A new dawn

I have spent the last four days living in the dark.
The day job has meant leaving home in the dark and returning home in the dark.

Yesterday, however, I managed to bunk off early and arrived home in daylight. My spirits were immediately lifted when I rounded the corner and looked up the hill towards the house to see alpacas. Yes folks the slightly wimpy mighty Patou herd had come out of its shed and was grazing in the open air!

We had massive amounts of rain in the morning and most of the snow has now gone leaving exposed grass.

They have been pretty much entrenched in the shed for a week. I even went in there on Monday night to try and get them out to the feeding troughs. I was most unsuccessful. I was pushing them but they weren't having any of it and were backing in to me, it could have turned into a wrestling bout. There was muttering! They were not going out and so I gave up.

I am a bit miffed that I wasn't here to see the herd emerge. I wonder how it had happened. Who was first?

Anyway I imagine the emergence from the shed went something like this:

All is quiet and not an alpaca is to be seen as it finally stops raining. There are a few minutes of stillness until the head of an adult alpaca, probably Judy, pops round the corner of the shed and looks around. A glance upwards at the sky, a thoughtful look at the grass, an upturned foot is stretched out to test for rainfall. A retreat back into the shed. Muttering. Reggie, the smallest cria is then forcibly pushed out into the open air. He quickly turns and rushes back into the shed. Seconds later he flies through the air as the herd expells him. He lands in a heap and quickly gets to his feet staring petulantly back into the shed. Words are said.

Reggie walks forward, tentatively sniffing the air, squelching through the mud as he makes his way along the runway towards the grass. Every few seconds he stops and turns only to be greeted by a raised foot from within the shed pointing down the hill into the field. He trudges on reluctantly, cautiously looking around. It appears, to an onlooker, as if the herd supects that there is a sniper hiding patiently somewhere waiting to strike. Reggie, being the youngest, has been sent out, he is expendable.

Reggie reaches the grass and whilst still looking around bends down and sniffs it. He takes a nibble. There is a collective holding of breath in the shed. Reggie nibbles some more and then moves forward, he is transiting into grazing mode. He turns and looks at the shed with a mouthful of grass and a withering stare. He resumes grazing.

More heads appear from within, the noise level is rising as gradually one by one the rest of the herd venture out.

Well it may have happened like that but the main things is that they are now out and about.

HALTER TRAINING DEFINITELY STARTS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!