Alpacas Sunbathing

What fabulous weather – the alpacas are stretched out sunbathing doing their ‘playing dead’ number. I used to rush up to them when I first had alpacas but now fourteeen years later realise THEY ARE ASLEEP and spring to their feet in a very startled way if you approach them.

I found a very large dead rat this morning in the hay barn. I nudged it hesitantly with my foot just in case it was alive and was about to launch itself at my throat. No, most certainly dead and absolutely huge. This is the third dead rat but the other two were quite small. The big one has been getting fat on my eggs but is now getting very dead with rat poison. They are still eating it so there must be more. I’ve got a full incubator of eggs at the moment due to hatch next week. I am looking forward to seeing them emerge like little dinosaurs. It would be nice if some cria emerged too as the dozen girls who are over 11 months now are not doing anything.

Joshua excelled himself with the airgun before he went back to university shooting loads of rabbits, some of which he took back so his housemates could experience free food. I got a crow today that was in the fox trap. I feel no anguish about them as they can do hideous damage to a cria that isn’t up and going pretty sharpish.

There are lots of red funghi around. They look like tiny scarlet upturned saucers and are very pretty. My brother says everyone is talking about them and they are edible. I assumed they weren’t as they are so very red.