and more lately.  For her, taking another neonatal course as a refresher was a great idea. 

We were delighted with Dr Cheryl.  Since taking over Dr Toni's practice upon her move to Colorado, she has found herself pretty busy keeping up with private practice, her own farm, and the seminar circuit.  We were thankful she was able to squeeze us into her schedule!  She did a super job in the morning lecture and made a topic that can be a little dry at times a very enjoyable time.  There really is no great way to learn about progesterone levels, timing the breedings, etc, other than just listening, learning and ultimately doing.  Each and every time we go through the process of breeding and birth with one of our girls, we learn a little something new.  Dr Cheryl has been through so many difficult-to-conceive or difficult-to-deliver alpacas, that she offers lots of perspective on issues to be on the lookout for.  A neonatal Seminar like this is the single most valuable investment a breeder can make in his or her breeding program!  A 'MUST DO" as far as we are concerned.  Taking a neonatal seminar is just like taking CPR.  You take it hoping you will never need to use it. 

After lunch, we had a little fun in the barn ultrasounding a few of the girls at different points in their pregnancies.  Dr Cheryl's machine is a professional, super sensitive, vet-quality unit with a rectal probe, and we own a hand held unit that uses a transabdominal probe.  It was fun to look a the different pregnancies with the different units and see what we could see.  The rectal probe is perfect for high definition looks at the ovaries and is valuable in determining if females are 'ripe' and ready to breed, so we were all interested in taking a peek at Savannah, who should be cycling and ready to conceive any time.  Just as predicted, she had large, mature follicles on both ovaries.  Blaire was next, and at 25 days pregnant, is just coming into the time that I can see a pregnancy with my little handheld unit.  Dr Cheryl easily saw (and took a picture!) of a fluid filled uterus with a tiny 'blob' of fetus floating in it. 

Lily and Mariah are farther along and we were easily able to see their crias.  Dr Cheryl could only get the upper edge of the uterus with her probe, so we peeked inside a little with the belly probe on our little machine.  Both babies were seen kicking, and we got good views of ribcages, spines, and moving body parts.  Ember is a bit farther along, and at 115 days, Dr Cheryl could no longer get a good shot of the uterus or the baby with the rectal probe. She did get some great shots of the cervix, with it's 3 layers of 'rings' holding the cria safely inside.  The belly probe, though is perfect for seeing crias this size, so we all had fun getting views of the wiggling cria and a great shot of it's face, with big eye sockets easily visible.  It's always amazing to me that #1 they are so fully developed at that early gestational age, and #2 that we can just take a peek inside without disturbing a thing and see the developing baby floating in it's little world.  Ultrasound is cool.  That little machine is definitely one of the best things we have ever bought (and Cheryl, go ahead and get yourself one, because you had a little too much fun playing with ours! :)

The final part of the seminar is a mixture of great information tinged with a little sadness.  We practice the maneuvers needed to safely deliver a cria that is in a malposition or 'dystocia'.  Simulated uteruses are used along with the bodies of real crias that didn't make it through the birth safely.  It's a little sad to see a lifeless cria, but we all know that if we can save just one by going through this course, it will be worth it.  So we feel front legs and back legs with our eyes closed to tell the difference.  We feel heads and butts, tails and ears, and memorize the differences of each, hoping that if ever presented with that particular difficulty, we will be prepared.  We tangle crias up in their little plastic-bag uterus for each other to 'fix' and deliver safely.  We cheer each other on, and we press and squeeze the plastic bags to simulate as close as we can the contractions that will undoubtedly make our job harder if we ever have to do this 'for real.'  We all say a little prayer that we will never have to face that day.

Thank you to Lynn, Rick, Char, Chuck, Laura, Teresa, Carrie, Scott, and Mollie for spending the day with us and especially Dr Cheryl for the important knowledge she shared!

  Ready for the real thing!                                      Dr Cheryl Ultrasounding               Demonstrating techniques

November 9 - 11, 2007 "Alpacafest Weekend"

Alpacafest is one of the premier shows of the USA, and we are lucky enough to live in the same city where it takes place, Columbus, Ohio.  Since Ohio is the state with the most alpacas in the US, Alpacafest is always well attended and a big social gathering for the local farms.  It is a fun time to visit with those we don't get to see nearly often enough, meet lots of new people and show our alpacas to their best.  This particular weekend was a busy one for us, as Carrie, my 'right hand girl' and best showing buddy had been hired to 'paca-sit' for a couple local farms.  That ended with her putting lots of miles on her car and getting very little sleep, but she was mostly with me at the show.  To add to the fun and craziness, Kyle was playing all weekend in a big hockey tournament with his high school team (go Lions!) so there was a bunch of additional running back and forth, trying to be two places at once! 

But the kids did well, and we were pleased with the show overall.  Emmy, our beautiful Black Yearling, took a fourth place ribbon in a huge, very competitive black class, as well as in the fleece show.  Both yearling boys, Dino and Lucas, took 6th place ribbons. 

Now, I realize some folks wouldn't even mention that their alpaca got a sixth place ribbon, but we feel a little differently around here.  This show is just huge!  (1200 alpacas -that's a bunch!)  There is stiff competition!  We are in our sixth year and are competing against farms that have a 10 (or 20) year head start on us!  In addition, being a small farm, we are bringing our entire production for the year.  We don't have the option to choose between 10 (or 50!) Black Yearling Females, and bring the best ones, we are bringing our ONLY one!  So when "little old us" can run with the big boys, even for one weekend, it gives us great satisfaction and confidence in our breeding program.   Improving on our herd, each and every year is our goal, and we have to keep in mind that as we do it, others are improving on theirs too!  I truly believe that an animal who could've taken a Color Championship 5 years ago, may well get 'shown the back gate' these days, not placing at all.   Competition has never been tougher, the alpacas have never been more beautiful. We are proud to be a part of it. 

      Hanging out at our Farm display                             The kids hanging out waiting their turn.....

November 15, 2007 - 'The Snots"

Well, we dodged it all summer as word circulated on the alpaca chat sites, but it's finally hit us.  A virus that causes alpacas to get a runny nose has been hitting farms across the country since this summer.  It's mostly been referred to as 'The Snots"  We've been watching our crew like a hawk, but until now have seen no signs of the sniffles.  Shows are taking this very seriously, since there have been reported deaths and screening was tight at the Alpacafest last weekend.  In addition to the ever-requisite pre-show vet check by our own vet, each alpaca was unloaded into a quarantine area for a lookover by a team of vets and vet students from OSU before being allowed to enter the show.  They each had their temperature taken (yes, all 1200+ of them!) and presumably if they were admitted, they were clean. 

BUT.....  someone had to have been carrying something, because today 3 runny noses greeted me in the barn....Yep, the three who had just been to the show!  Within a half day, our newest little guy, Homer was showing signs of not feeling well.  He wasn't nursing well, and just didn't seem his spunky self.  He hadn't gained any weight yesterday or today.  And then he sneezed....... A call to the vet was in order. 

Everyone checked out fine, and antibiotics were prescribed for those who had a fever.  Fortunately this virus is running it's course in a couple days in most animals, and most are escaping without lung involvement or prolonged illness.  Our biggest concern was the spread of the bug to the rest of the herd, as it's been increasingly reported that it is spreading to others despite stringent infection control and quarantine measures.  We routinely quarantine our animals when they return from shows, just to make sure they didn't pick up anything, but this bug seemed a little different or somehow stronger on some farms.  We kept buckets clean, and minimized contact between the groups, being sure to treat the sick group last before going in to shower and change clothes.  Homer got some special care, taking his temp 3 times a day, checking for dehydration, lots of observation, and encouragement to get up and nurse frequently.  With great luck, the snotty noses cleared up in a day or so, but our little guy was not so lucky. 

November 16th, 2007 - "Homer goes to the Hospital"

Thank goodness for an astute vet and a good vet hospital nearby!  Homer's life was literally saved by the idea that we should take a blood sample just in case.....   Tests came back this morning showing that little Homer had a bad infection.  It was urgent that he get to the hospital.  Within the hour we rolled into the parking lot at OSU.  Homer was active, fighting me picking him up, and seemed not nearly sick enough for all this alarm.  But the bloodwork showed otherwise.  After having a very high IgG count at birth, he has used up almost all his antibodies fighting something, but WHAT?  His white cell count was at rock bottom.  He was within hours of crashing and becoming overwhelmed by whatever it was.  So we started checking the obvious.  His lungs sounded clear, his ultrasound of his abdomen and chest looked perfectly normal. Kidneys fine, bowels fine, heart fine.  He had no fluid in his lungs on X-ray.  What's the problem?

Unfortunately for OSU, they say they see all too many cases just like Homer, usually though, it is too late.  I had no idea, not ever dealing with such a sick cria before, that they can literally hide this much.  If you looked at Homer in passing, you'd never guess he was in as much trouble as he was.  It is easy to see, after this experience, that people are right when they say that alpacas can 'hide it well".  Docs told us they often do not ever discover what the source of the infection was.  But luckily, the treatment is the same for all - Antibiotics, IV fluids, close monitoring of nursing and temperature, with the option to transfuse with plasma if necessary.  They cautiously told me they hoped we'd caught it in time.  With Homer's high IgG at birth, we assumed we'd not need to go the transfusion route, but of course, we were wrong.  It was explained to us that the globulins the cria received at birth through the colostrum, which usually last the crias the 3 months or so until they start making their own antibodies, can be depleted quickly.  In the case of an infection, they can 'use up' what they had, and be in a compromised situation. 

I sat holding Homer the 1.5 hours as the drip went into his IV.  He was now out of 'fight' and seemed sicker than he had earlier in the day.  I was so glad for the good recommendation to come here.  He dozed through most of it, as Savannah hummed her concern over her baby.  When it was all over, and both of us got to our feet, Homer sleepy and me stiff, it was a huge relief to see him run to Mama and nurse a good long time!  He was feeling much better already. 

November 21st, 2007 - "Barn work and surprise......Birthing Day!"

With winter fast approaching, I had hired some boys from Kyle's Scout troop to help me with the barn today.  The plan was to combat this poor drainage by adding 3-4" of gravel inside the entire barn.  Why, (oh why!) did the builders of this barn put it in the lowest spot on the property!  It's been a headache since the first winter we spent here.  Fortunately that winter, we only had a few animals, so if water seeped up through the floor and got it wet, we could just move the animals to another stall.  Now we are approaching full capacity, and with the 'divisions' of age groups I like, we use every stall.  This isn't the first time we have had to bring the surrounding area down or the inside of the barn up to make the proper drainage.  Hopefully this will fix it for good, or at least for another couple years. 

So... these boys were such a help!!  The big job was moving all the interior slider doors up a few inches to clear the new floor and adding retaining board across the big sliders on the end to hold the gravel back.  We use limestone screenings in and around the barn, which make a nice hard packed floor.  So the boys removed all the rubber mats, hauled in the new gravel, tamped it down with a rented machine, and moved the doors up.  Todd ran one crew and I the other as we laughed and worked our way through the day.  A little Pizza (ok... a lot!) and some gas money will do wonders :)

November 22, 2007 - "Thanksgiving Day....Homer's Well!"

This morning's call from the Vet hospital brought good news.  After nearly a week at the hospital, Homer has finally started to gain weight again and his blood work looks almost back to normal.  He can come home soon!  They'll gradually reduce his IV's over the next few days, and talk about discharge.  It has been a stressful week with all the extra worrying, so I'll be glad to get my baby back home.  Even though he's been feeling pretty good all week and acting pretty normal, his body was just too sick to gain weight.  This is a good sign.  We truly have many, many things to be Thankful for!

November 24th, 2007 - "Jessie's AI"

To add to the insanity of the last week, Jessie, the Anatolian Livestock Guardian Dog, chose this week to have her heat cycle.  That ordinarily would not be an issue, but this time we have been waiting for months for this.  We had her hips X-rayed, among other health clearances, in July in preparation to breed her.  We picked a male, who happens to be in Wisconsin - to complicate matters!  We have been back and forth to the vet for a week and a half, taking blood every couple days for progesterone tests, hoping to time it right and get a nice litter of pups.  

Today was the big day.  We notified the stud owner on Weds that it looked like today (Sat) might be the day.  They had their vet collect semen and send it FedEx overnight and the vet did a 'surgical' artificial insemination for Jessie today.  They actually made a small incision in her abdomen, pulled out her uterus, injected semen directly into it.  I watched the whole thing!  Amazing!  I never knew until a week ago that such a thing was possible, but with this dog-repro specialist, it is apparently commonly done.  I also had no idea that Jessie might actually be too big for their regular fiber optic scope (for a normal vaginal AI) Now we know that a 140 pound dog is in fact, too big to reach with the normal scope.....who knew! 

November 26th, 2007 - "We miss you, Joe"

On this, what would have been his birthday, we send a salute to our buddy, Joe.  Josiah Blackmore passed away on September 26th, 2007 at the Cleveland Clinic after a 25 + year victory over hepatitis. 

Only rarely does someone so genuine, so loving, so special enter your life.  Joe entered my life when he was almost 70 years old, in the fall of 2002.  We visited the farm to check out, for the first time, the world of alpacas - me unsuspecting the change this old man would make in my life. 

Joe had so many friends from so many walks of life that the line at the funeral seemed endless.  Joe spent many, many years as a professor of law at Capital University in Columbus, then he was dean of the law school, then he was president of the university.  He knew judges and justices and so many people with so many credentials.  He himself had degrees and honors and awards and clout, but he never let on.  It wasn't those degrees or honors that interested Joe.  He was the most unpretentious person I have ever met.

He truly just loved people.  He told stories like you'd never believe, and I only wish now that I had tape recorded every one of them he ever told me as we hung out in the barn, scooped beans or just leaned on the fence watching the alpacas.  Joe had a story for everything.  You just never knew who you might hear about today as you entered the barn.  Some days we'd talk about the animals and their silly antics, some days we'd work - hard, but each and every time I spent time with Joe, I learned something.  We'd be talking about this or that, and something would pop into his head about some famous historical figure and exactly how their thoughts/feelings/problems were exactly like ours.  If I were in the company of anyone else on earth who was so learned, such an astute study of world history, such an accomplished professional, I'd have left daily feeling stupid.  But not Joe.  Joe made me feel like I truly knew the characters.... Joan of Arc, Don Quixote, Alexander the Great, Lorna Doone, Annabelle Lee....  the list goes on and on.  If only the educators I had in my youth had made history so interesting, so personal, I'd have certainly learned much more history than I did.  Joe was one of the most passionate educators I ever knew.  And we were just friends, co-workers in the barn, mentor and new alpaca owner...this wasn't school.  But I know I learned more from Joe Blackmore- about history and nature and bees and alpacas for sure, but also about life - than I ever have from anyone else in the whole of my existence. 

Joe exuded warmth.  He had a sense of humor that put everyone at ease.  He had a love for the one woman in his life that most women only dream of.  He had a soft heart for animals.  He had wit and timing and a twinkle in his eye.  He had the most inquisitive nature.  He had a memory like a steel trap.  He thrived on a good story.  He poked fun at himself.  He had a passion for life like no other.  Who else could name an alpaca Agamemnon or Sojourner Truth? 

Almost all of my favorite memories of Joe come from time spent in the barn while we were with the alpacas, but there were so many other occasions.  The dinners out, the lunches in, the time spent at shows, and home and wherever!  I will never forget the many, many times Joe said "He's such a good boy" to one of the alpacas, who was behaving like anything but a good boy!  Joe could be wincing in pain from the sudden thwack on the kneecap, and he'd be proclaiming, "He's such a good boy."  I loved that favorite old sweatshirt that said "My animals are not my children...at least that's what their piano teacher says."  I loved that we said we belonged to the MMA (the manure movers of America). I loved it when he said "I'll have to ask Joyce what I think about that"  I loved birthday cake in the barn.  I loved Blackie Blackmore of Blacklick, and the landscape oil paintings in the barn.  I loved when I wanted to hurry and get to the end product and he made me slow down.  I loved that he'd say " yeah, there was this time we were in Russia" (or wherever) just like it had happened last week. 

One of my favorite stories of all time has to be the one about the day he lost the box of belongings at the dorm.  It was one of Joe's favorites, too, as I heard it many times.  I type it in here just because it makes me smile.  As president of the university, Joe made sure that each and every new student was welcomed to the school by a brigade of helpers to drag their belongings up to their dorm room.  (A tradition I am proud to say lives on today.  We got the welcoming committee the day we hauled all Cassie's junk up to the third floor, too!)  Joe showed up every year to help, feeling for their poor Dads who just got all their daughter's junk loaded and then faced the task of hauling it all up three flights of stairs.  Students never suspected who he was, he was just the smiling guy who carried their stuff.  And then it happened, he got called to some task in the middle of carrying a box, and lost the girl (It was definitely a girl, because everyone knows boys don't bring all that junk!) So there he stands, with the box and not the co-ed!  Finally, tracking her down, he explains how truly sorry he is, and how he never meant to make them think that some guy would just steal her stuff!  And then the Dad asked..... "So what do you do here at Capital?" and he had to tell them, "Well, you won't believe this, but actually, I am the President"

A church near here puts a phrase on the letter-board out front for members who’ve passed, and I often see it with a name and years of life.  At the bottom, it often puts “God bless” but occasionally I see the sign and it reads “Well done”.  I thought it odd the first time I ever saw "well done", but after thinking it over realized there can really be no better tribute to your life than “Well done.”  It means you loved life and your family.  It means you made the world a better place with your presence.  It means you saw your responsibility to God to do the right thing and leave something behind when you are finished here.  It means your life meant something.  I can think of no one more suited to receive a “Well done” than my buddy Joe. 

I miss you. 

                                                Josiah H Blackmore III   1934 - 2007

December 1, 2007 - "Colored Eggs" aka "The Great Chicken Adventure"

Quite a few people (including a few in this house) thought I was nuts.....I wanted chickens.  I can't really pinpoint the attraction, but they seem so cool.  Scatter a little grain around, watch them happily pecking in the barnyard, and pick up the eggs every day.  What could be so hard about that? 

So back in May, after talking about it for 2 years, to the internet I go to find my chickens.  I've never owned a bird in my life.  "I only want a few" I tell my eye-rolling husband, who swears that the raccoons will eat them the first night.  "No, Jessie and Mandy will protect them"  I say, and it is true, nothing ever comes into our barn area with the two giant Livestock Guardian Dogs around.  So as long as THEY don't eat them, we'll be in great shape.  (you guys won't eat them, right???) 

So after books from the library and lots of internet reading and $40 for every chicken book that Tractor Supply carries, I decide I must alter my plan a little.  First, the chickens are not going to be able to just run around loose in the barn area.  They will venture into the yard, eat my garden (CANNOT have THAT!) and poop all over anything they can get up onto to roost on.  "OK, so we'll make a pen."  More eye-rolling and much 'hoping she will forget about this' ensues. 

So lots of sites like Meyer Hatchery have day old chicks - and who knew, they will ship them right to you via the USPS!  I had no idea, but soon learned that chicks draw the yolk into their abdomen shortly before hatching, and therefore don't need to eat or drink their first two days!  Who knew they'd have such an ingenious little plan to make it to their new home - smart little buggers! 

So I quickly find out that you can't just order the 4 chicks you want and be done.  Oh, no, you have to order them in lots of 25.  I don't want 25 chickens!  I don't have room and definitely don't need that many eggs.  So, being the helpful husband that he is, Todd talks to his buddy Ed, at work, whose daughters have raised chicks and bunnies for 4-H.  Ed says you could finish the order with 21 meat chickens, keep them for only 6 weeks and have his Amish friend butcher them (for a buck and a half a bird!), and that the meat is great.  Now Todd is on board with the idea!  His friend is involved and he's going to get some great chicken to eat!

So to Meyer Hatchery.com  we go and we order our 25 little chicks.  I want 2 Buff Orpingtons.  They are a big chubby bird that is pretty colored and supposed to lay nice big brown eggs.  They are a calm breed, winter hardy, and good layers.  Great. Never laid eyes on one in person, but they have to be just like the book says, right?   The other two I want are Aracaunas.  They are black birds and supposed to lay greenish blue eggs.  How cool is that?  I don't know anyone who has a chicken that lays green eggs.  (Many green eggs and ham jokes ensue) Add 21 'fryer' chicks, and punch in the credit card.  The entire order with their vaccinations, shipping and the chicks is only $45.00.  Who knew chickens were so cheap?  They are hatching on Memorial Day, shipping first thing Tuesday and I should have them Weds AM.  Finally, I'm going to have chickens!!

So more trips to Tractor Supply, more reading, and more work for the credit card as I procure heat lamps, feeders and waterers, special food, etc, etc.  A used rabbit pen and an old guinea pig pen should be fine for now.  After all, they are going to be so small......right!!!???

Weds morning, I wake at 6:15 to the phone.  A Postal Worker, barely heard over much peeping, tells me I have a package and if I can come as soon as possible to pick it up, that will be good.  When they say MORNING, they mean it! 

Now, here is where we get to the part that no book or website story can prepare you for.  These little peepers eat, snuggle under the light, and poop.  That is it.  AND they grow, man do they grow!  The dark brown ones were obviously the Aracaunas, the speckly ones were most likely the Orpingtons and the rest of the yellow chicks we assumed were going to grow into the 'others'.  At this point, I am feeling a little bad that the plan is to eat these cute little babies, but that feeling will soon be leaving, I am about to discover..... 

By a week old, the 'four' looked as cute as they had when they arrived in their little ventilated box, except about double the size, and the 'others' looked like swollen, pink, featherless waterballoons.  (New meaning for the term 'ugly duckling' is implanted firmly in the head of every member of the Wetherill family.)  And stink they DO!  Not a PU kind of stink like dog poop, but rather a sweet, hot and muggy, sticky and featherless kind of 'yuck'.  Kyle cannot enter the barn without gagging, and begins referring to them as "Pot Pie, Cacciatore, Nugget, Chicken Noodle, Colonel", etc.  One day he yells, "Why can't we just butcher them NOW?"  I calmly answer "Because what are you going to get, 2 chicken nuggets from each one?"  His reply "Well, that's 42 more chicken nuggets than we have now!!" 

OK, only 5 more weeks.......we can do this. 

Now here is the thing they should tell you in big, bold, hot pink letters at the beginning of all these chicken books....... make the pen before the chicks arrive!!!!!  The first week of June brought Carrie's graduation and huge party here, the birth of a cria (Thank you, Gabby, for arriving DURING the graduation!) and numerous other end-of-the-school-year happenings that just kept us really busy.  Meanwhile, the waterballoons are eating and pooping and doubling in size every couple days.  By the time we looked up in the middle of June, they needed a pen.....NOW!   

About this time, my friend, Jane visits to check on my chicken progress.  She's got chickens and has been my 'is this really true?' resource throughout the escapade.  Jane informs me that none of the chickens are Buff Orpingtons.  One of the white chickens is actually a white Aracauna, (we think...she has the tell-tale green legs!) one of the black ones is a rooster, and mysteriously the other speckly one has also grown into an Aracauna.  So we have 4 Aracauna hens - 2 black, one speckly brown and one white.  More green eggs and ham jokes run ad nauseum. 

The chicken palace is adorable.  We make a little ladder so they can go in and out, Todd wires electric so we can have lights and little heat lamps, nest boxes and perches are made, insulation is added, a screen door is made, and feeders are hung.  Todd even insists that a motion detector light is put on the back of the house - Can't let the raccoons eat them after all THIS!

So finally it comes time to get the big, crazy, peck your legs if you stand still, meat birds OUT of my cute little chicken palace and into the freezer.  They've been harassing the much-smaller, laying birds, pooping everywhere, eating us out of house and home, and jumping on us when we go in to feed them - for weeks.  Time to GO!  Right about this time, we find that the Amish guy has been abducted by aliens.  No Amish guy to butcher them for $1.50, now what? 

Well, after Todd gave serious consideration to butchering them himself, (and was quickly brought to his senses!) we finally found a place to butcher chickens. (adding several more weeks to their 6 week lives), We got them loaded up and out of here and into the food chain.  (The entire butchering escapade is a WHOLE-NUTHER blog entry - believe me!!)   NOW, we can have what I have been trying to have for the past few months, my couple cute little laying hens and eggs!

So where are the eggs?  Um, girls, the books say it is time....... cute little laying boxes are ready.......  Uh, guys???

So one day in October, Todd comes home and says that Ed's daughter has a couple chickens she is wanting to find homes for before it gets cold.  They are happy little 4-H chickens, used to being handled, a couple were champions, and best of all, they are laying!!!  We visit and pick out three, all bantam size ones - a Rhode Island Red named Emma (Grace kept the trophy) and twin New Hampshire's.  They lay eggs the size of oval golf balls.  We can't remember what Grace told us the twins were named, so we decide to call them Abby and Emily, after Grace's (human) twin sisters. I'm sure they are quite honored!   (And we all resist the urge to recognize the irony of the fact that if we had just known that and waited a little while, we could have done this entire adventure QUITE differently.)  Grace gets $20.  Five dollars a chicken, and a five dollar tip for sharing her chicken knowledge with us for an hour or so.  :)  Everybody's happy. 

AND, best of all, the new mini chickens know how to lay eggs and they are on the job immediately.  They miss the cute nesting boxes by a mile, preferring to lay them in the corner under the perching ladder, but that is close enough for us. 

I am not sure why, but all the sudden, about a week ago, the white chicken (Sheniqua - disclaimer: Carrie named them) and the speckly one (Matilda) got the hang of laying eggs (apparently you need others to show you how) and we started getting two green eggs every day to add to the 3 little brown golf balls.  How fun is that?  To date the two black chicks, the biggest of the bunch, are just hanging out, eating and pooping, and haven't layed a single egg. 

Ah, the adventures of "real" farmers - and yeah, we have had green eggs and ham!

                                                 Finally, the long-awaited eggs.........

December 9, 2007 - "Countdown to some R & R"

Today was a special day for us.  We hosted Shelley's Mom's side of the family for the annual Christmas party, and got to see all the cousins and everyone that we miss during the rest of the year.  Seems silly that we all live in roughly the same area, all running around with our busy families in different suburbs of Columbus, and we can hardly ever find time to get together!  At least we know that once a year, everyone will show up and we can eat and visit, catching up on all the latest news. 

We've never, ever been "gone" for Christmas, but this year, that is the plan.  We have 2 daughters in 2 different colleges, and Kyle is still in high school, with yet another schedule.  We never see them.  We decided, after 6 years of alpacas, and usually not getting away for much more than a long weekend here and there, it was time for a real vacation.  So on December 20th, we leave to spend a much needed 12 days in Grand Cayman.  We are hoping for a nice time of rest and relaxation, some scuba diving adventures, and some important bonding with our three almost-grown kids. 

December 20, 2007 - "Merry Christmas from Tick Ridge Alpacas!"

December 31, 2007 - "Home! and Happy New Year"

Ah, as fast as you can think about it, the vacation is over.  It was a glorious, refreshing, fun, change of pace for all of us and definitely an opportunity to create some memories that will last a lifetime.  We loved the sea turtles, stingrays, iguanas and all the other 'not in Ohio' critters, and the warm weather of a Tropical paradise.  (Coincidentally, while there are not alpacas in Grand Cayman, there WERE chickens running everywhere!  Ha!)  We are indebted to several people who cared expertly for the herd and dogs.  (Thanks Char, Garrett, Sherry, Tom & Brenda, Cindy and Annie!!)  Special thanks go out to Shelley's Dad, Joe, for taking us to and from the airport, helping keep the dogs part of the time and having our 'good luck' New Year sauerkraut dinner ready for us when we got home! 

          Baby sea turtles at the Turtle Farm                                          Adventures under the Sea

           "Aaahhhh!" 

January 5, 2008 - "Cookin' Puppies"

Jessie the Anatolian is officially pregnant and looking like a beached whale!  One of the first things we did upon arriving home was pull out the ultrasound machine to take a look at puppies again.  We knew they were there from ultrasounds that looked like little blobs before we left for vacation, but now they actually look like puppies!  Still can't tell how many there are - we could either be looking at a litter of a few (ultrasounding the same ones over and over!) or a huge litter (and only seeing half of them!)  Hard to tell.  Today Jessie weighs 163 pounds (!) and is coming in the house to prepare for her delivery.  She got a bath and a manicure and settled in to wait.  Mandy is lonely already without her buddy.  She'll have to get used to that.  It's way too cold to have puppies in the barn in January in Ohio! 

January 22, 2008 - "Puppy Update"

Jess is uncomfortable and due in 2 days.  This picture says it all....

                   And this is Jess trying out the new puppy box with the help of 'Uncle' Ray and 'Aunt' Lexi.                

January 25 (and into the 26th!), 2008 - "Marathon Puppy Delivery"

The Puppies are here!!  After 20 hours of delivery time - a marathon for all of us - Jessie has welcomed 11 puppies to the world. (and lost 30 lb!)  Mother and babies are doing great.  Jessie is still tired, of course, and is spending her time nursing puppies, and licking!  Licking anything and everything!  The puppies, Ray's face, my hands, her own belly..... maniacal licking!  It is amazing what instinct tells them to do.  She does not want to leave the box, curls her body tightly around them if they cry and gives Ray and Lexi the smallest little warning growl if they venture too close for too long.  They, of course, are sitting (like the rest of us) at the edge of the box watching puppies all day.

  Each pup is strong and vigorous, and remarkably, within an ounce of the same size.  Jess was actually carrying 15 pups.  The first two were breech and trying to come at the same time.  Both were lost, despite our mad dash to the vet for help and his best efforts.  Number 12 and 14 also were stillborn - toward the end of a very strenuous and long delivery, but remarkably the number 13 and 15 pups made it.  We are disappointed of course to lose those, but are thrilled and thankful that Jessie was able to hang in there through such a grueling delivery and safely present the large litter that she did.  The little chubsters, 6 boys and 5 girls, are getting fattened up on her milk and have grown already - just in 24 hours! 

Click HERE to go to a page of more information about the litter

January 31, 2008 - "Snuggling Babies...."

  This has been such a fun week.  Jessie is doing an absolutely great job as a new mother, the pups are adorable, and we are enjoying every minute.  They basically eat and sleep.  Jessie has been doing pretty much the same.  She is eating 4-5 large meals a day with supplements of cooked venison, beef or chicken.  She's holding her weight well and making a ton of milk!  The babies eat at least every 30 minutes around the clock.  They wake up and fall asleep as if someone flipped a switch! And they fall asleep in such funny positions!  I have counted to 11 hundreds of times.  I know every combination of numbers that adds to 11, two here, three there..... as it seems they have placed their little bodies in every configuration of 'puppy piles' that is possible. With the puppy box in the kitchen, we walk past them all day long and have to resist the urge to get in the box for a quick snuggle.  But evening TV time has proven to be an insurmountable temptation.....every night we sit around with puppies in our laps. We have successfully proven that Jessie cannot count to 11, but she does know if too many of them are 'missing' at once.  So we hold a few and then switch....  "Hey, bring me another puppy"

          Wow, Mommy you have big feet!                                         Snoozing is what I do best....

      We've been using this cardboard box to put the puppies in when we clean the papers and blankies in the puppy box.  This box is 12 x 17 inches, and the first week, we all fit in together....

February 8, 2008 -  "Little Bears"

  We have officially entered the 'Little Bear Stage"  We're chunky!  We're learning to walk, but then we just fall over.  The pups weigh about 2 1/2 lbs, more than double their birth size.  Their colors are starting to change. Every one has lightened up a few shades, and they are losing their 'stripe down the middle of the back'.  There are distinct coat colors: light golden fawn, silvery fawn and reddish fawn.  Jessie is back to her normal self, all rested up, and is enjoying some daily time in the barn at chore time.  Mandy is glad to greet her friend, and they have been running and playing a little.  Jessie is fine for about 30 minutes, hanging with the pacas, and then she goes to the gate to be let back inside to her babies.  The exercise has done her good.

Cassie (our 'away at college daughter we never see') has visited us every couple days....hmmmm.    We told her if we had known she would start coming home once in a while, we'd have had puppies a long time ago.  :)    Carrie and I have decided that we are going to line up some peanut butter jars in the puppy box an snap the lids on real quick and sell bottled puppy breath on E-bay.  We'll be millionaires!

                        Just like Mommy                                                            Yeah, we're hungry again!

            What a gang!   (This box is 4 ft x 6 1/2 ft)                                            Little Bears

February 12, 2008 - "Walking Blind"

OK, I have yet to figure out why puppies always seem to start walking before their eyes are open.  By day 12, they were all walking fools, but nobody could see where they were going!  The other remarkable thing that has happened in the past few days is that they have started playing (some of them before their eyes were open)  OMG, it is so cute!  We have 'Simba-style' roars, little growls, attempts at howling (!), and all kinds of little squeaks and squeals.  Then somebody pushes the button and they fall asleep in mid-play.  They'll literally be walking along (usually across one of their siblings' heads) and conk out!  Today we are at Day 17 and they all have their eyes open and are walking much better.  They're even starting to get teeth.  Now we eat, sleep and play.  (Still mostly sleeping and eating though)

    I'm up! (Now if only my eyes would open!)              A Snoozy Pup                 Ooooh Mommy, that's my tickle spot!

       Group photo 3 days after the last.  No wonder Jess looks tired!                 Now four of us fill up the box!

            Click HERE to go to a page of more information about the litter. 

Sunday, February 17, 2008 - "Wrestlemania!"

OK, we've got this whole wrestling thing down!  We bite each other's ears, legs and even bellies, wrestle, play and tumble, then we conk out sound asleep!  We started eating puppy food yesterday, and Mommy is happy because we always take a good long nap with our full bellies. 

And a note.....The tall front had to go on the puppy box yesterday, because little Purple girl figured out how to do a chin up and get over the side!  Nursing is now a wrestling match, too.  Jess is spending more and more time out of the box as they grow and go longer between feedings. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - "Portrait Day"

Each puppy had their portrait taken today both sitting and standing.  (Some of us didn't want to sit up - or stand up!!)  They are really starting to have their little personalities so we thought this would be a good time to document them.  For the whole lineup, go to the page about the litter by clicking HERE

Monday, February 25, 2008 - "We're big kids now....."

Wow, this has to be the  period of the most change for the pups yet.  They are getting their personalities and have turned into puppies!  The wrestling is a given, but they are sweet and lovey, too.  They really react to people now, and I wake them up to eat with a "Hi babies" that gets everyone up and at attention in under a half-second.  Boing!  They've been going potty well on the papered end of the box for a couple weeks now, and not getting their bedding wet (mostly) and just this morning, we moved their pen around and added some panels that basically doubled the size. Now Jess has more room, and pups have distinct sleep, play, eat and potty areas. Much better, except for the part that they now take up almost all the kitchen!  It's still way too cold to go outside, as we've had snow the past few nights.  So, we'll hang in the house awhile longer.

                   "Stripes" at 4 weeks                           Carrie with Big Red and Princess

                               "Bash" at 4 weeks                                            The ever-patient Jessie, with her gang

Sunday, March 2, 2008 - "Full of Personality"

It just keep getting more fun!  The pups are 5 weeks now and the big change the past few days is that the pups are going outside now, several times a day, and loving it!  They dash out the door when we call them, play and wrestle in the yard with Ray, Lexi and Jessie, and tromp through the flower beds (glad it's winter!).  Jessie gets attacked to nurse if she is out there with them, so we generally bring her out at the end of the play session to round them all up.  She's like a magnet!  Most of the time they follow her willingly back into the house, scrambling up the stairs, and only occasionally do we have to drag some reluctant pup out from under the shrubs to finally go back in.  Jess is trying to wean them and spends very little time in their enclosure now.  She's nursing them about 4-5 times a day now. 

        Hanging with Uncle Ray                                   "Mama, wait for us!"

                         Pinkie at 5 weeks                                        Tiger at 5 weeks

Saturday, March 8, 2008 - "Blizzard!"

It's been 30 years since the famous Blizzard of '78  hit the midwest.  Since then, this is the first time I remember weathercasters using the word "blizzard".  While I am not sure this is yet an actual blizzard, we have gotten over 15" of snow in the last 24 hours, and it is still coming down!!  That may not seem like much to folks in some areas of the country, but for the Columbus area, it is a bunch!  We usually seem to get a lot less than the northern and southern parts of the state. We rarely see 6".   Absolutely everything is closed.  They've cancelled all activities for the entire area, all school events were off for yesterday evening, but now university events are off, too, as well as store closings.  Churches are starting to post their cancelled services for tomorrow morning already.  It's really not that cold, though, only about 25 degrees.  As long as the wind doesn't get too crazy, it's not too bad.  Kyle and his friend Garrett got the big Ford tractor with the bucket and the little John Deere lawn tractor with the blade, and they are tackling driveways for all the neighbors (who have been very happy to see them and very willing to open their wallets for a couple ambitious kids on a very snowy day!) 

The 'pacas are all cozy in the barn.  Everybody is pretty much buckled down, although Luie and a few of the boys have ventured out into the knee-deep snow to potty in their favorite spot.  The girls, unfortunately, have decided it is too far to go, and are using a potty spot in their stall.  We dug them out a little by their doors and a little path beyond, but they are more than happy to hang out and munch hay all day till the weather passes.  The hens are toasty in their little hut with their red-lightbulb heat, and while their little tiny 'chicken door' is propped open, their aren't any tracks in the snow.  Yesterday, I cut the last of the pumpkins in half for them, and they are busy pecking that right up. 

First thing this AM, we dug the pups a path out the back door, and they went on a big snowy adventure.  It amazes me how smart they are about their routine, at even only 6 weeks old.  They come crashing to the door when I come downstairs in the morning because they know the first thing they get to do is go out!  The routine of taking them out several times a day has saved tremendously on the cleanup in the house.  When they come in, they are hanging on the side of the box whining, because the pans of warm pup-mush are next.  After everybody has a big full belly, it's naptime for a couple hours and then we do it all over again! 

The pups have not been the least bit timid about heading out into the snow.  They seem to love it.  This morning, they were only out about 5 minutes, and they weren't ready to come in yet when I called them.  I really need to get some video of them playing in the snow and see if I can figure out how to get it online for you to see!  The snow is up to Jessie's belly, Ray just bowls his way through, getting snow all over his face, and little Lexi has to jump to get around.  Most of the pups stayed where I had shoveled, but a couple of them dove headfirst into snowdrifts along side of the house and came bouncing out like little polar bears to tackle a snow covered sibling.  They were so covered, we couldn't tell which was which!!

These pictures are from this week and are their official 5 week 'portraits'  I'll get some individual closeups posted on the pup page sometime this weekend. 

                            The boys at 5 weeks                                               The girls at 5 weeks

    L > R: Tank, Chunk, Big Red, Bash, Crash, & Tiger          L > R: Stripes, Michael, Pinkie, Princess & Goldie

     The gang!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - "Stripes goes swimming!"

Having 11 six-week old puppies is like having 11 one-year-old human children who have just learned how to walk and pull things down on their heads!  They love going outside, and taking them out has eliminated a lot of the 'paper changing' duties in the house, so out we go, several times a day.  The pups have ventured farther and farther since that first day when they barely left the patio.  Now they wander around the sides of the house, farther out into the yard, into the garden, and to the edges of the alpaca fence, coming nose to nose with their 'Aunt Mandy' who is on guard these days alone...all because of them! 

So I should have known not to leave them for even a second, but the washer repair guy yelled for me and needed a hammer.  (You're gonna use a hammer to fix the washer????  I could have done THAT!)  Well, to make a long story short, in the time it took me to do a quick count to 11, run in the back door, run into the garage, and grab the hammer, Stripes ran all the way around to the front of the house and fell through the snow and ice into the goldfish pond!  In the garage, I hear a blood curdling puppy-scream and I run, throwing the hammer in the general direction of the washer man, out the front door. I see Stripes, soaked literally to the top of her head, clinging to the rocks at the side of the pond with the ice broken all around her, screaming a sound I had no idea a puppy could make.  I dash around the pond, grab her by the scruff of the neck and jerk her up and out of the water.  We run into the house, sloshing water all the way, and into the laundry room where the washer man is banging away.  Into the laundry tub she goes and we run warm water over her, as she shivers so much she can hardly stand up.  After a few minutes of that, we bundle her into towels and rub her dry.  More dry towels and blankies follow, as I snuggle Stripes to try to help her warm up. 

Now I know she couldn't have been in that water for more than a few seconds, but she shivered for a full hour.  It is 35 degrees out, and ice water would certainly chill a 10 lb pup in a hurry.  So after I got some dry clothes on and Stripes was mostly dry, she and I sat on the couch snuggling in a bundle of blankies for an hour until she stopped shivering and fell asleep.  She stayed in her bundle another half hour or so as she took a well-deserved nap.  (On the floor, I might add, since Carrie wisely thought that waking up alone and falling off the couch wouldn't help her much right now.)  Amazingly, after her whole adventure, she was right back to playing and acted like nothing had happened. 

As Carrie picked her up a few hours later to ask her one more time....."Are you ok baby?" she remarked, "She smells like fish sticks".....

A day in the life of an adventurous pup.

 

Friday, March 14, 2008 - "Our first car ride - to the vet!"

Well, I have to say we put quite a bit of thought into just how we were going to get 11 puppies to the vet for their first checkup and shots.  We settled on two giant boxes that the washer man conveniently left behind.  We decided that if Carrie and I both took 2 at once, we could get that group checked and then switch them out for the next group.  It actually worked out pretty well.

Everyone passed their physical with flying colors.  They got all the usual parts checked and had fecal tests and got their shot.  Remarkably, almost all the pups weigh 14.5 to 15.5 lbs.  They turn 7 weeks old today.  One group of three smaller females weigh in at 12.5 to 13 lbs, which is still pretty huge for a 7 week old pup.  Stripes even passed her checkup, and if I hadn't said so, Doc would never have known that she'd done a Polar Bear trick 3 days ago. 

     So I don't completely bog down the blog with photos.......CLICK HERE to see a photo gallery of some random fun from the last week......

And.....the official 6 week portraits are up.  CLICK HERE to go to the puppy page.

Sunday, March 16th, 2008 - "It's official..... Katie is staying!"

Well, after months of pleading and whining, Carrie has broken me down and we have agreed that little "Stripes" is staying.  I have to say I knew all along that we couldn't do this and send them all away, so I guess it is really no surprise.  She's a beautiful pup and will make a nice addition to the working crew out back since we are getting more and more 'pacas to keep an eye on.  She's been named Kate, and seems to somehow know she is the 'chosen one' since she is the first to run out the gate, first to grab my shoe and take off with it.....  Why did she pick the orneriest one???  She did get a bath, so at least she doesn't still smell like the goldfish pond......

Monday, March 17, 2008 - "Daddy's family visits - and two pups go home!"

For weeks, we have been wondering....."What will the Jakobi's think of the puppies?"  We know we love them, we know they look great to us, but we also know that we have relatively little experience evaluating Anatolian puppies, especially compared to Barb and Gary Jakobi, owners of their sire, and breeders of Anatolians for 25 years.  Our biggest fear, as we talked and it was decided that they were to take 2 pups from the litter, was that they would come and look and decide that they didn't want them!  Ouch! 

So we were especially excited and a little nervous when the Jakobi's arrived in Ohio on St Patrick's Day.  They had dogs Turk and Fecir with them, as they had just done a huge Pet Expo in Chicago and decided that while a couple states closer, they'd come on down to Ohio to help us evaluate the litter and decide which puppies were to be going home with them to Wisconsin. 

We were extremely relieved when they saw the pups and proclaimed them beautiful, and definitely a breeding to repeat!  That did wonders for our confidence in evaluating puppies!  As we talked and watched the pups, we realized that we knew all along what they would say about each puppy.  We knew which ones were starting to show the personality for guardianship, we knew which ones were looking perfect in their conformation and which would turn out to be a little taller and leggier than others.  To our relief, no conformational faults were noted, and as minor differences were mentioned, we found we agreed with virtually every evaluation Barb and Gary made.

And not surprisingly at all, they decided to take home precisely the two puppies that we had predicted they would.  So Michael-girl and Crash got in the car and headed to WI to live with a virtual Herd of Anatolians, compete in the show world, and have the love of two people who are most devoted to the breed.  It's so hard to say goodbye to them.  Each one is so very special, and so loved, but it makes us feel good to know they are going to have the best possible homes.  Crash and Michael (now to be named Cheyenne) will start puppy kindergarten this week!  :)  And we love that they are going to call Crash by his puppy name for good!  His 'real' name will be something long in Turkish, but he'll still be Crash!

       Barb and Gary Jakobi with the new kids!                      Fecir meets her new buddy, Crash.         

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 - "Bringing the girls home"

A few weeks ago, we had a thought that we should really put a note in the blog that yes, in fact, we do still have the alpacas!  Seems like all the posts lately have been puppy related.  So today was a big day, as we traveled to Kentucky to pick up Dot and Sundae, who have been at Seldom Scene Farm to breed.  Big trip, down and back in a day, but worth it, to get the herd together again. 

Saturday, March 22, 2008 - "Tiger's new Mommy comes"

The pups are 8 weeks old today!  The last few days have been busy around here!  On Thursday, we made a huge puppy pen in the garage, and moved the crew out there so they now take up almost all of the three car garage.  (and yeah, the kitchen looks weird with a table in it!)  They are loving all the room to run and are happy to be able to have the door open to look outside.  Taking them out is also way easier, and for the last week or so, we have not been able to let them run free in the yard since they go 11 directions at once and are so fast!  After Stripes' trip into the pond, we pretty much have been walking them for their trips outside.  That has actually worked out to be a good thing, since we can spend some individual time with each one.  They are definitely ready to be treated like individuals and not a gang.  We are teaching them sit and come while on our daily walks, and they are proving to be as smart as we expected. 

Tiger got to go home today, with his new Mommy, Tara!  He'll live on a goat farm about an hour north of us, and be a guardian to the goats and hopefully soon, some chickens!  We know he's going to love that.  Be a good boy, Tiger Bub!  We'll miss your cute face!!

Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008 - "A day off and a great ham dinner"

Easter was a fun day of cooking and visiting with the family.  Although Cassie was away for a wedding in Virginia, we had Shelley's Mom and Dad over and had a relaxing day with them.  Carrie's friend Garrett joined us for dinner and some lively "Hand and Foot" (cards) after.  While there are still pacas to feed, and pups to clean up after, it's nice once in a while to have the time to get everyone together and relax a bit.  And since the eggs are already green and brown around here, we don't have to color eggs anymore!  Happy Easter.

Since tomorrow starts Spring Break for Kyle, he's got a couple friends planning to go to the farm for some 4-wheeler riding and male bonding.  Lucky Todd will get to cut firewood and work, while the boys play, but he is looking forward to being there and getting some things done.  Somehow it doesn't quite seem like such work when you're off work for the week and spending it in the woods. 

March 31, 2008 - "Tiger gets a sister he already had....."

Well, after toying with the idea, Tara couldn't stand it and came back for Pinkie girl!  So now the two will guard the goats and hang out with chickens and we are happy for both that they will have a buddy!  Tara hasn't see the dog food bill yet, but it won't be that bad, right?

Some more 8 and 9 week old fun......

Friday, April 4th, 2008 - "Princess's big day" and "Off to Indiana with a trailer of 'pacas"

Today is a culmination of a very busy week.  The first show of the alpaca season is always a biggie.  Vet checks to make sure everyone is up to perfect health, going through all the supplies for the animals and the farm stall display to make sure we have it all, and getting the truck and trailer set for a long trip after the winter break. 

So Friday morning worked out perfectly for Princess's new family to come get her as they were traveling home from a Florida vacation and could hit Ohio on their way back to Chicago.  We have to think the second chunk of that long drive was much more fun than the first with the new family member on board!  From what we hear, Princess was the perfect angel we knew she could be on the ride to Chicago, and has settled in with her new family of 2 and 4-leggers like a champ.  She is now called Nala and is growing like a weed and getting the hang of her new siblings including a rottie mix and a giant schnauzer.  Congratulations Dennis, Ginger, Amy, Josh and Sammi - and Princess Nala!

Sunday, April 20th, 2008 - "Cassie graces us with her presence...."

Cassie spends so much time working and at school that we barely see her.  We thought it might not be so bad since she was going to school here in Columbus, as opposed to out of town, but.....  We miss her and it seems like when she does get time to come see us, she is at celebrity status.  You know, special meal, everyone talking about it....... the whole deal.  

So this morning, we were pleased to spend a morning with Cassie and her friend Jacob over breakfast of Mom's green eggs scrambled up with some of Grandpa's fresh morel mushrooms.  It was nice to catch up.  And just so everyone knows, we are very proud of her and her determination to get through this music education degree as quickly as possible and support herself as she is doing it.   She's working three jobs and teaching a dozen or so little cello students each week.  When I have a moment of thinking I am too busy, I think of Cassie and I know I really don't have much at all to do. 

We've actually started getting lots more eggs lately, as the other two big black chickens have apparently started laying.  So now with 6 hens laying, we sometimes get as many as 6 eggs in the same day.  

This afternoon, I have a dilemma.  I really have to go to the ANCO meeting for our little Central Ohio Alpaca Network and do my little secretary duties, but I'd really rather go with Kyle to his Scout event.   Four of his good buddies have all just recently completed their Eagle Scout ranks and are having their ceremony together.   I'll go do what I have to do, but I'd really rather be there taking pictures of that very special day.   Congrats to Alex, Garrett, Ryan and Sam!!!!!!!

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 - "Never take 5 dogs to the vet by yourself!"

Oh, where is Carrie when I need her?  I am so spoiled having her as my right arm that I overestimate what I can do without her.   So when I called the vet to make the appointment for puppies to have their shots, Mandy to get her yearly checkup and Ray to get his mysterious 'lump' checked, it sounded like something that I could handle!   Let's just say I got through it.....  Oh yeah, and Ray's lump is just a fat nodule!  

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 - "A Fun lunch with Joyce, Judy & Grace"

What a fun day this was.   Joyce Blackmore has become a good friend over the years well beyond our joint alpaca ventures.   We have tried to keep in touch even more with Joe now gone and today I was excitedly looking forward to a lunch we had scheduled.   Joyce's daughter, Judy is a friend as well, and so we were glad she could make it and bring little Gracie along on a day off from Preschool. 

Judy got here first and we started talking about a memoir she has been writing about Joe's early life and childhood family.   In it, she writes about all the unusual things that have happened to various family members since his death.  I mentioned a couple odd things that have happen