Supreme Champion Suri Mercurius Sol
Looking less a champion but certainly cool in his new summer haircut!

 It has been a hot and windy day here at Kirsonara. Lucky for the llamas, they were all shorn before Christmas. Poor Mercurius lost all his dreadlocks, but he is to be put into training for packing and trekking - won't need all that fibre getting caught up.

some of the girls showing off their various hairstyles.

Canterbury's 150th A & P Show

150th Canterbury A & P Show November 2012

Kirsonara had a great few days at the show. Kirsonara Mercurius Sol won a first for Male Suri Llama, Supreme Champion Suri Llama and overall winner as Best Llama in show (Confirmation)! This meant he and Stuart went into the main ring on show day to compete for Best in Show (against an alpaca, dairy cow, goat, pig etc etc)
Another Kirsonara llama, Blackberry also did very well. Our grand-daughter Autumn (age 13) handled Blackberry at the Show. It was her first time handling in a show ring. We are very, very proud of Autumn who has developed quite a bond with the llamas. They all respond very well to her handling.

Kirsonara Mercurius Sol with Stuart Yuill Proctor and his trophy for Best Llama in confirmation 

Kirsonara Mercurius Sol receiving his trophy for Supreme Champion Suri Llama from judge Jane Buxton

Kirsonara Mercurius Sol with all his ribbons (& Stuart)

All the llamas off to the Grand Parade (Merc in the middle and our boy Kirsonara Blackberry on the left with Autumn)

Autumn taking Kirsonara Blackberry through his paces on the obstacle course - this was 13 year old Autumn's first time in the ring. This shows the trust between llama and handler, crucial for walks in the bush. 

Autumn and Kirsonara Blackberry 

Autumn and Kirsonara Blackberry, who won Champion PR & Obstacle Llama, this is really all down to the work of the handler developing a bond with her llama. 

Merc having a walk through the food tent, having a sniff of some fudge.

The two new girls

 meet Kirsonara Elderflower (and Mum Alpha Fields Kira)

Meet Kirsonara Meadowsweet who is surrounded by her Aunties. Meadowsweet arrived 3 weeks early and is quite tiny, but perfectly formed.
We will get a good picture of the new wee boy and post his picture up too.  He had a bit of a rough start and was 3 weeks late but is now doing well.

Monday morning

Ironic, but after a very wet winter you would not think we would want anymore rain, but with the wwoofers coming this week, I thought it a good idea to get some before they arrived. Woke up this morning to the return of winter, cold, wet & miserable! Not quite what I had in mind. Still it will soften the ground for them, so long as it stops by tomorrow afternoon.
TB testing this afternoon as well, so a break in the weather while the TB man is here would also be good. Stuart has kindly brought most of the stock closer to the yards to make it easier for me, which is great. Hopefully our little llama will behave as well. It will be her first test.

First post

Well - due to daughter pressure, now have a brand new blog! Hopefully this will be a useful site. First,  a bit about us.
Stuart is a Homeopathic GP with a special interest in skins, hence we make skin creams here on the property from our own spray free calendula. Stuart loves to spend time in the fruit cage, nurturing his plants, walking the llamas and fishing.  After spending last weekend learning the correct way to "pack" a llama, he has been stung by the packing bug! We are ordering our first proper packs and hope to train all our boys to carry them. The aim is for him to go fishing and have the boys carry all the gear.
Elizabeth was a nurse, aromatherapist/reflexolgist, yoga teacher, tutor for making skin creams etc, also meditation tutor, Life Coach.  Elizabeth is usually found head down, bum up in the herb garden battling the endless supply of twitch (couch grass).
We are looking forward to the arrival of two more wwoofers this week. For those of you unfamiliar with the wwoof concept .... wwoof stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. In exchange for 4 to 6 hours work they get free board and lodging. (www.wwoof.co.nz) It is a good way to see NZ and operates in other countries as well.