Whooooooh! Shearing is done for another year. We've been at it all month. But I believe all the farms in the area are now full of naked alpacas. Belle was our last one. I ended up giving myself a break and brought her over to a friend's place where they had a professional come in to shear. I was more than happy to hand her off and write a check. I did about half of the alpacas on my own. My first day I did three and a half. It turns out Heilo isn't keen on the chute and after I got his blanket off, I decided it was too dangerous to keep going. So he ended up with a poodle cut for about a week until Pat and George came out and helped us finish him. I'm pooped!

In between shearing, we managed to get all the vegetable beds ready and planted . The Corn, beans and Armenian cucumbers are doing really well. Everything else went in late and is just coming up now. Sadly, I forgot to label the beds and now I've forgotten what went where. I love a mystery.

I've also been passing out broccoli seeds to all my friends. Turns out one flower makes a mess of seeds, and I let quite a bit of the plant bolt. Live and learn, now I know I don't have to leave so many blooms behind. Just means we get to eat more of it. Also on the agenda for April was getting everything prepared for the coming heat. The barn coolers got the once over, parts replaced got mended and the fans got oiled. Screens went up on the house this past weekend. I think I mat plant a couple more strategically place trees this year to help provide shade down the road. And though it all, Daisy still found time for a nap.