Why A Blog?

Many people think that raising alpacas is weird. Perhaps. I wanted to write about what it is really like "in the trenches". The day after I graduated from my doctoral program (in clinical psychology), I moved to our alpaca farm. Burned out with being a receptacle for other people's crap, I moved to a place where my next job would involve shoveling animals' crap. Hmmm.


What makes someone want to continually take on this kind of life? In psychology there is the hope of healing. Without getting too involved in self-analysis, I believe that I found my calling in life when I became a mother. My desire to be a nurturer is stronger than my desire to heal others. In the book, The Contrary Farmer, author Gene Logsdon describes farmers as nurturers. They tend the soil, the flocks, the way a mother does her babies. Farming has traditionally been a socially acceptable way for men to be professional nurturers. It makes sense that this profession calls women to it. And once we see an alpaca, with that adorably cute face....are you kidding? We are hooked. Personally, I never stood a chance.