The Penny Tour

Here is the Penny Tour of Golden Touch Farms.




The Penny Tour
from goldentouch

The different faces of Golden Touch

A lot of visitors to the farm always comment on the different faces they see scattered across the grounds. Each week we are going to start posting one of the faces you might encounter on your next visit.

The Swarm!

Check out this quick clip of the Humming Birds swarming the feeder!







The Swarm! from goldentouch on Vimeo

Space Invaders!

Ok well they aren't from space and they aren't unwelcome but the hummingbirds do not like the competition. We have had a family of Baltimore Orioles enjoying the feeders. Hopefully this summer they stick around.






Under Attack! from goldentouch on Vimeo

Make hay while the sun shines!

Yes, that is what were have been doing, making hay. We have reserved two fields for making hay rather than just using them for pasture. This was our first cutting of the season and our yield between the two small 1 acre fields was 170 bales. The hay had been drying for four days and yesterday was baling day, just before the rain. It is a great feeling making your own hay and I know we will appreciate it much more when winter comes and our animal friends are eating it. We are going to fertilize those two fields now with the hopes of getting a great second cutting.
The rain today was a welcome site. Our hay was safely stored in the barn and our newest field was just planted several weeks ago. I am still amazed every time I walk out there how it has gone from very thick woodlands to this beautiful open field. In our quest for returning this land to pasture a beautiful HUGE flat rock was discovered. This rock is approximately 9 feet tall and 4 feet wide with a smooth finish, a perfect rock to have sandblasted. With the assistance of 3 excavation machines and two very experienced machine operators this rock was successfully moved from the field to the center circle of our driveway. We are now deciding what will be engraved on this new land mark.

Congratulations to Roger & Shirley!

Yesterday about 11:00 a.m. Roger and Shirley of Dartmouth, MA had their second cria born on the farm. It was another beautiful female and I wish them all the best with their growing herd. Enjoy every moment!

Confused Identity!

I have a Baltimore Oriole that has taken up permanent residents at the hummingbird feeder. I normally have seen Oriole's stop in for an occasional drink but this one in particular is caught at the feeder at least 6 to 7 times a day. The hummers are not happy and hover around him but it does not phase him in the least. I'd love to know what his blood sugar is.
I have been trying to get a photo or video of him in action but he is rather camera shy. I will be persistent and it will be posted the minute I catch him.

Interest in Birds????

Feeding Frenzy from goldentouch on Vimeo

Well we have certainly had an interesting week when it comes to bird watching on the farm. We had a wild tom turkey hanging around the back fields. I've tried to get close enough to him to get a picture but he is just too smart for me. I have seen turkeys pass through before but he has been hanging out for a whole week and I hear him every day early in the morning and later in the early evening.
We were also visited by a Yellow Warbler, he was gracefully singing on a Spirea Bush close to the house. He was also using the hummingbird feeder as a perch. They are a beautiful bright yellow with rusty streaks on their breast. Absolutely beautiful!
The other interesting visitor was a Great Crested Flycatcher. He has been spotted by the pond close to the house and after doing some research they usually stay in the woodlands and are more often heard than seen. I have spotted his twice this week. He is a rather large bird about 9"and has a gray throat with a yellow belly. His beak is also broad and long. They also use snakeskins in their nest lining.

Hold your head high!

I'm extremely happy to report Nayla's cria is doing fantastic. He now holds his head without difficulty and is running around like there was never an issue. It is a great feeling to watch him run and play, it's so great that I have trouble getting other stuff done because I just want to be at the barn and enjoy him. I am still getting up once during the night to go out and do a check, not that he really needs it. I know if I didn't I wouldn't get a good night sleep because I would be wondering if he was okay. When you work so hard at something its hard to let go because you don't want to have the slightest set back. So until I know that I can get a good nights sleep without making a trip to the barn then I will continue to do so.
Today we will both hold our heads high!

Rainy Day on the Farm

Rainy Day on the Farm from goldentouch on Vimeo

We have always noticed that with different types of weather, the farm takes on a whole new feel to it. We shot this video around the farm about an hour ago, during the rain. Enjoy!

Cria watch is finally over for the Spring!

Nayla finally delivered her cria Saturday morning about 8:30 a.m. I was in the barn earlier in the morning and she ate her breakfast and didn't seem overly uncomfortable. I was going to run some errands and I always make a stop at the barn before venturing out. Low and behold she had just delivered her baby. He is another white male weighing in at 19 lbs. 4 oz. His neck muscles appeared to be somewhat weak as he had some difficulty holding his head upright. I have been working with him around the clock for the last couple of days to be sure he is nursing and supporting his head and I'm happy to report he is doing much better. He now holds his own head without any difficulty but I will continue to monitor him very closely until I'm sure he is out of the woods. I'm sure this is a result from positioning while he was in utero.
I feel like I can relax for a short time now that cria watch is over for the Spring. We will now get busy on breeding these girls back and do behavior testing to confirm pregnancy.

The Garden

Over the last week while waiting for our last Spring time cria we started planting our vegetable garden. This year, feeling overly ambitious we decided to go 45 ft x 25 ft. Do not be surprised if in a couple of months we are advertising free vegetables here on the blog. Hope you all had a good relaxing weekend.

The waiting seems endless!

Yes we are still on cria watch at Golden Touch Farm. We have one more Spring cria due and the waiting does seem endless. Nayla's due date was actually a week ago and here she is still very much pregnant and miserable. She has had two cria previously and each as come within a day or two of their due date so I'm not sure what the hold up is. Maybe she looks at the other three cria running around and figures its a lot easier being pregnant than looking after them when they are racing around the barnyard like grey hounds.
I can sympathize with her though as she is so uncomfortable, she doesn't like any of the other alpacas next to her and she spends most of her day by the water bucket. I give her extra belly hosing as I know how much she loves it. I wish there was something more I could do for her. I like to go out there and sit with her and she cushes by me and gets her neck rubbed or her cheeks scratched. Her and I share a very special relationship as Nayla came to me when she was three days old as a premie (premature born) and I was her mother. We have an incredible bond and I don't like to see her so uncomfortable.