Happy New Year.....

....to all the people, friends and relatives who read my blog. I haven't been posting for a while but my New Years resolution is to *pull my socks up* and armed with my camera go forth and take a few interesting shots. (LOL) They probably wont be pictures of my garden because I haven't been able to keep up with it for the last year or so and it sadly has fallen to neglect. Around the hills towns I have noticed some interesting old buildings so maybe they will feature in my first post for 2010.

2009 has not been a good year for me both health-wise or personally but hopefully that will all change this coming year.

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

All over for another year.

The shearers have been and gone. All alpacas shorn
(except one that took off and defied all attempts to catch her)
so she (Aniseed) will have to wear her overcoat for another year.

Gosh, am I glad its finished, except for cleaning the garage.

Does anyone want to buy some Alpacas?

Shearing day.....

Last summer, after the long scorching drought, I made a vow that I'd NEVER, EVER complain about the rain again......but when the alpacas are due to be shorn, we don't need it to rain. This is such a traumatic day for the animals AND us. First they have to be DRY then they need to be herded into our garage, under cover so they wont get any more wet than they are. Then, after we have them in for the shearer to arrive at 9am. I find out they are not coming until the afternoon. GRRH, GRRRRH !

These pictures are they "boys" in the holding pen. They will be a bit scatty by the afternoon but I cant help that. they all took off up the driveway and we had to chase them around to get them back down. The "ladies" are in their feeding pen, they will be more tetchier than the boys, its a smaller enclosure and there are more of them, but they must be kept dry. Why couldn't the rain wait until tomorrow...or tonight?

The second picture is Ezekial, poor little fellow, he didn't grow very big. It seems as if he put all his growing into fleece production. He is a strange looking alpaca, reminds me of Santa with his beard. He has a short snout and thick wool around his eyes and when I saw him coming in I thought, I cant see his eyes, his fleece is so thick............but then I realised that my husband had put his halter on incorrectly and covered his eyes. LOL

All I can say now is........."Thank goodness we have Wiltipoll sheep !" (Self shedders, no shearing)

Its a GIRL !!

Born this morning. Looks like inspection time at the zoo. An earlier calf born on the 4th. of September, also a girl thinks she has a playmate at last. Strange, this is the first pictures I have ever taken of the cattle babies and we have had cows for 22 years.

I was feeling sad because its father went to the saleyards last wednesday, he was a beautiful example of a Limousin bull. Much happier however when I heard that the butchers were outbid and he went to live for a few years longer, somewhere in the Murraylands. Loxton, I think.

Baby amimals are beautiful.

One puff of wind............

........and it will come tumbling down. This is the shed I wrote about in a blog last week. We have watched it slowly deteriorate over the last 20 or so years. I have wanted to take some pictures of this shed but always (until today) have forgotten to take the camera
The first shot is the front view and the second from the side.
Dont you think she's a little beauty?
Any good Aussie bloke would be proud to own it L.O.V.L.

Easy-peasy............

The first crop of peas from Popeye's veggie garden. Enough for two meals for two people. Mashed spuds, peas and gravy tonight, along with a piece of steak of course. I LOVE mashed spuds ans peas, they seem to belong together. More like salad weather today though, 43C and its not summer yet !! PHEW !!!

What does one do.......

.....when the temperature is nudging 39c on a lovely spring day ? Hop into the car and take some photos of old buildings in and around near where we live. These buildings always get me pondering...who built them, who lived there, how many children did they have, what did they do to amuse them selves etc. The first two houses are in Lobethal, the first one uninhabited, notice the high pitched roof and if you click on the picture you'll notice there is a small door into the roof area. Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills settled by Germans in the 1800's, hence the german style to these old homes. This second one has been well maintained over the years and it is in the Main street. Such a lovely cottage.

Next I show a tobacco oast, which hasn't been used for the purpose of drying tobacco for many, many years, not a bad thing, to my way of thinking, but its such a pity that most of these buildings will be either demolished or fall down from being neglected. I know of a shed that has been slowly falling down for over 20 years but it was too far to travel in the heat to get a shot at that one. Next time! (if a big puff of wind hasn't blown it down completely)

Lastly this quaint cottage, nearer home, sits in a vineyard. I wonder how long it will be before it is knocked down so that the small piece of land it sits on can be used for planting more grapes.