Not really, but seeing as the real alpacas don’t eat them – a good thing as they are poisonous – we do need some way to keep them in check.
It’s never been as issue before this year, but as everything else around them does get eaten, they are flourishing …
So … at one end of the farming spectrum there are tractors, herbicides, sprays, soil analysis, government grants and mountains of red tape, and at the other end there is me, bimbling about the paddock on a summers morning, reaching into the cool dew to pull up the unwanted flowers, surrounded by alpacas and occasionally throwing a stick for Gwen.
I’m sure my neighbours think I’m mad, and when I look at my bank balance I’m inclined to agree, but as I move from one buttercup to the next …. hmmmm …. that one there …. and this one ….. oops nearly missed this one … I really don’t care whether I am or not!
I am the buttercup-grazing alpaca!