Burr!  It is cold!  We have been in a winter storm watch since Saturday.  The wind has been howling and hitting 45 mph.  This morning it is snowing and hailing and the wind has not diminished at all.  The road is a sloppy mess and my car needs a good wash again.  But the weatherperson has promised that the storm will be gone by tomorrow and we will be in the 80s again by midweek.

The vet came out on Tuesday as promised.  The Valley Fever tests came back on Friday, also as promised.  The news was good and bad.  Stewie and Cimarron tested negative, but Prince's test came back positive.  Today I talked to the vet and picked up medication for Prince.  She said he may never get sick, just carry the fever.  It is unpredictable.  I am still working with the lady who showed interest in taking the boys.  She will have to decide about these results.  I'm hoping she will come visit some day this week.

The alpacas really showed their personalities when the vet was out.  There were 3 of us, all women who had to catch them and hold them while the vet took blood.  We caught Cimarron fairly easily and he stood stoically while the vet stuck the needle in his neck and took his blood.  Then we caught Stewie.  Stewie did not want to be caught so he bucked and dodged and squirmed right out of my hold.  The vet stood back and said," If you 2 can't hold them, we'll have to get a man to do this!"  Well, I just looked at her because Steve had taken the whole day off before and she had not shown up!  But we showed her anyway, the vet tech and I.  The second time we caught Stewie , we caught him in the barn and crowded him into a corner so he could not escape.  He still did not cooperate however.  He cushed!  Just laid down and then bounce up whenever the vet tried to stick the needle in him.  So the vet tech pushed down on his hind quarters and I held his head and neck while simultaneously pushing down on his withers with my knee.  I paid for that for several days afterwards with a very sore gluteus maximus!

Then it was time to catch Prince.  He was the hardest to catch but he stood quietly while the vet did her thing without moving or flinching.  He had a good trainer named Liz!