This is my brother Chuckybird pre surgery, me, Elvis, Buck and Spunky. I think we were trying to get Grace to behave or something.

AND THERE WERE FIVE MORE PACAS!!!

Some more of our new family. The top pic is of the Main Dude, Artemus, who shall be referred to in the future as Artie. The pic below is of Jasper, he is Artie's son. He was the one who had gotten really ill but he is better and needs to put some weight back on. Below that is our one cria, Annie (yes, we have two Annies), she is actually Annie's choice, as Annie, the black one is her mama. The white one with her is Chloe, she is A.C.'s companion while she has been weaned. The pic second from the bottom is of Early Morning Impact, he is a male.

I never thought I would have a stud, and now I have four here now and four more on the way. We have to finish the last paddock for those guys. One of those four, Portfolio, is a breeding male, but the other three are quite young, so they can be put together for now.

This morning as I was waiting for the Great Alpaca Migration to commence, I looked in my back yard and there was this large turtle cruising along. I guess he came from the swamp which is down at the bottom of the yard and decided he was going on Vacay for the Memorial Day weekend. This thing was definitely doin the Boot Scootin Boogie until I came out on the back porch, then he did the hide in the shell thing. Well, then Colonel Parker saw him and decided to check it out, he went and hide in the tall grass to the side and waited. I kept an eye out and did get a couple of pics with his head out. Man does this thing have an ugly head. I think it is a snapping turtle, anyone have an idea? Enlarge the pics and hopefully you can see. I had the binos out too. Well, he did finally make it over to the tall grass and as you can see The Colonel checked it out pretty close but decided it was best to leave well enough alone. Glad the dogs were inside.

THE ALPACA ARE HERE, THE ALPACA ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Six of our fifteen arrived this morning. Five of them are girls and one is a male. All five girls are in the family way, so the poor boy has nothing to do.

They are:

The black one is Annie

One of the white ones is Caitlin

The other white one is Chantilly (Caitlin's baby)

The fawn one is Currency (also Caitlin's baby)

One of the dark brown ones is Drizella

The other dark brown one (the smallest of the two) is Smith Barney the male

I think Annie is the alpha paca.

First cria due in September, mom is Caitlin.

They are settling in quite well but are still a bit nervous especially since Whinnie and Wizard are next to them. Of course those two idiot horses of mine are freakin a bit, but I already figured that into the situation, I know my equines.

Will get more pics and keep everyone informed.

Funny Stuff!

This is from an email that was sent to me. For all cat and dog owners, You will love it.

The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry for this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door as I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally , in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't. (2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture. (3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. (4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they (1) eat less, (2) don't ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don't hang out with drug-using people, (7) don't smoke or drink, (8) don't want to wear your clothes, (9) don't have to buy the latest fashions, (10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

I truly empathize with this on so many levels.

JAILBIRD RETURNS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graceland has spent the last two nights in the custody of Charles City Animal Control. This is not a good place to be, we here in the County call it Doggy Death Row.

When I got home on Wednesday, there was a V.M. from AC that she had been picked up. Of course, it was too late to get her then, had they bothered to call my cell (which was also on her collar), I would have left work immediately to get her. Well, due to their stupid rules that I truly believe they have made up themselves, I couldn't pick her up until this morning.

The top picture is of her this morning shortly after she got home, the bottom pic is from six months ago when she was a sweet innocent pup who could do no wrong. Now she has a record and has done hard time.

The scenario is:

Grace and Elvis wandered too far from home in their pursuit of who the hell knows what. Keep in mind, we have 30 freakin acres for them to play on and if you look at the arieal pics I posted on an earlier topic, we are set back from everything. Anyway, dumbass #1 (Grace) and dumbass #2 (Elvis) end up by the Courthouse where AC has an office, AC dude comes out and lo and behold there are 2 loose dogs. Well, dumbass #2 has already seen hard time on death row so he says "see ya, wouldn't want to be ya" and hauls ass home. He is a Walker Hound bred to run deer so he can fly, and he did according to AC dude. Dumbass #1 on the other hand, says oh look, he wants to rub my belly, NABBED!!

Hubby and I are now working on putting in invisible fence.

Just an FYI on why we call AC here in the County, Doggy Death Row:

Latest stats available are from 2007.

There were 383 dogs brought in to AC, 46 were claimed by their owners, 3 were adopted (one of them was mine), 11 died in custody, 3 were still there at the end of 2007 and 320 were euth'd.

We have good reason to believe that the head AC dude doesn't go by the rules. It is illegal for them to be euth'd by bullet, except in emergency situations, but that is the "word" on how it is done. There is also talk of dogs turned over for dog fighting practice. I have never heard one good thing said about the head AC guy, he is hated everywhere in this County. Kevin and I are trying to figure out a way to get this guy out. We have to be careful as we have many animals and are getting more. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Just some more pictures.

The pretty pink flowers are in the back flower bed. There is one bush on each side of the walk. I believe they are peonies. I usually cut some and put them in a vase in the house. I love fresh flowers in the house.

Another view of the wisteria vine. This angle is from the front porch looking out. The unpainted piece of wood that runs across was a quick fix because the other piece was rotted pretty bad and broke. The vine is pretty heavy and the wood that was used was not salt-treated, big mistake. This winter we will replace the whole stucture hopefully with a metal one. The big bush in the background is a butterfly bush. It gets lots of pretty purple flowers on it. I wish it had been planted out back so we could see it from the back porch. Oh well, guess we will have to get another one.

The last picture was after a nasty storm. We live very close to the James River and get these fast moving storms that come down river and head out to the ocean. Usually have lots of spectacular lightening so it is really fun to sit on the back porch and watch it go by. If you look pretty close you will see the rainbow. The pastures are to the left of the house, you can see the back corner of the nearest pasture from the back porch. Buck will frequently stand there and watch us, I think he wants to make sure I don't forget to come feed him.

My pretty front yard. I love the wisteria.

Isn't she cute?