It is an even more glorious day than yesterday after some early morning mist that always makes our valley look magical as it emerges into the sun. The alpacas are a very happy bunch and are lying about sun bathing, looking all fluffed up and beautiful. My yellow crocuses are out and the daffodils are emerging. It really is time I attacked my vegetable garden which is pretty weedy and could do with another application of well rotted alpaca poo. Anyone want some? We have loads of superior compost, it is alpaca and horse poo as the people who owned this farm before us left a big heap here. Every so often we get Bernard to come over with his tractor and shovel it up into one big heap and it has rotted down wonderfully.
Joshua is 19 today, happy birthday Josh, far away in sunny Quito. They are going out for a celebratory meal tonight and then clubbing. The big volcano which is 80 miles from Quito has been erupting, I watched a video of it on one of the news sites, and no, I am not going to worry about him disappearing under a river of lava.
We are going to trim the heads of some of our show team of alpacas as there are three of them who are having trouble seeing out. They are seriously over fleeced with nine to ten months of growth so I think they will do the Futurity and maybe the SWAG show, be shorn in May and then be replaced by younger animals with shorter fleeces if we are allowed to go to any more shows. The Bluetongue Surveillance zone has been extended and has taken in Somerset but we are still outside – not for much longer I wouldn’t think.
I have booked tickets for Lucia di Lammermoor at the Coliseum on February 22 as we are having a weekend off in London. Chas’s sister has bought us tickets for The History Boys on the Saturday and we have tickets for the Impressionists exhibition although we couldn’t get into see the terracotta army at the British Museum. We will no doubt go there anyway as I love those Hittite reliefs downstairs and the bookshop is marvellous and very bad for my credit card. My friend Hilary and her partner Amanda have lent us their flat in Covent Garden for the weekend as they will be lying on a beach in the Maldives – umm, what about a swop? I am really looking forward to escaping from mud and the office.