Forestry Games and New Additions...

It's been an eventful weekend. On Friday we spent a good part of the day in town at Atkins field watching the 2009 Forestry Games. Our 3 guys who are working on the llama walking trail all competed and did an amazing job! GMTCC won first place and we are proud to know we have the very best working for us!

Saturday we drove all over picking up new critters! In the morning we headed to Westford to get our piglets! They are still awaiting names, but have settled in nicely.


In the afternoon, Ed and Pastor Jeff set off for Massachusetts to pick up a new supply of bees. One of the hives didn't survive the winter. The new bees are doing well and keeping busy.

This week we will be busy getting ready for the Hardwick Spring Festival. Watch for the llamas in the parade and then down at Atkins Field by the Center for an Agricultural Economy tent! See you there!!

Weekend pictures

We were busy today--moving the turkey poults to a new spot and preparing the birthing area for Mexia's upcoming cria. We finished cleaning up the old wood from the bunker silos to make way for the excavation contractor who will turn the spot into our picnic and play area. Then we went on to rebuild the pig pen--we reused some of the pressure treated lumber from the bunkers. The kids had friends over and Dan's friend George walked our George. We got caught out in the downpour this afternoon, but that was fun too. Lots of excitement going on here as we gear up for summer!

Spring Health Fair at Hardwick Elementary School

Agape Hill Farm was invited to have a table at the elementary school's health fair today. What a great day!

The kids were enthusiastic and very interested in hearing about llamas and fiber. While from a health perspective we were there to promote trail walks and interactive farm visits, turning the crank for the drum carder stole the show!

So, in addition to having a fun day and meeting new people, we also got bags of fiber carded!

Springtime at Agape Hill Farm...

Pictures of the week:

Toenail clipping and haircuts...

What a beautiful day today! We were so glad we got our errands done yesterday and could spend the day on the farm. I finished cutting all the llamas toenails--today was the boys turn! They did really well, but it is a pretty exhausting job! Fortunately Willie makes a great pillow!

It is supposed to be very hot this weekend, so we decided we'd better shear Summer. She's our newest llama and appears not to have been shorn last year at her previous home.She proved to be much jumpier than our other llamas, but in the end her haircut came out pretty well! She has extremely soft fiber and we discovered some beautiful coloring underneath all that long matted stuff! She seems much more comfortable and the boys were quite impressed (seriously--they couldn't stop looking at her--it was hysterical!) We all think she looks like a poodle!

Kristina gave Lily, her Angora rabbit a haircut too. Here's a picture of part-way through the haircut. This was Lily's first cut and K did a great job!


Everyone is getting ready for Spring!

Stuck in the mud and other tales of Spring...

We have been so busy doing springtime work on the farm, there hasn't been much time for blogging. We've cleaned out the chicken coop, stained the picnic tables, raked the lawn and other great adventures. The big project has been cleaning up the old bunker silos in preparation for having the area excavated into our new picnic area. Sam and some of his friends have been working unbelievably hard moving the old tires out (which they are using to set up their own paintball course). We've been ripping down the old wooden sides too. It's a big job, but it's going to be such a great spot when it's done.

Today we were pulling out the temporary fencing from the gully pasture. We need to rearrange it for the llamas. Our friend, Connor, from Heartbeet was over helping. We were all having lots of fun and working hard.


Then, it happened...my boots sank down into the muck and water started pouring in. I got totally STUCK!! Connor started laughing which made me laugh and get stuck even worse! Danny took pictures and then went to get Ed to haul me out. I was afraid for a few minutes he was going to need the tractor! I was really stuck. Thought all our friends would enjoy seeing pictures of MY adventure!


Enjoy this awesome spring weather!!

Out in the sunshine...

It was so beautiful out yesterday afternoon that we decided to take Macey and her baby, Oreo, out to enjoy the sunshine.
When the vet visited a couple of weeks ago he confirmed our suspicion that Oreo is blind in one eye. He has congenital cataracts and may also lose his sight in the other eye as well. We want him to start getting accustomed to moving about and finding his mother is new places. He had a great adventure exploring, jumping, running and playing. He's such a sweet little guy.

Today the boys went to pick up our "new" lawn tractor. With adding the picnic area to the mowing chores this year, we finally convinced Dad that his good ol' Wheelhorse should retire. We have been online shopping for quite awhile and feel that God provided this tractor just for us. It is the exact model we were looking for, plus a limited edition and for a great price! It is SO easy to drive and cuts beautifully. We're very thankful. It occurs to me we are starting a tractor-theme for celebrating holidays here. Hmmm....I wonder what I'll get for Mother's Day this year--LOL!!