Alpaca Angst

 

Since Val over at Fantastyk Voyage blog is still MIA without computer access, and I just did a blog post about Llama Drama, it just seems perfect-timing to do a post about alpacas.

These photos (and video) were all taken over a week ago when I was hanging out inside the alpaca paddock over at Val’s barn.

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Thelma: “Why does Louise get a cria, and I don’t?”

 

Thelma: “Hummm. Alpaca babies smell sublime!”

 

Thelma: “Waaaa! I want my own cria!”

 

Louise: “Oh, good grief! Put a sock in it, Thelma!”

Thelma: “Why am I surprised?! All I want is to be a Mother and you have to be mean and rub it in every chance you get!”

 

 

Louise: “At least you get to be an Aunt”

Thelma: “No. That’s not good enough!”

 

Thelma: “I say we have a Neck Duel to decide who gets to keep the cria!”

Louise: “That’s silly. How will you feed her?”

Thelma: “You can stick around as my nurse maid, of course!”

Louise: “Really, Thelma. You are being very unreasonable. I will not neck duel with you.”

 

Thelma: “Come on Louise! Put up your neck and let’s get this thing over with once and for all!”

 

 

 

 

To find out what happens next, you’ll just have to watch this video. (Note: The female voice you hear is mine and the male voice you hear is Ranchman John’s. He was watching the “Cat Fight” from over on our property.) (Turn up your volume for the full effect)

The Lessons of this Story are: “Life can be Unfair. Don't Spit About It, because a Mouthful of Regurgitated Cud is just Nasty!”

A New Addition to The Herd!!!

 

Not my herd, but Val’s of Fantastyk Voyage Blog!

Val called me this morning to share the exciting news, that Louise, her female black alpaca had given birth sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Louise, the proud Mama!

Thelma, the doting Aunt seemed very happy to have a new baby around.

And the entire alpaca trio! The new herd!

Of course, the baby had to come into this world on the coldest night we’ve had this Fall, with temps down to 18F. Poor little thing!

(Sleepy baby already has some tiny teeth poking through)

Val’s camera is broken and her internet is down, so she asked me to take some photos of her new baby this morning and I was happy to walk over and hang out in the alpaca pen for about an hour.

(I brought carrots for everyone, horses and alpacas included)

Thelma

 

Louise

They were all very friendly and sweet.

I took about a hundred photos and sent the ones that turned out to Val. So, you’ll see plenty more baby photos over on her blog, and read all the details when her computer is back up again. So, please stop by and give Val some congratulations on this newest little addition to her herd.

 

Oh! And the little cutey is………….. A GIRL!!!!!!!

Fiber Fun ~ Alpacas, Camels and Sheep, Oh My!

 

Every year for the past 4 years I make sure to attend the two-day East Mountain Fiber Farm Tour. It’s interesting to visit all the different farms, see their set-ups, visit with the animals and people, learn about the different fiber/fleece/wool. And every year the Fiber Tour has a contest to win a huge basket filled with lots of great items for Fiber Artist. But the only way to get a chance to win is to visit at least 7 farms on the tour. There are usually between 10-12 farms participating, so it’s fun to choose which ones to visit.

You can see photos and the post from my first Fiber Farm Tour in 2008: Fiber Farm Tour

This year I almost forgot the date, but Val of Fantastyk Voyage called me up and said “Let’s Go!” So we piled into her car and headed out. First stop on our tour was Camelot Farm where I always make sure to pick up a skein or two of their super soft, natural camel wool for my upcoming winter knitting projects.

It’s always fun to photograph the odd and unusual looking camels.

The only camels they have now are Dromedary camels, which are one humped.

I was a little sad when I discovered that one my favorite camels, a young male Bactrian (two-humps) camel named Gobi, died last year when he became cast underneath a pipe rail fence trying to reach some grass on the other side. I have a photo of him on my 2008 Fiber Farm post. His owner had given me a puff of his fiber that had blown off onto the ground. I’m glad I still have it now.

Gobi ~ Fiber Farm Tour  

There’s an even better photo of him (taken with my new camera) in this post:

Camel Ride

I’ve always had a soft spot for camels ever since I can remember, after learning about the military’s early interest in creating a Camelry Cavalry for forging new ground across the west in the 1800’s. So, I was sad to discover that the Rio Grande Zoo ended their 25 year contract with Camelot Farm due to budget cuts. The Ro Grande Zoo is the first place I ever had the opportunity to ride a camel.

In fact, I rode a camel even before I got back on a horse after my ACL surgery.

Do you remember my first camel ride? My post is here:

My Camel Ride 

 

They also had some friendly horses, too.

After leaving Camelot Farm we visited 6 more Fiber Farms, seeing animals such as angora rabbits, fiber and dairy goats, sheep, llamas, chickens, and lots of dogs, cats and kittens. Here are some of the photos from the Fiber Farm Tour:

Don’t you like this lady’s pretty hair accessory?

This is a carder, one of the steps to processing fiber.

And adorable cria, a baby alpaca.

This was the friendliest alpaca Val and I have ever met. She purposely wanted to be petted and sought out affection. Awww!

Same friendly alpaca.

This alpaca was in desperate need of a teeth trimming.

By the late afternoon, the winds picked up and the smoke and a few dried up, dark rainclouds blew in. The alpacas and this llama moved inside the barn and viewed the skies with interest.

Looking outside the barn through the doorway, you can see the foreboding skies.

Alpacas have the most inquisitive faces.

I really liked the salt and pepper markings on this Nigerian Dwarf goat.

This sweet Romney lamb was very friendly and soft, too.

This guard llama seemed very interested in me and my camera.

I bought my daughter Jen, The Chicken Girl a special gift at one of the farms.

It’s safe to say that she loves it.

 

After we visited our last farm we registered and entered the gift basket contest at the Yarn and Fiber Store and, because we were famished from all our farm-hopping, Val and I decided to enjoy a relaxing sit-down dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, before heading back home.

All in all, a really great day.

And thankfully the smoke wasn’t too bad on Sunday until late in the afternoon.

Speaking of smoke, one of the weird things I’ve noticed since the smoke from the wildfires arrived last week, is that during the day, it’s eerily quiet around here. Not a bird to be heard…or seen for that matter, except for a few ravens and a hummingbird or two. And the sounds that we do hear seem muffled somehow.

Isn’t that weird?

A resident of the west mesa, just above Albuquerque, saw my You Tube video of our smoky skies here on the other side of the Sandia Mountains, and sent me a link to his video to view. Wow! And I thought the smoke was thick here!

A Friend’s Voyage

 

Last night I had the pleasure of accompanying my neighbor friend, Val of Fantastyk Voyage Blog, along with her youngest son, on her first voyage out to visit with her animals. It was also the first time she had been able to get up close to the newest animals on her little ranch: "The Aliens"

Val bought them over a week ago, and while I can see them from my house, I had not been over to get up close and meet them in person until Thursday afternoon when I came over to refill Val’s horses’ water troughs. Oh my! They are so stinkin’ cute!

As most of you know, I have two camelids, too, but they are llamas. I love my llamas and think they are beautiful, elegant, funny, and sweet. But I must admit they are not as cute, even with their adorable banana ears, as alpacas!

Thelma reminds me of butterscotch pudding and is the more curious and friendly of the two girls. Louise is black with a reddish glow and it’s easy to see that she wants to get closer to us humans, but she is very shy and cautious. 

    

Before I walked over from my house, I tucked some baby carrots into my pocket, thinking I’d give them to Val to give to her horses, in case she had forgotten (Of course, she didn’t. She had even brought full size carrots for them. hehe). I never considered that the alpacas would like carrots, because my llamas don’t have any interest in carrots at all. But Thelma and Louise both liked the carrots.

Thelma would take them from our hands, while Louise felt more comfortable eating them off the ground, at least for now. I have a feeling it won’t take long for her to come around, though.

It was wonderful seeing Val interact with her alpacas. She’s looking forward to not only working with the alpaca fleece, but also working with and training both of them, too.

But soon, the sun dropped below the western horizon and the temps dropped down into the 30’s and it was time to hurry over to the barn so Val could visit with her horse family, too. She had recently been up close with Nadia,("Visit with Nadia") when her daughter led her down to the house for a visit, where Val was sitting in her wheelchair. But it was the first time she had been able to visit with Annie, Yalla! and Scout up close, since her accident and surgery 4 weeks ago. And she really missed them.

And it was easy to see (and hear) that her herd missed her, too. They were nickering and neighing for her as we left the alpaca pen and were nuzzling Val all over as she stood beside their stalls.

Please visit Val’s blog to read more about her visit and enjoy some of her wonderful photos(Maybe leave her an encouraging comment filled with some healing vibes, too):

Fantastyk Voyage "The Big Fall"