Alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats and great large dogs, oh my!

Yesterday was busy from morning to night, I slept very soundly last night as I was tireder than had I work hard all day. Mokie, Booboo, Cubbie and I made it out to Herbalists about 9:30 and started our adventure. We found the location about three miles up Petty Creek.  The property was about 86 acres of ground. We opened the gate, went up the drive and were meant by Susan in what seemed like a yard full of almost any ruminant you can imagine.  There were alpacas, goats, sheep and dogs as far as you could see.  She had had her alpaca's sheared on Thursday and 37 were sheared, but we saw several that weren't sheared and none of the babies had been sheared so I have no idea how many, of just them, there were. The was a small herd of sheep, of several breeds near where we parked the truck; in a separate pasture there was a herd of angora, cashmere, and cashgora goats.  There were massive Great Pierannese dogs that approached us in the driveway.   She had advised us one of her dogs, another Italian breed of guardian dog, was not people friendly but for some reason was barking up on the mountain behind her house and wouldn't come down.  So she asked us to be aware and she would put her up once she made her appearance.  Our adventure had begun!

We got to go to the goat pen first, as we walked to it we were meant by three bum goats, two white ones and a black one, that were about two months old.  They were crying for their bottle, Susan said, "you are welcome to them except they are withers."  She knew I had come to buy a doeling.  We looked around the pen for a couple of minutes as she showed me various animals, not all for sale, looking for the ones she wanted me to choose from.  She couldn't find them right off and thought maybe they were up the mountain and that that was the reason the dog was barking.  We decided to go see the alpaca's as Herbalist was so excited she just couldn't wait to see her options. 

We were taken around the barn to a back pasture and were meant with about 9 animals, varying in ages from 14 to 4, two were cut males and the rest intact males.  While we were looking at the beautiful creatures one of the larger males became aggressive to another animal, we thought at that moment he should not be Herbalists choice.  We did pick out a liver colored one and albino that we thought were very nice specimens.  Susan advised us there were more to choose from and took us to yet another pasture.  We saw beautiful animals there too.  She was reluctant to sell her females,  she is trying to sell her property and move closer to her daughter but was still attached, and it was obvious she had a long way to go to actually sell her females at a reduced cost, like the males.  She had way to many of them and was selling them at sale prices.  Susan spotted the goats she wanted to sell me, as the bum goats trotted along side us crying for their bottles.  The does she showed me were nice, and their was a large cashmere that reminded me or my Cleo and Rosie.  She was one of the only ones remotely large enough to be able to pasture with my girls at home. 

The bums would come up and ask for pets, the giant dogs scratched my bare legs to get attention, my poor legs looked like I had run threw a barbed wire fence, blood trickled down the back of one.  I got to thinking that most of the goats wouldn't fit well with my does but the bums, would give me fiber for at least 10 to 15 years, they were very friendly and my girls would love them.  Cubbie and Booboo couldn't get enough of them as they petted and played with them. I ask Susan what she wanted for them, she said she wasn't ready to part with the black one but I could have the two white ones for less than the price of a doe.  I told her I would take them.  Booboo and Cubbie got to give them their bottles.  I knew Poppie was not in favor of more bottle babies, but they are actually old enough to wean.  He also prefers females but they are both withers and that would mean they would not be having babies so I knew he would like that.  Herbalist decided she wanted to go home and get the Professors to help her make her choices as she wanted to purchase several alpacas and sheep.  We were walking to the truck, to go get him, and load my bums when a large brown animal came racing down the mountain.  Mokie pointed it out and at first, I am sure she thought it was a bear, but it turned out to be Llama, the aggressive dog was barking at four llamas and herding them home.  Susan hadn't realized they were the animals missing when she had discovered the goats were there. She put the dog up in the barn, for our protection.  We loaded the goats near a pen with a goat, with the oddest horns, I have ever seen.  She appeared to be laying down, but she was not, she had been frost bitten as a newborn and had no ears, and her back to legs were gone from the knees down, she appear to be nice fat goat.  Susan said she is a love, she had also had a set of twins and a single baby in that last couple years.  She was very odd.

We took the bums home to Poppie and Yogie, they loved them, they are small, they stay right near the house and eat the lawn, where they are supposed to.  I was so relieved.  We put them in a kennel on the porch when it was time to go to bed.  The rest of the afternoon was as busy as the morning had been, we picked up the Professor and a trailer.  We returned to Susan's and they purchased two alpacas, made a deal for a female one in the near future and are going to return for her and several head of sheep.  We dropped the alpacas, Herbalist, Professor and the trailer off and made it home around 6, long day.  We had a wonderful adventure but Mokie and I had to get home.  Poppie had had the kids, 8, all day and needed a break. 

The kids had those bums all in line and named, Lovey and Nemo, when we got home.  The bums were the perfect choice for all..  I slept straight through last night, something I rarely do, I suppose the sleep of a good life.... tomorrow.